Page 70 of The Witch in the Dead of Night

I rolled my eyes.

“Now,” he said, turning to face me, “don’t expect to be any good at first.”

“Thanks,” I replied sardonically.

“We saved the most difficult discipline for last for a reason.”

“Most difficult? We worked on the others for months!”

He ignored me, walking a dozen paces away and drawing a line in the earth with his boot. “The key is to start small. Focus on the line.”

By the time I’d finally climbed out of the bath the previous evening, a worn tome had greeted me on my bed. Morris and Englefort’s Treatise on Corporeal Magic. I’d scoured the entire thing, reading until the words blurred together and the candles had puddled around their wicks. The goal of phasing seemed simple enough: use magic to get from one place to the next. However, it was deceptively tricky. According to the literature, improper technique had left plenty of people in the wrong place. Like the middle of the Great Sea.

“Oh, and try not to land in the lake. Again.”

I shot Enhart a dark look. Taking a steadying breath, I focused on the line before me, trying to clear my mind. A breeze tickled my nose as I squeezed my eyes shut, visualizing my mark, but when I opened them, I remained rooted to the spot.

Enhart sighed exaggeratedly. “You’re not supposed to close your eyes. You don’t want to smack into something when you land on the other end.”

I bit my lip. “Right.”

“I can tell that you’re anxious,” he continued. “I hear—”

“My heartbeat,” I interrupted. “Yeah, yeah.”

He frowned before slinking over to me, coming to a stop behind me. My breath caught in my throat as he placed his hands on my shoulders. My thoughts drifted traitorously to the events of the previous evening.

“Inhale.”

I obeyed, my chest rising and falling slowly for four meditative breaths.

“Focus on the line. And don’t close your eyes.”

I peered closely at my target. Morris had written that the only difference between phasing and walking was a witch’s will. Englefort disagreed, claiming instead that the only difference was that phasing meant you didn’t have to exercise. A smile played at the corners of my mouth.

The air rippled in front of my nose and I watched with bated breath as a gap opened in the empty space, revealing the line barely a foot ahead of me. I started forward but hesitated, my nerves overwhelming me.

A sharp nudge between my shoulder blades sent me flying into the portal. It closed behind me as I stumbled forward, a dozen paces from where I’d previously stood. I whirled around to glare at my tutor. “You’re welcome!” he called after me. “Just a little bit of motivation for you to open up another portal to get me back.”

I smirked as the air in front of me swirled again, then stepped through the portal. Without the shock of being shoved this time, I felt the transition in my bones. It was as if I was being compressed, my chest constricting for a split second before the portal spat me back out in my original place. By the time I arrived, however, Enhart was already in a grove of crabapple trees bordering the clearing. I aimed for him again, swaying slightly as my feet hit the soil on the other end of the portal.

We repeated the dance many times, hopping from spot to spot around the clearing. Every time I got close, he vanished. I stepped through yet another portal, this time stumbling as I landed, and the prince started toward me as if to catch me, but stopped short. I staggered a few feet before stilling myself against a tree.

“Finally caught up,” he said.

“I feel like I just sprinted up the courtyard stairs,” I admitted, my chest heaving.

“Funny, because I’ve only seen you run down those stairs to get away from me.”

I surprised myself with a laugh, which only grew as his eyes widened. I shook my head. “Not funny.”

“Apparently,” he said. “Phasing is an active discipline. It’ll get easier with time.”

“That’s what you always say,” I pointed out.

“And I’m always right.”

A yelp echoed across the clearing as I opened a portal behind the vampire guard, forcing him through with a pulse of frigid air. A distant splash confirmed that he had landed exactly where I wanted him to, in the nearby creek. I raised an elemental ward. It surrounded me like a shield, the air rippling for a moment before disappearing from view. A second guard charged me, wooden sword drawn.