I hooted in joy and even jumped like an overzealous child when Anna told me we were going to be practicing magic today. And not any old magic--something new!
"Are you going to teach me how to make little figurines with lightning?" I probed her excitedly. Her display of magic when I was first getting to know her had been so beautiful; I wanted to make something like that.
We'd travelled all the way down to the bottom of the base and were now walking through a long tunnel that seemed to cut through the entire length of the mountain the base hung off. It was dark this far down and the tunnel was so long we couldn't see the sun on the other side, so we used our lightstones to guide us; the white glow on the raw, rugged walls felt otherworldly and mysterious. The beginning of an adventure.
Anna laughed, blatantly amused by my thrill of magic. It was cold in the depths of the mountain, but not nearly as windy, so she only wore riding pants and a long sleeved under armour shirt. "No."
"How about a lightning spear?" I guessed. If not something beautiful, maybe something I could use in a fight.
"No!" She slapped my arm, too entertained to be mad by my pestering . "Eva, I've told you I can't teach you how to use your elemental magic."
I sighed, only slightly disappointed. With the promise of something new on the horizon, my enthusiasm refused to die. "Okay. Fine. Then where are we going and what are you going to teach me?"
She tsked at me. "Jacob's not this impatient."
I blew a strand of hair out of my face in a huff. "Jacob doesn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders."
"Neither do you," she scolded me. "You're important and will definitely change things if war comes, but it's not all on you, Eva. Remember that."
It was hard to. Tension in the base was rising. They all knew war was coming and everyone kept looking to me and Arkon.
We reached the end of the tunnel, which opened up to a dirt path amongst a cluster of trees. We were still within the safety of the mountains and the base; unnatural cliffs, likely created by an earth dragon, rose up around the entirety of the grove, holding it in a protective embrace. No man, animal, or beast could trespass and disturb our training.
Anna led me along the dirt path silently; I caught sight of dummies hiding behind trees and bushes, but kept my questions to myself, knowing Anna would just make another comment on my temperament. The path took us to the center of the grove, a small clearing of grass. Here, there were a benches and a few stands to lean weapons against.
My blood rushed through my body to my fingers in anticipation. I knew a practice range when I saw one. And, man, was I itching to use a bow again. We had been mostly focusing on hand to hand combat or practicing with my daggers and it had taken a long time for me to move with them as naturally as I moved with my bow.
Annalyse shook her head at the giddy look on my face. "You're adorable."
"I'm in my element here. Give me a target and I'll shoot it blindfolded."
Her eyebrows shot into her hairline. "Is that so? Hit those dummies over there then we'll see about shooting blind." She pointed to a pair of dummies, not even trying to hide, only twenty feet away.
Disappointed that she had so little confidence in my skills, I pouted at her. She ignored it, arms crossed with a challenge gleaming in her gray eyes. Her hair was down today, so the fiery red locks moved in the breeze. I watched it move against her back, taking note of the direction the wind blew. It wasn't too strong today--to my disappointment. No challenge.
A dummy in my sights--one hiding in the trees a hundred feet away, not the ones she wanted me to hit--I drew my bow. A gust of wind ripped past me; I paused, inhaling softly, waiting out the breeze. Once it was gone, I loosed the arrow, watching it soar through the air, striking the dead center of the dummy.
Annalyse peered at the dummy she wanted me to hit, frowning, then looked to the one I was aiming for. She gaped.
"You weren't kidding when you said you had a good shot. All right, if you want to do it your way, there's a dummy at the very end of this grove, past all the trees, impossible to see without our magic. Use your senses to find it then shoot it."
I scowled. "The dummies aren't alive, I can't see them." My Dragon Vision only worked on things that gave off heat--which usually meant they had to be alive.
She wagged her finger at me with a cocky grin. "Oh. Its like we came out here for a lesson or something. You wanted more magic--have a seat." She sat cross-legged on the grass, gesturing beside her for me to join her. I copied her positioning, hands on my knees, ready to learn.
"Okay," she said with her sharp gray eyes holding mine. "So this might be a little different for you, since Arkon and Aster's magic differ, but they should be close enough for you to fill in the gaps. Firstly, close your eyes and control your breathing."
I did as instructed, feeling the mountain's cool air fill my lungs.
