Page 121 of The Rebel and the Rose
What kind of saint would she make when it was done?
Did it even matter now?
Shoving her concerns aside and thinking only of Bibi, Sera tied her hair back from her face and tried to steel herself.
‘Don’t overthink it.’ Andreas leaned in, his voice a guiding whisper in her ear. ‘Just let your magic flow. It will know exactly what to do.’
She muttered, ‘That makes one of us.’
Talisa cleared her throat with a pointed squeak. ‘I’m ready.’
It was the third time she’d declared it in as many minutes.
Saints, she was a pain in the ass.
Glancing up, Sera locked eyes with Theo.
He dipped his chin.You’ve got this.
Recalling what she had done to Lark atop the Aurore, she gingerly placed her hand in the centre of Talisa’s chest. The princess’s heart thrummed under her fingertips, excitement making her breath hitch.
Sera’s magic leaped at the contact, a flurry of heat racing to the surface of her skin. Inhaling slowly and deeply, Sera welcomed it.
I am not afraid.
I am in control.
That door inside her opened. First a crack. And then a foot, that frightened little girl crawling away from it.
I am not afraid.
I am in control.
She pictured her magic unfurling from within, not an uncontrollable bonfire but a ribbon of gold. She spooled it around her, coaxing it up and up andup. The warmth under her skin was familiar but Sera had never been so deliberate about it before, had never beckoned to her magic and felt it answer with such gentleness. Eager to be used. To be freed, at last.
‘She’s glowing,’ whispered Val.
‘Beautiful,’ murmured Andreas, his breath hot against the shell of her ear. ‘Look at all that potential rippling under your skin, justachingto be used.’
And I haven’t done a single thing with it.
Guilt nipped at the edges of her thoughts. Her magic seized upon the change in emotion, that careful ribbon lashing out like a whip. Her hands began to sizzle. She reeled backwards, pulling her hand away from the princess.
Talisa’s eyes flew open. ‘What are you doing? It’s not done.’
‘Sorry. I thought I was going to—’
‘Put it back,’ snapped Andreas. ‘Concentrate.’
Shaking off the upset, Sera returned her hand to Talisa’s chest, feeling her pulse thrum in time with the princess’s heartbeat. Her magic warmed, gathering into that easy familiar flow. Perturbed by the golden sheen of her own skin and the look of ravenous hunger on Talisa’s face, Sera squeezed her eyes shut, just wanting it to be over. Impatience gnawed at her, making her magic thrash.
Another distraction.
Focus, Sera. Just get it done.
Talisa huffed, beginning to squirm. How badly the princess wanted this – a font of her own magic, a new fate.
But does she deserve it?whispered Sera’s conscience.
