Chapter 13
The first break of dawn had yet to arrive as I walked to meet Daegal for our first training session.
Of course, he hadn’t actually bothered waiting for me at our huts, so I had to frantically search for the exit in the still-dark morning.
When I finally found the place, I could tell from his tight-set jaw and crossed arms that I was late.
From the first glance, his demeanor radiated annoyance.
His slacks hung loosely from his narrow hips, and his cream-colored button-down shirt was rolled up to his elbows, revealing the vast amount of ink curling around his forearms. His cold, dark eyes met mine, narrowing dangerously as I approached him.
“You’re late,” he said, gesturing for me to hurry with a wave of his arm. This was going to be so much fun.
“Sorry, I got lost,” I admitted, running one hand over the other. “You could’ve waited for me.” My voice mimicked the frostiness blazing in his dark eyes as he continued to look at me.
“Why would I do that? That’d mean I’d have to endure thirty more minutes of your bad-tempered company.”
My cheeks heated. Every muscle in my body tensed to stop myself from retorting back. I needed Daegal in a good mood today. I needed to learn.
“We practice by the river,” he said, turning on his heel without another backward glance.
He started walking deeper into the forest, gesturing for me to follow him. I willed my legs to keep moving, but the thought of being alone with Daegal, without anyone to diffuse the tension, turned my stomach into knots.
I started to wish I’d brought Hannan or Jax or anyone to make sure he didn’t accidentally kill me. As I walked a few paces behind him, I listened to the forest coming alive the further we went. After a while, I heard the rush of the river, followed closely by the sight of it. Finally.
I suppressed the urge to jump in and let the surge carry me far away from Daegal and his prepared lesson.
A light cough caught my attention, and I turned to look at him. His gaze was on me, his tattooed arms crossed again over his chest in impatience. “Do let me know when you see fit to begin this lesson,” he drawled.
I rolled my eyes but faced him all the same, lifting my hands in mock surrender. “Go ahead.”
His head twitched slightly, eyes narrowing momentarily at mine, surely deciding whether to keep bickering or get on with it. A stray wavy lock clung to his eyebrow, but he didn’t seem to notice it.
“Sun magic is nothing like dark magic,” he said, and I thanked Goddess Nyxe for his surprising ability to let it go. “It’s created from chaos. Not the chaos around you, but the chaos we tend to create within ourselves.” He tapped the place where his heart would be if he had one.
He stepped closer, lifting his hands so suddenly I almost flinched. But he spread his fingers wide, just like I’d witnessed Kenric do when he was about to strike.
Sparks erupted from his fingertips, yet his eyes never left mine. “It’s a burning magic fueled by anger. Fear. Desire. It’s explosive.”
His fingers curled, and the sparks turned into a ring of white-hot, dangerous light. “And if you can’t tame it, you could end up burning an entire library to the ground, for instance…”
I curled my hands into fists at the mention of my blunder.
“I did what I thought you wanted me to,” I said with a voice steadier than the rapid thumping in my chest. “I obviously didn’t mean to—“
“Didn’t mean to won’t undo the charred hole in the carpet,” he snarled. The ring he produced from his hand flickered dangerously. I guess I was rather good at fueling his fire.
Eyes alive with the glow from the magic, he leaned closer. The couple of feet between us seemed to shrink threateningly. “So, from now on, do exactly as I tell you. Study when I ask you to study. Practice only when I’m near enough to undo your mistakes.”
I raised my hands the same way he did and tried to channel all the fury I felt towards him into my hands.
Heart hammering, I willed the negative energy toward my open palms. He smirked knowingly, taking a fighting stance as he watched me closely.
His gaze flickered from my face to my hands, where my fingers twitched with effort.
“The magic doesn’t come from your palms, Prudence,” he tsk-ed, relaxing his stance to walk around me instead. “I already told you this. It comes from your heart.”
As he stood directly behind me, his breath tickled my neck as he spoke. “Who did this to you? Who gave you these scars?” he asked, his fingers carefully trailing the mark Boaz left on my shoulders. “I’d like to thank them for their service.”
“None of your business,” I snarled, shooting him a hateful glare over my shoulder.
“Fine,” he huffed. “But I want you to think of the person who did that. What do you feel?”
Anger rose in my body, filling me up until I was shaking with rage.
