He circled her slowly. “Show me what you can do.”
Right.She focused on the tingles in her palms and jerked up her hands. A jagged bolt of lightning cracked through the air,wild and unfocused, striking the warded wall before dissipating harmlessly.
“Again,” he called out. “This time, feel it building first, then strike.”
Ash willed the tingles within forward, forcing herself to hold the rising current. Pressure mounted, and her skin stretched as if it would split open.
“Now hit that target.” He pointed to a spot on the far wall.
A burst of energy shot from her hands again. Lightning slammed into the wall with a boom of thunder. Fragments of rubble exploded and scattered across the floor. “Oh shit?—”
“Better.” His voice carried quiet approval. “Walls can be fixed.”
Okay, maybe she could do this.
For the next two hours, he worked her through exercise after exercise—channeling, holding, directing. By the time he called for a break, her arms trembled, and sweat slicked her skin.
Race crossed to the small fridge near the sword racks and grabbed a bottle of water. Ash slumped against the wall, trying to quiet the buzz in her head.
“You’re stronger than you realize,” he said, handing her the bottle.
Her chest heaving, she unscrewed it with a trembling hand and gulped down the icy liquid.
“Okay?”
She nodded, recapping the bottle. “Yeah.”
“Good. Now…” He stepped back, pulling off his t-shirt and tossing it aside. “Control and direct it at me.”
“What? I’m not going to do that,” she snapped, her fingers crushing the plastic. “Last night was different. My emotions weren’t ones of anger when my power broke free—when you had me under you.”
“I know.” A hint of a smile ghosted across his face.
She scowled.
“Ash, I’m a Guardian. I’ve faced demons you can’t even imagine. I know what dangerous looks like.” His voice dropped, steady, coaxing. “Come, heart-fire. Give me your worst.”
She set the crumpled, heat-warped bottle down, the terror that she could hurt him bleeding into her. Tingles sparked in her fingers, and she flexed them.
“Don’t hold back,” he said, circling her. “If I get caught in your strike, so be it. I need to learn how to shield from your abilities, as well.”
“That guard,” she rasped, remembering the shifter collapsing on the ground by the portal in Lemuria. “I struck him down. He was dying. I froze and couldn’t pull back my power?—”
“Ash.”
Just her name, spoken in that quiet tone, and she exhaled.
Her gaze fixed on him, she tried to focus as the currents skipped along her skin. The prickles gathered momentum, crackling through her fingers, looking for a way out, but she held back, couldn’t bring herself to hurt him.
A snarl erupted, and a dark blur came at her, a sword in hand.
“No—” she shrieked, flinging out her hands, the power surge sending him skidding across the vast arena. He hit the opposite wall, her lightning wrapping around him.
“Race!” she yelled, sprinting across the space, terror consuming her.
“Don’t,” he panted and raised a hand, stopping her. “Again.”
“No, dammit!” Tears burned her eyes. “I’m not doing this?—”
