Power poured through my limbs in waves that made my bones ache and my vision swim.
I was everywhere and nowhere, moving too fast to track even my own gestures.
And Haru met me at every turn. His blade was always there, always exactly where it needed to be, deflecting my wild strikes with minimal effort. He moved with me, around me, through the spaces between my attacks like smoke through fingers.
“Good!” His voice cut through the rushing in my ears. “Don’t think, just move! Let the power guide you!”
Let the power guide me? How the hells was I supposed to do that? It was wild and unpredictable. It wanted release, to roar and rend and wreck. It wanted—
His words unlocked something inside my chest.
Instead of fighting the speed, instead of trying to control every movement, I just . . . let go.
And suddenly, I was soaring.
The training ground blurred beneath my feet as I spun, struck, and spun again. Haru’s blade sang against mine in a rhythm that felt almost melodic. Power flowed through me and out of me in a river of shimmering light. I saw it now, dancing along my skin like liquid starlight, responding to my will without conscious thought.
This. This was what it should feel like.
It wasn’t a curse. It wasn’t a burden.
It wasa gift.
I laughed.
I couldn’t help it.
Pure joy bubbled up from somewhere deep and primal.
For the first time since my power had awakened, I felt alive, as though my body had been sleeping my entire life and only now, moving at speeds that should have been impossible, had finally breathed life.
“There he is!” Haru was grinning now, his own power flaring to meet mine. “That’s what I wanted to see!”
We moved together across the training ground, and I realized with shock that the sun had risen. Full daylight painted everything in shades of gold, and I could see the trail of light my movements left behind—afterimages of magic that hung in the air like brushstrokes.
It was terrible. And it was beautiful.
“Control!” Haru commanded, his strikes coming faster. “Can you slow it down without stopping completely?”
I tried, but the power resisted. It wanted to run wild, to flow freely, but I pressed against it like pushing a door closed against strong wind. My movements stuttered, sped up, slowed, sped up again—
“Don’t fight it,” Haru said. “Guide it, like steering a horse, not dragging it by the reins.”
Steering. Not dragging. Something clicked.
The power didn’t slow exactly, but I could feel where it was going, could nudge it in directions that felt more intentional. My strikes became less wild and more precise, though they still moved faster than any normal person could track.
“Better.” Haru’s smile was genuine now. “Much better. You’re learning to—”
“Prince Haru-sama!”
The voice shattered the moment like a stone through glass.
Haru’s power winked out as mine surged, sending me tumbling past him into the dirt, mybokkenflying across the yard. The man who’d called out looked deeply displeased, his elaborate robes and carefully groomed beard flowing in the crisp morning breeze. He didn’t so much as flinch as mybokkenrattled to stillness near his feet, simply looked down with one brow cocked, as though I’d come very close to offending his sensibilities.
“Prince Haru-sama,” the Grand Minister repeated, his tone making it clear that he’d been calling for some time. “Your presence is required at the war council. Immediately.”
“I’m busy,” Haru said flatly.
