The weight of it sinks in, heavy and sobering.
Then something else he said clicks into place.
Elemental magics.Not Earth magics.
My breath catches. “What do you mean,Elementalmagics—as in, more than one?” My voice is sharper than I mean it to be.
I shake my head, the shock settling deep. “I’m from the Earth Clan. We wield the lesser magics. I don’t channel. I’m not bonded to a dragon. I’m nothing—nobody.”
Thane studies me for a moment, then exhales through his nose. “I heard you earlier,” he says, his tone even. “When Valen was talking to you—you kept saying that. That you’re nothing, nobody.” He leans forward slightly, his gaze locking onto mine. “But tell me—how manynobodiesdo the Shadow Forces hunt? How manynobodiessurvive what you did?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
His voice softens, just a fraction. “You don’t know what you are yet. That’s why Valen and I are here. You’re not just Earth Clan. And you don’t just wield ‘lesser’ magics. You don’t just wieldoneElement.” He tilts his head slightly. “And you aredefinitelynot nobody.”
None of it makes sense.
It shouldn’t be possible.
“I was born of the Earth Clan. My magics should be weak—practical, bound to the soil. Not something that puts a target on my back.” I stare at him, my breath uneven. “No. That’s not—I mean, I couldn’t have.”
His expression remains steady, unreadable. “You did. Maybe you were too panicked to notice, but Valen and I did. The fire,the air, and the earth—none of it was random, Amara. And although it appears that you didn’t wield water that night, you likely can. The Elements—theyansweredyou.”
A chill spreads through me. “That’s not possible.”
Thane tilts his head, calm but unrelenting. “So tell me—what’s harder to believe? That you have more power than you realize? Or that two seasoned warriors just imagined it?” He pauses, then adds, softer this time, “Lyra saw it too.”
The memory punches through the fog of denial I’ve wrapped around that night.
Lyra’s face—wide eyes, stunned, searching—as she looked at me that night. Like she didn’t know who I was. Like she was afraid shedid.
Thane leans back slightly, exhaling. “I didn’t believe in The Spiritborn, you know. Not really. Valen insisted, always going on about the prophecies, but I thought it was just stories—legends twisted by time.”
Thane shakes his head slowly. “But then I saw it. Isawwhat you did. And no one—no one—has ever done that before. And we are here to help you, Amara.”
I swallow hard, my mind grasping for something—anything—that makes sense of this. The way he’s looking at me, makes my skin prickle. Like I’m a myth made flesh.
I shake my head slightly. “That’s not possible. I—I barely control one Element, let alone four.”
But then the memory rises. The fire. The wind. The ground shifting beneath my feet like it was listening. I hadn’t understood it then. I’d been too panicked to question it. But now . . . now the memory burns.
“You’re wrong,” I whisper, but the words sound hollow even to me.
Thane doesn’t waver. He raises an eyebrow, “Am I?”
Then he exhales, running a hand through his hair—the firstflicker of weariness showing on his face.
“I’ve seen powerful wielders before. Fought beside them. Against them. But whatyoudid—that was different. It wasn’t just instinct or desperation. The Elements didn’t just respond to you. Theybentto you like theyknewyou. Like they had beenwaitingfor you.”
His voice lowers, steady and certain.
“Fire, wind, earth, water—separate forces that should never have worked in harmony. And yet, they did. Foryou. No training. No focus. No preparation. Yes, it was chaotic. Yes, it was raw. But it happened.Youmade it happen.”
He meets my gaze, unwavering.
“I don’t know how or why, but I know what I saw. And I believe the prophecy now . . . I believe in you.”
I sit frozen, thoughts spiraling out because they’re too vast to hold. My hands clench around the blanket, desperate for something solid.
