and hostile now.
“Are you ready, Willa? Any questions?”
“Can I skip this?” she asked sarcastically. Everyone laughed. She pictured the blue water below. Why do I always have to go first? “I’m ready,” she said as loud and clear as she could muster.
“Okay, focus your mind and your magic,” Rowan
instructed.
Willa took a deep breath, slightly bent her knees, and lifted her hands in front of her. Her heart thrummed in her throat, her mouth dry. She exhaled. Focus. Feel. Heat stirred around her as the magic answered her call. She thought how easy this would be for Simon, who practically had psychic x-ray vision because of his powerful Mind gift. Her skills only included having crazy dreams and seeing ghosts—neither of which could help her right now. But I have magic inside me. Come on! Focus. Feel.
The pool grew quiet except for her ragged breathing and the hum of a filter. She tried to reach out with the magic to feel for the things around her. She knew the spectator stairs were to her left, the other diving boards to her right, and, of course, the very deep water was directly below. Her coven-mates had been standing on the opposite side of the pool. Were they still there?
Willa focused and felt a tremor of response. Someone was moving.
A second later a burst of air hit her, knocking her easily from the board. She fell, tumbling, and splashed into the water. She clawed at the blindfold, kicked her legs. Blinking and sputtering, she struggled to swim to the surface. Finally, lungs painfully tight, she came up. Simon knelt at the side of the pool, hand out. She swam to him, and he lifted her out of the pool, setting her on the deck.
“Are you okay?” He searched her face as she coughed up more water.
“I guess,” she muttered. Embarrassed and shaken, Willa got to her feet. Simon held her arm for support. Rowan stepped close.
“Let’s try again,” he said.
Willa resisted the urge to scowl at him and headed back to the ladder leading up to the springboard. Looking up at the rungs, she almost couldn’t talk her legs into moving. Come on. Up! You can do this. So, up the ladder and out onto the board she went. She pulled the dripping blindfold into place. Her jeans and long sleeve Henley shirt felt like lead. She wriggled her right toes, realizing for the first time that one of her Tiffany blue Converse shoes was still somewhere in the pool. Great!
“Okay, Willa, here we go,” Rowan yelled.
Deep inhale, slow exhale. She focused her mind. No way she was falling off the board again. Let’s just get this over with, please! Pressing her teeth together, she reached out with her magic. Everything was in place, except for two people. I think. Is it two or just one?
Another deep breath. Two, definitely two people moved. A shift in the energy around her and a rush of heat coming at her from left and right forced her to react and she summoned the water to rise up on both sides. A loud hiss next to each of her ears and the feel of steam on her face followed.
Then the cheers of her coven-mates.
She released the water. Did I do it?
“Well done!” Rowan yelled. “You stopped Darby and Cal’s fireballs. Fire was one of the easier types of magic to detect. One test completed. Now number two.”
Willa smiled, but didn’t let herself bask in the triumph for too long. She wondered briefly what would have happened if she hadn’t stopped the fire. Would Rowan have let her be burned? Simon could easily heal her, but, still, would her Luminary let her feel the fire? Or would Darby and Cal have pushed the balls away from her? She hoped the latter but was quickly learning that witches didn’t go easy when it came to training.
She pulled back her focus, ready for the second test. Inhale, exhale. A tremor in the energy, this time from below her. In her mind, she saw the water churning, rising. Is that what’s really happening?
She lowered to her haunches and gripped the board with one hand, while extending
“Are you ready, Willa? Any questions?”
“Can I skip this?” she asked sarcastically. Everyone laughed. She pictured the blue water below. Why do I always have to go first? “I’m ready,” she said as loud and clear as she could muster.
“Okay, focus your mind and your magic,” Rowan
instructed.
Willa took a deep breath, slightly bent her knees, and lifted her hands in front of her. Her heart thrummed in her throat, her mouth dry. She exhaled. Focus. Feel. Heat stirred around her as the magic answered her call. She thought how easy this would be for Simon, who practically had psychic x-ray vision because of his powerful Mind gift. Her skills only included having crazy dreams and seeing ghosts—neither of which could help her right now. But I have magic inside me. Come on! Focus. Feel.
The pool grew quiet except for her ragged breathing and the hum of a filter. She tried to reach out with the magic to feel for the things around her. She knew the spectator stairs were to her left, the other diving boards to her right, and, of course, the very deep water was directly below. Her coven-mates had been standing on the opposite side of the pool. Were they still there?
Willa focused and felt a tremor of response. Someone was moving.
A second later a burst of air hit her, knocking her easily from the board. She fell, tumbling, and splashed into the water. She clawed at the blindfold, kicked her legs. Blinking and sputtering, she struggled to swim to the surface. Finally, lungs painfully tight, she came up. Simon knelt at the side of the pool, hand out. She swam to him, and he lifted her out of the pool, setting her on the deck.
“Are you okay?” He searched her face as she coughed up more water.
“I guess,” she muttered. Embarrassed and shaken, Willa got to her feet. Simon held her arm for support. Rowan stepped close.
“Let’s try again,” he said.
Willa resisted the urge to scowl at him and headed back to the ladder leading up to the springboard. Looking up at the rungs, she almost couldn’t talk her legs into moving. Come on. Up! You can do this. So, up the ladder and out onto the board she went. She pulled the dripping blindfold into place. Her jeans and long sleeve Henley shirt felt like lead. She wriggled her right toes, realizing for the first time that one of her Tiffany blue Converse shoes was still somewhere in the pool. Great!
“Okay, Willa, here we go,” Rowan yelled.
Deep inhale, slow exhale. She focused her mind. No way she was falling off the board again. Let’s just get this over with, please! Pressing her teeth together, she reached out with her magic. Everything was in place, except for two people. I think. Is it two or just one?
Another deep breath. Two, definitely two people moved. A shift in the energy around her and a rush of heat coming at her from left and right forced her to react and she summoned the water to rise up on both sides. A loud hiss next to each of her ears and the feel of steam on her face followed.
Then the cheers of her coven-mates.
She released the water. Did I do it?
“Well done!” Rowan yelled. “You stopped Darby and Cal’s fireballs. Fire was one of the easier types of magic to detect. One test completed. Now number two.”
Willa smiled, but didn’t let herself bask in the triumph for too long. She wondered briefly what would have happened if she hadn’t stopped the fire. Would Rowan have let her be burned? Simon could easily heal her, but, still, would her Luminary let her feel the fire? Or would Darby and Cal have pushed the balls away from her? She hoped the latter but was quickly learning that witches didn’t go easy when it came to training.
She pulled back her focus, ready for the second test. Inhale, exhale. A tremor in the energy, this time from below her. In her mind, she saw the water churning, rising. Is that what’s really happening?
She lowered to her haunches and gripped the board with one hand, while extending
Similar Books
