“Alright, let’s start with a simple move. Get into a horse stance.”

Will glanced around before doing as Felix said, taking careful note of how many people were watching. “Are you sure we shouldn’t do this outside?”

“We have to do it in here,” Felix replied. “You can’t be spotted outside, remember?”

“I was already spotted outside,” Will pointed out. “When Olivia approached me.”

“Yes, but those people can be counted on to stay quiet,” Rachel put in, appearing out of nowhere. “Now, we can’t be sure whether there are any spies from the Soul Nexus around. I only trust the people in this room.”

Will spared half a glance at his Alpha. Edward was seated in the nearest corner, talking quietly with Charlisa. Both of them looked up as he turned his face towards them, displaying that keen awareness that both of them had. Charlisa offered him a small smile, and Edward merely nodded before continuing their discussion. Will let out a quiet sigh, and lowered himself. His feet braced wide apart, he formed a nearly perfect right angle with his knees, then put his fists to the sides of his torso.

“Good,” Felix said, his hands behind his back. “Now, focus on your power. I don’t know how the Fire Nexus does it, but however you conjure your fire, do that. But stop right before that point, and hold it. You understand?”

“Yes,” Will said. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs to the point that it was almost painful. Then, with one powerful exhale, he withdrew his heat shroud into his body, coiling all that power into his torso. He experienced a small thrill of satisfaction at the burning sensation in his chest. He wasn’t sure he could do it so quickly, as he hadn’t practiced in some days. “Now what?”

“Now strike, but focus the flames as much as you can.”

Will did so. It was the same move he’d performed for Hitori, of course, so he had no trouble pulling it off. A small but powerful explosion radiated outward from his fist. Nearly everyone save for Felix jumped at the sound, as though a grenade had been released in the room. Great, Will thought. Now there were even more people staring.

“You’ve done that before,” Felix commented. “Either that, or you’re more of a natural than I was.”

“I’ve done it before,” Will agreed, swaying slightly with the sudden wave of exhaustion.. “But not much. It takes a lot out of me.”

“Of course it does. You’re producing more than ten times your usual power when you do that.”

Will blinked in surprise. “Really? I knew it was more, but it doesn’t seem that strong.”

“It’s not just the fire,” Felix said, shaking his head. “You’ve noticed that Nexians are stronger than the average human, right?”

Will nodded. “Faster and more durable too.”

“Right. Well, that strength comes from your fire. The more you train your power, the stronger you become. If you focus your fire, then that hit itself becomes stronger too.”

“But what if I’m struck while it’s focused?” Will asked. “Wouldn’t that mean that the rest of my body was more vulnerable?”

Olivia let out a laugh from where she sat. “Only in anime and movies, Will. We don’t suffer from that weakness.”

“The only thing that can seriously harm a Nexian is another Nexian,” Rachel put in.

“Exactly,” Felix said, nodding in his mother’s direction. “Now do the same, but with a kick. Let’s test your balance.”

Will rose until he stood, feet still spread, in his typical fighting position. He repeated the process, but this time directed the fire into his foot, then lashed out, performing a high stomping kick. Another explosion, though, this time, the explosion knocked him off balance, slamming him into the hard wooden floor. He let out a groan as he got back to his feet, clutching his shoulder. “Ow.”

“I thought that might happen,” Felix said. “I experienced the same thing when I first used a water blast.”

Will got back to his feet, shaking his arms slightly. “How do I stop that from happening?”

“Well,” Felix said, moving to stand beside him. “It’s a bit tricky to explain, but basically, you have to put just as much force backward as you do forward.”

He demonstrated a high kick then, and though he couldn’t produce fire like Will could, his stance was telling. Rather than the standard high kick, he had a little more weight on his back leg. Will copied the action, first without using his power, then the second time with an explosion. He was still a little unsteady, but at least he stayed on his feet. Felix grinned widely at him.

“Nice! Now, the most important thing to remember is balance. The more force you put out, the more you have to use to keep your balance.”

“Right,” Will said, breathing a little heavier now. He really only had one more shot like that in him before he was finished. He could almost feel his Condition straining even now. “Do you have a cloak ability like we do?”

Felix looked a little confused at that, so Will demonstrated. His fire burst out across his arms up to his elbow. “Like this. I could cover my entire body, but I’m not that good at controlling the heat of my flames yet.”

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“Oh,” Felix said, as if the thought had just occurred to him. “Hadn’t tried that yet.”

He tried right then, pulling water out of the air and coursing it over his entire body. In a matter of seconds, he was coated in a thin film of the stuff. Then, with a grin, he clenched his fists, and the entire film froze. Now he was covered head to toe in ice, as though someone had carved a statue right then and there. Will could just barely make out his frown through the layer of ice, and then the ice melted back into water. With another quick flick of his hand, the water sailed in a neat stream out one of the windows, presumably to splash onto the pavement outside.

“How do you do that?” Will asked. “I’ve never heard of a Water Nexian that could control ice.”

“Not all of us can,” Olivia interrupted. “So far, only us, Mother, and John can.”

One of the Water Nexians, a dark man in a tight-fitting white tanktop and black shorts, raised one hand. Will assumed that was John. He turned back to Felix. “So it’s not just you and Olivia, then.”

“Nope,” Felix said. “Though, we had to teach them how to do it. You don’t have another kind of fire you can produce or anything?”

Will shook his head, turning to glance curiously at Charlisa. She too shook her head. “Only thing we can do extra is the healing.”

