Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
The Impassable Desert isn’t just hot. This place is a slap in the face from the sun itself.
Sand stretches in every direction, rippling like water under the relentless heat.
Even with my fire affinity, sweat beads on my forehead and other body parts.
Above us, dragons circle in lazy loops, their shadows brief respites from the glare.
After enduring the chillier temperatures in the capital, they love luxuriating in this heat, the sun, and all the sand they can bathe in.
The desert plays no seasonal favorites, scorching any creatures foolish enough to breach its borders year-round. Even in the middle of winter.
Sterling clutches his already half-empty water flask in one hand.
“You know,” he wipes his brow with the back of his hand, “when I asked you to train with me this morning, I wasn’t expecting something quite so challenging.
” Despite his complaint, his brown, gold-flecked eyes sparkle with humor.
“Water magic. In one of the hottest, driest places in the world. Very thoughtful of you, love.”
A devious cackle bubbles up my throat. “Consider this payback for all those brutal training sessions you put me through when I first got my wings.” I stretch my shoulders.
“You forced me to fly until my muscles screamed, remember? Threw weighted balls at me to catch while I struggled to hold my position in the air. Not to mention those dawn sessions at Flighthaven when you behaved like a total ass.”
His eyes widen. “That was different. All necessary training.”
“And this isn’t? You know what we’re up against.” I raise an eyebrow. “The gods chose you as a champion, Sterling. You think they plan to make it easy?”
He sighs, conceding the point with a nod. “Fair enough.”
I just smile and take three steps back. Without warning, I summon fire from deep within, feeling it jet through my veins like liquid gold. “Hope you’re ready.”
A massive fireball erupts from my palms and spirals toward Sterling with deadly intent.
He laughs while creating a water shield that transforms my flames to steam with a satisfying hiss.
“That all you’ve got?” He’s a blur of muscle and magic.
I track him while hurling smaller and faster fireballs that scorch patches of sand.
Sterling dodges most of them and counters others, his water magic leaving brief shimmers of moisture that the desert instantly devours.
“Lower your shield edge!” I shout as one of his shields becomes a little wonky. “You’re leaving your left side exposed.”
He adjusts mid-movement as seamlessly and fluidly as the element he commands. “Better?”
The dragons, apparently bored with just observing, decide to join the fun. Tanwen launches a stream of dragonfire—hotter and more vibrant than my own magic—directly at Sterling’s back.
Horror grips me. I open my mouth to warn him, already knowing I’ll be too late.
Somehow sensing the attack, Sterling drops and rolls, allowing the flames to pass safely overhead. “Trying to kill me, love?”
Smirking, he leaps to his feet.
I toss up my hands, palms out. “Don’t look at me. That was Tanwen. Apparently, he thinks you’re not training hard enough.”
I glare up at the dragon, opening our connection to blast him with my disapproval.
Tanwen replies with a burst of amusement before attempting to soothe my stress. Clearly, the dragon had confidence in Sterling’s ability to dodge his attack.
“There went a few years off my life,” I mumble as I prepare my next assault.
For nearly an hour, we dance across the desert.
I fling flames. The dragons occasionally assist and add their own flair with dragonfire, tails, and even gusts of gritty wind.
Hmm, not a bad idea. The next time Sterling pivots to focus on Kaida’s dive, I widen my stance and unfurl my wings, beating them back and forth. While the sand swirls and spins, I heat the grains until they start to glow and then fling them at Sterling’s unprotected flank.
He keeps pace with everything, his layered ice sheets chilling and trapping my fiery sand.
His power is incredible.
Finally, with my lungs burning almost as much as my magic, I call for a break. “Enough! I surrender to your superior endurance.”
Sterling collapses onto the blanket we brought, chest heaving. “About damn time. I was actually starting to worry I might keel over.” Tanwen swoops overhead, blasting him with a snort strong enough to stir the sand. “I surrender, Tanwen!”
I flop down beside him. “You were amazing.” The dragons take to the skies again and drift lazily on the updrafts.
“Thanks.” He passes me a water flask, and our fingers brush. Even that innocent contact ignites a spark between us. “So what about you? Want to try some of my training routines?”
I gulp several mouthfuls of water, considering. “The ones you were doing last week with Rivlan?”
“Yes. The training might benefit you since your magic classes were cut short at Flighthaven. In the beginning, Rivlan’s lessons were less about using the magic and more about getting in tune with my element.
