Page 81 of Found in Obscurity

Kit reached for it instinctively, joining their fingers together and tracing the outline reverently. Lorin let him for a few moments before he grasped Kit’s hand and moved it closer to his mouth, breathing an incantation into it quietly with his eyes closed.

“My intent is pure;

my intent is clear.

Fire, water, air, and wind,

my intent is true.

Feel my magic;

bless it back to me times three.”

He repeated it three times before Kit felt a surge of magic in his chest, like Lorin was pushing it directly at him for once instead of him feeling it as an aftershock on the periphery. Hesucked in a breath, closing his own eyes as it rushed through him.

“Did it work?” Lorin asked quietly.

Kit could only nod.

“It’s a temporary spell. It doesn’t do a lot. Teenagers used to use it before exams—that’s where I picked it up. It’s the only thing that works quickly to give a little magic kick without ingredients. It’s like taking an energy drink,” Lorin said quietly.

It felt like it too, fizzy and bubbling in his blood. He chased the zing of it around his body, unable to grasp a full hold. He could already feel it dissipating slowly.

Kit felt the sofa sink next to him. Their hands stayed interlocked.

“Kit?”

Kit fluttered his eyes back open and found Lorin staring earnestly at him.

“You okay?”

Kit nodded, feeling the beginnings of a giddy smile form on his face. He hid his mouth behind his free hand, wishing he could laugh with joy but not wanting to risk it.

Lorin smiled back at him like he was sharing the joy, looking more hopeful than he’d ever seen him. “We can figure this out, Kit. This is so huge.”

Kit nodded shakily. It was almost too much to believe. In his euphoria, he leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to Lorin’s mouth. Well, approximately. He missed slightly, hitting the corner of his lip and chin. It still shot a burst of serotonin straight into his brain like a starburst though.

There. We’re even, he thought as he pulled back. He pressed his guilty lips together innocently, eyes wide and guileless to hide the mischief lurking beneath.

Lorin seemed frozen solid, and Kit smothered another giggle that wanted to surface, reaching across Lorin and grabbing histea while Lorin recalibrated. He didn’t want it to go to waste, and how else was he going to get his throat well enough to laugh at Lorin’s stupidly cute face.

Chapter seventeen

Lorin

Life had newfound appeal.With a working theory that actually seemed to have some basis in fact, Lorin and Kit—especially Kit—were rushing ahead toward a solution.

It finally felt within reach.

The push and pull of magic actively seemed to affect whether Kit was forced to shift or not. They’d caught it a few times, enough that Lorin was confident this was the answer.

The weather had taken a turn for the worse, in contrast to their happy mood. Heavy snowfall had come in overnight, laying a soft blanket over the world. Lorin’s grandma had dropped them off some supplies early that first morning before it got too bad and stayed long enough to hear the latest breakthrough. She’d given Lorin some advice and dug out some books from the magic room—one on meditation to open magical pathways and one on simple spells to use in everyday life.

The more magic Lorin used, the more it could help Kit.

She’d left before the car got snowed in.

It had been a few days since then, and Kit had managed to stay human on and off for about half that time. Lorin wasn’t used to pushing his magic toward anyone, and when the magical exhaustion got to be too much, Kit was open to shift back.