He makes a noise of pure frustration, then lifts me from the tree and shoves me to the ground.
“Yes you are,” he says, and my heart jumps as he starts to climb on top of me. “Just when you get close to tapping into your core, you push it down.” He pins me between his thighs, and I’m acutely aware of the press of his body against mine. I expect to be overcome by fear, yet instead, a different kind of reaction fizzles beneath my skin.
“You’re trapped, Ana,” he says, his voice taunting. “You have nowhere to go.”
I know what he’s doing.
“Stop it,” I order. “That’s enough.”
But the smug smile on his face just widens. “You think you can escape me?” He leans forward until his body is stretched over mine, his arms bracketing my face. I turn my face away as he brings his in close.
“Come on, Ana,” he murmurs into my ear. “Let your power go. Get angry. Stop acting like the sniveling, sickly human you always thought you were.”
Leon pushes his chest against mine and I’m forced to take smaller breaths. “Leon!”
In response, he laughs, sending a shiver up my spine. Fury builds as I glare at him and he smirks down at me. He thinks he’s in control here. He thinks he can do whatever he likes to me, get whatever he wants from me. My blood warms, sending heat rushing through me, and that fury only serves to stoke the flames higher.
“Isaidget off me,” I hiss, then whip my head round as hard as I can. His face is so close that the side of my skull collides with it, smashing against his nose. He grunts, tilting away from me, and I throw my body against his weight, moving with the momentum he’s created.
We roll over, and nowI’mthe one on top ofhim. For a second, I’m still caught by the way our bodies fit together—how my ass is nestled against his hips—but then I catch the smirk still dancing on his face and bring my fists down on his chest.
“Smug, arrogant, prick!” I shout, hitting him with each word.
He reaches up and catches my wrists, and as hard as I tug, I can’t get free.
“Such ugly words from a pretty little princess,” he tuts, condescending and infuriating. The burning in my veins boils over. It’s right there, my magic, all I have to do is reach for it?—
Golden light explodes around us, enveloping the forest. I embrace it, concentrating on pushing it outward.
I wake with the power still flooding through me, a glow lighting up the barn around me. A beam is blazing across the room, from my chest right through the wall opposite.
This is my magic, I tell myself.I’m in control.
I grip the reins of the power I pushed outward moments ago, pulling it back into myself. The beam disappears, and the glow fades.
But I still feel the anger smoldering within me.
I’ve tucked my magic away for now, but my rage refuses to be checked. I feel Leon’s presence beside me. When I look up into his face, I see his satisfied expression at getting what he wanted.
“Well done,” he says, pleased. “You found it.”
I say nothing. Yes, I found my power, but I can’t feel any pleasure about that when I’m still so angry. I need to cool off, get some distance so I can calm down, but as I stand up, he stands with me.
“What, don’t tell me you’re pissed with me?” he asks.
“You didn’t have to push me so hard,” I say. I was hoping to sound composed—reasonable—but even I can hear the bitterness in my voice.
“I did what I had to,” he says. “Besides, it’s not as if you got hurt.”
“Of course,” I scoff. Why would I expect him to be even a little bit apologetic about his methods?
He frowns, looking irritated. “Do you always blame the people who try to help you? Or is that a recent development?”
I glare at him. People have been claiming to help me for years, when they’ve also been lying to me, poisoning me, and keeping me captive out of some twisted idea of what was “best” for me. Maybe Leon’s just like everyone else.
“So you were doing it for my own good, then?” I say, shaking my head. “I’ve heard that before.”
As my meaning sinks in, his eyes widen.
