“The High Sol isn’t a genetically inherited or formally elected position. It’s something you are or aren’t.”
Niles gives Kalden a teasing look before clarifying on his behalf, “Every Sol has their own bandwidth for how much of the sun’s power they can channel before reaching burnout. Some can only use a few short bursts of raw energy each day. Others can draw from it long enough to achieve a highly specialized task, like Joss. A few of us can sustain more prolonged periods of channeling, but even we have to cap it after a few hours. Sometimes shorter, depending on howmuch focus and power the task requires. Then there are the High Sols, blessed by the sun with an unfathomable bandwidth.”
Kalden groans. “‘Unfathomable’ is a stretch.”
Niles slaps a hand on his shoulder. “I once saw you sustain a magnetic field barrier for ten hours.”
Brows lifting, I ask, “I take it that’s impressive?”
Niles nods. “I’d reach burnout after maybe two hours. Three, tops.”
“Damn.” Gem tips her cup at Kalden. “Do you even have a limit?”
Shadows flicker in those golden irises. “I do.”
Just when I think he’s about to return to his intentionally vague ways, Kalden surprises me by sharing, “I nearly reached it once. After Aurick . . .” He clears his throat. “Channeling often has a pleasurable heat. A consuming warmth that magnifies each of our senses. But when a Sol is nearing burnout, it becomes scorching. It overtakes all feelings. All emotions.”
A shudder claws down my spine. “How close did you get?”
Kalden’s haunted gaze flicks to mine. “As close as a Sol can get before becoming a Pyre.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
We returnto the shared bungalow while Niles circles back to the mending facility to check on Joss. The generous abode is one of the larger structures along the village’s waterside edge. The exterior glass walls are inlaid with tiny orange, yellow, and blue shards to create a mosaic of the sunrise over the ocean. A spiral staircase circles up to a raised deck encircling the bungalow’s roof.
Catching Gem’s eye, I nod towards the steps, and we ascend them together.
Neither of us speaks for a while, preferring to relish the view.
Eventually, Gem breaks the silence to confess, “I think you’re going to like it here.”
“Maybe,” I admit, fingers gripping the aged wood railing. “There’s still so much I don’t know.”
“Yeah, but look at this.” She waves a hand at the green-and-gold landscape to our left, then the ocean to our right. “Kalden doesn’t seem so bad, either.”
Warmth blossoms across my face. “He isn’t why I’m staying.”
“No, I know. What I said about you chasing the approval of men was?—”
“Right,” I finish for her. “You were right to call it out. I don’t do it consciously. I think it’s more of a groomed instinct than a deliberate choice, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever shake it fully. But I think I stand a better chance at shedding those habits here than if I were to return—if going back was an option.”
My vision blurs as I replay the events that make that impossible.
“I am proud of you, you know,” Gem says quietly. “For being selfish. Adapting. Surviving. Maybe not in the way I would’ve chosen for you, and definitely not one I’d choose for myself. Then again, it led you here, so maybe it was the exact right path. Plus, seeing you fight those Pyres was badass.”
“Badass?” I cringe. “I was concussed and literally fightingonmy ass.”
“So? Taking three creatures down by just flailing your arms around is impressive.”
“Okay, hold on. There was a bit more to it than flailing my arms.” I nudge my elbow into Gem’s arm, and she jumps back, eyes wide. “I wasn’t—I’m fully drained of power right now.”
Her parted lips morph into a grin. “I know, but you should see your face right now.”
I groan. “You’re evil.”
“I’ve got to get my revenge while I still can.”
My shoulders sag forward as I fidget with the fraying stitches along the side of my leathers from where I cut myself right before our departure. “Does that mean you’ve decided to head back?”
