Chapter 142 Magic and Plans - Adele's POV

Chapter 142 Magic and Plans - Adele's POV
I stared at my hand in disbelief, afraid to move. The light continued to pulse beneath my skin, faint at first, but growing brighter with every second. Tiny sparks danced across my fingers before disappearing into my palm.

I didn't understand. My magic was gone. At least, that was what I had believed.

When I was old enough to understand, the others told me that I was cursed and that I had no magic. I would never have any. That was just how I was born. 

A witch without magic was…well, treated horribly as I was. 

I swallowed hard, slowly turning my hand over and watching the glow move across my palm. This was magic.

"How is this possible?" The words were barely a whisper.

I pressed my other hand against it, expecting the sensation to disappear. It didn't. The moment my fingers touched my palm, the sparks jumped between them. I gasped and pulled my hand away.

My heart was pounding so hard that I could hear it in my ears.

I looked toward the door. Corwin was gone, and the guards were outside, so no one knew.

I didn't know why that thought frightened me so much.

I had spent years believing I had no magic. I had never needed to hide it because there was nothing to hide.

But now... Now I did.

I moved away from the window and looked around the room. The black stone walls seemed to close in around me. I had no idea what was happening.

I didn't know if my magic had returned because of the mark or because of the castle or because of something else entirely. I didn't know if Corwin knew it was possible, and I didn't know if he had brought me here because he knew something about me that I didn't.

The thought made my stomach twist.

I looked down at my hip. The mark had been quiet until now. It was burning behind the fabric of the dress as if something was lighting it on fire.

I pressed my hand against it. The moment I did, the light in my other hand vanished.

I froze. Slowly, I lifted my hand away from the mark. The glow returned.

My breath caught. I stared between my hand and my hip, trying to understand what was happening. Then the mark burned again.

I gasped and stumbled backward, my hand flying away from it. The pain was gone almost immediately.

I stood there, breathing heavily.

“What in the world is going on?”

I tried to remain calm. If I didn’t and Corwin returned, then he would know something happened. The last thing I wanted was for him to realize I had my magic.

I forced myself to take a breath and looked at my hand again. The glow was still there.

It was weaker now, barely more than a faint shimmer beneath my skin, but it hadn't disappeared completely. I curled my fingers into a fist, as though I could somehow hide the light from the walls themselves.

My magic had returned. I didn't know how or why. And I certainly didn't know what I was supposed to do about it. I didn’t know how to use it.

For years, I had dreamed of having magic. When I was younger, I begged for it. I had watched the other witches practice and wondered what it would feel like to have something inside me that made me powerful instead of weak.

Eventually, I stopped wishing for it. I had accepted that I was different. That I was broken.

That there was nothing inside me. But now there was. I slowly opened my hand again. A tiny spark jumped from my palm to my fingertip.

I stared at it and smiled. If I could do this, then what else could I do?

I didn’t know, and that was a problem. If I didn’t know how to wield it appropriately, then I could harm myself or worse.

I held my hand up closer to my face, studying the faint light beneath my skin. It seemed to move with my heartbeat, growing brighter whenever my pulse quickened before dimming again.

I took a slow breath.

"Okay," I whispered. "Don't panic."

The magic flickered, making me frown.  "That wasn't helpful."

Another spark jumped between my fingers. I couldn't help but smile again.

I had no idea what I was doing, but I had something.

That realization sent a strange warmth through my chest. For the first time, I didn't feel completely helpless. Corwin had taken me from my home. He had separated me from Craven. He had brought me to a castle filled with vampires who probably wanted to kill me so I would never be queen.

I looked toward the door. Perhaps I could use it to escape.

The thought came so quickly that I almost laughed at myself. Escape where?

I was surrounded by vampires. I had no idea where I was in the castle, let alone how I would get past the guards. Even if I somehow managed to leave the room, I would still have to get through the castle and make it down those cliffs.

Then there was the sea. I didn't know how far I would have to swim before I reached anything or if I would even make it anywhere. The sea was filled with creatures just like the Isle. They would devour me whole.

I looked back at my hand. I didn't even know if I could use my magic for anything more than making a few sparks dance across my fingers.

I needed to learn. But how?

There weren’t many books on the shelves, and those that were had nothing to do with magic. They were all about vampires and their past. I think I knew every name who had ruled this kingdom. Not that there were many since they lived on endlessly.

Still, I had nothing except those books. There weren’t any witches around that I was aware of. Unless Corwin kept them hidden somewhere else. Of course, I wouldn’t know because I was never allowed to leave his room.

I huffed. “Well, this is just great. I have magic and can’t even do anything about it.”