I clench my fists. My powers are spurred on by emotions, so I hold on to the annoyance and the offense and open my palms, letting the shadows fill them. The dark tendrils wrap around my wrists and snake up to my elbows while Ava stares at me, unimpressed. My shadows disappear.
“I need you to be able to do that immediately. Even our Seekersneed to be able to defend themselves out there. If you’re gathering information and you run into the wrong people—which is likely to happen—they won’t hesitate to slit your throat. Out there, we already had the Forayers to deal with. We’ve already had to deter their efforts to corral Mages and Undesirables for a pretty coin from the Crown. And now the kingdom is under the rule of a manknownfor being a monster.
“The Purists are rising in power for whatever twisted reason, and on top of it all, we have the Zenith—no idea what in Lugda’shells is going on with those fucks. But I know it has to do with the prophecy, and Iknowyou have a closer tie to the prophecy than anyone else here. You would be an asset in finding out more information, but not if you can’t defend yourself. Not if you’ll be a liability to a mission.”
Tears sting my eyes, but I don’t look away from her. I watch the angry motions of her hands and the contempt written on her face. I don’t know what I’ve done to make her hate me as much as she does, but I know the fate of my role in the rebellion is in her hands. “I want to make a difference,” I sign, far feebler than I intend to. “I’m willing to put the effort in.”
A familiar presence prickles my awareness in a way I can’t describe. IfeelTiernan before his figure comes into my field of vision. He stands beside me now, silvery strands of hair spilling out from his bun as he looks between me and Ava. “Is something the matter?” he signs.
“Just asking your precious Durvla if she’s serious about joining the rebellion.”
Tiernan presses his lips firmly together and looks my way. “Is she bullying you?” he asks into my mind.
I don’t respond, but it’s clear that he’s picked up the streams of my negative emotions.
“She needs more training,” Ava says to him. Then to me, “You are a Shadow Wielder. You have abilities beyond even your wildest imagination. If it were not for your shielding capabilities out there, your lover would’ve been killed.” She jabs a thumb in Tiernan’s direction, and my stomach turns over at the reminder. I’m too tense to be embarrassed by her loose usage oflover.
“I’m tired of keeping my mouth shut about this and everything else. It’s up to you now. You either let everyone keep coddling you or take the reins and train more. Command your powers like they’reyours.”
Everyone keeps coddling me? She’s tired of keeping her mouth shut? I’m about to ask her what she means when she steps away from the wall and turns so quickly that I barely dodge the braids that whip dangerously close to my face.
She storms off, leaving me standing in front of the door, not quite sure how to process everything. I turn to Tiernan and sign, “She said she knows that I have a tie to the prophecy. Do you think Alys told her?”
Tiernan shakes his head. “I’m not sure. I do know that Ava and Alys aren’t exactly on friendly terms.” He turns to the door, which is magically charmed to unlock as soon as any of our household members touches the knob. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when she pounced,” says Tiernan. “What else did she say to you?”
I shake my head and follow him into the house, shutting the door behind me.
“Durvla—”
“You caught the gist of it.”
He sighs with resignation. “If it makes you feel better, Ava is nasty to everyone.”
“She’s especially nasty to me.”
“I can’t deny that … But I don’t know why. I’ve even tried to get a read on her, but her mind is impenetrable—even to my Empath powers. I suppose, being the Warden, she would’ve been well trained with mental shielding.”
“Does she have any powers?”
“Not that I can feel. But even Ordinaries can learn to shield. Not as well as someone with mind magic of any type but efficiently enough.” He steps closer, resting one hand lightly on my shoulder and signing with the other, “Are you alright, though?”
I nod. “I’m fine. She’s right. I need to train more. And not just with you and Chiyo.”
“You’re talking?—”
“Skirmish Den, yes,” I say.
I swear his eye twitches, but he nods.
“No coddling me,” I tell him, and his lips curve up in a gentle smile.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, beautiful.” His fingers slide down my arm and send my stomach into a giddy little summersault. He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles, then the center of my palm. I feel it tickle all the way up my arm, and I tug away, repressing a giggle. The smile spreads wider across Tiernan’s face. “If you want to change and relax, I can make you your tea.” He points to my head, which is still throbbing.
Gratitude floods me.
“Then I’ll freshen up, and we can collect Taig from the Hatchling’s Nest together later, if you’d like.”
“I’d love that,” I say.
