“Would you stop worrying so much?” I snap. “She wants to try. Let her.”

He crosses his arms, his lips forming into a pout. “I don’t want her to get damaged.”

“Would you listen to yourself?” I scoff. “She’s your mate, not a possession.”

“She’s mine. I fail to see the difference.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t know why I keep fooling myself into thinking you’re capable of productive conversation. Just… stay quiet and let us work.”

I place Dagny carefully onto her feet, keeping one arm around her waist on the off chance her legs give out. “Good?”

“Perfect,” she murmurs, pulling her shoulders back and forcing her chin into the air. “What else can you show me?”

I gesture for her to take a seat on the floor, then crouch in front of her, reaching out and grasping her palms in mine. “Remember how you built the wall? Just do that, but in reverse—just a brick or two—enough to let a sliver of energy into you.”

Dagny closes her eyes, her face pinching in concentration as she attempts to chip away at her barrier. A rush of magic travels down the bond, filling my chest with its tingling warmth as a silver ring beams from beneath Dagny’s eyelids.

“Good. Now focus—bend it to your will—force it into the palms of your hands.”

I shift out of the way just before a powerful gust of air explodes from her palms, shooting through the space where my head used to be. Dagny’s eyes widen as her barrier slams closed, cutting off the flow of magic and causing the wind to still.

“Oh my gods, are you okay?” she asks, her voice laced with desperation. “Did I hurt you?”

“Not this time.” I grin, spreading my arms and tilting my head side to side to show I still have full use of my body. “You’ll have to try a little harder next time.”

“I think I’m good for a minute or two,” she says, her head falling back to the heavens as she tries to catch her breath. “Just need a minute… that was harder than I thought it would be.”

“It is. But it will be an immeasurable asset in battle.”

“Yeah, unless they hit me with their air magic first,” she murmurs.

“No, they won’t. Most demons can’t use magic. And if they can, they prefer to use their teeth and claws to fight. You can draw directly from the source, but others gain it from consuming souls—a lot—and there are simply not enough of them to support widespread use. Even Kaebl and I and the others have to use our magic sparingly.”

“The energy… where does it come from? Why do I have access to it, but you don’t?”