Caeler led Rory down a long hallway. Although she could feel his eyes piercing into her head, she kept her eyes trained forward. She refused to give the warlock the satisfaction of intimidating her. The recent conversation still burned fresh in her mind, the words echoing in her skull. She internally scoffed at the idea of being Caeler's trophy- she would never bow to him. She would let him think that she would eventually give in, but that was only so that he would train her. Rory knew she needed to get a handle on her powers if they stood a chance against the coven. Rory tried to push her mind, trying to force a vision about what might happen next. However, all she got was flashes that gave her no answers.
Rory rolling on a black mat, landing in a crouching position.
Tempest giving her a tilted smirk.
A blurry room with rows of shelves, something glowing on all of them.
Caeler screaming at someone.
Rory screaming.
Rory sobbing.
A flash of red coming towards her.
A black smoke surrounding her.
Two people dancing.
Explosions.
Rory bit back a gasp as she was yanked from her mind. Scowling, she wished she could have seen better details. All she saw was chaos, but she would have guessed that without a vision. She had been attempting to peak into other rooms that they passed, trying to see if Aurora was in any of them. Her worry had been rapidly increasing. She didn't know she had felt a connection with Aurora until she felt it slipping away. Rory kept trying to force a vision of Aurora into her mind, but she wouldn't be able to tell when it was from. It was hard to tell when her visions took place.
They eventually stopped in front of the door. Caeler turned to her dramatically before shoving it open. He grinned at her and held his arms out in front of him, presenting the room. She rolled her eyes at his theatrics before walking through the doors. She found herself in what could best be described as a gym. She saw people sparring, at first just with their bodies, fists flying and feet swinging. Rory squinted her eyes and recognized Tempest in the fighting ring. She dodged back under her opponent's leg so elegantly that it nearly looked cinematic. Flinging back upward, she struck her opponent with a lightning bolt. The person let out a grunt of pain as they fell to the ground. She flicked her golden hair back, glaring at the person on the floor. She lifted her head and found Rory, a powerful glint in her eyes.
"This way, little star." Caeler's voice brought her back to reality, pulling her away from the blonde warrior.
"The night I found out I could get energy from the stars, I thought I got the energy from the stars in the sky. Why can't I just do that again? Why does it have to be specific stars?" Rory asked him, remembering the night that they fought Malakai.
"You can absorb the energy from the stars in the sky, but as you likely experienced, that can make your powers volatile and dangerous. You'll have a harder time controlling your power, and that can destroy you. You have no idea what condition that star in the sky is in, it's too far away to see. Whereas, when you absorb the stars that are right in front of you, you can see that it is in perfect condition. That allows you to be at peak performance... and I want my weapons to be at their peak," Caeler told her and she had the urge to punch him for calling her 'his weapon'. She didn't belong to anyone. Instead of fighting him on it, she gave him a tilted glance with raised eyebrows. If she gave in too easily, then he would be suspicious, she had to act intrigued but also reluctant.
"Don't tell me you have an entire room of stars just for me? Oh, Caeler, you flatter me!" Rory mocked in a breathy voice, placing a light hand over her racing heart. He let out a chuckle, gently shaking his head.
"You have no idea what we have in store for you. But, I am sure you will be very... pleased," Caeler told her cautiously. Her thick eyebrows knitted together as they entered a side room off of the gym.
There were glowing stars all in front of her. There was at least triple the amount that she had in her room. The stars all rotated slowly, glimmering a new part of the room with each movement. Rory couldn't help but let out a joyous laugh, feeling rejuvenated by the presence of so many stars. It felt as if every molecule in her was ignited by the stars; they pulled her to them. Her skin was covered in tingles, making her shiver. Glancing at her body, she noticed the hairs on her arms were standing rigidly up and diagonally towards the stars. Her body needed to be near them. She was so overcome with euphoria that she nearly forgot about the warlock next to her.
"Do you feel that?" Caeler whispered slowly, moving right next to her. So close that she could feel his warm breath on her neck, sending an uncomfortable shiver down her spine. "Do you feel the pull?"
"How did you know..." Rory's question trailed off, still enchanted by the stars. He placed a tight hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch in surprise.
"I told you, little star... I know you," he told her slowly and deliberately, emphasizing each word carefully. The confidence in his tone made Rory shudder. He gave her shoulder a light squeeze before letting go, shuffling towards the stars. He held his arms out beside him as if to present the stars. "Now, which one would you like?"
Rory didn't say anything; she just observed each star. She paused for a moment before turning to him. "How do I choose?"
"Don't depend on your mind for that answer... your body will choose for you," Caeler told her knowingly. She nodded for a moment before trying to numb her mind. She needed to depend on the pull she felt in her body. If she could clear her mind, then she could let her body make the decision.
Rory didn't realize she was walking until she heard Caeler coaxing her on. Blinking quickly, she stopped in front of one star in particular, tilting her head slightly as if to make sure. Her body moved of its own accord, her hand appearing in front of her eyes. Her fingers gingerly wrapped around the glowing star. Energy erupted inside of her, almost throwing her backward by the force. When she moved to retract her hand, she realized she physically couldn't. Her hand was locked around the star, energy electrifying her veins. She let out a choked gasp that came out strangled. "I- I don't know what's-"
"Don't fight it, Rory!" she heard Caeler shout in the background. From her peripheral vision, she saw her hair begin to glow, her brown locks floating upward as a bright white aura surrounded her. Her eyes bulged from her head, light capturing her vision.
Eventually, her hand allowed her to let go. The glowing stopped immediately as she collapsed to the ground. Her hair sprawled in front of her face, strands sticking to her forehead due to sweat. She panted heavily, her body jolting every few seconds as it tried to contain the energy. Shakily lifting her head, she locked her star-filled eyes with the warlock. Her voice dropped dangerously low. "What was that?"
