Page 28 of The Discovered
“Focus on the candle, Áine,” Daelon instructed today. “Control. Don’t get lost in your channeling. You only need just a hint of power for this. It’s your intent that’s most important.” We sat on the floor in the living room next to the glass paneling, neither of us desiring to sit together in the room with the fireplace after the other night.
I had finally convinced Daelon that we should do a detection spell to reveal if the man who haunted my nightmares was still working against me, hiding in the shadows and in the darkness of my metaphysical ocean. I still caught glimpses of his sour, icy energy, as if he was watching us, lying in wait. I just couldn’t shake it. And my mothers told me that my intuition was the most important guide I had.
I gazed upon the white candle, focusing on only letting a tiny bit of magick through. Even with all of the forces in the world at my fingertips, casting simple spells was harder than I’d anticipated. I wasn’t used to directing my power into such specific magick.
“You can come up with your own short chant, which will help you cast this spell faster next time. It encodes an energetic imprint to the words.”
Reveal this curse.I shrugged to myself. It wasn’t exactly creative, but whatever. I repeated the mantra in my mind until it fused with my intent.
The candle flame soared, and the white wax began to darken and turn black like a scorched piece of paper. I looked to Daelon, my eyes wide. That couldn’t be good.
I frowned. “See? I told you. What does this mean, exactly? Is it the same witch you cast a spell against in the clearing? And if so, does that mean it didn’t work?”
Daelon sighed, his features fixed and rigid. “No. My spell worked. Like I tried to explain before, a curse isn’t always a cause for concern. No one can seriously harm you through all of my defenses.” His tone was fiery, like he was deeply offended by the mere insinuation.
I tried to reason that if Mr. Overprotective wasn’t concerned, then I probably shouldn’t have been either. But I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something wasn’t right.
“So, you think we should just do nothing?” I scoffed. “Acursesounds pretty dangerous to me.”
“For now, yes, we do nothing. Cursing someone can encompass just mild magickal workings and intentions for harm against someone, too. Not just overtly aggressive magick. Given all of our protections, I truly think it’s just someone who doesn’t want you here aiming blindly, attempting to intimidate you. They’re just angry they can’t get to you, and they’re powerful. Their anger is bound to be felt in the fluidity of this realm.”
I watched him carefully. He didn’t answer whether this witch was the same he’d cursed last week, but it was safe to say my intuition was on the mark. It was hard to believe that someone was aiming magick at me just to be a nuisance, considering how dangerous Daelon made our enemies out to be. Then again, so far, the only evidence of a curse encompassed murky nightmares and evil-sounding voices saying mean things.
I watched him as he steepled his fingers to rest on his lips, a storm brewing in his eyes. I didn’t understand why he was so dead set against learning more about a curse aimed at me, no matter how small. Was it really that he was just offended by my doubting his protective abilities?
“What next?” I asked finally.
“We’re done for the day,” he said without breaking his stare off into space.
He barely acknowledged me as I got up from the floor and headed through the hall to my room. I shut the door behind me, leaning up against it for a moment. I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in my gut toward how Daelon regarded me now. No more flirting or innuendos. No more looking at me with awe. All because of one whiskey-fueled lapse of judgement.
However, I was proud of myself for one thing that had also dropped off the last couple days—my uncontrolled magickal outbursts. Daelon had been leading me in more daily meditations to work on separating my magick from my emotions, which had worked surprisingly well. I was much better at recognizing when I was channeling power unknowingly or impulsively, and it was easier to tune in and out of these frequencies at will.
I shrugged out of my white sweater, dark jeans, and underwear, tossing them on the bed. I ran the shower and waited for the water to heat up to my liking. As I stepped in, I was immediately soothed by the heat on my skin, especially as the weather was growing colder.
Just like Daelon.
I sighed, leaning my head against the tile as the steam rose all around me. Daelon was just a distraction from what my mothers and—possibly even the Universe—wanted me to accomplish here in this mysterious realm. I grew more controlled and in tune with my power every day. Soon there would be no reason for him to keep the truth of my enemies from me. If I had that information, my path would become clearer. And then I wouldn’t need Daelon at all.
I didn’t like how willing he was to shrug off a possible attack from our enemies. If he wasn’t going to do anything about whoever used intimidation magick against me, that was his prerogative. I, however, thought it may be prudent to send them some of their own medicine.
I finished up my shower and pulled a black, off-the-shoulder sweater dress over my head. Sitting on the floor, I cast a protective circle around myself with my fingers, watching as a hazy, barely perceptible translucent field encircled me.
“Reveal who cursed me,” I whispered, closing my eyes. I sent my power out into the world through a point at the top of my protective field, searching for who matched the imprint of my nightmares and negative visions.
I opened my eyes and set my gaze upon the window in front of me, watching as the woodland scenery shifted into the field from my second nightmare. A figure appeared again in the distance, and I was certain it was a man, just as it had been in my past encounters. He was shrouded in black smoke as before, unmoving.
“Who are you?” I whispered.
A voice sounded in my mind, thick and distorted—like the way reporters altered the voices of anonymous sources.
Perhaps I’m the Devil. Or maybe a god. Either way, this realm is mine.
I switched over to telepathic communication, which seemed most natural when practicing magick. The words appeared in my mind like a kind of auditory hallucination.
Yeah, I don’t think so. Why do you hide?
I’m not the only one hiding my identity from you, little witch.