"Good. Now put your hands on the ground, palms flat. This'll make it easier until you're familiar with the sense. As you breathe, try to reach out with your mind, thinking of your surroundings. Try to picture the layout of the grove and everything in it. Still good? Excellent. For me, when I see the grove in my mind, every object has a little flame hovering in place. The trees are tall and slender, while the rocks are short, barely a flame, really. I can feel the heat of them in my hands, telling me how close it is: the hotter the flame, the closer the object is. What do you see?"
"Nothing," I grumbled, trying to focus. The imagining part was easy. I could easily picture all the dummies scattered randomly around the grove, the trees standing tall over us, protecting us from onlookers in the sky. Reaching out with my magic was difficult. My mind kept jumping into Arkon's, who was doing his own training with Aster. They were high--really high--in the sky. I sensed he wanted to be even higher, but Aster wouldn't let him, reminding him that we humans could only go so high before we started suffocating--it was something he'd never considered, and I was suddenly grateful we never had a need to go that high.
I sighed, opening my eyes, bringing myself back to Annalyse. She smiled weakly at me. "It takes a while, Eva. You'll get there eventually."
Grumbling, I crossed my arms. "It's not fair. I can pick up on your combat lessons with no issue, but this? Magic? I can't do it without Arkon's help. I only know how to extend my sight because he poked me, giving me the magic I needed."
What if I didn't have enough magic in me to do this by myself? I'd seen the immense control Annalyse and Grayson had over their abilities--it was stunning how in tune they were with themselves. And here I was, unable to feel an ounce of magic near me. It was like I was powerless without Arkon.
Who was I kidding? Of course I was powerless without Arkon. If it wasn't for him I'd be nothing, just a small village girl. He was the only reason I was alive today. Nothing I did could ever amount to the power of a dragon.
I didn't realise I was crying until Annalyse hugged me. However, I wasn't upset; I was angry, frustrated. I'd been waiting for ages to learn how to use my magic, but now that I was finally given the chance to practice it, I couldn't do it.
Needing to move, I stood up and paced in front of her. "I'm so useless, Anna. I can't do anything without Arkon."
She gave me a small smile, watching me go back and forth. "You'll get the hang of it, Eva. You've only been training for less than two months." Seeing her words weren't having the effect she wanted them to have on me, she stopped me, hands on my shoulders, looking me straight in the eye. "The first few months are hard, not just because you're learning things no other human can do," she emphasized that we were doing something that was against our nature. "You have to find out who you are, too. We're always told that being Bound is a great honour--a dragon chose you, sees something in you different from any other human. Do we know what that is? No. So we get stuck in our head, thinking that this dragon has defined you. They chose you because they see all this potential, right? Wrong." She gripped my shoulders, and I realised she'd struggled with this too. "We're Bound because of who we were before they came into our lives. Don't change who you are, Eva. Arkon chose you for you, because you are strong, you've had this power inside of you the whole time. He merely awakened it."
I peered at my hands, as if I could see the power inside them. I couldn't, but I could feel it. It was inside me, just waiting for me to unlock it. It buzzed like a current through me, pulsing in my blood with every heart beat.
Focusing on the energy in my hands, I planted my palms on the ground and reached out with my mind. I pushed the magic out, forcing it to the very edges of the field. . . .
It slammed back into me like a lance to my skull. Crying out, I held my head in my hands and squeezed my eyes shut, hoping it'd shut the pain out. It didn't. Annalyse rushed to my side and gripped my shoulders. "You pushed too hard," she coached, though now was definitely not the time I wanted to hear it. "You can't force magic to do your bidding, only guide it."
"So it's punishing me by trying to rip my head in half?"
She winced at my tone then bit her lip. "Try again. This time guide the magic inside you."
Shutting out the pain, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes again. My magic pulsed with the beat of my heart, moving from my fingertips to my head. It was because of this that I could feel magic in the air, why I could turn my Dragon Vision on and off. If I could control it while it was inside of me, I should be able to push it outward to sense the world around me.
I tried for hours to make it work, taking Anna's notes to heart, but it just wasn't happening. Something was blocking me. That had to be it. When I said as such, Anna shook her head at me. "I never expected for you to get this right in a day, Eva, and neither should you. Nothing's stopping you from doing it. We just have to practice more."
