More dazed than injured, I lay there, stunned. The blue sky looked down at me as if mocking me with its perfection. I glared at it, wishing more than anything it would be overtaken by a dark, moody summer storm—then maybe the contrast with the training facility wouldn’t be so stark.
Thaddeus’ shadowed figure blocked the gratingly perfect stratosphere as he towered over me, deep worry weighing down his features.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said breathlessly. I closed my eyes and took a moment. This was going to be a long day.
Ignoring his proffered hand, I rolled onto my stomach, and one limb at a time, peeled myself off the ground.
“That hurt,” I muttered as I struggled to my feet.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I rasped as I placed my hands on my knees, catching my breath.
“We should find another way.”
“I’m fine,” I gritted out, making my way back to my starting position.
I sent a silent prayer to the stars, then turned to try again. Thaddeus hadn’t moved; he just stood there, staring.
“What?”
“We should find another way,” he said again.
Anger and frustration coursed through me, my hands now shaking. I took a step toward him.
“What other way, Thaddeus?” The words came out in a half-yell, half-plea. His eyes widened, but he didn’t respond. “We’re at thepart where all we have is an ace up our sleeve; only, I’m the damn ace. You and I both know Amos sure as hell won’t pull any punches. If that means I have to endurethisso I never have to endurehimagain, then I’ll hit this gods-damn mat as many times as I need to before I learn how to use this fucken power inside of me.”
“Okay,” he said, moving back into position.
I hit the ground again and again and again. I thanked the stars for the adrenaline coursing through my body, or I would’ve surely stayed down that last time. But every jolting collision with the mat, signified a fractional knowledge I’d obtained from the failed attempt. I just hoped they were large enough fractions to constitute progress.
Thaddeus’ power was clear to me now, and I’d even learned to brace myself fast enough before it hit. Unfortunately, no matter what I tried, I couldn’t conjure magic from that place deep within me and continued to take every blow head-on.
Getting up got harder each time, taking longer to get back into position.
As I lay on my back, my chest rising and falling, every part of my body cried for me to give up, give in. Shutting my eyes, I conjured the vision—allowing the terror to wash over me as it had when Amos stripped me bare with his eyes.Thatwas why I was doing this. I would never feel that way again.
As I stood, I wobbled to the side, catching myself on a pillar. I gathered my bearings and got into position.
“That’s enough,” Thaddeus said, his words firm. “We’re done for the day.”
“Again,” I rasped, staring him down. I wouldnotgive up.
Thaddeus glanced sideways to one of the pillars, where a concerned Tarrin and Nevander met his gaze. I hadn’t noticed them enter and wasn’t sure how long they’d been watching. Looking up to check the skies, I found glittering stars now looking down on me. They were oddly more comforting than their daytime counterpart. I supposed that was what had drawn Thaddeus’ second and third here; they were probably curious why we’d missed dinner.
“Again,” I said, the uncompromising word echoing throughout the platform and beyond.
He stood there, a silent plea in his eyes.
“Again,” I cried in frustration, clenching my fists.
Something rattled deep in my solar plexus, like a cocoon of glass shattering. My breath caught as I stifled a scream of agony and surprise.
Time moved differently, slower.
Thump-thump.
