Moving Objects

Chapter 7

Dimitri raised a brow at me with a wary look on his face. "What?"

"Eddie wanted to know if he could get some one-on-one time with you? He's nervous about trials," I explained with a small frown.

"All that to ask if I would work with Eddie? Seriously Roza?" Dimitri exclaimed.

I shrugged, "Hey, I got to get my jollies when I can. Besides, you can't say you didn't like it."

Dimitri shook his head and dipped it down next to my ear. "One of these days you're going to get yourself into a hard spot."

I kept my eyes on the door as I reached my hand down and cupped him, grinning evilly. "I think it's you who will be in a hard spot."

I stepped away when I heard the door rattle and the lock disengaged, flicking my eyes up to Dimitri who was flushed. I turned back to the door to see Abe - Dad - step into the gym.

"Ah, there you are! I was hoping to see you before I left. I was wanting to do a little work with you. Do you mind Belikov?"

Dimitri shook his hand as he stuck his hands into his pockets, nodding his head.

"You're more than welcome to stay, Belikov. It may be beneficial. If you two are going to be Guardians to the Dragomir Princess, you need to know this too," Dad said as he shrugged off his jacket and set it on the bench. Dimitri moved to the side and sat on the bench to watch us.

Dad started explaining how to do mental warm-ups, expanding my thoughts and reaching out with my mind. It felt good. It was similar to the way that I would feel around in Lissa's head but without actually going into hers. It was like I was opening myself up to all of my surroundings.

Dad seemed impressed with my reach after having it suppressed for so many years. I was confused but he explained that he could feel me reaching out, and that when I was younger it would feel like a tsunami pulling back from the shore when I was working up to something.

"My declared element is Earth magic. I want you to try and block me from moving those," Dad explained, pointing to the heavy bag. I watched it split open and the sand poured out of it onto the floor. I looked over to Dimitri who looked less than impressed, to which Dad waved him off.

"Don't worry about that. I'll replace it."

Dimitri sighed and gestured for Dad to continue and I watched the sand swirl in the air before moving towards me. I took a deep breath and pictured a shield in front of me. I managed to block some of it but the majority of it came through, pelting my skin.

"Focus, Rose."

"I am!" I exclaimed but Dad just sighed. He reeled it all back to him and tried again, giving me a few moments to prepare myself before he went again. I focused even harder and managed to make less of it get through, but it still came through.

"I want you to pull things from around the room to you, not thinking of anything in particular, but something that you can use in defense."

I nodded and braced myself again as the sand started to swirl around me and I squeezed my eyes shut. The sand was coarse against my skin and I didn't think about anything but protecting myself. I could feel the pull before I could no longer feel anything against my face and I slowly opened my eyes. I managed to pull one of the mats from the storage room in front of me and I peeked around it to see the door practically off the hinges.

Abe let go of his element and I dropped the mat to the ground with a sigh. I took a deep breath and wiped the beads of sweat from my face. I felt like I had just run my longest mile. I could do more than this, so why was I so damn tired?