Warmth.
Welcoming.
It felt like a soft smile, or a gentle breeze.
My eyes closed, and I relished the feel of her magic. Of her emotions.
Not a monster; not a bad thing, or an evil one.
A part of her.
Just like mine was a part of me.
The darkness vanished a moment later, and I opened my eyes to a shocked Lavee staring at me.
“Holy fuck,” she crowed, breathing heavily. “Fuckity fuck. Did you see that, Diora? Did you fucking see that?”
“You embraced your power,” I said, flashing her a grin.
“I made this whole damn shadowy fishbowl dark! Shit, I’m powerful!” Her exclamations made me laugh.
“Hell yeah, you are.”
I felt something sharp hit one side of myshadowy fishbowlas Lavee had called it, and winced at the pressure. It eased up for a moment, and then hit me again, harder, and I felt whatever it was cut through my shadowed wall.
I nearly flew across the clearing at the sharpness of the hit, but a muscular arm caught me before I could crash into anything.
My face collided with a warm, bare chest, and the scent in my nostrils told me exactly who it was.
I jerked away from him, despite the longing in my body to throw my arms around Namir and hug him fiercely. His hand remained locked tightly around my bicep, though.
“Was that you?” I growled at him.
His eyes were soft but wary as they scanned the space around us, searching for threats, and I was a bit stunned to see the thick circles beneath them, declaring his exhaustion.
Had he really been living out in the forest, eating plants, just like me?
“What the hell was that, Diora?” he finally asked. “I felt darkness—an assload of darkness.”
“That was me.” Lavee was still grinning massively, her shoulders and arms wiggling a bit as she did a little dance. I bit back a snort, attempting to tug my arm away from Namir’s grip.
He still didn’t release me, though his grip also wasn’t tight enough to cause pain.
“That can’t have been you.” Jesh frowned, a few feet away from the rest of us. His arms were folded over his chest, his expression critical. “I could feel that, and I’ve never felt your magic before. And if anyone could, it would be me.”
“Probably because you’re an idiot,” I shot back.
Lavee snorted, crossing the distance between us to high-five me. “That was a terrible burn, but I’m proud of you anyway.”
We exchanged devious grins.
There was something between suspicion and horror in both of the men’s eyes.
“What happened?” Namir growled at me.
“Diora taught me how to access my magic. Turns out your hand lessons weren’t as useful as I thought.” She shrugged, stepping back. Her eyes closed, and I watched in fascination as darkness rippled over her skin, slowly covering every inch of her until she’d nearly vanished.
Her skin rematerialized a moment later, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she grinned my way.