Destined (War of the Covens 2)

Exhaling, Caia turned to Mordecai who smiled reassuringly. “Let’s give it a go.”

He brushed his thick locks off his forehead and pushed his glasses farther up his nose. “Now, Marion has explained that you can differentiate with ease the two energies that make up your lykan and your magik. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. The tricky thing for you in a communication spell is the other energy bobbing in the background. For any other use of your magik, you tap into the energy and expel it from whichever part of your body you want … usually your hands. But to travel, you need to grab hold of that energy and wrap it around your body’s system—cells, muscles, bones, everything, everywhere. You’ll know when you’ve done it, believe me. It’s hard to explain, but you will.

“Thing is, though, it takes a lot of concentration, and at first a lot of time to go through the process. You have the added complication of having your lykanthrope energy. What we need you to do is wrap your magik around that energy without merging the two energies together.”

Caia blinked, her pulse picking up speed. “What happens if they merge?”

Mordecai glanced briefly at Marion and then back to her. “We don’t know. We just don’t want to take that chance. We need you to treat that energy as carefully as you would an artery. Wrap around it, but don’t rupture it.”

“You don’t have to do this, Caia,” Marion assured quietly.

She felt the stares of the trainees burning her cheeks and willed her heart to slow down. There was no way she was going to fail in front of these people. That was exactly what they wanted. And if she was going to make a difference in this war, she was going to need to prove herself to the Daylights firsthand.

“No. I’m doing this.”

Mordecai grinned. “Good. Now close your eyes … and do as I ask.”

Quickly and easily, Caia grabbed hold of the steely vapor that was her magik energy and completely disengaged from the heat that allowed her to change into a wolf. Now for the hard part: she was to wrap the energy around every molecule of her being …

Ohhhkkaaaay.

She started with her toes, and Mordecai was right. She knew when a part of her body was complete in the process. She followed it through until her very hair tingled with energy.

“Done,” she said and was surprised to hear a flurry of whispering.

“Uh …” Mordecai seemed to hesitate. Her eyes flew open, and he stared at her, incredulous. Marion smiled, almost smugly. “Caia, are you sure?”

She nodded, holding on tight to her transformation. “Yeah, you said I would know, you were right. It’s a weird kind of certainty.”

“But you did that in seconds?” He gaped like a fish.

She frowned. “Is that wrong?”

Marion chuckled. “It usually takes a lot longer the first few times. You’ve done it like you’ve been doing it for years.”

Oh. Well, that was good, right?

Mordecai gulped. “I see what you’ve been talking about, Marion.”

“What?” Caia asked, looking between the two.

“Uh, Caia, now for the next part.” Mordecai seemed even more excited to move along. “I want you to visualize your guest suite. Think of a suitable spot you can materialize, and go there. But … you have to have an extremely clear vision in mind.”

She closed her eyes and imagined a spot on the thick beige carpet that felt like clouds beneath her bare feet, a spot in front of the chaise longue placed at the end of the opulent bed. Yeah, there was plenty of room to crash-land there.

“Okay.”

“You’re sure?”

“Pretty much.”

“Now tighten your hold on your energy and picture yourself in that spot. Move yourself into that spot with your mind.”

She did as he asked.

“Okay. Now what?”

She was met by silence.

“Guys?”

Wait. The floor had gotten squishy beneath her feet. And was that lavender air freshener?

Her eyes flew open, and she stumbled back, gasping. Holy moly, she was in her suite. She did it! She did it!

“Aaaahhh!” She laughed, jumping up and down like a little kid. She had freakin’ done it on her first go! She grinned at the city. “Take that, Daylight snobs!”

Her face was about to crack under the pressure of that grin, her adrenaline shooting through her whole body, sending her into shaky excitement. She had to calm down … it was time for the finale.

Following Mordecai’s instructions, she visualized her place back in the hall, and suddenly a flurry of excitement hit her ears.

“Caia!”

Her eyes opened to Mordecai staring in stunned amazement. Marion rushed forward to grip her arms, laughing. Caia looked around. All the trainees babbled excitedly, their eyes on her, their bodies moving closer.

“You did it! I knew you could do it!” Marion squealed like a little girl, her usual cool abandoned.

“I’ve never …” Mordecai took off his glasses to rub off a nonexistent smudge. “Wow.” His eyes flitted between her and Marion before a huge grin broke out on his face. “This is going to be fun. I want to see what she can do with natural materialization.”