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“Thanks to you and Nava, we found one. We found Niles to the south, in a cave. He barely even put up a fight when we captured him, too weak to move much.”
“Still? I would have expected his shadows to regenerate faster than that.”
“It’s possible he had no access to blood.”
Slowly, I turn on my side until I face Raúl, wincing from the spasms. “Either way. I am glad I could help. We can find the others.”
Raúl smiles at me. “You don’t need to worry about it right now. Focus on resting and getting better. Then we can have some fun.”
I close my eyes and snuggle into him. “Okay. Will you tell me a story?”
“What would you like to hear about?”
“Anything.”
Raúl launches into a tale about him and Helena’s brother, Silas, playing pranks on the kitchen staff. His deep voice washes over me, and I settle into his words, relaxing. While he talks, I decide to check my magic reserve.
I search and search, but not even the storm is there. I tremble, a profound loss settling into my heart.
He pauses when I sit up, my hand on my breastbone. “Raúl. My magic is gone.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Raúl scrunches his nose in confusion. “What do you mean? Magic is always a part of you once you have it.”
I shake my head. “No, no. It’s gone. The reserve I had is gone.”
Raúl murmurs comforting words. “It’s going to be okay.”
“No,” I say, panic raising my tone. “It won’t be. What if Airalin comes back? I won’t be able to protect you. Let alone myself.”
He chuckles. “Penny. You have no need to worry about protecting me. In fact, it is my job to protect you. I am two hundred years old. I have survived this long with mages and witches and hunters. Do you not believe I could handle one more?”
“I suppose you can.”
“Suppose it. Now, you don’t need your magic to fight. We’ve been training you. Maybe I will have Helena take over, so we can be more consistent. She is quite vicious.”
I grin, imagining Helena in a dress stabbing vampires with a sword. “Okay.”
Eventually, he has to go to a meeting and kisses me goodbye. I consider spending more time at the library, but I’d rather stay in bed. Exhaustion consumes me, and I fall asleep, wishing I knew where my magic hid.
The next time I awaken, starlight filters in through a small slit in the curtains. I sit up, immediately regretting it as pain grips my head. Closing my eyes and pressing my hand to my temple, I hold still for a second. I breathe in and out slowly, trying to calm my pounding heart. Eventually, the pain calms down. I open my eyes, then gasp and shut them again.
Slightly cracking my eyelids, my hands fly to my mouth when I see the starlight. It’s as if a million minuscule diamonds are dancing through the window.
I look at the bed, and above the sheets lay a sheen of still dust. Bringing my hands in front of my face, I see silver dusting surrounding them, tinged with gold, swirling just as the shadows did with the vampires.
After taking a deep breath, I search inside of myself for the storm. My shoulders droop when I find nothing, not even a sliver of magic. I don’t understand. I see the life essence of everything around me, but the storm holding my magic is completely gone. “Nava, my magic is gone. What happened to it?”
She crawls down my shoulder, settling on the blanket in front of me. Magic is fickle. I can see it is in you. Do not worry, it may return.
Her words comfort me slightly, although there are still too many questions in my mind to settle. Why is my magic not where I found it? When will it be back? I wish it would just return.
I decide to visit Helena. I want to apologize to her for not telling her the risks of cutting my hair. Slowly, I move my legs off the bed. I stand, but immediately sit back down when my wobbly legs threaten to collapse. I take several deep breaths, gearing up my courage before trying again. Eventually, I make it to the closet, donning a simple dress.
Painfully slow, I find my way to Helena’s quarters. My breathing is ragged when I knock on the door. Beth answers and takes one glance at me before ushering me to the sofa. I sigh with relief as I sit down, and Beth says she will find me sustenance since they only have blood.
“Why are you here instead of Carmen’s rooms?” I ask.
