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It was nearing midnight. She supposed it was time to turn in for the night, but the grimoire right beside the clock was mocking her. She only had ten more days with it. Didn’t she want to know the secrets it held?

She sighed and slid it onto her lap, relaxing against the collection of pillows littering her bed.

Even with Kin’s and Dew’s explanation on how to navigate the book, Rowan didn’t have enough Coven history knowledge to figure out where certain entries should appear. So, still unsure, she opened it to the middle page.

This time it was an entry on how to get the most juice out of the eye of newts to get the best quality potions. She flipped the pages, finding that none of them had the feel of secret ancient knowledge she had assumed the pages would hold.

“Were you only meant to show Kin the relationship between shifters? Why would the Elder give you to me and not him?” She questioned out loud, “Am I supposed to be researching a secret code she’s left? Or is this really a show of good faith between theCoven and me? I feel like I’m losing a hold of myself. I don’t even know how to use my power properly.” She shook her head and turned the page, and then she stared.

There was a diagram of chakras neatly labeled. Underneath the diagram there were instructions.

Now that you’ve determined which chakra points will put out your highest quality of magic, try using two at the same time. Some have found it helpful to envision push buttons at the chakra points they are intending to use, which they then try to press at a set rhythm of an eight count every second pressing a different button.

After you get a hang of two at a time, check back with me to see what’s next.

No way.

She cocked her head to the side and shrugged. Would it really hurt to try?

Chapter 16

The morning was warm in the desert oasis the cabin had landed Rowan in. Though Alessandro could enter, as he had the cabin’s permission, his fight with his dragon to stay standing there until she woke up was costing more than half of his concentration. If he went inside, he might as well shed his clothes to save them time.

It was a dangerous thing for the Dragon King to have so much of his concentration focused on one thing, especially as he was on high alert for intruders on his land.

Fucking pathetic.

It was what she had driven him to. He should have killed her as soon as he realized she had him acting in contradiction to his sane side. But he’d been weak.

He crossed his arms, gaze steady on the front door, waiting for her to exit. She could phase out within the confines of the house, but as long as he could still feel her magic present in the house, he would stay planted on the beach.

Except, he only could contain himself for another two minutes before he phased into her room. Cursing as he gathered his magic, he swore to tell her what he needed to, give her the material he’d gathered from Draconis’ library and then leave.

His plans flew out the window as he came upon the mass of vines and black and orange flowers that erupted from the pot he had given her.

The woman herself was curled in bed around the vines, reminding him of how she had clung onto him and he had to shake that image away before temptation could send his plans to the endless hells.

He cleared his throat and watched with amusement as she shot to her feet, a dagger he hadn’t seen nearby in her grip. She stopped mid swing once she realized who it was and her eyes lit up with recognition.

“Alessandro.” She fell back to bed. “Give me like five more hours, okay?”

An unbidden smile pulled at the corner of his lips. She wasn’t showing any signs of trauma or fear after he had revealed a portion of his true face. The smile fell off as soon as he remembered what his objectives were, and he stiffened again. “Princess Rowan, I have some things we need to discuss.” He tried to use his commanding voice, but she was busy pushing thevines away from where she slept and curling back into a nest of blankets and pillows to pay it any mind.

“Princess Rowan? Discuss?” Her head poked out of the blanket cocoon she had made for herself.

“Yes. I’ve brought you this. Obviously, you’ve figured most of it out yourself, but there are a few more tips and tricks inside.”

Her eyes were heavy with sleep, but she seemed attentive enough for him to present her with a binder he had stayed up all night working on.

She reached out and traced her name on the cover, a soft smile playing at her lips. “Are you breaking up with me before we even really start?”

He raised an eyebrow, unsure if she was just messing with him or if that was how she really felt. “I know I owe you a favor for you stepping in to help us, but this is the best I can do under the current circumstances.”

“Yeah. I understand.” She turned her gaze up to him. “Are they okay, your dragons?”

Startled by the question, he said, “Yes, a bit concerned about the future, but we will persevere.”

Rowan nodded and held her finger up before she took off into another section of the cabin. Alessandro waited in his designated spot, afraid that if he moved he would do something foolish like give into the desire to chase her down and mark her there and then.