Glancing over my shoulder as if expecting to get caught, I licked my lips, then squared my stance and brought my hands up, cupping them to hold the stone while also pushing them forward, toward the wall.
Deep breaths filled my lungs before I closed my eyes and sunk my consciousness into the core of me, into the fire of my blood and magic. I didn’t speak the words, not aloud. I repeated the same incantation as I had tried before, opening my eyes as the magic traveled down my arms and shot through the stone.
The rift formed a little faster and this time I could see through it more clearly, but it did not grow, and I’d learned not to keep holding it if I wanted to keep working.
I released the spell, sagging into the desk chair and panting. Sweat slicked over my skin from the exertion, but
