her arms folded over her chest and a pout on her lips.
"Transport with me to the Presidio - to the area by the eucalyptus grove. I want to try something."
Annalise grabs at my arm. "Lark, no. It's too dangerous for you to be roaming around alone."
"I'm not alone. I have Kyra, one of the best guards I know."
I tap my wristlet and beam money to Annalise. "Pay for the dress and meet us at home."
"This isn't wise."
Kyra and I ignore Annalise and transport in the dresses.
When I land, the fresh scent of earth fills my nose. How I love that smell, and what I wouldn't give to be out farming right now rather than chasing down magical theories.
"What's up?" Kyra asks.
"That attack move you did on Eamon, can you teach it to me?"
"Sure. You just move your hands like this." She flips her hands to palm side up and curls her fingers inward. "Then you imagine sparks radiating from each finger tip, striking each person in the chest. It knocks them down every time."
"Do you think it will work on trees?"
"That's how I learned."
"Perfect." Bitterness fills me. At Summer Hill, I was encased and couldn't do magic, and as a child, no one thought to explain to me what I was.
"Ready?" Kyra asks.
I copy her stance and take aim at a nearby tree. When I unfurl my fingers the tree groans and splits, but doesn't fall over.
"Don't worry about it, Lark. It took me forever to get it."
I nod my head. "Okay, this time I'm going to do something different. I'm going to try to tap into your magic."
"You're going to do what ?" Kyra says in shock.
"Just watch. It won't hurt you."
I focus on Kyra's energy, and draw it into my core. Once I'm sure I have it contained, I release the magic.
Six trees topple over.
"Oh!" Kyra's deep brown eyes are huge. "Look what you did!"
It worked. I somehow drew her magic to me and made it my own.
A grin dances on my lips. If what Annalise believes is true, I have unlimited powers.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
My euphoria is short-lived.
As soon as I arrive home, I remember I'm nothing but a pawn and have been since the day I left school. No, scratch that. I've been a pawn since the day I was born. I've been groomed, prodded, and coached on how to be the perfect Stateswoman while Mother simultaneously used me to strengthen herself.
I was to be the ultimate weapon: an unstoppable force of magic. That is, if Mother didn't take my powers for herself.
Sigh. Between Beck and Annalise, and who knows whom else, I have been lied to too many times in the past few days.
Too many.
Why would Annalise omit that Kyra rushed to my aid during the attacks and was captured? Did she really think I wouldn't find out? And second, does Beck think I'm so obtuse that I wouldn't catch him in his lies about Ryker?
So many secrets, and now I'm the keeper of them all. I just don't know what any of them mean.
"Find Beck," I say into my wristlet. As angry as I still am about his knowledge of Ryker, I have to keep up appearances. It's going to be a real test of my self-control, but I'm up to it.
"In the front room," my wristlet says.
I tiptoe through the open door. He's asleep on the sofa with a tablet on his chest.
What would un-mad Lark do? I ask myself. She'd pounce on him playfully.
I creep closer to the sofa on tiptoes, until I'm standing right over Beck. I gently remove the tablet. and he doesn't stir.
"Gotchya," I say, jumping on him and pushing my face into his neck. I plant little kisses along his collarbone.
His arms wrap around me. "Hiya, Birdie." His groggy greeting is both cute and funny, and I find myself more at ease and less angry. "How did dress shopping go?"
"Great. It only took two hours to find a dress that both Annalise and Kyra approved of and that I actually like."
I shift so that I'm lying on my side stretched out next to him. With my free hand, I trace tiny circles up and down his back. "I learned something interesting today."
"Uh huh," Beck says, with his eyes closed. Laying like
"Transport with me to the Presidio - to the area by the eucalyptus grove. I want to try something."
Annalise grabs at my arm. "Lark, no. It's too dangerous for you to be roaming around alone."
"I'm not alone. I have Kyra, one of the best guards I know."
I tap my wristlet and beam money to Annalise. "Pay for the dress and meet us at home."
"This isn't wise."
Kyra and I ignore Annalise and transport in the dresses.
When I land, the fresh scent of earth fills my nose. How I love that smell, and what I wouldn't give to be out farming right now rather than chasing down magical theories.
"What's up?" Kyra asks.
"That attack move you did on Eamon, can you teach it to me?"
"Sure. You just move your hands like this." She flips her hands to palm side up and curls her fingers inward. "Then you imagine sparks radiating from each finger tip, striking each person in the chest. It knocks them down every time."
"Do you think it will work on trees?"
"That's how I learned."
"Perfect." Bitterness fills me. At Summer Hill, I was encased and couldn't do magic, and as a child, no one thought to explain to me what I was.
"Ready?" Kyra asks.
I copy her stance and take aim at a nearby tree. When I unfurl my fingers the tree groans and splits, but doesn't fall over.
"Don't worry about it, Lark. It took me forever to get it."
I nod my head. "Okay, this time I'm going to do something different. I'm going to try to tap into your magic."
"You're going to do what ?" Kyra says in shock.
"Just watch. It won't hurt you."
I focus on Kyra's energy, and draw it into my core. Once I'm sure I have it contained, I release the magic.
Six trees topple over.
"Oh!" Kyra's deep brown eyes are huge. "Look what you did!"
It worked. I somehow drew her magic to me and made it my own.
A grin dances on my lips. If what Annalise believes is true, I have unlimited powers.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
My euphoria is short-lived.
As soon as I arrive home, I remember I'm nothing but a pawn and have been since the day I left school. No, scratch that. I've been a pawn since the day I was born. I've been groomed, prodded, and coached on how to be the perfect Stateswoman while Mother simultaneously used me to strengthen herself.
I was to be the ultimate weapon: an unstoppable force of magic. That is, if Mother didn't take my powers for herself.
Sigh. Between Beck and Annalise, and who knows whom else, I have been lied to too many times in the past few days.
Too many.
Why would Annalise omit that Kyra rushed to my aid during the attacks and was captured? Did she really think I wouldn't find out? And second, does Beck think I'm so obtuse that I wouldn't catch him in his lies about Ryker?
So many secrets, and now I'm the keeper of them all. I just don't know what any of them mean.
"Find Beck," I say into my wristlet. As angry as I still am about his knowledge of Ryker, I have to keep up appearances. It's going to be a real test of my self-control, but I'm up to it.
"In the front room," my wristlet says.
I tiptoe through the open door. He's asleep on the sofa with a tablet on his chest.
What would un-mad Lark do? I ask myself. She'd pounce on him playfully.
I creep closer to the sofa on tiptoes, until I'm standing right over Beck. I gently remove the tablet. and he doesn't stir.
"Gotchya," I say, jumping on him and pushing my face into his neck. I plant little kisses along his collarbone.
His arms wrap around me. "Hiya, Birdie." His groggy greeting is both cute and funny, and I find myself more at ease and less angry. "How did dress shopping go?"
"Great. It only took two hours to find a dress that both Annalise and Kyra approved of and that I actually like."
I shift so that I'm lying on my side stretched out next to him. With my free hand, I trace tiny circles up and down his back. "I learned something interesting today."
"Uh huh," Beck says, with his eyes closed. Laying like
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