She focused on the worst memory: Caspian shouting at her to leave, to the long walk back to her chambers alone, the twisting in her gut as she tried not to cry, waiting for an apology that she knew would never come. The unfairness of it all.
The flame roared, leaping higher still.
She whispered, “Váless.”
The fire rose into a slender pillar, twisting a foot into the air. She gasped, breaking her focus and ending the magic. The flame returned to its normal appearance.
Why had this worked when following the witches’ instructions had not?
Alone, she made several more attempts to move the flame, preparing herself for Nasera’s return.
When the young witch entered, she flounced to the chair opposite. Spotting Elizabeth’s glare, she chuckled. “Good. Get angry.”
Nasera spoke with conviction, her tone brooked no argument. “Let the anger guide you, fuel you. Now, instead of saying the words like a child sounding outtheir first words, you’re going to speak clearly and cut the rope with a line of your power.”
Elizabeth smiled politely, fury simmering beneath the surface.
“Do it,” Nasera purred. “Prove me wrong.”
Instead of creating magic from nothing, Elizabeth decided to try something else. Drawing power into her palm, she spooled magic into the existing candle flame, in her mind’s eye seeing the flickering orange become green, ripe with magic.
She took a deep breath and pointed a finger at the rope. “Váless!”
A phantom wind brushed her cheeks as the fire from the candle rose and arced through the air, burning a line of fire through the rope. The severed ends fell to the floor, charred.
She had done it.
Nasera did not give her a moment to savour her victory. There was no “good job” or “well done.” She simply laid another piece of the rope on the table.
“Do it again.”
To her incredulity, she succeeded a second time, the rope splitting with a line of fire. “I did it! I actually did it!” she exclaimed.
“An odd method,” Risna commented. “But effective.”
“Notquitewhat we asked you to do, but if you are incapable of manifesting flame, this is a good crutch.” She paused. “A moment.”
Nasera left the room and returned with rusted manacles. “Break it.”
“You can’t beserious.”
“You think you are accomplished because you mastered two spells—one that you needed to cheat to do.”
How like Nasera not to let her bask in a sense of accomplishment. She went from elated to fuming in seconds.
“Don’t look at me like that.” She shook the chain in front of her face. “Break one of the links.”
Elizabeth said nothing, glancing between Nasera and the rusted chain.
“The principle is the same. Split it with your power,” she instructed Elizabeth.
Try as she might, she couldn’t do it.
“Worthless.”
Using the same trick, she brought a line of fire from the candle against the metal. The chain glowed cherry red but remained whole and unbroken.
Energy flagging, Elizabeth released the magic, and watched the metal cool.
