In the Shadow of the Goddess (Book 1 of The Fallen Gods Trilogy)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"Jill." Aden filled her vision. He leaned over her, taking her burned arm gently in his hands, careful not to touch the damaged skin. "I am sorry you had to endure that. Your arm."

"It doesn't hurt," Jill said, sounding to herself like she was speaking to him from the far end of a tunnel.

"I've numbed it for now. It was the best I could do without giving my full attention," Aden seemed to be saying. She couldn't catch all the words, just the sound of his voice. There was magic in it. She could feel threads pulsing around her, pushing against her wards.

"The burn is serious. I'm sorry I couldn't get to you in time. I had no idea she'd planned on doing something like that."

"I don't think she planned it either," Jill murmured, watching him hold her arm. A wave of his power washed over her like the ocean against the shoreline. She felt light-headed, but couldn't tell if it was from shock or magic.

"I'm going to heal this, all right?" he asked, and Jill nodded. She looked up at his eyes. They looked very pretty in the firelight.

"I feel like I'm drunk. I can't seem to concentrate. Are you sedating me with magic?"

He smiled. "In a manner of speaking. I'm going to take down the wards. It will help with the healing if we're both unrestricted and free to use magic."

"Okay." Then, "I want to learn how to do it myself."

"You will. I'll teach you. But for now, let me spring the lock."

A moment later and it felt like a vise squeezing her had sprung open. Suddenly, she could see a dazzling display of red and blue threads shining throughout the room. The red hovered close to Aden. The blue were further away, waiting to be summoned. And there, at the edges of the room, loathe to come any closer, were the black and rotting threads. She wished she could banish them. They ruined an otherwise perfect view.

"They're so pretty," she breathed. "All but the black. If only you could see them."

"The threads?" he asked, and she nodded. "Maybe someday I will. Stay with me Jill. Keep focus. We'll heal this together."

"Okay." She looked at her arm. Nearly threw up at the dead, blackened skin. Turned her head away. "Jendayi doesn't like me very much."

"I don't think she likes herself very much either," he said absently.

"You said you dreamed of me."

"Hush, Jill. Pay attention. You're going to work your first real spell."

"Cool."

Blue threads rushed to pour into Aden. She could feel them bumping into her as well, brushing her arm and tickling like an ant walking along her skin. Without the wards, the tickle didn't stop at her skin. It went inside, creating a niggling itch she couldn't get at.

"The magic is in you now. You have to will it to power. It will be passive until you force it active."

"Like a light switch," Jill burbled, her thoughts foggy, but the light switch symbolism sounded good. "I just 'click' and it goes on? Should I say some magic words?"

"None necessary. The magic is merging between us and we're sharing the same power. I'll show you how to ignite it."

One moment, the threads were blue, then some awareness shifted and the threads were red. Jill gasped. It felt like the connection Kydel and Arianie had shared in the Awakening—the moment he'd declared her the keeper of his heart and the world felt whole. Wide-eyed, she watched as red threads streamed around the burn. The swarm was so thick, she couldn't see her arm through the cocoon of red.