The first and newer one was the impulse to keep the talisman to herself by any means necessary. The second and far older reaction was her indescribable longing to be able to do something with her magic that wasn’t trivial. She stared at the pill on his palm.“Does it last?” she asked. “I mean, does the effect fade away, or is it something permanent?”Xia walked to the larger couch. He held out a hand and waited for her to join him. She did, pulling her T-shirt down and underneath her butt as she sat. “You have to be a serious abuser for the change to be permanent,” he said. “Most of the mages I’ve seen who were addicted died before they reached that point.”“And the others?”“If they don’t stop, they all die from it.” He settled in on the couch. “Sooner or later, copa will kill a mage.”“Great.”“Don’t worry.” His southeastern view of the water was completely dark. “You won’t go that far tonight. This being your first time and all, you aren’t going to have some instant-death moment.
