Ember of Hope
Chapter 76

After breakfast Tamara told her father all about Raegan’s dilemma and all of them went out to help her with the bracelet. Lilly took her hands in hers and encouraged her. “Just imagine pulling at your power inside your core and wrap it in the stone’s power. It will help you focus the stone’s energy on your magic only. Give it a try without the bracelet first. Imagine collecting all your power in a tight ball inside you”.

Raegan closed her eyes and reached for her magic. It was like a brilliant blinding light spread through every vein of her body; lighting her from the inside. She focused on her feet first and started pulling at the threads of her power. It didn’t budge at first but she didn’t give up. She pulled harder, willing it to submit to her and it gave way under her command.

She spent the next hour trying to collect every thread. But it kept slipping from her hands. She groaned and opened her eyes. “It doesn’t want to obey me. It keeps slipping from my grip; it’s too strong.”

“Raegan sweetheart take a deep breath.” Lilly said shaking her head. Tamara and her father sat at the stairs leading to their cottage. “You need to understand that this magic is a part of you and not the other way around. It’s raw power, so it doesn’t know how to behave. It’s up to you to tame it and you can do it. If it’s strong then you’re stronger. You’re just scared”. And she realized she was indeed scared… scared of hurting someone again… scared of succumbing to her power… scared of becoming another Katherine.

“I don’t know if I’m enough grandma. Wouldn’t it be better to just let Katherine bind it again?” she appealed.

“Honey no.” Lilly recoiled as if appalled by the idea. “The binding worked because your magic was dormant when you were born. But now that it has grown in its power, it will retaliate. It will eat you from the inside to get free. You have to learn to control it and you can. You just need to let go of your fear. Besides you don’t have to fear here. Tamara and I together are more than enough to handle it if it got out of control. And your grandpa can help too with his healing, that’s why I waited for him to start today”.

Lilly was being so patient with her that she was starting to feel a bit ashamed at how childish she was acting. She was right though. The fear wasn’t letting her give it her all. She needed to let go of it. She needed to master her fear in order to master her power. She nodded her head in determination. “Let’s try the bracelet again”.

She pulled her power to her core with all her might and didn’t let go until Lilly clasped the bracelet on her wrist. All hell broke loose. Her power went crazy; thrashing against the stone’s muting magic and trying to repel it with all its might. She gritted her teeth so hard she thought they’d crack. Her body locked up with how hard she was trying to contain her magic in her core, but to no avail. It got free and she fell to the ground, writhing in agony. Then everything seized and when she opened her eyes all three of them were holding her down. The bracelet was gone from around her wrist and she was gasping big gulps of air with eyes that tried to bulge out of her head.

Grandpa put a hand on her forehead and calm descended upon her broken body. She breathed a little easier. He kept pushing his healing light inside her until her body stopped trembling. She sat up and regulated her breathing. “I think I’m getting there. Let’s try again”.

“Are you sure darling? It took a lot out of you already.” Grandpa sounded worried.

“I’m sure. Don’t worry I’ll be alright. I survived a fall down a mountain, I’m sure I can survive this.” With a new determination, she got up to try again.

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It took Raegan a week of getting beat up by her own magic to tame it enough. She still felt a continuous pull of her magic against her grip like it was waiting to strike her down as soon as she so much as blink. She needed a little more time to practice but she was ready to go home. She’d do it there with Valiance.

“Mastering the witch’s bane is no small feat. And even then it takes most witches months to be able to bear it. You did it in just one week. I’m so proud of you darling, as you should be. I believe it was your love for Valiance that gave you the strength.” Lilly smiled warmly and kissed her forehead.

“I think it was all of you too. I can’t thank you enough for welcoming me in your family. I’m honored to be a part of it.” she wrapped her arms around Lilly and inhaled her warm scent. It reminded her of when her mother used to bake cinnamon sugar donuts for her.

She had packed a huge basket full of all kinds of homemade pies and cheeses and jams to send along with them. It had some of Val’s, his father’s, and Damien’s favorites too which she had labeled accordingly. For Raegan though; there was a little of everything.

Once again Lilly warned her about keeping the bracelet safe. “You can take it off if need be but I suggest you keep it somewhere hidden. It’s not always perceived as a good thing amongst many.” She seemed deep in thought, “Would you mind if I spell it so it won’t just fall off accidentally?”

“How does that work?” Raegan asked curiously.

“It’ll meld with your skin and look just like a tattoo. When you want to take it off you just need to cast a little spell that I can teach you”. Lilly explained.

“Yeah I’d love that. That way I won’t have to worry about it falling off during my training sessions”. She’d told them all about her training with Valiance and General Roth.

Lilly wrapped her hands around the bracelet on her wrist and mumbled something under her breath with her eyes closed in concentration. A faint blue light appeared under her clasped hands and Raegan felt a warm tingle on her wrist. It wasn’t unpleasant. When Lilly removed her hands; true to her words, the bracelet looked just like a golden vine tattooed around her wrist. For some silly reason she shook her hand this way and that to see if it’d fall off but it held fast. “Cool” she grinned at Lilly.

“Shall we practice the spell to remove it?” Lilly asked.

“Sure”

Lilly taught her a simple spell and made her practice several times. It was easy enough to learn and in a few tries she got it right. She knew how she could take the bracelet off but she had a feeling she wouldn’t have to do that for a long while. With it on she had just enough power to keep learning the craft and not a drop more. And she was happy with that.

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