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"Practice We go outside where on’t blow anything up, and start trying things to see orks Eventually, you’ll get the hang of it"
"Eventually isn’t good enough I’ll just have to push myself until I’m able to do whatever it takes to save Nika"
Paul wasn’t about to let her hurt herself, but the idea of her needing hiht If she needed him, she’d stay with him
"I won’t make you any promises, but we’ll do e can"
She turned and looked at him with a kind of frantic desperation "This has to work, Paul It just has to"
At that moment, Paul knew the truth If Nika died, Andra would, too She’d never be able to forgive herself or let go of the pain and ether If Paul wanted her to live, then he had to find a way to save Nika
So that hat he’d do No ht The house was situated along one side of a cornfield, tucked back behind a clump of tall trees and thick scrub She couldn’t see the road frolow in the distant sky that she guessed belonged to Oe of the corn His hand arm and solid, and she held on to it like a lifeline If this failed
It couldn’t fail This had to work
"So, what do we do?" she asked
"First, you have to get a feel for drawing on the power inside y and you can siphon off as et to it?"
He slid one finger over the band around her throat "The luceria connects us" He held up his hand and showed her theinto your necklace"
Andra could almost see it happen as he explained it It was as if she had been born with the instinctive knowledge of what to do, and that knowledge was just noaking up inside her
"Try soround "Try to light this on fire"
"How?"
"Close your eyes and relax"
Andra did, and felt his bodybehind her His voice was quiet in the darkness, flowing over her skin like a breeze Crickets chirped all around theh the cornfield She could sround, feel Paul’s strong body pressing close against her back
His hands stroked her ar of her heart The skin of his palht," he said against her ear "You’re doing great Noant you to focus on the luceria Feel the weight of it against your skin, the warmth of it as it holds your body’s heat close"
She did She could feel that and so ave off a subtle vibration so faint she hadn’t noticed before It was as if the necklace were shaking--about to burst with energy
Andra’s y, and like a shock of static, it gave her a sharp jolt She jumped back frohtened on her arms and held her in place "It’s a lot, I know I’ to hurt a little"
Like losing her virginity Best to just grit her teeth and get it over with so she could get on to the good part
Andra y one more time She braced herself for the shock, and this time it wasn’t so bad She accepted the pain and let it flow over her, let it fill her up
"Good Now let go of it Let the power out so it can burn the stick"
Andra wasn’t exactly sure how to do that, but she figured she’d better get her aie their toes
She looked at the stick and i out a beam of heat with her eyes
That wasn’t even close to what happened There was no beam and the stick didn’t burst into flames, but it did start to s her feel lighter
Victory surged through her and she jumped with the thrill of it, only to find that on the way back down, her legs could no longer hold her up
Paul’s thick arround "Easy, now"
Andra’s head spun a bit and her body felt watery, but she’d still done it She’d tapped into a source of power that ht save Nika
Paul held her in his lap as if she were dainty enough to fit, which made her smile She’d never met a man who made her feel as feminine as he did She’d worked out and packed on ht the monsters, not because she enjoyed it In fact, it would be kinda nice not to have to puhting chance at survival With Paul and his deadly sword around, maybe she wouldn’t have to
It was just three days, she re all excited over changing her lifestyle just because aabout to Nika needed her
"Let’s go again," said Andra
"Give yourself a minute," he said as his thumb slid over her arm
His touch felt nice Maybe too nice She was alht and let hi Nika? Sure as hell it wasn’t Madoc
"I’o," she told him "What’s next?"
"How about I teach you to see in the dark?"
"I’d rather learn how to help Nika"