He meets my eyes.
“Air doesn’t respond to force,” he says. “It responds to trust. In it and yourself.”
Earth had been unshakable. Water, overwhelming. But Air—Airliftedme. Then let me go. And for a moment, I didn’t fall.
I can still feel it—lingering in my veins, waiting to be called again. And for the first time, Iwantto. Not just because Valen tells me to, not because of the dreams, but because I can feel something in me waking up.
And I need to know what it means.
I swallow hard. “What’s happening to me?”
Valen exhales, rubbing a hand over his face. “That’s what we’re going to find out. The last element is Fire.”
The clearing is silent. The soldiers are still watching. I feel their eyes on me, their uncertainty thick in the air. I hear theirmurmurs, low and clipped, though I can’t make out the words.
I don’t need to. I know what they’re thinking. I don’t even blame them. They saw me fall, then rise. They saw the wind carry me, then let me go. And now Valen is asking me to reach for something even more dangerous.
Something that doesn’t ask permission. Something thatconsumes.
I square my shoulders, ignoring the way my hands shake.
“Now,” he says, stepping back, “Fire.”
The breeze dies. The morning’s crisp scent of earth and wind vanishes. The clearing stills, as if bracing itself.
Fire.
Earth had been solid. Water, vast. Air, liberating. But Fire? Fire devours.
I’ve seen it consume, watched it reduce stone to ash, witnessed forests turn into graveyards of blackened husks. It takes. No warning. No mercy.
“Valen, I—” I take a step back.
“You’re ready.”
I clench my fists. “And if I’m not? If I can’tcontrolit?”
His gaze doesn’t waver. “Then you learn.”
I swallow hard.
The last time I lost control, the ground split open; the lake nearly swallowed us; the wind flung me into the sky. If I lose control ofFire—would there even be anything left?
I glance toward the soldiers. They haven’t moved. They’re watching me, waiting to see what will happen.
Lyra watches me, arms crossed, jaw set—like she’s already chosen to trust me, no matter what happens next. Garrick’s grin is gone now, his expression sharper. Focused. And Thane—Thane hasn’t taken his eyes off me.
Valen must see my hesitation, because he steps closer, lowering his voice.
“Fire is already in you, Amara. It’s always been there, waiting.” His tone softens, but his words carry weight. “Fire is passion. Fire is life. Fire ischoice.”
I shake my head. “I don’t feel it.”
“You will.”
He motions for me to close my eyes and I do.
“Breathe,” he says.