“Imagine all that delirious fury inside of you forced into an orb so tightly it can do nothing but explode,” Daegal whispered. “Imagine that explosion running down your arms…”
He ran his fingertips smoothly down my skin as he spoke. His touch ignited the anger within me like a burning torch. “—and into your fingers where you can manipulate the power into whatever you want.”
He stepped in front of me once more, hands curled again like he was ready to strike. “If you’re able to control that fury.”
I didn’t dare say out loud that he was the last person to talk about controlling one’s fury. He snapped his fingers, and the ring appeared, encasing us like he’d done the first day we’d met.
“Like this snap,” he said, eyes flickering to the hot string around us, “is mostly for dramatic effect.” He smirked as I rolled my eyes at him. “But it can help the power release from our touch to float freely in the air.”
I found myself reluctantly impressed with this bit of information.
He dropped his hand, and the ring around us vanished. I realized this was the longest we’d talked without being spiteful—a whopping two minutes.
His brows crinkled momentarily as he watched me before schooling his face back into a neutral expression. “To start, tell me what move you tried to do in the library?”
I willed my mind to remember. Then I realized that I hadn’t tried a specific move. I’d only tried to channel my anger into power. Into my hands. Staring back at Daegal, I gulped, predicting how furious he’d get once I told him.
“I, uhm—" I trailed off, taking a cautious step back and crossing my arms. “I didn’t—"
“You didn’t practice a specific move?” he roared, throwing his hands into the air in indignation. “My God, you are senseless.”
“And you’re a terrible teacher!” I retorted, storming at him with my finger pointed at him accusingly. “You could’ve told me these things before I started to study!”
His frame towered over me as he brushed my fingers aside and leaned closer. “Don’t raise your voice at me, Prudence. You’re the one who messed up.”
“Fine! This is getting nowhere. Can I just try a move?”
He shrugged, straightening back up to his full height. “Give it a shot.” His voice indicated his lack of belief in my abilities all too well.
I stepped back and planted my feet solidly on the damp ground. My feet felt restricted inside my boots as I wiggled my toes in concentration.
Without hesitation, I bent down and ripped the shoes off my feet before continuing. Daegal raised his eyebrows questioningly at me but didn’t comment.
Raising my hands like he’d done, I closed my eyes and focused once more on all the moments in my life I’d been wronged.
My father getting killed in our own house by the Defenders while I held Lili tightly to spare her the sight. Kenric holding Lili, waiting for me to come to her rescue. Kenric forcing me to watch the life leave Annora’s body as she writhed…
When I reopened my eyes, I felt the heat in my heart. Daegal was watching me intently, one hand absently caressing his lower lip. Still, he didn’t speak.
The sight of him was enough to push my fury over the edge. I tried with all my might to take the anger filling my body and pressing it into a little ball in my chest.
“How do I move the power from my heart to my hands?” I asked, voice trembling with effort.
“I told you to imagine it,” Daegal replied, stepping back to remain out of reach of my unrefined power.
“So helpful,” I huffed but tried, nonetheless. I breathed out slowly through my mouth, imagining a hot fluid running down my arms and into my hands. My fingers gave an involuntary flex.
“How do I create an orb like you did?” I asked. “And don’t you dare tell me to imagine it.”
“Stop asking questions and just try.” I could sense him pacing around behind me, likely waiting for my failure so he could mock me.
I refocused my energy back on those horrible memories I’d conjured. My skin ignited once more, and I tried my hardest to keep that furious flame alive.
Memories of my own dishonorable actions flooded my mind as well, fueling the already burning anger inside me. My stupidity, which had hurt my friends, intertwined with my hatred for Kenric and the rest. I imagined a huge and powerful orb erupting from my hands.
With a scream, the heat exploded out of my hands. I flew back, landing hard on my ass before smacking my head into the ground.
Pain shot up my spine, and my head spun from the impact.
I sat up quickly, searching the trees for the fire I’d created. The sky was void of both flames and smoke. Daegal cleared his throat to gain my attention, then pointed to the ground in front of me.
My heart dropped. The tiniest scorch mark, roughly the size of a piece of gold, smoked lightly at my feet.
I gaped at the pathetic sight. I’d felt the power surge through me, stronger than I’d ever felt it. This was what I could create from it?
I thought back to the time I practiced in the strategy room. I’d almost burned that entire place to the ground without trying. Now, with all my efforts, I barely managed anything.