Saelina could not pretend she was sorry to forego the physical training in favor of proper rest; She was finally feeling more like her old self as she caught up on sleep and her aches started fading. Her mood improved and the fear of Lyari was abating, as the latter seemed content with staying away from her. Maybe her arrival really had been coincidental? One could only hope. The one thing which did not improve was her dreams; the constant replay of old memories and a voice warning her of untold danger filled her mind, whenever sleep took hold.

“How's your shoulder?” Ezeas asked, not looking back as he lead her through the compound.

She rolled it, quickly realizing there was no point in showing off to his back and let it slump.

“It seems to be back to normal,” she said, instead.

“It seems that way,” he noted.

She furrowed her brow in confusion and he made a small gesture to their right; looking, she discovered a polished rock wall, smooth enough that their reflections were clearly visible. She met his gaze in the shiny surface.

There was a slight movement, barely noticeable, but it looked like a wink and she wondered if she had wished it rather than seen it. For all their antagonistic banter, Saelina realized that he had become pleasant to be around and she had come to depend on him. More than once, she had felt something when close to him, something she thought she had lost years ago. It was unsettling.

When all was said and done, this was her kidnapper, the man who had forced her to come to Islasa to help fight in a war in which she had no stake. Was it okay for her not to hate him? Even to like him? To trust the person who had stolen her, yet healed her pain and killed to defend her?

Callum had once been pleasant, as well. She had trusted him with the most vulnerable parts of her being and he had shattered them. Every man she had met since, had simply reinforced what Callum had instilled. Maybe her dreams were a result of her past of maybe a part of her knew that moving forward, she would find her trust misplaced and it would lead to her ruin.

Her thoughts were interrupted as something warm and soft stopped her in her tracks.

“You're too distracted, whelp.”

She looked up to see a wall, mere inches from her face. Ezeas arm was placed across her chest, to keep her from colliding with the solid stone. He peered at her, quizzically. She shook her head and took a deep breath.

“Well, that came out of nowhere.”

“A few million years ago, maybe,” he responded, dryly.

She groaned.

“I'm sorry. I was lost in my head.”

“A dangerous place for you, it seems.”

He removed his arm slowly, and gestured towards the set of double doors, she had somehow missed. She gathered herself and walked through, only to immediately stop in her tracks. There was something in the air, something which caused a fizzling feeling inside her. It crept along her skin, snaked through her hair and vibrated in her body. She could taste it, smell it, almost see the energy pulsating in her air, around her.

This is...interesting, Dhíanvhúr noted with something like enthusiasm and Saelina eagerly agreed.

“This room is saturated with magical energy. There are crystals embedded in every part of the structure.”

“To what end?”

“Call forth a flame.”

She crossed her arms in front of her, observing him with a look of annoyance.

“Humor me,” he insisted.

She shrugged and held out a hand, willing the magic energy to her palm; she had barely finished the thought when an aggressive flare burst from her fingertips.

“Whoa!”

Her concentration slipped and the fire died out.

“The room amplifies magic and allows the wielder to get better acquainted with their power,” he explained.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

As a demonstration he waved a hand and disappeared, right in front of her.

“You can turn invisible?” she asked, incredulously.

“I have the ability to manipulate shadows to hide better; in here, I can bend the light as well.”

His voice came from where he had been standing. Saelina drew closer to where she thought he was.

“You're still there?”

“Yes.”

Unable to contain her curiosity she reached out a hand, slowly extending her fingers, searching for his form. Something soft and warm wrapped around her fingers and she gasped as part of them seemed to disappear.

“The light bends around my form, so everything my form covers will seem to disappear as well,” he informed her, in a soothing voice.

“Unnerving, all the same,” she replied.

He chuckled and let go and she was relieved to see her fingers whole again. She wriggled them, just to make sure they were the same. Ezeas shimmered back into view with a smile and she realized how silly she looked and dropped her hand, feeling a slight blush creep over her cheeks.

“So, what's the plan, today?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Today? I want you to get used to the room. Learn to let the magic flow through you and use it in ways that feel natural. You've spent most of your life without magic, so things that should come natural are a struggle.”

He walked to the middle of the room.

“Hopefully, we can work through those issues, here.”

He turned towards her with an expectant gaze. The magic thrumming through her being was begging to be used and she was ready to oblige. With ease, she called for her power and stretched out her arms, sending two straight lines of ice spikes, bursting from the floor and rushing at Ezeas. When they were in front of him, they shot up from the ground in two elegant arches, aiming for his chest. With a smirk, he jumped out of the way but she willed the ice to follow him, softly curving in his direction, as he landed.

With a small gesture, she sent another path of ice after him, then a fourth, maneuvering them to her will; Ezeas set off, again, and she expertly sent the ice in his direction, but he landed against a wall and immediately pushed off, towards one the ice beams, but she sent her magic to make it thicker and stronger. With ease he landed on it and climbed atop, staring down at her with a grin. She had done exactly what he had wanted her to. As infuriating as it should have been, she simply returned the grin and ran, all the while manipulating the ice.

She willed the magic into every part of her body, helping her become faster and stronger; she jumped, soaring through the air until she landed on one of the curves in her increasingly elaborate sculpture.

“Are you about to chase me, whelp?”

“I don't see why you should have all the fun.”

The ability to juggle the chase and the ice seemed so natural, so easy that she almost forgot her previous struggle. High the frosty beams rose, intertwining and curving, higher the two of them leaped, landing and setting off in a simple dance as they sailed through the air. They reached the top of the dome-shaped room, and she smirked at her prey.

“Whereto now?”

He shot her a wicked grin as he slammed his open palm on the ice beneath him, and she felt the entire structure fracture, could sense every crack as it ran through the marvel she had created. Then it all shattered in millions of clear pieces and the pair of them fell. She saw the tiny ice shard, and though she was hurdling towards the ground the idea took form in her mind. Reaching towards the roof she send her magic upward. For a moment, everything was calm; then a ball dazzling light exploded from above and was fractured by the shards. In an instant, she was falling through a world of rainbows, flooding the entire room with color.

You're still falling, the gruff voice reminded her.

She quickly tried to think of something to slow the fall when she felt the wind around her pick up. Before she could fully gather what was going on, her descent slowed and she was hovering right above the ground. The gust died down and she landed, gracefully and unharmed.

“Placing pretty tricks above your survival? That's a fool's way to end up dead.”

The stern voice was less severe than she expected and she give him an apologetic grin.

“I had to try, just once.”

The shards had fallen around them and now covered the ground in a thin white layer, glistening like fresh fallen snow.

“Since when can you control the wind?”

It was his turn to smile.

“I rarely use the full scope of my magic. There are plenty of things you haven't seen.”

She pursed her lips in contemplation, eyeing him, pensively.

“And if I want to see more?”

He shrugged, the smile turning into a lopsided smirk.

“Then I guess you'll have to be creative.”

Saelina spend the remained of the day testing out the powers she could only wield in the room, coming with both subtle and elaborate uses of the magic, doing her best to corner Ezeas who seemed diverted by her attempts, though he thwarted her at every turn.

Saelina had never thought she could feel so powerful and she reveled in the constant stream of magic pouring through her body and out her hands and feet.

“Magic suits you,” Ezeas told her and she could only agree.