Chapter 137-2
That was an interesting concept. “How will I know if it works?”
Claun
“Instead of absorbing and nullifying the magic, it won’t even touch you. I’ll shoot energy your way,
and we should see it bounce off. Now sit. I suspect this will be easier the more you have contact
with the ground.”
Warily, I lowered myself to the ground. The grass tickled under my hands as I placed my palms to
the earth. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d sat in the grass as a human. My atmosphere and
movements were often divided by the animal in me. My wolf frolicked in the grass and hunted in
the forest. As a human, I stayed indoors and walked from building to building.
It hadn’t always been that way. For years, I’d refused to shift, but that almost felt like a lifetime ago.
It hadn’t even been a year.
“Most of this magic is mental,” the Crone instructed. “You need to envision the barrier around you. Keep it small for today. If it helps, you can circle your hands around you, drawing the barrier into
the earth.”
Feeling a little silly, I touched my fingers in front of my knees and drew them in opposite directions around my body until they met again behind my back. I pulled them back in front of me again.
“Good, now that you have the circumference, close your eyes. Imagine a wall of that circumference rooted deep in the earth. As deep as the roots of the oldest trees. That foundation can withstand the mightiest natural forces. Not a single element can fell it. Tap into the earth’s magic and let it rise out of the ground, up to the sky. An infinitely tall barrier. In your mind, paint it a
color. Whatever color you wish. Whatever color you associate with protection.”
Gold. The very shade of Troy’s wolf’s eyes.
“Stop smiling,” the Crone sighed. “Focus. Now that you’re holding that in your mind, from the
depths of the earth to the great sky, I want you to raise your arms out again. Feel that
circumference. See those threads binding it all together and then push your power into it.”
Gritting my teeth, I tried to summon my magic. Tried to will it into the barrier. The ground beneath
me started to shake.
Shit. That couldn’t be good. I cracked my eyes open just in time to see the old witch send a blast of
purple magic my way. Instinctively, I shrieked and rolled away.
On my back, I stared at the sky and blew out my breath while I waited for her lecture.
“Not bad,” the Crone grunted.
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+ Chapter 137-2
Claim
What? Sitting up, I looked at where she was staring. Right in the middle of where I’d been sitting was a perfect ring of scorched earth.
“You created a force field?” Troy asked while we walked. There was still a buzzing inside me, like I’d electrocuted myself, and I hadn’t been able to sit still. After I’d bounced all through dinner, Troy had suggested a walk through the woods. I’d jumped at the idea, as long as we could do it in human form. I wanted to try and appreciate the land a little more.
“Well, no,” I admitted. “That was the intention, but her magic had actually penetrated it, as she pointed out. But I did manage to claim the small bit of land with my magic. Branded it really, which is not great. I had to spend the rest of the day healing it.”
“Kiana, I have every confidence that you’ll gain control of your magic, so please do not take offense when I ask you not to start any wildfires in our territory,” he said mildly.
Wrinkling my nose, I punched him in the arm. “I did not start a fire!”
“Yet.”
“Hey!” Laughing, I took another swing at him. He caught me this time, and easily subdued both my
hands behind my back.
The buzzing inside my body turned into something different altogether when he didn’t release me. Heat surged through me, and I stared up at him. “If you wanted my hands behind my back, all you
had to do was ask,” I said in a low, throaty voice.
His gaze darkened. “Kiana.”
“I’ve never been scared of you, you know. At least, not of how you make my body feel. You’ve been
so careful with me, but you don’t have to. I’m stronger than ever, and I’m not going to break.”
“I know that,” he said softly. “But we haven’t had time to rest. To explore what we both like. What
we both want.”
He hadn’t released my hands. For all we knew, Claudine was going to attack in the next hour. I
didn’t want to keep waiting. Troy hadn’t touched me since we left London’s territory.
I ached for him, and I didn’t want to hold back. I didn’t want him to hold back.
“Tell me what you want, Troy.”
He backed me up until my knuckles scraped up against the bark of a tree. “Keep your hands behind your back, Kiana, and get on your knees.”
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