Red vanished from her sight, a technique Merin had observed Mordecai use. Her fingers tingled with the desire to master such magic. Mordecai wielded fire to do this, and Red manipulated blood to accomplish it. What element could she harness to vanish and reappear? It should be the moon.

Merin's attention was removed from her thoughts towards the army outside Ceren. The full moon shined light down, exposing everyone to its luminance. Even from her distance, she could see them all.

Merin's mind was consumed with the task of ending this battle swiftly. She yearned to catch up to Red, but the army outside Ceren was a formidable obstacle. Alev, Emine, and all those she held dear were in Ceren. They will be safe in Red's temple, but Merin wanted to ensure further that fact.

Merin leaped into the air, but her trajectory was off. Her body struggled to adapt to the surge of power in her veins. She suppressed a yelp, her eyes blinking in surprise. She should have spent more time honing her magic. It had taken her years to even consider the possibility of using it.

Merin floated in the air before she called Caelestis' mirror to her. The silver hand mirror appeared in an instant. Merin took a moment to admire her reflection. The blue in her eyes had reverted to its original color of silver-grey. Her heart hitched in her chest as she closed her eyes and willed them back to blue. Grey eyes had taken what was most important to her. She could never don the same. Performing this magic was the only one for which she never felt remorse.

Merin tapped the mirror, and images of soldiers flickered into sight. She tapped and tapped on it as it showed all of the men she needed to kill.

These were Habrin men empowered by the blood of a sacrificed prince. She could use the moonlight to kill them all in seconds but was tempted to pull a Red. How often had he used assassins to exercise his limits?

Merin used the same tired method of dispatching enemies for centuries. It served her well because no one was really a threat to an immortal, even a lazy one. This was why she'd never grown. If Merin wasn't sleeping while floating, she was out cold. She only fought to defend herself.

It was past time for her to play with her magic.

Merin stifled the brew of emotions that bubbled in her gut. A few of them managed to escape and claw up her throat. Before she could genuinely fall apart, a rush of calm shot through her like an arrow. It was Red soothing her through their bond.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

It worked, and Merin inhaled before using her magic to take her closer to the army. They were just settled for the night by the looks of it. Merin noted how their fires were banked and the look-outs were posted.

Merin landed in the middle of their camp with a loud smack that sent shock waves in all directions. She watched the erupting chaos as men woke up. Some drew blades, but quite a few had various types of magic swirling around their hands.

Merin blinked, unfazed by the shows of power, and instead looked up at the moon. She could channel it and rain moonfire on everything, but she wanted to know what else she could do with the moon. What were her limits now? She had no idea what they could be, but she had the arena to try them out.

Merin lifted her hands to the moon. Each ray of light became concentrated into endless radiant balls. She watched them gleam as time stood still for several precious seconds.

A roar cut off the peaceful moment, and one of the droplets in front of her showed several attackers nearly upon her. Merin touched the drop, and it popped. A chain reaction was set off as the countless balls of moonlight exploded.

These shards of light pierced every Habrin soldier in an instant. Merin gasped and made a face as she watched bodies slump and fall over. She didn't mean to do that. She just wanted to see what would happen.

She clapped her hands and sent a massive wave of healing energy to drown the bodies in it. It worked, and each of them came to slowly.

Merin tilted her head curiously as she twisted her lips in thought. How did Red go about this without quickly killing everyone? He must mute his capabilities when he faced them. Merin didn't want to take too much time taking everyone out, but she wanted to play around with her magic.

What else could she do?

A blade of fire struck her through the chest, and Merin looked down at it curiously.

"I no longer have a heart," Merin said emotionlessly. She doesn't remember when it stopped beating, but the sound wasn't something she missed having. It was just gone one day, and it never came back.

Merin pulled the fire blade out of her and threw it on the ground. She didn't have to lift a hand to hold the attacker up in the air. She did it with a mere thought. A smile graced her lips as she sent all of them up into the air.

She used a hand to freeze the beams of the moon. Instead of piecing and shattering the soldiers from the inside, Merin used it to steal their life force. She no longer needed strings to warp reality; she could now use the moon.

Merin let their bodies hit the ground before she healed them all over again.

Merin needed to find some way to lower the intensity of her magic. She didn't want to kill them instantly, but it was over far too quickly each time she revived them. How could she learn her limits and understand her magic when her opponent died from a bump with light?

At least when she is done, she should be able to use the moonlight to get back to Red's side.