"That's not good enough. I'm not good enough. Everyone's expecting these great things from me--but I can't even do this one simple-"
Anna smacked the back of my head. "Stop it. This is not meant to be easy, Eva. Magic is a difficult force to master. It's amazing that this is your first roadblock. They'll be more down the road, but we'll push through them. Together. Just take a deep breath and refocus." Her glare remained fixed on me until I finally relented and let out a big breath.
She is right, Eva, Arkon cooed in my mind. This is only the beginning of your journey. It took me years to master my element, and it will take you longer. The only difference between the two of us, is that I will be by your side every step of the way.
Just hearing Arkon's voice was enough to calm me down. Maybe I was blowing it out of proportion. We had time. War hadn't been declared yet. Even if it had, Anna had given me enough tools to deal with most situations.
I followed her breathing exercises then slumped on a bench when I had nothing left to be angry about. "You're right. I'm sorry. We'll get through this."
She flipped her hair over her shoulder sassily. "Of course we will. You can do anything when you have me to teach you how to do it. Let's take a break from this for now. No more training today. You have some reading to catch up on."
I had a feeling I would never be caught up on my readings. There was still so much for me to learn and not enough time in the day for me to read up on it all.
Feeling marginally better, I followed her back to the tunnel. We passed the stables on our way to the library to pick up some more books--and I caught sight of a familiar mop of blonde hair.
My heart stopped. I forgot everything and ran to my big brother. "Jacob!"
He turned from Aries to face me--that's when I saw the massive black eye on his face; half of his cheek was swollen, a scab forming along his eyebrow.
I ran to him with more purpose, gripping his shoulders. His hair was filthy, as if he'd been held down on the ground. "What happened to you??"
Grim, he grabbed my wrists and pulled away from me. We hadn't seen each other for weeks and he wouldn't look at me. "It's part of the job, Eva. I've had worse."
I'd believe him if he'd actually look me in the eye when he said that, but as it was it looked like someone kicked the pride out of my brother. I knew injuries came with our job; I just never thought I'd see Jacob like this. "What happened on the mission?"
The boys peered at each other but said nothing. Grayson appeared unharmed, but he looked haggard and run down. His shoulders didn't hold the same haughty set they once did and his eyes were remorseful when they regarded me.
Anna gripped my shoulder. "Come on, Eva. Let them settle in first. I'm sure they'll tell us what happened later." With the look she gave them, they better or she was coming for them and it wouldn't be pretty-- especially when she had me as backup.
I didn't want to wait, though. I grabbed Jacob's shirt so he'd have to look at me. "Tell me who did this to you and where are they?"
He was my brother. He could tell me anything. I'd always be there for him. So what, he got roughed up a bit? I lost count how many bruises Annalyse had given me. We all got beat up. And if it was embarrassing, he had to know I wouldn't make fun of him--particularly if he was going to be this sensitive about it.
He still gave me nothing.
Angry, I shoved him. How dare he treat me like this, like anyone else. I was his sister, his blood, his shield, his sword, his anchor. Or so I thought.
"Fine! I'll find someone who will tell me what happened!"
"Eva-" He tried to grab me, but I pushed him back.
There was one other person I could think of who would know what their mission was. I marched all the way up the stairs to the officers' floor, ignoring everyone else calling after me. I hadn't been in her office since I first came here, but if my memory held firm it was the last door on the right. Without thinking, I slammed the door open.
Commander Hargin was sitting in her chair, feet resting atop her desk as she talked to someone sitting opposite her. The Knight jumped to his feet with a snarl, yelling at me for intruding. Ignoring him, I glared at Commander Hargin, who remained calm, though I could see the ire in her eyes. "Where did you send my brother?"
Sighing, as if this was some big inconvenience--she hadn't begun to see what an inconvenience I could make this for her--she flipped her feet off the desk and gestured for the Knight to leave. His face red, he tried to argue--until she glared.
"Close the door," she ordered me, still calm. Her tone carried the same ire in her eyes. I saw why people feared her; she had that controlled anger that built over time, slowly calculating the best way to tear you apart before she unleashed her fury. It didn't scare me today. "Sit down."
I decided it was in my best interest to do as told. As soon as I was in my seat, she stood up, walking over to her filing cabinet. She dropped a large file on the desk in front of me. Watching me closely, she sat down, hands grasped in front of her.
"Their report arrived this morning before they did. Aside from myself, you will be the only other person who has read this--if you think you can handle it."
Despite the fact this was exactly what I wanted, I felt like I had no choice but to open the file's contents.