If that makes sense. It’s a lot easier than what we were just doing.
” He stands and extends a hand. “Come on. Your turn to suffer.”
I let him pull me up. To my surprise, he only lifts me into a sitting position.
He settles on the blanket beside me, putting enough distance between us so we won’t accidentally touch. “First, I want you to sit there with your eyes closed. Relax. Without calling on your power, try to feel the magic. Notice where it lives in your body.”
I fill my lungs and close my eyes, understanding exactly what he means. “There’s two spots, actually.”
Surprise laces his tone. “Two?”
“Well, yeah.” I shift on the blanket, surprised I never explained this to him. “My elemental fire and the phoenix fire. The phoenix fire is,” I focus on the portion that thrums like a second pulse, “somewhere just below my own heart. The other fire sort of sits behind my belly button.”
“Can you merge the two?” Awe colors his words. “And keep the result inside you?”
I used both types of fire at the same time while fighting Narc, but merge them?
“Well…” I reach inside, coaxing the two magics to join. They twine easily, offering no resistance. Swirling, combining, but not actually mixing, each flame holds a distinct place. Gold, red, and a brilliant white shine behind my eyelids.
“Like that. Yes. Now instead of calling the flames up, allow them to rise to the surface.”
My nose wrinkles. What does he mean, like that? The fire is still inside my body. Can he see something anyway? Or sense something?
His husky voice soothes like a warm breeze after playing in the snow.
Heat surges to my skin. “Okay.”
“This might sound strange, but try to picture your magic as part of you rather than a separate entity living beneath your skin. Accept that the magic shifts with a thought, the same way you unconsciously move your arm or leg.”
I flash back to the cave where Narc’s bones rested. Under duress, I didn’t need to focus on pulling my magic along with me. I just did it. I was holding Rose when I destroyed Narc and all the drachen. I imagined what I wanted, and then it happened.
“Holy shit.”
When I register the amazement in Sterling’s voice, my eyes fly open.
Red, yellow, white, and orange swirl as my flames engulf me. I have to admit, it’s pretty damn cool. On the far side, Sterling gapes.
A tiny lick of flame stretches out and taps his tongue.
He sputters, slapping at the fire while jerking back. “Wha-wha…?” His dry tongue prevents him from finishing the word.
“Oops. I didn’t expect it to move so fast!” I collapse to my knees, howling. “You should have seen your face.”
I’m cracking up so hard that I’m gasping for air and my stomach’s burning. I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much.
Around me, the fire wiggles, matching my joy.
Just as Sterling claimed, the training is glorious rather than strenuous. I feel as if I’ve grown into my full body. Like I’m finally completely…me in a way I never knew could happen. Then again, this is only the first lesson. The exercises surely get tougher.
Sterling stops batting at his dry tongue to glare at me with faux anger. “Oh, you think that’s funny, do you?”
Rain starts prickling my fiery skin, the drops so light that they tickle.
“Sterling!” When I attempt to swat them away, the drops grow colder, barely above freezing. Rolling over, I do my best to dodge them. My flames ripple in an effort to sizzle and evaporate the droplets.
Sterling gets on his knees and pursues me, refusing to let me escape. Our laughter and yelling ring out.
Then a new sensation washes over me.
Suddenly, Sterling’s magic fills me, too, like a cool rush of water alongside the burning heat of flame. Our eyes lock from across the swirling vortex of steam and sparks, and I know he feels it as well.
With our heightened emotions, we opened up to each other and synchronized. Our magics merged without requiring us to do anything.
The rush intoxicates me, the surging power beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. With our fire and water in perfect harmony, we feel more like a single entity than two separate magic users or bodies.
The sensation reminds me of when we shared the dream state together.
Sterling appears equally shaken. “What was that?”
“I don’t know.” I search for a way to describe what just happened. “But it felt—”
“Right.” He grins. “And good.”
I nod, unable to find better words. The experience awakened something in me, a rush nearly smothered by the pressures of acting as queen.
“I’ve missed this.” I stare across the vast, harsh beauty of the desert. “Being part of the action instead of just twiddling my thumbs and watching others.”
“You’ve always been more than someone who watches events unfold from afar. Always will be.” Sterling’s fingers find mine in the sand and squeeze gently. “But what’s this about watching me? Were you scrying on me?”