Page 213 of A Touch of Poison
A smile dawned on his face, not sad or sardonic or even amused, but something warm and genuine. “Stars above, I think she’s got it.”
I turned my hands over, purple nails stark against my tan skin. “You think I’m making progress because I’ve found a middle ground. Venting at times, so I have control at others.” Just like Ella had said.
“Exactly. Bring it to just one finger.”
I took a deep breath and shifted my focus to the hum of magic on my skin. Instead of clawing at it all as I had when the Ascendants had attacked, I pulled on just a little, channeling it to the third finger of my right hand, where Bastian’s ring sat. The purple stain spread down from my nail.
When it reached the base of my finger, I thought hard, like when I’d pushed Kaliban from my mind,Enough.
It stopped.
“I heard that.” He winced. “A little clumsy, perhaps, but you controlled it. Try a different finger—just the first knuckle.”
I let go of the magic I’d channeled, making the stain fade before cupping more magic at the tip of my left forefinger. I tried not to shoutEnoughin my head this time, and the stain bled a little further than the knuckle, but…
“Not bad.” He nodded slowly. “Try somewhere else. What about a poisoned kiss? I’m sure that could be useful.”
I scoffed and let the magic from my finger dissipate. “You’ll have to tell me if it works.” Another deep breath and I focused on my lips.
“The perfect blackberry lipstick.” He chuckled. “I suspect as you gain experience, you might be able to do it without any colour giving you away, but I’m not sure. Everyone’s gift is different, and yours is unique.”
I touched my tingling lips and grinned back at him before letting the magic fade. “It worked. Ella was right.” For the first time since learning about my magic, I thought about it and my chest filled with something other than dread.
Now it was mine to use rather than something that used me.
“It really worked.”
“It did.” He rose, circled the table, and held out his hand. “You have control over your power.”
Swallowing, I squared my shoulders. I could trust myself to do this. I wouldn’t kill him.
Still, my heart hammered as I took his hand.
But no dark tendrils of poison spread over his skin.
He didn’t gasp or twitch in pain. He just shook my hand. “I’m Kaliban, and I’m pleased to meet you, Kat.”
A laugh burst from me, close to a sob, and my sight blurred with overflowing tears. “You’re not dead.”
Chuckling, he pulled me to my feet and into his arms. “Far from it.” He slapped my back. “I’m so proud of you.”
That was the thing that broke me, and I sobbed into my friend’s chest as he told me over and over.
“I’m proud of you.”
* * *
I returnedto the library still high on my success. Curled up in a comfortable armchair, I set to work reading the next book in my pile and practised controlling my poison. The huge space stretched on around corners and out of sight, but I hadn’t seen anyone else here today and my chair was tucked into a corner, so it was safe to experiment.
Since the space was large, with massive windows reaching to the ceiling, I tried to haze while reading the introduction, but nothing happened. With ahmm, I tried again, pulling on the magic around me, trying to push poison out through my pores.
Nothing.
The other times I’d hazed, it was either because I was losing control entirely or because I focused completely. Or, in the case of the clearing, both.
My heart squeezed, and I frowned at the page. Reading about the Underworld, the realm of death, didn’t exactly help distract me from the image of Bastian dying, his Shadowblade fading as the light in his eyes went out.
Not thinking about that.
