Blood and Kisses - By Karin Shah Page 0,74

set on the altar. Heath straightened his robes. He took a deep breath and raised his hands. “Ascendere.”

The pitcher floated above the glass and tipped. A measure of water poured into the glass. Then the pitcher returned safely to the altar. Not a drop had been spilled. The audience, who until this point had watched in silence, whispered to each other, clearly impressed by this example of control.

When his turn was over, Heath pulled out a handkerchief and mopped his head, the first sign he felt any strain.

The glass and pitcher were removed, and a blank piece of paper and an uncapped, felt-tipped pen were brought out and set in their place. A murmur rippled through the circle.

Thalia licked her lips. This trick was risky, but she needed to pull out all the stops if she wanted to win. “Ascendere.” Her forehead creased, and she bit her lip in concentration.

Surrounded by ribbons of blue light, the pen lifted from the table and zeroed in on the paper. Every ounce of Thalia focused on control of the pen. The murmurs had died, and the scratch of the point moving purposefully across the paper was the only sound. Finally, Thalia laid the pen to rest on the table, praying her efforts had been good enough. Mina stepped forward and picked up the paper. She held it above her head. “It says, ‘I am the Champion.’”

During the exercise, Thalia had been too centered on forming each letter to take in the whole. Now her chest filled with pride as she acknowledged the precision of each letter. The sentence had the sure flow of something written by a careful hand. Mina showed it to each member of the council. They nodded in recognition of her feat.

The council left their seats and conferred in the corner for a moment. Thalia mentally crossed her fingers. She’d done all she could. The outcome was in the council’s hands now.

While they discussed the score, Thalia took stock of her condition. She’d expended a lot of energy, more than she usually did over the course of two days, but she didn’t feel fatigued.

She glanced over at Gideon. He inclined his head, eyes dark and glinting with approval. In fact, somehow, she felt energized, though not in the same way she’d felt when he’d fed her power during their earlier skirmish with the rogue.

The council retook their seats, and Mina walked back to the altar. “The council has declared Thalia the winner of the levitation portion of the competition. We will take a short break and resume in fifteen minutes.”

Heath’s heavy brows lowered over his eyes, and his expression was dour, but he said nothing.

Thalia repressed a smile. One challenge down. Two more to go.

But who knew how long this odd surge of energy would last. The feeling might simply be a side-effect of the adrenaline coursing through her due to what was at stake.

The first part of the challenge had taken almost an hour. She hoped the illusion portion would go faster.

The break seemed interminable, but at last Mina called the gathering back to order.

Once again, they started small.

Heath conjured a simple glamour, taking on the aspect of one of the other councilmen. Thalia followed by impersonating Mina. Heath created an illusion of a raging fire, complete with heavy smoke and searing heat.

Thalia thought for moment. She needed an illusion just as sensory. The memory of her and Gideon running though the pouring rain flashed into her mind and she almost smiled.

She raised her hands and fabricated a torrent of rain that felt cool and wet. It shushed down from the ceiling with a roar, soaked their clothes, and pooled on the floor, before evaporating as if it had never been, which of course it hadn’t.

Finally, Heath created a swarm of bees. They zoomed around the room, blanketing each council member in turn, en masse. The witches and mages of the council exchanged delighted glances at the intricacy of the illusion. The sensation of fragile wings beating, tiny legs crawling on their skin, the vibration of their buzzing.

Thalia conjured a flock of hummingbirds. They darted back and forth, their iridescent bodies shining jewel bright in the candlelight, their wings a blur. They were beautiful, and the witches and mages craned their heads to enjoy their quicksilver movements, but were they enough to impress the council?

They conferred once more.

At last, Mina declared, “Heath has won the illusion portion of the competition.”

Thalia closed her eyes as she heard the results, her