“Huh,” Felix said, his face thoughtful. “Well, you’ve got a lot of power as it is. If you’d known how to do that reliably, you could have put up a much better fight in our match.”

“Oh, just you wait,” Will said, surprising himself by grinning. “I’ll go for a rematch eventually, and I’ll kick your ass.”

Felix and Olivia both let out a laugh at that, and Will heard Charlisa’s soft snort. He decided to move on to the subject he wanted to discuss most. “You were able to ride your water. How do you do that?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Felix said, waving one casual hand. “I can control where the water goes, so all I have to do is make sure I stay on it. It’s just like surfing.”

“Okay, but could I do that?”

“No clue,” Felix admitted. “Fire isn’t as solid as water. Only you could know for sure, with practice.”

“Well, that’s disappointing,” Will said. “But I did have an idea. It’s not the same, but I bet it could work.”

Felix took several steps back, gesturing with one hand. “Show me.”

Will crouched down again, his feet not so widely spaced this time, and closed his eyes to concentrate. He hadn’t attempted this move, of course, but he’d pictured it dozens of times in his head. He concentrated the heat in his feet this time, focusing on the sensation of it building and condensing. Whenever he produced fire in this way from his fists, the explosion was pretty strong. Maybe even strong enough to lift him. With a grunt, he forced the heat out, as quickly as he could. Then, several things happened in very quick succession.

He felt a sharp snap in his head, the telltale sign of his Condition breaking. He staggered forward slightly as the wave of weakness washed over him, then in the same instant, the explosion sent him flying. He had no idea of how far he could have flown, because his trajectory threw him directly at one of the long tables, still strewn with food from that day’s breakfast. Even worse, Olivia was in the way, and she couldn’t move fast enough to avoid him. He crashed into her, knocking her clean off her feet, and sent them both sprawling over the table onto the floor beyond it.

Shouts of alarm rang out on both sides, though Will was too dazed to comprehend them. All he was aware of was a sense of cold enveloping his body, and his consciousness fading. He’d actually overdone it so bad that he’d passed out, he thought. It was the last thought he had before everything went black, and he lost all care in the world around him.

There was a tiny spark of flame in him, and it was what woke him up. When his eyes flickered open, it was to see Charlisa kneeling next to him, her face pale with worry. Her hands were on his chest, his shirt having been taken off at some point, and Will could feel the heat trickling from her hands into his body. He blinked again, and more of the world came into focus. Edward was standing just behind his daughter, looking down at Will with an intense stare. When Will painfully rose into a sitting position, he drew one long breath, and nodded.

“That was a bad break,” Charlisa said. “You definitely went too far. You’ll have to avoid using your fire for at least the rest of the night.”

“Okay,” he said weakly, clutching his head. There was a regular pounding there, as if someone were trying to break out of it. “Thanks for fixing me up. How long was I out?”

“Only a few seconds,” She said. “But you’re completely empty. Maybe you should get some rest.”

“Okay,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. Charlisa gripped him under the arm with one hand, steadying him, and started to drag him away. They passed by Felix and Olivia, who seemed to be uninjured, though she was rubbing her ribs absent-mindedly. Will tried to speak to her, to apologize for tackling her, but she simply smiled and shook her head, then stood aside to let them pass.”

Quite apart from the wave of exhaustion, Will wasn’t really tired enough to attempt sleep. Still, it would be a marvel to simply lay down, at least until the world stopped spinning. He leaned heavily on Charlisa as they made their slow way to his room, grateful for the support. She managed the task easily, of course, thanks to her improved strength, and even got the door open without any trouble. She laid him gently on his bed before returning to the door to close it. Will let out a long groan and closed his eyes, fighting back a wave of nausea.

He’d thought that Charlisa might return to the main room while he rested, but to his surprise, he found her climbing onto the bed beside him. He awkwardly wriggled to the side to make room for her, and she lay down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. He smiled weakly down at her, mesmerized as always by her soft brown eyes. She continued to radiate heat as she lay beside him, constantly refueling him. After only thirty seconds, he felt the pounding in his head recede, and he was able to think clearly.

“Thanks,” he said again. “I love you.”

They both froze then, and he felt the cold return with alarming speed. It avoided most of his body, clamping like iron around his heart. The moment was frozen for several seconds that felt like hours as they stared at each other. He didn’t know what had made him say it. Maybe it was the delirious exhaustion, he thought. He couldn’t move his body. He’d even forgotten how to breathe. Then, to his horror, he saw a single tear leak out of her eye and slide down her cheek.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly, taking one ragged breath. “I didn’t mean to spring that on you so suddenly. I-”

Whatever he’d been about to say, even he forgot. She rose quickly, almost pouncing on him as she straddled his waist. There were more tears now, but she was also smiling. It wasn’t her usual coy smile, either, but full of warmth and pure happiness. She took a deep, ragged breath of her own. Then, before he could comprehend what was happening, she was kissing him. It was a hard, passionate kiss, the kind you gave someone you loved as if it were the last time you’d see them. Will was still too stunned to do much. After a few seconds, he pulled her back.

“Charlisa?”

She let out a quiet laugh, and he could hear the sob that filled the simple sound. “Sorry, you just caught me by surprise. I didn’t think you.. I mean, I always knew I did, but I wasn’t sure if…”

She laughed again, then sat up to swipe a hand across her eyes. This didn’t seem to stop the tears, but she continued to laugh for several seconds. Now feeling a little put-out, Will frowned up at her. “What?”

“Nothing,” she said, giving up the attempt. She leaned down to kiss him again and then again. “I love you too.”