If only I could write off my pounding heart as foolish imagination. Surely, he feels its rapid thrum pulsing against his skin, just as I can feel the steady beat of his.
“I vow to you, Orelle Bren, that you will not become a monster.”
He remembers my name—my full name. And the sound of it onhis lips is so unlike the usual taunts I receive from other men that it takes me a moment to realize he’s saying more.
“—between us?” Kalden waits, expectant gaze on mine.
“Sorry,” I say as the fever from our joined wrists licks across my entire body, culminating in my cheeks. “Would you mind repeating that?”
His lucent irises glimmer. No matter how much of a stony façade he wears like a mask, the miniscule expressions in those molten eyes are his tells.
“Do you promise to keep what I reveal to you in our training between us?”
Only now do I pause to consider how much trust he’s putting in me. We’re little more than strangers, and yet he’s confessed to experimenting with wielding the sun’s power—an unpardonable offense that could very well land him in the Abyss. Granted, he could drag me down with him, now that I’ve confirmed my own exposure to the golden rays.
Withholding this from Gem won’t be easy. I can already feel her curiosity prickling the back of my neck. An interrogation awaits the second she gets me alone. I can’t guarantee she’ll accept my lies at face value.
“I vow to you, Kalden Tonalli, to keep your secret between us.”
Yoursecret. I can’t promise to keep Gem from discovering my secrets. But maybe I can give her a portion of the truth—one that doesn’t compromise Kalden.
Satisfied with my response, Kalden dips his chin, yet makes no effort to lower his wrist from mine for several more seconds.
The pulse beating against my skin accelerates.
Is it his, or mine? Both?
My arm presses more firmly against his, as if to discover theanswer,but Kalden pulls away. A chill spreads across my skin in the absence of his heated touch.
I fold my arms tight against my chest, trying to disguise the shiver rocking through me as I ask, “Where do we start?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“A simple slicein the palm of your gloves will allow you to absorb a portion of the sun’s energy without overexposing yourself to its corrupting effects. You’ll want to angle the blade like this, though, so you don’t nick your skin,” Kalden explains, brandishing his finger like a blade that slices along his palm. “As long as you keep the cut small enough, the modicum of light emitting from your hand should be easy enough to hide from your comrades.”
The slight tension in my shoulders abates, knowing I’ll be able to disguise my treachery from Gem and the others. “How will I be able to tell if the exposure is too much? Will I feel it if I start losing my humanity?”
“It’s more about how much you draw from the sun’s power than exposure alone. You should feel a pleasant warmth wherever the sunlight kisses your skin. And as you harness that energy, you may feel a subtle increase in your internal temperature, but nothing that passes the point of minor discomfort. If that heat becomes scorching to the point of being agonizing, you’ll want to stop channeling andseek shade immediately.” Seeing me swallow, Kalden adds, “It’s highly unlikely you’ll get anywhere near that point, especially if you stick to short bursts of solar flares.”
“How do I do that?”
He maneuvers himself behind me, hovering an arm around my neck without making contact. “You won’t have the speed or agility to escape your opponent, but you will have the element of surprise. They won’t expect you to wield the sun. So, the moment you’re in their grasp, do whatever you can to get your hands on them.”
“Does it matter where?” I ask.
“No. All you need is for the sliver of exposed skin on your palm to come into direct contact with them. Once you do, you’ll release the energy.”
“What does that mean?” I grab onto the sleeve of his borrowed tunic. His arm twitches at my touch, despite the layer of cotton separating my fingers from his skin.
Kalden’s voice is a breath in my ear. “That buzz you felt before was radiation bonding with your body’s natural magnetic field. If you channel that energy out of your palms, you’ll create a solar flare that will incapacitate your opponents.”
My fingers slacken on his arm. “Will it kill them?”
The thought doesn’t sit well, which is ridiculous. These are the monsters that left my ancestors on the brink of extinction—the monsters that have slaughtered generations of Huntresses, and which threaten to be my own undoing. And yet the thought of ending a life, even a life void of humanity, brings bile to my tongue.
Kalden pulls back. “It depends on the strength of the flare and how strong their own magnetic barrier is, but death is unlikely. I’d say it’s better to assume it will leave your opponent immobilized for at least a few minutes, but perhaps a few hours at most.”
We run through several more maneuvers, mixing in a few standard combat sequences to dissuade wandering eyes from getting curious.