"Your body needs the energy it gets from the stars. These stars have been picked and pampered just for you, your body reacted just the way it was supposed to," he explained to her, she could tell he was hiding something from her, but she let it go. "How do you feel?"
"Good... I feel good," Rory breathed out, still catching her breath.
"'Good?' That's the best you can do? Come on, give me more than that. I'll ask you again: how do you feel?" Caeler repeated forcefully.
Rory paused, taking his words under careful consideration. She pushed herself off of the ground, fixing her eyes on him intensely. "Powerful."
"Much better. Next, we'll test your powers. There is much more you can do, you just haven't had a proper teacher," he explained, holding the door open for her. Rory strutted through it confidently.
"How do you know there's more I can do?" she questioned with narrowed eyes, "I thought oracles were rare."
Then, Caeler made his first mistake off that simple question.
He froze.
"As you said, we gave the people of Thera their powers. It's only obvious that we'd know everything about their powers," he quickly recovered, stumbling over a few of his words. Rory didn't think her question was that invasive; there shouldn't be much reason to be so thrown off by it. She made a mental note to ask more about her powers.
They went out to the gym. At first, Rory wondered if he'll have her spar with the others, but she didn't think he would throw her into it headfirst without any training. He guided her to a separate mat. She could feel peering eyes on her, making her chew the inside of her mouth nervously.
"Your powers are profoundly rare and nearly unlimited. You can not only use your powers to fight your opponents physically, but you can fight them with your mind- which is much worse. Which would you like to learn first?" Caeler offered patiently.
Rory contemplated her options quickly, needing to prioritize. She could tell he was getting her ready to spar with someone, and he brought her to the gym for a reason. He was showing her the fighting ring with the other people in his army. However, she knew that she would need to use her mind to defeat Caeler. She went back and forth before making up her mind. "I need to be able to fight physically first."
"Very well." Caeler nodded once before he began to circle her slowly, like a predator stalking her prey. He breathed out quickly, staring at her with concentration. The silence made Rory itch, wishing she could get away from it.
"I can control my powers pretty well, I know how to use them in a fight," Rory told him, breaking the quietness.
He said nothing.
"I was able to transfer the energy to my feet and hands, it made my hits stronger," she added on uncomfortably, confused by his reluctance to speak.
He said nothing.
"I mean... sometimes I lose control, and it can... shake things? I guess?" she said lamely, wincing at her choice of words. Exhaling quickly, she shook her head and rolled her eyes as if to scold herself.
He said nothing.
"God, what do you want me to say?" Rory snapped in frustration. He let out a deep chuckle, stopping in front of her.
"Right now? Nothing. I don't want you to say a word. I want you to focus on your surroundings. Close your eyes," he instructed her in a soft tone. Rory quickly noticed his change in tone. She knew he was using a gentler voice to make her feel relaxed around him. If she was relaxed and began to trust him, he could persuade her to do his bidding. She made sure to keep her guard up as her eyes fluttered shut. "Now, focus on the power inside you, it's just dying to get out of you, isn't it?"
She nodded hesitantly, unable to deny the feeling inside of her. At this point, she was just itching to use the star energy. "Place your hands on either side of you, have your palms facing the ground."
Rory followed his instructions, listening intently for his next instructions. "Don't do it quite yet, but I want you to send the energy out of your hands and to the ground. The blast will send you up in the air."
Her eyes snapped open, staring at him incredulously. He held his hand up to reassure her. "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to fly. Not yet anyway," Rory froze slightly at the information that she could fly. It seemed so surreal that she almost didn't believe him. "Just send the energy blast to the ground, it'll be like a jump in the air. This lets you see your enemies better and attack from a new angle."
"How do I land?"
"Well, that's a ridiculous question, you land on your feet."
"Your humor is as good as your decorating skills," she told him saccharinely, referring to her comments about the over-used snake decor.
He let out a humorless chuckle, tilting his head. "You need to let go of the fear of falling."
"Ah, yes, because it's that easy, isn't it?"
She didn't wait for his answer as she shut her eyes. She tried to mentally prepare herself to be in the air, very unsure of how this would go. She was never afraid of heights and hoped that would help. Taking a deep breath, she decided to do it before she could stop herself. She quickly sent the energy to the palms of her hands and down to the ground.
The feeling was euphoric.
It felt like it happened in slow-motion. She let out a weak gasp as her eyes darted open. She saw Caeler below her, grinning at her like a Cheshire cat. Taking a moment to stare at her hands, she noticed her hands were glowing the same color as her energy blasts- glowing white with hints of gold. She wondered how the rest of her looks, but she could imagine. From what Rory had seen of herself while in this sort of state, her hair and eyes were likely glowing as well.
But as quickly as she was brought into the air, she went crashing down. Letting out a quick scream, Rory began to fall as if her feet were swept from under her. She turned her head under her and saw the ground quickly approaching. Her head darted to Caeler, who didn't seem like he was about to catch her.
Thinking quickly, she sent an explosion of star energy beneath her to slow down her fall. Landing on her side, she grunted in pain. She took a moment to gather herself before she pushed herself up slightly. A flash of pain went through her back as she stood up, brushing her hands off. Her nose scrunched as she tried to mask her pain, locking angry eyes with Caeler.
"Very good, little star. Very good... indeed." She hated that name.
But she couldn't deny it.
She couldn't deny that she liked to feel powerful.
She liked him teaching her how to be powerful.
She wanted to punch herself for what she was thinking right now.
She reminded herself of what her task was supposed to be, of the lives at risk.
But she truly could not deny it.
Rory liked Caeler teaching her.