Chapter Nine
Several exploded bits of dishware still littered the floor as Rowan and Sera sat with perfectly heated cups of tea. “It’s looking like your power has increased nearly a hundred-fold, Rowan. This is going to take a lot of time and effort on your part to learn how to use your magic all over again without hurting yourself – or others.”
“I’ve been so accustomed to just pushing heat into a mug to warm my coffee or tea, that I expected a little effort would be needed. Now I just have to wrap my hand around it and think that it should be warmer. No spell involved. This is going to take a lot more work than I expected.”
“As my much smaller mug collection can attest,” Sera said with a laugh. “No, don’t worry. They were thrift shop finds or leftovers from people moving in and out. This was a good use for them.”
Sera’s smile faded and she looked at Rowan. “You will need to go back to the basics and relearn everything in regards to how much power and effort it takes you to do things. And you’ll need to practice. I heard about the fight with Blakely, and if that happened today? You’d kill her with one blow. Dead. No coming back. Even shifters can’t heal from a magical killing blow.”
Rowan’s face paled and she put the cup of tea down with a shaking hand. “I hadn’t thought about that. I really need to just not be around people until I get a grip on this.”
“No, I don’t think that’s the best answer, but maybe bring Cade with you to your training sessions for a while? He’s a stronger witch than I am, and his natural gift is sensing power levels. He could feel that you were stronger than you presented, and he wasn’t sure if you were consciously hiding it, or if something was holding you back. Now we know it was something holding you back. If you are putting too much power into something, he can tell you.”
“Like a human magic meter?” Rowan asked with a chuckle. “I guess that could be helpful. Are you sure you want him around me?”
“I trust you and I trust my son. If he feels out of his depth, he’ll let me know.” Sera took a look around the lab. “Let’s finish cleaning this up and try a few of the basic exercises and see how you do. Maybe another hour or so before you go get something to eat and rest. Sound like a plan?”
“Sounds good to me,” Rowan replied as she got up and picked up a metal bucket. “I’ll hold and you fill? I don’t dare yet. I might turn it into shrapnel and tear the bottom out of the bucket.”
Sera gave a wry chuckle. “You’re not wrong.” A swirl of her hand and Sera had the debris lifting up in a funnel of air and slowly filling the bottom of the bucket with the bits and pieces. “Now, let’s do the very basic tasks of lighting a candle, encouraging a plant to grow, moving water from one container to another, and so on.”
By the time the hour had passed, Rowan felt like she’d gone ten rounds with Magnus. Her limbs felt rubbery and her brain was fogged. The lab looked like a herd of five-year-olds had gone wild in the space, with scorch marks on the table, dirt and plant leaves on the floor, and water splashed on ceiling, walls, table, and floor.
“Go. Drink this bottle of water and go sleep. You can eat after you rest,” Sera told her as she pushed a bottle of water into Rowan’s hand and gently nudged her toward the door.
“But it’s a mess, I should help you clean it up.”
“No, I’ll handle it. Won’t take me but a few minutes. Go. Get to your bed before you fall on your face.”
Rowan went.
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