The Valley of Lies (Lightkeepers #1)

Chapter THIRTY-THREE: Liss

"Toss and catch them," Reis said from his post above the quarry, leaning against his spear lodged in the earth. "They're not just pretty baubles to gape at. They're weapons."

"I realize that."

Liss drew a steady breath through her nose. The sunlight orbs wavered, their brilliance flickering as if something connected them to her emotions. Would they injure her if she fumbled trying to catch them?

"Your magic can tire you, but it won't hurt you. It is you."

How had Zan known what she was thinking? If he could read minds, she would scream.

But no, he'd already told her he couldn't.

After a few more deep inhales, she threw the orbs into the air. They disconnected from whatever mystical tether had linked them to her palms and flew high, hanging at the top of their arcing paths for a split-second before rushing back down to her. They landed gently, floating above her hands.

A frisson of excitement raced down her spine. It was true; the magic hadn't hurt her!

She practiced throwing the orbs with growing confidence, tossing them high and low, and at angles that defied logic. They returned to her palms each time, bright and harmless. But she hadn't forgotten the bandage on Zan's chest, or how easily she could lose control. One wrong throw, and someone could get hurt.

"Try hitting that bush." Reis pointed to a prickly shrub growing out of a large boulder below him near the west wall. Small pink blossoms sprouted from it, the only splash of color in the dusty quarry.

Was it a rockblossom, the brownie village's namesake flower? It was a shame to destroy something so pretty, but there wasn't much else to practice on. Liss doubted her small orbs would damage boulders or quarry walls. She would need stronger magic to impact stone, and she didn't dare push herself so far.

Still, it felt unnatural to use her magic against a non-threatening living organism.

So much for her eagerness to explode things.

She took tentative steps toward the shrub until the distance matched the height she'd thrown the orbs. Although they'd come back to her before, she suspected they wouldn't this time. The light hadn't returned to her hand after she'd hit Zan with her wayward magic, and the woody bush looked like it would combust at the mere mention of fire.

"Come on. Get on with it." Reis lowered himself to a squat, holding his spear by one hand, the other pressed to the ground.

"No one invited you!" Zan shouted up to him. Liss agreed with the sentiment, of course, but was too preoccupied to say so.

Reis had a point, though. The longer she stood around, scared to test herself, the less time there would be for relaxing later. Liss was exhausted, and she knew there would be limited downtime over the next two days. It was only practical to seize every opportunity she could.

She closed her eyes and focused on the golden warmth building within her. It was becoming easy, like second nature. Zan said most elves were born knowing how to access their magic, and she believed him now. It was like a door hiding within her had opened, and this innate ability had been waiting behind it all the while.

"Please meet your mark," she whispered, tightening one hand into a fist to extinguish the orb upon it, while she drew the other arm out behind her head, her palm facing forward, her fingers bent and stiff with anticipation. The orb was hot near her ear but didn't ignite the wispy strands of her hair caught in the breeze.

One breath. Two. She pitched forward, feeling the luniya orb separate from that invisible tether.

"No!" A tiny voice shrieked.