Chapter 166. Fire and Fury

Ivy

Lex and Rainer both look flabbergasted as the guards abruptly collapse to the ground. A simple sleeping spell is hardly anything to gawk at, but vampires and shifters tend to be weird about magic. They are either awed like I’m performing a miracle or deeply confused about how it works. Growing up around magic, it’s perfectly ordinary for me to wield it, but I try to limit it for the comfort of others.

I step around the bodies of the guards, silently apologizing for the headache they’ll wake up to later. Magic tends to leave traces, and for sleeping spells, it feels like a bad hangover. Vampires heal fast, so I know the guards will be fine. As I try to step out of the cave entrance, I’m stopped by an invisible barrier.

I raise a hand and touch the barrier. Magic hums underneath my touch, a warning it will fight back if I try to unravel it. I press my fingers into it, trying to twist and tame the magic to my will. It snaps back with a hot jolt li