THIS WAS MY WEEKEND OFF from the shop. It was also the first day I was going to practice magic with Lukas. That just sounded odd. Would I ever get used to him being real? Better yet, would I ever get used to using magic?

It was still foreign to me, this whole wielding magic. I would be lying if I said I wasn't apprehensive. The fact that we were meeting at my house didn't help the spasmodic b.u.t.terflies in my stomach.

I missed the fireflies. They were so much more warm and exciting. Not this crazy, irrational fluttering in the pit of my belly. I could probably account for more than half of it due to the fact that I still hadn't talked to Gavin. He was evading me like the bubonic plaque.

Lunar and I both jumped at the sound of the doorbell. Taking a deep breath, I stood from the couch hugging Lunar in my arms. He was like a security blanket, giving me strength. You want this, I reminded myself. That I did. I definitely wanted to learn to control this gift, but I didn't realize all the people who would be involved, or the hurt I would cause.

Magic comes with a price. Well so does keeping the truth. I always was a sucky liar.

Opening the door, I was greeted by a smile that would put sunshine to shame. His dimples winked on either side of his cheeks, and his emerald eyes sparkled. He had a day's stubble on his otherwise clean shaven face. It made him look s.e.xier, and that was the last thing I needed or expected.

He had both hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. "Hey," he said rocking back on his heels.

Oh lord. I was in trouble.

His grin spoke volumes. Maybe I could steal some of his happiness. "Hey," I replied. Lunar wiggled in my arms.

"Who is this little guy?" He reached out to scratch the top of Lunar's black head.

Lunar was having none of it. He hissed in my arms extending his claws on all four paws. The sharp tiny nails dug into my arm as I squeaked in protest before putting the little booger on the floor. He promptly ran from the room. "That was trouble," I said staring in the direction he had taken off.

I moved aside letting him in the house. He brushed past me, and I felt the surge of magic. Tendrils of energy gathered at my fingertips. Apparently, I was more ready to do magic than I thought, well at least a deep part of me was. If there was one thing I was learning, it was that magic couldn't be ignored.

"Nice house," he commented, not taking his eyes off me.

Feeling more confident with the tingles coursing through my veins, I suddenly didn't feel like myself. "Should I give you a tour?"

A mischievous gleam came into his Irish eyes. "I've already seen your room."

My cheeks instantly flushed.

Oookay, that wasn't awkward much.

"Right," I replied more than a little embarra.s.sed. Clearing my throat through the tension I asked, "So what are you studying?"

His lips curled. "Can you believe I haven't declared a major yet?"

"Are you kidding? I am the queen of indecision lately."

He chuckled.

I walked into the family room, fumbling with my hands. "So umm, how did you want to do this?"

He stood in front of me so I had to bend my neck to see his face. "Tell me what you can do?"

That was easy. "Pretty much nothing."

He wasn't put off very easily. "Good, a clean slate."

That was one way of looking at it. His optimism was staggering considering who he was teaching. He must have seen the doubt in my eyes. It was evident how much self-confidence I lacked.

"Come on," he encouraged smiling. "Let's see what you got."

I looked at him blankly.

"Can you tap into the center of your energy?" he asked after he finally realized I wasn't doing anything.

That was about the only thing I could do and had practiced. I was more aware of the tingles flowing in my veins. I might not be able to always control it, but at least now I recognized it for what it was.

Magic.

I nodded. "I can almost always find it now. It's more of knowing what to do with it."

"Command it."

He made it sound so simple, like riding a bike. "Easier said than done."

"It is," he promised. "Once you know what you are doing. One of the first things I learned was levitation. Want to give it a go?"

"Why not," I said dryly.

He scanned around the room, looking for what I a.s.sumed was something safe to levitate. His gaze landed on an item sitting on the fireplace mantel. Walking in front of the stone hearth, he said. "This will work."

The item of choice was an antique gla.s.s vase. I let out a loud gasp as he plucked it off the mantel. It had been part of the house since before my grandma had lived here. No doubt it was a priceless family heirloom, and I wasn't about to play Jeanie in a bottle with it. "You've lost your mind. My aunt would kill me if I broke that."

"That's the point. It is better if the item has importance. That way there is less a chance of you fumbling the spell."

His logic sounded like utter BS to me, especially if I failed. The odds of his theory working on me were probably one in a gazillion. I had a bad feeling about this and it sat unsettled in the bottom of my stomach. Mostly it was just my nerves. I wanted so bad to be able to control this so called gift, and I was tired of the outbursts.

"You better not be wrong about this," I warned him, narrowing my eyes to slivers.

He hardly bated an eye at my not so sunny disposition. "Trust me."

Trust him. The words echoed in my head. Then there was that. Trust. How much did I really trust him? At one time I would have said indubitably. Now, I wasn't so... confident in that trust. My world was like a bowl of mashed up potatoes.

"Fine," I agreed, shoving my hands in my pocket. "The vase it is, but I am totally holding you responsible if anything happens to it."

"Deal."

I didn't like the stupid grin on his face. It was too charming. "You're sure I can do this?"

"Positive... well pretty positive."

I shot lasers at him with my violet eyes losing a notch of my a.s.surance.

"Don't worry," he rushed to add before being seared by my laser beams. "I can fix whatever goes wrong. That's a promise."

His rea.s.surance wasn't enough to smooth over my worries. Someday I was going to work on my self-confidence. Someday in the distant future, today I was going to just try and not fry my own a.s.s. "Bring it on," I said in a voice both sweet and menacing.

He smiled, divulging right into it. "I want you to put all your concentration into that vase. Then I want you to picture it moving, floating through the air towards you. Let the source of your energy guide it."

