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“No, he will only take enough to sample. Don’t worry. You’re safe.” He squeezed my hands.

I nodded, letting him know I was ready.

The first thing I felt was a draw to Nyx—his call, I supposed. Different to the almost tangible strand of our bond that always reached for him and tethered us together. This was definitely a pull from that reserve in me. I guessed this was how we could draw on each other’s magic. Yet another way I was connected to Nyx. There felt like there were many ways now, and some were getting more physical.

The magic inside me responded to him, opening instinctively so he could draw what he needed. This bond between us was like a key to my reserve that no one else would have. I felt my power flow to him steadily and could feel it leave me, but it didn’t feel like a loss of power. My instinct told me that by sharing magic, we both stayed safe. If one was depleted, we were both at risk, so passing it to him didn’t feel like a loss.

Suddenly, a second draw pulled from that steady flow. I immediately hated it. It felt invasive. I could feel the difference between sharing magic with my other half for the good of us both and losing it entirely as the power left us.

Nyx tightened his hold on my hands, grounding me as I bore the unpleasant sensation, and I held on to his comfort, trying to stay calm as I felt my reserve draining slowly.

Just when I was starting to panic, Rakan withdrew his hand, and the drain on my magic stopped immediately. I breathed out a deep breath I was holding and sagged into Nyx’s arms.

He held me while I adjusted to the new sensation of a space inside me that was previously full. There was still power there. Plenty, actually. He had taken less than I imagined. But in the moment, the sensation had felt like a hemorrhage.

“You okay?” Nyx asked through our bond.

“I’m fine. I hated that feeling, though.” I wound my arms around him, soaking up the comfort he was offering.

“It’s not nice at first. Once you see how it refills naturally, though, you won’t mind it so much.”

I tried to straighten up, but Nyx held me to him. “Stay here a bit longer, Sol. He will be assessing for a few minutes anyway.”

“I don’t want him to think I’m a weak little girl. He’s already made it abundantly clear he’s not impressed by me.”

Nyx laughed. “Rakan isn’t impressed by anyone; ignore him. He won’t even notice I’m holding you now he’s got his sample. Let him work.”

I relaxed a little. “This is nice,” I admitted.

Nyx pulled back slightly, looking down at me. “I think that’s the first time you’ve admitted you like being near me.”

“Want me to take it back?”

He returned me to his chest. “Nope.”

After a moment, Rakan cleared his throat, and I pulled away from Nyx, turning to face him. He had his back to us, though, staring down at his notes, pouring over the texts he had open.

Nyx slipped his hand into mine.

“Her origin powers are predominantly from the Light Kingdom. I’m getting strong amplifying, enlightenment, divination.” He paused to reference something, and goosebumps rose on my skin just hearing these unbelievable things he thought me capable of. A thrill of anticipation ripped through my chest, knowing I would learn all I could about the Light Kingdom and what it meant to originate from there.

“Replenishment staples will be sunlight, fire, citrine, labradorite… There’s an interesting interaction with moonstone and black onyx for help with physical stress, so you can both replenish from those if either of you have an injury, since Nyx is a dark wielder and connects to onyx.” He continued tracing his finger down a list.

“Light wielders make excellent healers. Don’t overlook that despite it not being your calling. You can still learn things that may aid you. Divination is strong in light wielders, paired with some intuition I believe comes from a First Kingdom origin somewhere in her line. I would recommend amethyst as her origin stone. It’s native to there and enhances intuition. I’ll set up a session with Oribel to go through that with you. I also recommend some work with sacred geometry. Kiera can guide you—all that is beyond me. But the Light Kingdom uses the symbols to better effect than the rest of the kingdoms. Maybe the Goddess favors them.”

I was rendered silent by all the information, so I was relieved when Nyx spoke. “Light.” He shook his head, squeezing my hand. “Sol…the sun. I should have known.”

“Can’t say I can predict how a dark wielder and a light wielder of your strengths will meld, but it’s going to be interesting.” Rakan somehow managed to sound utterly disinterested despite his words.

“She has some First Kingdom blood in her line, you said?” Nyx sounded slightly concerned. I just watched the back and forth, hoping I could get all of this in writing so I could actually take it in later.

“Intuition is strong, so there’s definitely some First Kingdom, but she’s not a risk for dampening.”

“You’re sure?”

Rakan finally turned to look at Nyx over his shoulder. “Certain. No dampening.” He returned to his notes. “I’ll get this all recorded and submit the report, but I’m recommending that you meld before you are cleared to fly with a unit. She has a lot of power, and no experience harnessing it. The meld will give you better control, and you’ll be less of a risk to our flyers.

My stomach sank.