Chapter Thirty-Seven

“Ugh.” A groan from behind the chair had me slapping my hand over my mouth. “Are you trying to kill me, pup?”

“I’m sorry.” I looked at my dad, but he was currently bent over, dying of laughter. “Dad?”

“Did you see how far he fell back?” Tears were trailing down his cheeks as he cackled.

“Rude.” Ronnie stood and dusted off his shirt. “The both of you are rude.”

“I really didn’t mean to do it.” I turned to my dad. “What did I do wrong?”

“Well, for one thing, you definitely weren’t thinking about the size of the wisp. All your power rushed to fulfill your wish, and it was as big as it could get.” My dad wiped his eyes, and his laughter finally trailed off. “But Ronnie, you know it doesn’t cause harm.”

“I know, but I have never seen one that big, and it scared the shit out of me. Sue me.” Ronnie settled back into the chair.

“Try to picture it the size of a softball.” My dad motioned me to try again.

I closed my eyes. “Iccas lumin torcanta.” I pictured the light a lot smaller than before, and when I peeked out of one eye, the light floated silently above my upturned hand.

“Perfect.” My father clapped as Ronnie got up and came closer to me, while my eyes were glued to the light. I was doing this. This was my power. It shone silver and bright. “Now I want you to toss it up in the air, play with it. Focus on the light and what you can do with it.”

So I followed his instructions. I tossed it up in the air, almost as if I was playing with a ball, and the light followed my command. Ronnie had his nose buried in my neck, and if it was any other man, I might have felt uncomfortable, but this was my uncle.

“Are you having Nix watch the power going to your scent?” Ronnie pulled back and asked.

It was Megan and Nix together, but I nodded. “Yeah. That way, I could focus on this.” I tossed the ball in the air again. Then I focused on making it smaller, then brighter, and each time the light responded to my intentions.

“Well, it’s working perfectly. You might have an issue with having Nix watch it constantly, but even earlier, when the light was enormous, there wasn’t a hint of your original scent.” Ronnie nudged his forehead against mine. “Proud of you, pup.”

“Thanks, Uncle Ronnie.” I turned back to my father, and he was excited.

“This is promising. Now we can spend the rest of the time practicing other spells. When we aren’t working, though…” My father trailed off and looked a little pained.

“What’s wrong?”

“I know the book is yours, as it was intended for you… but…” My dad looked sad.

“You can take it every night until I leave and copy it into yours.” I offered a solution. I knew I would have to take the book with me, but this way, we both could have a version of the book.

My father looked a little dumbstruck. “That would be amazing.”

“You didn’t think of that, did you?” Ronnie poked out a finger. “Why is your daughter smarter than you?”

“She gets her brain from her mother.” My dad grabbed the original book and his.

“You sure?”

“Of course.” But I grabbed his arm. “But you have to make me a promise. One you won’t break.”

“Of course, Amy.” My dad had this quizzical look on his face.

“I want you to only have the book in your room. And you can only work on it when you are alone. If anyone shows up or knocks, you put it away in your safe before you open the door.”

“Okay. But why?”

“Aurora.” My dad looked a little dazed when I said her name, but then shook it off. Then Loki took over his eyes. “Don’t worry, pup, I will promise you. The witch has no power over me.”

“Then will you do the work for him, so there are no chances?”

“Anything for you, pup.” Loki leaned over and kissed my cheek. “You smell like my pup, but not. I don’t like it.” I smiled up at him.

“I don’t like it either, but I have to do it.” He nodded, and then I watched as he receded and my father was back. “Loki said he will work on your books for you, so that whatever is messing with you won’t allow you to break your promise.”

My father looked a little hurt, but then he nodded. “It’s smart. He doesn’t seem to have any issues ignoring Aurora’s advances.”

“Exactly.” I kissed my father’s cheek. “Try to be fast. I still need to figure out what the heck is wrong with you.”

“We’ll work as fast as we can.” I nodded and turned to leave. “Wait. One more thing."