Burning Key

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"All right. Are you ready, Dessa?"

She was concentrating so hard on not making her hands shake that it took her longer to answer than normal. "No."

Adeena, who was seated across from her on the plushy rug in Cleo's office, cracked a smile. "Of course, you are. We've been practicing this together for a week now."

After reading about mind magic in the grimoire, plus knowing about her family's magic on her grandmother's side, Dessa had gone to Adeena the morning after. Of course, the assassin was a little hesitant, but she was willing to try it if Dessa was. They'd made no progress the first day and just a thought or two on the second, but by the third, the two of them were having entire conversations in their heads.

Since Adeena was more accustomed to the use of mind magic, the obvious course of direction for the next person would be someone who wasn't. Cleo was a willing participant on the fourth day. It took a few hours of practice, but Dessa was finally able to do the same with her as she had with Adeena. Others had helped the next, including Elys, Milena, Eamon, Archer, and even Malik and Kav. The more practice Dessa had with it, the easier it became.

This time, though, she was going to try something else with her mind magic...which was to try and contact someone in her own world. She'd been playing with the idea all morning while she and Elys were still lying in bed. She thought he'd been asleep as she slowly traced the tattoos along his arm and chest until he mumbled about how she'd be able to do exactly what she was thinking about.

Sensing her hesitation, Adeena reached forward and squeezed her hand. "You don't have to if you don't want to. You're the one who wanted to try this out to see if you can manage it."

"Yeah, and I'm able to do it with willing participants...but this is different," she told her. "I wouldn't have even thought of it had Elys not."

Elys, who was sitting beside her, reached over and gripped her hand firmly in his. "No need to be nervous. I know you can do it."

"Know or saw?"

He lifted their hands to kiss her knuckles. "Both."

"It's not just about distance this time, though," Dessa sighed, her hesitation turning into worry. "What if something goes wrong? What if I'm...stuck somewhere...and can't figure out what to do or how to get back to me? It's not just distance we're talking about here. It's worlds."

Cleo was the only one to snort out a laugh and shake her head. "Just trust yourself, sweet girl."

"Kinda hard to when I don't when it comes to something new."

"Then close your eyes and do it."

Close her eyes and do it. Sure. If only it were that simple.

Instead of second guessing herself with everything, she at least needed to try. To believe in herself, just like they all wanted her to.

So, she closed her eyes.

"Use any of our magic you need to, Dessa," Adeena told her, though her voice began to sound distant.

Even though she could still feel the three of them with her, Dessa herself began to feel a tug within herself, pulling her down into her well of magic in order to find what she needed. It was an intricate spin of it all, her dark and light magic, her magics from both her Fae and sorceress sides. The first sharp stabbing of pain shot through her temple, causing her to wince and Elys's hand to tighten around hers. She managed to get past it, latching onto her mind magic...before intertwining it with her portal magic.