10. Thayla #2
“Of course we do,” I grunt.
“Welcome to training.” Meridamus laughs.
Val lets out his own low chuckle, then clears his throat.
“This time, Yemi, you’re going to add one of the other noises with the critters.”
The next hour passes in a cycle of successes and failures.
The sounds of the critters disappear, but the wind stays.
Then the opposite. She gets frustrated with her failures, but we all cheer at every victory.
Once she gets one pair completed, Val tells her to switch it up.
Separate the leaves and the critters, then the leaves and the wind.
Eventually, her mistakes become smaller. She becomes more precise and controlled every time she calls her power forward. Her progress and confidence are impossible to miss.
“Very good, Yemi,” Val says, clapping after her last successful attempt. “You got one more exercise in you?”
She wipes sweat from her forehead and gives him a small grin.
“Of course I do.”
He smirks.
“Separate all sound around us from everyone’s hearing except my voice and your own.”
The confidence she gained evaporates and my shock at his order matches her own.
“That’s significantly more advanced than what we’ve been practicing,” she says.
“It is,” he agrees. “Just give it a shot, though. Aim your power and concentration at the space between all of us and the sounds.”
She blows out a deep breath and flexes her fingers. I’m not sure if she’s bobbing her head at us or herself.
This time, once her eyes close, she takes nearly three full minutes before calling for her power. Even then, she doesn’t release it immediately. It sits on her skin—mine as well—and she holds it as she concentrates.
The meadow grows strangely still as her power crawls outward. It doesn’t fall silent, but…quieter.
“So far, so good, Yemi. Don’t give up.”
Val’s voice remains clear and calm. The lower tone is purposeful on his part rather than her power’s doing. She continues to breathe evenly.
Those softer noises muffle and I blink. Everything sounds more distant like I’m hearing the realm through water. Beside me, Kyzen shifts, noticing the change as well. His fingers brush against mine as we stare at her.
Then her concentration breaks and every sound slams back in around us. The onslaught takes me by surprise, and I sway right into Kyzen’s side.
Yemi staggers and Val catches her shoulders before she can lose her footing like he was prepared for that.
“You were very close,” he says.
Her chest rises and falls as she tries to catch her breath.
“How close?”
“For several seconds, all the surrounding sounds were muffled. Nearly muted.”
“Really?” she asks with an exhausted but genuine smile.
“Really.”
He releases her once he’s sure she has her balance, then chuckles as she declares she’s taking a break. She strides a few feet away from us and pretty much collapses onto her ass. I chuckle until I notice the two Beginning Gods’ undivided attention on me.
“What?” I ask.
Kyzen leans in close.
“I believe that’s their way of saying it’s your turn, gorgeous.”
Shit. Duh, Thayla.
“You got this, Thay.”
The thumbs-up Yemi gives me has my head shaking and my curiosity drifting to a different lesson.
“I’ve never had to recharge this power. Or well, at least, I’ve never tried. Other powers come forward a bit quicker in that department.”
I was shooting for subtlety. Kyzen’s laugh that he chokes on gives away too much information. Val’s and Meridamus’s faces turn crimson.
I clear the embarrassment from my voice and carry on.
“Yemi’s always just relaxed to feed her power or whatever you want to call it. Is there a better, faster way?” I ask.
The God of Boundaries eventually tears his glare from Kyzen and scans Yemi as she pops back up into a sitting position, hope shining bright across her features.
“Yes. You simply…surround yourself with your power. Put yourself in a boundary for a while.”
“Seriously?” I ask and he nods.
“Thank fuck that’s easy enough,” Yemi says and wastes no time doing just that.
A faint disorientation surrounds her like a bubble, and she grins as she gets herself comfortable.
“Now, are you ready to give this a go?” Val asks.
“Or you got any more deflecting questions?”
I scowl at Meridamus.
“That wasn’t me deflecting. Yemi looks tired as shit. I was helping her and preparing myself.” He hums and I huff. “Are you adding to this training today or only contributing with smart-ass commentary?”
“Smart-ass for today, I’m afraid. Your father wanted the spotlight.”
“I didn’t want to spotlight. It makes the most sense for me to train them since Yemi only has my domain.”
“Excuses, Val. We could’ve divided and conquered like I suggested, but you shut that down as well.”
The two of them continue their bickering and my body shivers as Kyzen crowds closer to me, chuckling into my neck.
“There’s that remarkable ability of yours at work,” he teases.
