“Saying that…” Zadok inched forward, piquing my interest. His eyes flicked to Cair before returning to me, his hands fidgeting in front of him. “I could give you a preview. Let you feel your magic. It won’t cause any distress or exertion,” he added quickly when my mate’s jaw clenched. “It’ll just give you a glimpse of what we’d be working with. If that’s something you’d like to try?”

I was nodding before Zadok even finished asking the question, and with a nod of his own, he approached the bed, reaching out for my hand. Cair tensed at the sudden movement, his eyes boring into the older Fae—who apologized and turned his palm face up, letting me be the one to initiate contact. I offered my mate a patient smile, watching his shoulders visibly slacken before placing my free hand in Zadok’s.

A gasp lodged in my throat as a zip of electricity danced across my skin.

Zadok’s eyes widened, and within one blink and the next, my palm was heating, familiar magic-induced goose bumps trailing up my arm before a fusion of purple and green light filtered out from the gaps between our fingers. Slowly, he withdrew just enough for me to examine the emerald flame engulfing my hand, flickering recklessly as if it were caught in a draft. It didn’t burn as a typical fire would, though it was warm, like sinking into tepid bathwater—an ironic analogy, I knew, but it was the only comparison that came to me.

The threads of magic tickled as they snaked over the valley at the base of my thumb, tracing my knuckles before wrapping around my wrist. It pulsed in rhythm with my heartbeat, and I couldn’t help thinking how serene I felt.

“The green light was mine,” I muttered, smiling as the flame chirped.

“Hm?”

“When I woke up, it was lingering at the edges of my vision, almost like I was coming out of a haze. Then it… comforted me when I started to panic.”

Zadok bobbed his head emphatically. “Now that your magic is fully unbound, it will try to protect and guide you, offer you aid whenever you need it. It is a shield. A friend. It is a part of you, but also its own being with its own personality. It’s a… magnificent gift to possess, and once you learn how to channel it, you’ll see just how much more there is to it than merely power.”

His own violet swirls warbled as if in agreement before both entities disappeared with a flourish, though they weren’t gone entirely. At least, mine wasn’t. I could still feel it buzzing in my chest, more intense than before.

It was enchanting, and I couldn’t wait to explore it further.