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The spell lasted rather longer this time. Val had indeed managed to increase its efficacy, and so for the moment, she was free to concentrate on her playing, at least to some degree.
She didn't play the piece as well as usual, but it wasn't a terrible performance either. Maintaining any kind of emotional involvement in it was extremely difficult, given that she wasn't used to performing in this manner, but she at least managed to hit the right notes and to give it some measure of dynamic shading.
The spell wavered and then faded out about eight bars before the end of the music. Val finished the piece anyway, though she was fairly distracted. Clearly, she was going to have to keep working on this trick if she ever wanted to be able to use it, but at least to her own mind she had proved it was possible, and that was something.
The girl left her fingers on the keyboard for a moment longer. Then she spun around on the bench and regarded her bondmate, who looked back at her with his blue eyes.
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