A Dance Of Crowns & Thrones | Book I

Chapter 95 | October 9th | Training Of The Keepers

Timeline - October 9th | ( 5 days later)

Mya had been growing increasingly frustrated over the past week. "Why can't I just get this to work properly? It's been a week nearly!" she exclaimed, exasperated.

She couldn't help but feel envious of Jasmine, who had seemingly effortlessly mastered the crystal and its powers. Mya had been struggling even with the simplest task, such as creating an energy ball.

Meanwhile, Jasmine was laughing and bouncing around, demonstrating her skills on the creatures they were practicing on. Mya could see Matthew and Jesse training with Jasmine, while Toni kept a watchful eye to ensure their safety.

The only other person present was Mya's ex, who had been coming and going between Allegiant and training. He watched as Mya struggled, feeling a mixture of sympathy and frustration.

As the raven-haired beauty flicked her slim wrist and tossed her hair in anger, her water bottle crashed to the floor, shattering the peace of the training room. Richie couldn't help but turn his attention from watching Matthew and Jesse practice with Jasmine, to observe Mya's frustration.

With a hand extended, Richie felt the magic pulsating through his fingers as he approached her. "You can do that too," he offered.

Mya looked up at him, her frustration with her slow progress palpable. She felt defeated standing in the vast, grassy training fields where they had been practicing tirelessly for days. The sky was ablaze with the colors of the sunset, and the warm siennas of their world shone brightly overhead.

"How do you do it, Richie? How do you maintain your energy for so long?" she asked, feeling a hint of desperation in her voice.

Richie moved closer to her, extending his hand as if to offer her support.

"You have to listen to your blood," he explained, magic pulsing from his fingers. "You can control its flow. Let it flow into your fingertips and then focus on letting the magic flow out. Keep practicing until it becomes second nature."

He gazed at her for a moment longer than he had intended, aware of how much she despised him. He understood that he had to torment her so that she would blame him. He blamed himself, and nothing in the world would ever change that.

"Close your eyes," he repeated, "listen to your blood, to your body. It will tell you what it needs."

Without any hesitation, Mya followed his instructions, taking a deep breath in as she attempted to block everything else out.

"Stop overthinking, let go of the control you believe you have, just for now."

The world went momentarily silent as Richie observed the magic emanating from her fingers. She took another deep breath and expanded them. It took her minutes longer than before, but she finally managed to do it.

Matthew, Jesse, Jasmine, and Toni halted their activities, observing as Mya continued to expand her powers.

"Do you think it's wise?" Jasmine leaned in towards Matthew and Jesse, her tone suspicious. The two had been talking in hushed tones, and there was always the chance that they could erupt at any moment. A ticking time bomb that had been stagnant for too long. 

"We've been at it for six days straight. If she doesn't learn to control it, then the alternative is that she wasn't meant to use it," Jesse explained, crossing her arms and leaning past Matthew to get a better view of Jasmine. "So yes, it's a good idea. Do we really want to deal with the alternative?"

"Alright," Jasmine shrugged, grinning as she plunged her sword into the ground. "I'll bet fifty it'll end in World War Three."

"You're on," Jesse stuck out her tongue, and they refocused their attention on Mya and Richie.

Richie's voice brought Mya back to her senses, the warmth of his words providing a comfort that she hadn't experienced in years. "That's great, Mya," he said. "You've got it now. Hold onto it."

Exhaling again, Mya felt the vibrations in her skin, rippling beneath the layers of her lungs. Her heart is palpitating, and yet everything was still. Her world was nothingness at this moment and there was a pulse of magic filtering around her.

Reaching out to it, Mya let the rhythm of the golden aura flow around her, opening her eyes in the hope of seeing it, wanting to believe in something tangible.

The golden hue washed over her face, and as she regained her senses, Mya realized that her body was pulsing with power, and a ball of energy was calmly resting on the edge of her palm.

"Excellent," Richie encouraged. "Hold onto this sensation. Always."

Stepping back, it allowed the others to join them.  They had all watched as Mya's face flared in delight at what she could now do, at the powers that were drawn around her, and the way she felt the first time he had. Invincible.

It wouldn't be till years later that he realized that no power in the universe could control destiny. No matter how powerful you are, sometimes bad things still happen, and no magic could ever undo the damage that was inflicted.

"Let's get to work," Matthew directed his troops. "Let's push those powers. Follow my powers and snap to where I am. We'll do a mile at a time to expand it. Tell me when you both need to stop." With that, Matthew and Jesse vanished.

Richie watched as Jasmine struggled briefly to locate their new position before disappearing effortlessly from their previous location. Meanwhile, Mya had only briefly turned her attention to Richie, who had been unable to take his eyes off her. For a moment, their eyes met, acknowledging the challenges they were about to face.

He couldn't hide the weight in his heart, but he didn't need Mya to know. When she broke the connection, he disappeared to find the others, with Toni following closely behind.

"Talk to me," Toni had remained watching Richie and the paleness that took over his body, the way his fist clenched.

"I'll adapt. Mya is one of us now, and we'll have to work together," Richie replied.

"You'd think you two would have learned that skill by now, especially with Mac," Toni remarked.

Richie smirked with a half-cocked laugh, "clearly we didn't, and we really need to now.  I don't want Mya dying on the battlefield because we were bickering."

With that, his powers wrapped around his body as he transported himself to find the others, Toni on his heel ever so closely.