Page 151 of The Gods Order

Everything that moves through time around me, I command it to come to me rather than come out of me.

My power answers. Not in the way it normally does.

The realm shifts and Val’s movements slow while mine quicken.

It takes countless moments for a smile to fully stretch across his face.

“That’s…it…Kyzen.”

His words drag from his throat and my eyes flare. I command Time to return to where it should be, and I stumble back from the pride on his face.

My attention scans the Court. No one has noticed the fucking gravity of what’s going on over here.

“I heard you,” I mumble.

“You did,” he says, dipping his head. “With the latest power boost, that’s not a surprise.”

“It was a little distorted and slow, though.”

“That’s because you had me slowed down. From here on out, I imagine sound will come to you in whatever form you’re manipulating time.”

The air in my lungs rushes out of me and I shake my head, attempting to understand exactly what just happened.

“Did you know I could do that?”

“What exactly did you do?”

I tilt my head at the question. I know for a fact he knows the answer, but it’s like he wants me to spell it out just to make sure I actually know.

“I didn’t call upon my Domain that lives within me. I…summoned the time around me.”

He nods.

“You have always acknowledged that you are time. It’s your power. Yet you’ve never once attempted to stretch your reach and pull directly from the source.”

“I didn’t know I could,” I say, tossing my hands up.

“I know you didn’t. There are no books written on your original power. Everything Amick’s taught you over the years has come from the awareness his Domain provides him.”

I glance over at the table where he was prior to this sparring match starting. He’s no longer standing there. My brow furrows.

“How do you know that and how did you know I could do this?”

“You know how I know about Amick and his teaching,” he says, and I grunt.

Of course. He never turned his back on the creator, so I have no doubt the Messenger doesn’t mind whispering secrets and our business in his mind.

“As for how I know you could do this is because I too reach toward the realm for my power.”

Understanding dawns on me.

“Just like time, there’s always a connection. They thread through the realm itself. Through everything and everyone.”

“That’s right,” he says.

I expect him to continue immediately. Instead, he watches me.

Evaluates me. The same way he evaluates everything.