Then, Thane moves. Without a word, he turns and walks away. Garrick hesitates for half a second before following, jogging after him.
I watch them go. My pulse is still off-rhythm. I feel nauseous, my stomach rolling from the adrenaline of channeling. Or maybe it’s the unease of seeing that look in Thane’s eyes.
What was it?
Fear? No.
Judgment? No.
Recognition.
Because now he knows. He saw it. And maybe he’s known all along.
That I’m not just power. I’m the weapon this realm is preparing for.
And that terrifies me more than anything else.
Then I vomit my breakfast on my feet.
Lyra’s there instantly, pulling my braid back as I retch again.
Valen, calm as ever, says, “Sometimes, wielders may need to expel, especially in the beginning.”
My mind reels as I spit onto the ground, my body regaining control of itself. He’s not remotely surprised. Like this is normal. Like this is just another page in the textbook of becoming something dangerous.
Lyra rubs my back in smooth strokes, murmuring, “Oh, Mara . . . ”
I straighten slowly, breath ragged, throat raw.
Valen gestures to the lingering soldiers, some still watching, still whispering.
“They’ll get over it,” he repeats. “Fear fades. But you? You’re just getting started.”
His words only weigh me down further.
Valen tilts his head. “You think they’re afraid of what you did?”
I don’t answer.
“They’re not.” His voice is quieter now. “They’re afraid of what youmight become.”
That hits harder than I expect. Because part of me—deep down—is afraid of that too.
I draw a breath, trying to shake off the feeling of being unmoored.
The clearing is emptying, soldiers dispersing, but I can still feel their unease thick in the air. I glance down at the scorched earth beneath my feet, my pulse finally starting to steady.
Then, just as Lyra and I are about to leave, a voice cuts through the quiet. Someone standing by the tree line. “What is she?”
The words pierce like a knife between my ribs.
Notwho.
What.
My stomach rolls again. I don’t wait for Valen’s response. I grab Lyra’s hand and pull her with me back to the barracks.
I wake before sunrise.
