Elyse pov
I tried to rest, but sleep wouldn’t come.
Too much had happened. Too much had changed. And something about this woman set my nerves on edge. The way she’d panicked. The way she kept looking at the entrance if death itself might walk through.
What was she so afraid of?
I stood, moving quietly around the room. Looking at the books on her desk; all written in languages I couldn’t read. The jars on her shelves; filled with things I couldn’t identify.
Then I saw it. A piece of paper on the desk with writing that looked newer than everything else. Fresher ink.
I picked it up, trying to make out the words in the dim light.
Maybe if I could just…
I thought about practicing my power. About testing if I could control it deliberately instead of just reacting to fear.
I held the pa
