Page 135 of The Gods Order

We worked on that all of yesterday and all of today. It’s the same process as separating sound, but of course there are extra little details that make it so much more difficult.

“I don’t understand why he waits to explain things to me. All yesterday he let me get frustrated that I wasn’t grasping separating my sight. Then first thing this morning he explains it’s because of my power of Accord. My awareness is constantly reaching outward and collecting information and every time Boundaries separates my sight, Accord tries to reconnect it.”

I huff, thinking about his very simple explanation. It’s easy enough for the mind to tune out a sound. I can ignore critters chirping if I don’t pay attention, which makes it easier to separate the connection.

With sight, though, it’s hard to ignore what I’m actively paying attention to. The moment I focus on something, I strengthen the very connection I’m supposed to be separating.

“Do you just want to vent your frustrations or do you want me to put my two cents in on why he does that?”

I can’t help the snort.

“Let me hear your sage analysis.”

She grins for a fleeting second before her expression turns thoughtful.

“Because he doesn’t know any better.”

My brows scrunch. “What? Of course he knows.”

She shakes her head.

“I really don’t think he does. Technically, you’re the first being with seven domains who’s lived long enough to actually use all seven powers. He may have more understanding than most of what you or each domain can do, but until he sees you wield your abilities, he doesn’t know how they’re going to react with one another. Why do you think he told us to try separating perception of power literally one time, then told us to take a break?”

“To burst my bubble.”

She huffs. “He’s studying you.”

“Ugh, I don’t like how that sounds.”

I ignore her side-eye.

“Think about it,” she says. “Yesterday you failed repeatedly and we couldn’t figure out what was going on. It wasn’t the same issue with sound and your power reaching out to him. That was fine. Then this morning he came back with the solution and you’ve been getting it down since. He observed you, spent the night thinking about it, then figured out where the problem was.”

I blow out a breath and lean back on my hands.

“That’s true. So you think he’s going to do that again? Was that why he waited until the end of training to give his little explanation on separating the perception of power?”

“Thayla, nothing about that explanation was little.” She laughs, shaking her head. “He was very detailed. It’s not like sound or sight because those are just senses we’re removing. This is different. This is the natural instinct people have when power is used near them. That pressure they feel, that awareness under the skin that something shifted in the realm. What we’re trying to do is separate someone’s awareness from recognizing that shift completely, even while we’re still using our power inside the boundary.

“I’m not going to be shocked at all tomorrow morning if he says it’s still your power of Accord interfering. Accord doesn’t just let you perceive what’s around you. It connects you to it. So when you try to separate that layer, Accord is still reaching outward and reinforcing the very recognition you’re trying to cut off.”

I sit with that for a moment, letting it settle.

My power of Accord isn’t something I ever think of as a problem. Simply because it isn’t destructive. Its awareness, its clarity, it’s the thing that keeps me from missing what matters and noticing when someone’s lying to me.

The way she explained it makes it sound like it’s doing the exact opposite here. Like it’s holding onto the reality of the realm too tightly when I need it to let go. My fingers curl into the grass as I exhale through my nose, turning the idea over until it starts to make sense.

“So tomorrow,” I say finally, “I’ll try again and do what I did today. Redirect it to work with my power of Boundaries rather than let it cling to the connection I’m focusing on.”

She hums. “Sounds good. Plus, he may have some extra insight.”

My gaze scans over Val again. His relaxed posture. His quiet words.

“I still don’t understand why he waited until yesterday to explain he’s teaching us in this order because we have to use each ability to sneak into the Abandon. We’ll have to separate sound, sight, and perception of power all at once. If he’d explained that from the start, I wouldn’t have bitched about wanting to jump straight to separating perception of power.”

“Now that I don’t know but definitely agree with you. Him explaining that would’ve saved you some frustration.”

“Just me?” She rolls her eyes at my tone. “I distinctly remember someone muttering that would’ve been good to know.”