Yeah, yeah.
I’m good at getting attention off me. It never lasts long, though.
The two of them either have a remarkable ability at reading me or they just noticed and didn’t like how close Kyzen was to me. Their attention whips right back to us, and stern wrinkles form on their foreheads.
Gods, this will get old quick.
Also, Riven will feed into their obvious distaste at seeing our affection like it’s a feast made just for him.
“Okay. What am I doing?”
“The same exercise. Start with separating the sound of the critters,” Val instructs as he laces his hands behind his back.
Kyzen takes a few steps away from me as I shake my hands out and roll my shoulders. With a deep breath, I allow my eyes to fall shut just as Yemi did to prepare herself.
The sounds are easy enough to find. Tiny rustles hidden throughout the meadow. Soft clicking of critters moving through foliage, leaves rustling against one another, and the quiet whispers of the wind. It’s just life moving along. Nature doing its thing.
The explanations Val gave Yemi replay through my mind, and I repeat the important bits until I’m sure I understand what I’m supposed to be doing. I don’t think about the outcome or even the critters themselves.
Just separating my hearing from the sound they’re making. The connection between us. I reach for my Boundaries and a fierce tingle blazes down my spine. It’s wrong, though. Well, not wrong. The sensation feels different than it normally does.
My power continues to stir, and I decide to ease it out of me rather than releasing my hold all at once.
Instead of that being what happens, it lunges toward the sound of the critters faster than my thoughts can order it not to. A curse slips from my mouth as I snatch it back.
Yep, that wasn’t right. That was strange.
“Do you know what you did wrong?” Val asks.
I bow my shaking head and place my hands on my hips.
“Not exactly. It was like reaching for something and feeling my hand close around something completely different. My mind knows what to do, but my power, hell, maybe my instincts want to do something else.”
He hums and nods, giving me no other explanation.
“Try again.”
The second attempt goes no better. Neither does the third.
“Walk me through what you’re doing step-by-step,” Val says as he strolls to my side.
We both face the tree line and I close my eyes. I focus solely on the racket the critters are making.
“I find the sound.”
“Good. Then what?”
My breath pours out of me as I split my attention between the critters and the space between us.
“The connection.”
“Exactly. Now pinpoint your power at the connection.”
I reach for my power, and it attempts to surge through me once again. I put a damn death grip on it and only allow it to trickle out. Instead of quieting the critters’ chirps, the rustling of leaves vanishes, then returns. Then fucking vanishes again.
My eyes snap open.
“Damn it.”
“What happened?” Yemi asks.
“I don’t know,” I say as I throw my hands up.
I swear not knowing what’s going wrong frustrates me more than actually failing. Failing I can tolerate. Like my little psycho says, try, try again.
I can’t try, try again if I don’t know what the hell is going wrong to begin with.
“Deep breath and do it again.”
I do as he says. My chest expands with my inhale, and on my exhale, I shove all my annoyance out with it.
The next attempt goes better. Then worse. Then better.
The pattern repeats itself for nearly a fucking hour and I want to scream. It doesn’t matter that Val switches up what sound he wants me to focus on. Each time, I brush against the connection. I sense it, I feel it, I attempt to separate it, then my power does whatever the fuck it wants.
I swear to the Valories, it’s like when my powers settled for the first time.
Non-listening shit.
“You’re rushing,” Val says as I squeeze my eyes shut for the millionth time.
I glare at him through one slitted lid.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I understand what I’m supposed to do. I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. My power is not cooperating.”
“I know.” His answer catches me off guard and I cross my arms as I face him fully. “You do understand what to do.”
“Then why isn’t it working?”
Instead of answering, he steps closer, reaching his palm toward me.
“May I?” he asks, and I huff, laying my hand in his. “Step-by-step.”
He stretches our arms out, fingers pointing at the tree line, and sharp zaps race down my back. I straighten and roll my shoulders out to relieve the pressure.
“Close your eyes and find the sound.”
I do.
“Now the connection.”
Again, I do.
His voice remains steady, calm, and with a patience that I feel like I’ll work a lifetime to have.
“Don’t touch the sound. Not the critters, the wind, or the leaves. Only the connection. The interaction between you and them.”
The sensation along my spine intensifies as it travels up my back, down my arms, then out of my fingers. Nothing but silence greets me.
“Can you hear my voice?” he asks, and I fight back a flinch. I wasn’t expecting to hear anything.
“Yes.”
“Good. Hold the connection.”