“Cash, Val, Aurelia, and probably Arion are all watching this room.” Malcolm shook his head and dropped his chin. “Probably Mavros, too.”
I grabbed his shirt sleeve and twisted him around. “Then let’s go before I pee my pants.”
As soon as we stepped into the hallway, Diana and Olivia came to attention. Diana strode toward me, and Malcolm held his hand out, effectively stopping her. She stood on her tiptoes, looking over his shoulder at me. “We need to discuss the demon.”
“Not today.” The warning in Malcolm’s voice was evident. “Not tomorrow either.”
“I don’t know how long I can keep this from the council.” Diana glanced at Olivia, and Olivia pretended to zip her mouth closed.
I pulled my lip into my mouth. “Sorry.” I darted down the hall. “I really have to pee.” I walked into the bathroom and stared into the mirror. Relief spread through me when I saw that my eyes were still green. I slumped against the sink and pulled my hand through my hair. Taking a deep breath, I walked back out into the hall.
Malcolm raised a single eyebrow at me. “Forget to flush?”
“Yeah.” My shoulders slumped.
He stopped moving and wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, massaging it. “What’s going on?”
“When I took control of my powers, I pictured them as a serpent.” I looked down the hall at Olivia and Diana, but they didn’t seem to be listening.
He followed my gaze. “They can’t hear us.”
“In my dream, my powers were corrupted. The snake … it was dark, menacing.” I closed my eyes. “It attacked me …”
“And, you became like it.” He finished for me. “So, why the act?”
I kicked at the ground. Lying was something I hated to do, but with my powers, sometimes it was necessary. I shouldn’t have lied to him, though. “I wanted to make sure I was still myself.” I pointed at my face. “My eyes are still green. The serpent’s were as black as night.”
“No magic.” He stared at me, making sure I was paying attention. “None. Not for a week or more.”
“A week?” My voice cracked. “The fairies said a few days.”
His face was stony. “A week. If there was even a possibility that was a premonition, we’re stopping it now.”
I nodded and slunk down the hall past Olivia and Diana.
“Okay?” Cody asked when I walked in.
“Sure.” I shrugged. “As long as nothing tries to attack me for at least a week.” I lay down beside him.
“What?”
I waved my hand at Malcolm. “He can tell you.” I kissed Cody’s cheek. “Goodnight.”
D
Sunday morning, I lay on the couch, snuggling with Cody. I’d been awake for an hour or more, but I wasn’t ready to let go of him. I’d gone to fight Argentum yesterday, expecting not to come back. I’d thought I’d held Cody for the last time.
Somebody knocked on the door, and I huffed, preparing to roll off the couch.
Malcolm chuckled. “I got it. It’s Cash.”
“If I could use my powers, I might’ve known that.” My words were mumbled, but I was sure he heard them.
As soon as the door opened, Cody sat up, taking me with him. The smell of warm cinnamon rolls wafted into the room. “You brought breakfast.”
“I thought you might be hungry.” Cash handed the box to Cody.
He grabbed it greedily. “Always.”
“Thanks.” I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to it than just being nice. The only times any of the dragons had delivered food to us was when we were hiding out in the cave.
Cash sat down in Cookie Monster and studied me. I set my roll down. I hated when people watched me eat. Staring back at him, I said, “What?”
“How are you doing?” He stared into my eyes, and I wondered if I should be concerned about the color of them. Were there black flecks in my irises, or were they still the same green they’d always been?
I shrugged. “All right. As far as I know, nobody is trying to kill me right now. It’s been a while since I could say that.”
Malcolm folded his arms along the back of the couch and leaned on them. The beads on the ends of his braids clicked together, and for the first time, I realized he must use magic to keep them silent when he wanted to go unnoticed. “I need to get out—” he grinned at me “—stretch my wings.”
“Literally or figuratively?” I asked.
“Both.” He pointed at my breakfast. “Eat, and don’t go anywhere until I get back.”
I rolled my eyes at him before ripping a gooey strip off and shoving it into my mouth. “Fly. Be free.” I waved my hand at him, and he chuckled.
To Cash’s credit, he tried not to make it too obvious that he was watching me. He leaned his head against the back of the chair, closed his eyes most of the way, and spent most of the morning surveying me through his lashes.
My power grew, filling every empty place inside of me, begging for release. I’d conditioned myself to use my magic to build my stamina, and now I fought to tamp it down. I paced behind the couch. I did jumping jacks, push-ups, and planks. I ran in place, did lunges, and tried several yoga moves. The energy surged.
“Dacia”—Cody reached up and grabbed my hand—“what’s going on?”
I crumpled onto the couch beside him. “How’m I gonna go a week when I can’t even get through one day.”
“What do you mean?” Cash jumped up. He knelt in front of me and held my face between his hands, staring into my eyes. “You didn’t use it, did you?” He didn’t even give me a chance to suck in a breath before saying, “Did you?”
“No.” I shook my head. “No.”
He rocked back, letting go of me. “What then?”
I looked down at my hands. Power
