The Isles of Korrys (The Kingdom of Dragons Book 6)

V - Making Waves

The druid hadn't even said anything infuriating so far and still Elaya wanted to hit him. Just the knowledge of what he'd said about Kaz so far was making her angry, no matter how normal and respectful he acted toward her. At least Kaz was far away enough not to be a target of insults for now, but the entire situation made it difficult to fully concentrate on what the druid was saying to her.

She just couldn't help but anticipate another comment about Kaz from him at any moment.

"Summon a wave at us," he said, which made Elaya forget her anger for a second. She blinked, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"Summon a wave. At us."

"Whatever water you summon, I will stop it before it hits us," the druid replied. The words would have been arrogant, but his tone wasn't that at all, as if he was simply stating facts. But given what he'd done to test her so far, maybe she shouldn't doubt his power, at the very least.

She couldn't help but doubt her own power, though. It was difficult for her to control earth, let alone water, and it would be especially difficult with the druid here, watching her do it. But she knew there was no reason to put this off. If she wanted to learn how to use her magic, she had to use it.

Stretching out her hand, she frowned at the rolling ocean in front of her as she tried to concentrate. The ocean made waves on its own, so all she needed to do was make one of the waves bigger. That didn't sound too intimidating, but it certainly felt that way. She had managed to save Kaz from drowning by moving water, which was somewhat similar, but that had been in a moment of pure desperation.

The thought of Kaz almost made her sigh. If he were at her side right now he'd no doubt try to encourage her. He always seemed to know what to say in that regard, and Elaya had only truly noticed it when they'd gotten separated while fleeing Reighir. But Elaya was very glad he wasn't with them right now. There was no telling what the druid might say to him.

She set her jaw, her frown deepening as she tried to use the anger that thought had produced. She almost smiled when she saw the water rise. She tried to drag it up as far as it would go, but very quickly, she felt her control slipping. Before she could do as the druid had asked her and bring the water to them, the wave was disappearing back into the sea, as if it had never been there at all.

Elaya gritted her teeth, annoyed with herself as she steeled herself for whatever snide comment the druid would reward her with. But surprisingly, he said nothing. Elaya took this as an indication that she should try again, but before she could, a massive wave shot up from the sea right in front of her, at least two dozen feet long. Elaya flinched back in shock, her instincts yelling at her to run away, but she didn't. Not when she realized the wave wasn't moving. It was simply hovering there, a few feet away from them, glinting in the afternoon sun, clear and transparent.

Elaya's eyes darted to the druid, who had his hand outstretched slightly, once more looking almost disinterested, if not outright bored. As if holding up a wave like this was nothing to him. Was he just so much more powerful or would she be able to do this with ease just like him if she got the training he must have gotten?

"What training have you had?" the druid asked her as the wave retreated. Elaya wasn't sure how to respond to that since she had no frame of reference, but he continued before she could respond. "I assume the dragons taught you?"

Elaya narrowed her eyes at the dismissive tone, but she wasn't sure if she was offended because he was being dismissive of her or of dragons, and therefore Kaz. "Yes. They showed me some of the basics, but—"

"Dragons have a very partial understanding of magic because they cannot use it the same way we do."

Elaya frowned. She wondered what exactly that meant, but it would make sense that dragons had different abilities than humans given that they were proficient at controlling fire, but not much else, not without a totem. And shapeshifting, of course, but even then, Kaz had trained for years to be as good at it as he was. But that had to be a magical ability, surely, if the druid could change into a bird and back.