Page 47 of Tricky Magic
“What kind of friend?”
“You are full of questions today. Do you want to learn the trick I have or not?”
“Yes.” She rolled her eyes. “Please, all-mighty teacher, teach me your ways.”
He chuckled.
“Have a seat,” he said, gesturing to the tiled floor. He sat across from her like he always did.
“I still can’t believe you let your perfect pants touch a dirty floor,” Ellea said, snickering at him.
“You know,” he said, “I’m not opposed to taking a ruler to my students.”
Her breath caught in her throat. He had such a serious look on his face, and her mouth went dry at the sight of it. He was usually so light and patient.
“Sorry,” she said, forcing herself to hold his eye contact. “Show me your trick, please.”
“Good. Magic is such a tricky thing. Powers are an extension, not something you force. I believe your magic will create the apple on its own. You can’t force it.”
He kept saying trick and tricky. It made her wonder if he knew what she was. That worry was overshadowed as she realized what he was implying.
“What do you mean?” The suggestion of letting her magic do something on its own was enough to call this whole thing off. “How am I supposed to control my magic without controlling it?”
“You aren’t listening,” he said sternly. “You aren’t supposed to control your magic. Let it go.”
Her heart raced. She couldn’t let her magic go. There was no trusting what it would do.
“There has to be another way.” She could feel the sweat beginning to gather on her forehead, and her palms felt slick. She stopped herself from rubbing them against her pants.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, holding out his hand.
She looked down at his pale palm facing up at her. It was so delicate, not a callus in sight. Looking up into his dark eyes, she took a breath.
“Kind of?” She was being honest, but she had spent so long fearing her powers.
“Your magic will not harm me or you,” he said, his hand still held in front of her. “What is the worst that can happen?”
“I don’t know.” She tried to think of something.
“Ellea,” he said smoothly. “Let’s try.”
She searched his face, waiting for an excuse to find her. One never came. So she straightened and feigned confidence as she said, “Okay.”
24
Ros
Ros paced his cabin, constantly glancing out his windows and across the lake. Where was Ellea? Was she in the cabin, or had she gone somewhere else? He should have had a conversation with her earlier.
He could feel that her powers were raging, and she was as oblivious as she always was. If she wasn’t oblivious, she was being careless, which was even worse. But he was also a coward. Getting close to her had been a mistake, and now he couldn’t think straight. He couldn’t kill her, but something needed to be done. He definitely shouldn’t sleep with her, it wouldn’t be a one-time thing, and he couldn’t make any promises to her. Sam was no help, and neither was Garm; they thought with their dumb hearts instead of their brains. He didn’t trust her powers, didn’t trust how he felt about her. The thoughts of spending more time with her, getting to know her, fuck her, were becoming harder to push down deep.
Take one step.
Her powers. He would have to figure out what to do about her powers. His biggest fear was that this discussion would lead to the end. Her anger would get the better of her, one thing would lead to another, and it would be over. It would end with her being consumed by her powers, and he would have to step in and take care of it. But where would that leave them?
Only one way to find out.
His cock and his dumb heart would have to get over it. It was time. He would do it now, and whatever happened…well, that would be it.
