“Oh, my God! Did I do that?”

Of course I had.

Jackson rubbed his hands down the sides of his jeans. “It happens. You’ll learn control.”

I rushed over and checked the displays. There was a small angel missing from one of the shelves. My heart sank. I would have to tell Ruby what happened and pay for the damage.

I needed to be more careful with my emotions. Learning control was so much harder than I thought it would be. Going home was getting further and further from my reach when it was supposed to be getting closer each day.

Some items started moving on the shelves and I clamped down on my emotions and thought about something else.

Jackson reached a hand toward me, then dropped it. “It’s okay. Just relax. You got this.”

I wanted to tell him to go away and leave me alone, but I had to think of a nice relaxing stream and the sound of magpies singing to distract me.

Once I felt like I had control of myself, I trudged out to the office and grabbed the dustpan and broom to clean up my mess.

As I was sweeping, Jackson piped up and said that when I learned to control my magic, I would be able to use it to clean up things like broken glass.

I shook my head. “Not here where Normals can see me through the shop windows.”

“That’s true, but you will learn it and can use it in private.”

That would be an awesome ability, but I wasn’t in the mood to daydream about what I would be able to do once I learnt control. I only wanted to focus on getting it done and getting home to Mum.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

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In our magic lesson that afternoon, Ruby swept into the room with an air of excitement. “Today, we’re going to concentrate on creating sources of light. We’ll start with an orb of light and move on to lighting a candle again. I will help Maddie try it again and you girls can practice what you already know.”

Butterflies erupted in my stomach. I was excited, but also nervous — especially after breaking that ornament earlier. Ruby was okay and very understanding about it, but what if something went wrong again now?

“Also, if you would like to observe some of the more advanced students while they do their practical assessments, they will be commencing straight after our lesson today.”

Yes! That would be awesome.

Ruby moved to the middle of the room. “Take a seat on the cushions on the floor. Don’t worry if you don’t create an orb on your first try, or even if you don’t get it at all today. Just relax into it and go with the flow. If that doesn’t work, try some meditation and try again.”

We sat cross-legged on the soft cushions and I tried to relax, with no success.

Ruby spoke slowly with a steady, calm voice. “Now, close your eyes and relax. Breathe deeply. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Cup your hands in front of you and rest your arms on your thighs.”

I did as she said and concentrated on my breathing.

“Find your power within your core and coax it out. Reach down and bring it forth, channelling it down your arms and into your hands.”

She paused to let us concentrate.

I felt my power deep in my chest and worked to bring it out.

“Keeping your eyes closed, imagine your magic as light. Draw it up out of your hands and move it around in a circular motion until it forms a ball. Keep it swirling around and around and keep it steady.”

My magic finally moved outward and then down my arms. My hands heated a little when the magic reached them. I could feel it obeying my commands, but I still doubted that I was actually doing it. I felt silly.

“Once you feel that you have created the orb, open your eyes.”

I opened them, fully expecting to find nothing there. There was a small orb of light floating above my palms and I gasped. I couldn’t believe that I’d done it — and on the first try. It was amazing.

The other girls had successfully created an orb of light too.

Shauna’s hands shook. “How do I make it go away?”

Ruby smiled. “Simply will it away and loosen your hold on your magic so that it fades to nothing.”

I turned my attention back to my orb. I could feel my power feeding it and giving it light. I watched it swirl around and sort of fold in on itself. It was a fantastic sight to see.

As pride swelled in my chest, the orb grew bigger. I watched in awe, but then I worried about how I was going to stop it from growing. It kept getting bigger and panic seeped in.