28. Boshun

Since it was late, we went to bed, rising early enough to dress and go down for breakfast. We wanted to be ready to go to Jasmine's sister with the healer.

"I've been thinking about power," Jasmine said as she donned one of the dresses I'd already crafted.

"In what way?" If only I'd created additional clothing for myself. I'd placed my suit outside the door last night, and someone had taken it and returned it clean, but everyone would notice that "the prince" was wearing the same outfit as the day before. A little thing when compared to everything else, but it bothered me. If my fake identity was unveiled, they might thrust me out the front gate and lock it behind me—or toss me into the dungeon.

"We have a few minutes before we have to go downstairs," Jasmine said. "Would you tell me how to use my power? I promise I won't practice on my own, but I feel like I should at least have a basic understanding of what I'd need to do to craft spells."

"I'm not sure—"

"If I don't understand how to use it, how am I going to keep myself from accidentally casting spells? Leave it to me to give the king a second nose when I sneeze."

"It doesn't work like that."

She laid her hand on my arm. "Then tell me how it works."

"All right." Taking her hand I drew her over to the bed, and we sat on the edge. "Close your eyes." I watched until she'd done it. "Now look around you."

"With my eyes closed?" Laughter bubbled in her voice.

"You won't find power with your eyes wide open."

"I have a feeling I shouldn't be looking for magic with my eyes closed, however."

"This method is used when a witch or wizard is in early training. Once you can see the power around you, you can then be taught how to pull it in and send it back out into the world with your command."

"Is spellcasting that simple?"

"Once you can gather power and send it out, then you'll learn the right words to cast the spell. They're complex. Otherwise, someone might inadvertently do something unexpected."

"Like give the king a second nose."

I laughed. "Yes, something like that." I cleared my throat. "With your eyes closed, look for the mist. You'll find it lurking around the edges."

She frowned. "I see something."

"What color is it?"

"Deep red. Light blue. Some purple. Lots of colors."

"Amazing," I breathed.

Her eyes opened. "Amazing that I could see it so quickly?"

"That, but mostly that you're seeing more than one color. You, my lovely mate, will one day be a powerful witch."

Her smile fell. "It won't matter if I don't have you in my life, Boshun. I really don't want or need this. I just need you."

"We're going to do all we can to fix this."

With a sigh, she gave me a pert nod, her body tightening. Her eyelids slid shut again. "What do I do now?"

"Now you gently grab some of the magic and pull it inside you. Before you try, let me tell you the rest. Deep inside you, you'll find what we call a well. It's part of your soul, your core, and it will expand to hold the magic until you wish to use it. So when you tug the magic in, you need to think of yourself as a funnel with your well seated at the bottom of the chute. Urge the magic into your core and when you stop pulling it in, you want to picture a lid and place it over the top to make sure the magic can't get out until you're ready to use it."

"Hmm." Her face scrunched as she focused, and when it smoothed, I expected her to tell me she couldn't grab hold of the mist. It took me three years of trying before I could gather even a tiny bit. But a satisfied smile rose on her face, and she opened her eyes. "Done. It's swirling inside my core, and I closed the lid."

"Wait." I leaned toward her and took a sniff.

"Please tell me I don't have body odor," she said with a huff.

"Nothing like that. But . . ."

"But what?"

"You're right. You did something few can master after ten, twenty, or even a hundred tries. Magic has a certain smell, and it's swirling around you." I was stunned and incredibly proud of her.

Perhaps her being a witch wouldn't be bad after all. If I could give her a few lessons and point her to where she could learn more, she'd be able to use magic to protect herself and her sister. That might make returning to the lamp less painful.

"Let's go eat and meet up with the healer." I stood and took her hand. "And when we come back after helping your sister, we're coming back here."

"We're going to use this bed for more than magic training and sleep, right?" she asked eagerly. The grin she gave me made my heart flip over.

I tugged her into my arms and kissed her until she moaned, and my cock was on fire. Then I lifted my head. "You've got that right, little one. We've got a few things to do before the day is through, and feeling you shudder beneath me with pleasure is first on my list."