“Don’t flatter yourself,” she whispered through clenched teeth, making Draven smile wider as she struggled to remain calm.
“Until I can trust that you won’t burst into flame, you are a liability. So yes, you will train. This is not up for debate.”
“I am not a liability,” she snapped, arms crossed.
“The stable at the Capri Inn would prove otherwise,” he replied, eyebrows raised.
Astraia cursed, stalking past the bounty hunter without another glance.
Turning sharply on her heel in the clearing, she pulled off her cloak, flinging it on the forest floor, and faced Draven. A small smile crept onto his face as he also discarded his cloak, rolling up his sleeves to reveal his tattoos and scars. Astraia’s core heated at the sight of him, making her teeth clench.
“Now that your tether is more secure, I want you to try to anchor faster,” he said as he approached her, unsheathing his broadsword. The muscles of his arms flexed as he gripped the hilt of his sword firmly in both hands.
Astraia swallowed a lump in her throat, thinking of how his arms would feel around her waist, his warm, calloused handson her hips. She let out a breath, shaking the ridiculous notions clouding her mind.
Nodding to her opponent, she dove into her bond, latching onto her tether and throwing it immediately down into the earth, anchoring to the roots of the trees and flinging it to the skies. Her anchor grabbed onto every wisp of cloud and ray of sun as it poured from her, locking her bond in place. White light burst from her fingers, her eyes glowing as she stared at Draven.
“Good. Now channel it into one steady stream, like an arrow. Don’t let it overtake you.” He looked at her hands, raising his sword to shield his body.
Astraia’s pulse quickened, feeling Power thrumming in her core, begging to be unleashed on everything living and breathing in the forest. “I’m afraid. What if I can’t control it?” Her voice quivered, fear creeping into her mind, making her anchor waver.
“You can. See your bond as an extension of yourself, not a weakness.” His voice was firm, but kind.
She steeled herself, planting her feet and straightened her shoulders. Diving deeper into her bond, she let it extend beyond her fingers and into her palms. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and her ears rang with each breath. The forest blurred around her. Her vision sharpened and narrowed on Draven as she breathed deeper and pulled more of her bond to the surface. The streams of white light crackled in her palms, lashing out to the ground around her, lapping at Draven’s boots.
“Concentrate!” he shouted through the crackling, but his voice was muffled in her ears.
The blinding white light of her hands crept up her arms and pulsed from her chest, blanketing the forest in the glare, as though the realm had been drained of color. Astraia clung to her tether, pushing down the fear that threatened to consume her.
Control it.Control it. Control it.
White streams of light burst from her—unwieldy, wild, erratic. It jumped into the air with a life of its own, latching onto anything breathing surrounding her. The horses reared, jumping out of the way of the rogue streams. Another flash of pure Power leapt forward, straight toward Draven.
Astraia started to scream, but before the warning crossed her lips, Draven brought his broadsword up in one sweep.
The light met his blade, a loud crack reverberating off the steel. She was certain the metal had shattered, killing the bounty hunter, reliving her worst nightmare in real time. But as the light ebbed, the metal blade held fast—edges glowing red and smoking.
Draven’s insufferable smirk was visible through the plumes of smoke. As Astraia drew her bond back, the light ebbed and retreated away from him and once again pulsed in her hands.
“Again. Concentrate. Command it.” He spoke as one who had conquered his own bonds to bend to his will. A small shred of doubt itched the back of her mind.
How does he know so much?
Before she could dwell on the possibilities, he was shouting at her again. Unfaltering, unfazed by the chaos, he pushed her to limits she had never crossed with her bonds. It was both terrifying and exhilarating.
Concentrate. Command it.
Grasping her tether firmly in her mind, she commanded her bond to tighten, willing it to yield. The light flashed around her body once then flowed back into her arms and hands, before it morphed into the shape of a sword. A sword made entirely of brilliant white light—a sword of Starlight.
Astraia blinked, gasping for breath, looking at the blade within her hands.
“Now, let’s see what you can do.” He grinned, lunging for her with his sword.
She did not balk at his advance, snapping the light blade up to defend against his attack. The white light collided with his broadsword and crackled on impact. His black blade responded, glowing red with white smoke billowing from the point where the blades touched.
Teeth clenched, Astraia pushed against Draven’s firm stance, trying to unbalance him.
“All that Power, and you can’t even drive me away,” he breathed, making her skin pebble.
