Nina curled her fingers around the stone and closed her eyes. She waited. Nothing. She tightened her grip. Any moment now. Still nothing. Her hand remained exactly as it was. There was no surge of power, or anything that signaled her magic returning to her. Oh no. Something was wrong. "What are you doing?" Rodrigo's deep voice cut through the quiet.
Nina's eyes flew open. The stone slipped from her fingers and landed back inside the velvet-lined box with a dull clink. "Oh..." She let out a short, awkward laugh. "Nothing." She forced herself not to look startled. "I was only looking at it. I've never seen anything like it before." She shrugged lightly, hoping the movement looked casual. "I wanted to know what it felt like."
