“I guess I’ll figure out what that means.”
Lyra nods once, which is all she needed to do.
The sky is gray and the air cuts cooler than it should for this time of year. The training grounds are alive with motion—soldiers stretching, sparring, shouting.
I throw myself into drills with Jarek and Lyra. My footing slips. My timing’s off. When I try to conjure flame, it sputters in my palm before dying out.
Valen’s all-knowing gaze bores into my back. When it happens again—when the heat falters for the third time—his voice cuts through the noise.
“Enough.”
I stiffen. Turn to face him, chest heaving, arms aching. “I can keep going.”
He studies me. “No, you can’t.”
I scowl. “I’m fine.”
“You’re distracted.” His tone is calm, but there’s iron underneath.
“I’m—”
“You are training to wield power no one in the history of this world has ever held,” he says, stepping closer. “And right now, you’re not wielding anything. You’re flinching. You’re a bleeding distraction.”
His silver-blue eyes lock onto mine. “Decide, Amara. Is whatever’s happening between you and Thane worth risking everything?”
My stomach clenches. Because this isn’t about feelings—it’s about control.
And the fact that I don’t have any.
Valen eyes narrow. “You’re scared.”
I exhale hard, throat tight. “And what if I am?”
Valen watches me, gaze steady. “Then let’s use it.”
He gestures toward the space around me. “You feel how erratic your magics become? That’s not power. That’s fear. Now ground yourself. Pay attention.”
My pulse races. Magics hums uneven, erratic, wrong. Fire flickers in my palms—unstable. Air stirs at my back. Water clings to my fingertips. The earth under my boots feels loose, wrong.
Unbalanced.
BecauseIam.
“You want to know the fastest way to lose control?” His voice is calm, but sharper now. Cutting.
I sigh heavily. “Enlighten me.”
He steps closer. “Emotions without discipline. Amara, you are the strongest wielder and channeler I’ve ever seen or heard of on record.”
Tears sting my eyes but I blink them back.
But then his voice drops, hardens. “And strength means nothing if you can’t hold it.”
His words land hard. Too hard.
Because I know he’s right.
Every time I fight, the Elements don’t wait for my command anymore. Theyreact.