I took a deep breath, then another, and closed my eyes. Okay, all I had to do was move it to me. Easy peasy. Reaching inside to the sweet spot of magic, I welcomed the sensation that spread through me. It was amazing how just accepting what lived inside me had suddenly become such a part of me.

There were really no words to describe the feelings. It was empowerment, a perfect blend of strength and spirit. I could lose my head. Like the most potent drugs on the planet but without the addiction. It was nearly as awe-inspiring as kissing Gavin.

I felt like a different person. Well maybe not a different per se, but a super enhanced me.

I savored the awareness as it traveled through me consuming me. I could feel it coursing through me from head-to-toe. Opening my eyes, I looked into Lukas's face. He was watching me, and I could see surprise and something more shining in his emerald eyes.

He nodded his head once, encouraging me to move forward, not lose my grip. I focused intently on the very breakable crystal vase and pictured it moving into the air, floating effortlessly into my waiting, sweaty hands. With my luck it would slip right from my grasp the second I clutched it.

Nothing happened.

I tried harder. And harder. Lines of concentration stretched across my forehead. The vase didn't so much as whisper a movement. My head was starting to throb and the buildup of energy inside of me was bursting to be released, to the point that it was becoming painful.

Just as I was about to concede defeat...s.h.i.t hit the fan.

Suddenly, like the sound of a hurricane, pressure built around the walls of my house, creaking and squeaking in a funny way. Then as if it had reached its maximum, all the windows on the first floor shattered into lethal confetti. Gla.s.s rain down on us from all directions, I covered my hands over my head. Sweet Jesus please let this be a horrible nightmare. But nothing I could do or say would change what my eyes were seeing. We stood frozen. I couldn't say what was going through Lukas's head, but in mine it sounded like a string of very colorful swear words.

"Holy s.h.i.t." I was in so much trouble. How was I going to explain this to my aunt? It was bad enough that I had to patch a hole in the wall, but this...

"Maybe it would be safer if we practiced in your dreams," Lukas said, brushing diamonds of gla.s.s off his shoulders and shaking it out of his hair.

A part of me knew he was joking, trying to lighten the situation, but I was having none of it. I hadn't moved. I was too afraid to even blink. What an utter disaster.

I felt dejected.

I felt defeated.

I felt like a failure.

"Brianna," he called my name, but I was unresponsive. "Brianna!" he said again more forceful. "I can fix this." He did a wavy hand thingy, his eyes glowing like polished gla.s.s in the sun. As quickly as I had destroyed the windows, he had them repaired.

It didn't stop me from feeling like I was a danger a danger to everyone around me.

Stepping in front of me, he grabbed both my shoulders. "This isn't as bad as it looks. You think every witch doesn't have a few slips here or there? It's how we learn. We learn from our mistakes.

"I don't think I qualify as your average witch."

His lips curled. "Maybe not, but you're still allowed mistakes."

"And if those mistakes cost lives? Then what?" My cheeks heated as I argued in frustration.

He wasn't the least put off by my bad att.i.tude. "That's why you can't give up. You have got to keep practicing. You'll get it. Everything will just one day click into place."

"If I keep practicing like this, I won't have a house to live in."

He snickered. "Well it's not power you lack that's for sure. That wasn't even at full strength."

He so wasn't helping. I gave him a wry look. "Funny."

"Don't degrade yourself so easily. You can do this. Try it again," he advised, trying to keep my spirits from plummeting.

Too late. I failed. Again.

I had to be the worst witch in the history of time.

Even my crestfallen expression didn't deteriorate Lukas. "This time maybe with a little less... enthusiasm." He finally decided was the word he was looking for.

I shook my head. "It's your death sentence buddy."

"I'll take my chances on you," he said squeezing my shoulder.

I stared at him dumbfounded. So be it. Lukas had faith in me. The least I could do was try once more.

Nodding, I backed up, putting some s.p.a.ce between us. Gathering the erratic tingles inside me, I once again tried. This time I didn't put so much effort into it. I relaxed and tried not to overthink what I was supposed to do.

Then almost like a trick, it happened. The crystal vase slowly hovered in midair over the fireplace mantel. It shimmered in time and s.p.a.ce.

Hope sparked.

I could feel Lukas behind me holding his breath waiting. That made two of us. With careful precision I kept a steady hold on the energy flowing from me as it guided the precious vase across the room and safely into my slightly shaking hands.

I took a moment to wallow in pure giddiness. Warmth and pride flooded me. Putting the vase safely back in its place on the fireplace mantel, I turned and jumped into Lukas's waiting arms. "I did it!" I squealed, grinning like a fool.

He spun me in the air before putting me back on me feet. "h.e.l.l yeah. I told you. It was in you the whole time."

"That felt amazing," I gushed. It helped take my mind off other things.

Meaning Gavin.

Now that I thought his name, a tidal wave of emotions came roaring inside me. This was the kind of thing I'd imagined sharing with him. Disappointment laced through the excitement. Lukas noticed my immediate distraction. How could he not? My mind was having a hard time staying with the high of my accomplishment. It swiftly tumbled down, crashing. This strife between Gavin and I was affecting my abilities, affecting my life.

"Does your boyfriend know that I'm helping you?" he asked, interrupting my wandering mind. His warm fingers brushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen over my face.

"No," I replied, hearing the sadness in my voice. Hard to tell him when he was not talking to me. "He's not really my boyfriend, technically."

"Well you could have fooled me."

I sighed, now tired and cranky. "Sorry I'm such s.h.i.tty company right now. It's been a long week. I thought this would... help."

"It will help. What you need is somewhere to throw all the emotion you are feeling. There is no better way than in magic," he a.s.sured more pa.s.sionately than I felt.

"At least one of us thinks so. I seem to be crying more than not the last few days," I revealed with more vulnerability than I meant to. There was always something about him that made me able to pour my heart out, bleeding heart as well it seemed.