BOOK TWO: ARCANE STUDIES

I looked down at my palms, pressed flat against my bare thighs. The magic swirling inside of me, pushing against my fingertips as though it was begging to be let out. There was a small part of me, whispering seductively to do it, just release the power. How, when I had done so in the past, I felt so potent, unbound by rules or restrictions of others. The magic was an extension of me after all, and I wasn't bad, was I?

I balled my fingers ...