I roll my eyes. “What is this about?”
Larkin turns to face us, and my stomach drops at the sight of him. He looks worried, and my senses immediately perk up. He brushes off the concern and quickly shifts his expression to a casual calm as soon as he realizes I'm watching.
“Hey,” he says, joining in with Oak. “Good morning.”
I continue forward and am met with a tight embrace from Maines.
“This was Silas’s idea,” she encourages. “Oak is so excited, though.”
“Excited about what?” I ask.
Larkin claps his hands together to get our attention and walks to the center of the drawn circle. “So, Briar is going to show us her Lumor magic this morning.”
“I’m what?” I respond in shock.
“I’m so fucking excited,” Oak says.
Larkin clears his throat.
“With what sails toward Andorwood, if we can improve your abilities further, we have a chance to send these bastards back to where they came from,” Larkin says. “This will also benefit us in future battles. Even though I don’t think it’s wise to use much of our magic right now, Silas insisted we train.”
“And we do what Silas says,” Oak laughs. “I also enjoy imagining Nolan and Calia’s faces when they see what you can do.”
Larkin huffs a laugh. “Oak and I are going to assist with the Lumor side of things, and Maines is here to fight you.”
“Again, what?” I snap.
She laughs, “I’m not going to fight you. They have asked me to simply throw some magic your way for you to deflect. Plus, I believe this will be a wonderful stress reliever for you.” Mainesleans in closer. “I honestly think they have me here in case one of you gets hurt.”
“She’s not wrong,” Larkin says.
“I don’t even know how to do this. It was completely accidental both times.”
“We thought you might say that,” Oak adds. “Elements and emotion fuel our natural tap of magic. We have both of those with us right now. The earth is our element, and Larkin is here for the emotion. We know he’s good at pissing you off.”
“Happy to help,” Larkin snarks, returning to prep a few things within the training circle.
Hearing Calia and Nolan’s names evokes a memory: her hateful face deep within Daramveer’s castle, taunting and tormenting me as she tried to resurrect Carobon. I don’t think it would have changed the outcome, but being more powerful would never be a bad thing. I don’t know how, but we need to learn more to stop the Great Wiitch when we return to the mainland. Each day that passes increases my fear of what’s changed there. The potential for destruction and devastation sends me into a panic.
I break my blank stare and walk toward the edge of the cliff, and Larkin attempts to stop me.
“Give her a second,” Maines snaps.
The slapping waves below fill my ears, and I close my eyes, letting the strong breeze rush around my body.
Rohhit, tell me you are okay,I say in my mind.
Silence.
Rohhit, please. If you are there, speak to me.
I’m met with nothing, and a wave of dread crashes against me like the waves below. The longer we wait, the more I fear Rohhit will be pulled away from his physical body. I need to do whatever it takes to be as strong as possible. If mastering thismagic gets me one step closer to destroying Carobon, I’ll do whatever it takes to do that while protecting those around me.
“Alright,” I say determinedly, as I turn around. “Where do we start?”
“Fuck yeah.” Oak smiles. “We’re going to start with the basics.”
“Fine.”
