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“If I can help others, maybe.”

“But is it somethingyouwant? For yourself.”

“I don’t know if I have a choice.”

“Everyone has a choice. I all but abandoned my family name. There’s no reason you couldn’t do the same if you wished.”

“Was your family part of the council or something?”

He chuckled. “Or something. I’m not telling you not to pursue it, just don’t do it for the wrong reasons. Eternity is a very long time. You should enjoy it.”

Enjoy it? Even if that meant ignoring her responsibilities to her people?

Arianna continued following Rion through the trees until they entered a clearing. Clumps of dead grass covered the ground, and she tried to imagine what it’d look like in the spring. A gentle breeze shifting through the tall, green grass. Birds flying overhead. Children playing in the meadow with their parents sharing a packed lunch.

She tilted her head back, letting the cool air hit her face. She had so much to think about, tough decisions to make.

“Are you up to sparring?”

Arianna jerked her chin toward him. “What?”

He stepped several paces away. “I haven’t had a decent sparring partner in a while, and you look like you need to release some tension.”

“But—” She gaped at him. He feared her touch but was willing to spar? Earth rose from the ground. Sand, pebbles, loose chunks of earth. They all danced between the pair as if urging her magic to join. When was the last time she’d spared?

“I might be a bit rusty.”

He smirked. “After what I saw yesterday, I sincerely doubt that.”

Right, because he’d seen her fight. He knew what she was capable of.So why?

Arianna’s heart raced, but it wasn’t with fear. A thrill of excitement coursed through her body. She stationed herself across from him and lowered into a stance. Who had been the last person? Talon? Maybe. It could have been her sister. She’d never bested Talon and Ellie was a force to be reckoned with, but she’d held her own against three Brónach warriors when she’d first arrived. And she’d aided Rion in battle, resulting in their victory.

Arianna stretched her side, testing the injury. Rion followed the movement and grimaced. “Don’t push yourself.”

Magic pulsed beneath her skin and in one fluid movement, she pulled hundreds of particles from the air, surrounding her body in tiny glistening droplets.

Rion responded in kind.

Never in her life had she imagined herself standing against The Demon in a fight that wouldn’t lead to her death. But Talon had given her pointers in the event she ever faced him. Earth was heavier wet. If she led him toward a large body of water, she’d have a chance. A small one, but a chance all the same.

Talon would think her insane.

Arianna steadied herself. Rion’s body blocked her path to the river. All she needed to do was get around him and make a break for the trees.

Chunks of rock shot from the ground, snaking their way toward her feet. Arianna shifted the temperature in her magic and hurtled sharp spears of ice, shattering the chunks into smaller bits. Then she ran. Because he could still use those particles, no matter how much she broke his magic apart. Unlike the rest of the warriors from Brónach, she couldn’t steal his magic away. No one could.

She ran parallel to him, her eyes never leaving his. Arianna planted her feet, froze all the droplets in the air and launched them toward his still form before sprinting in the wake of her magic.

Rion yanked earth up to block her attack, but she ducked, hoping to get around his line of sight.

Rion was faster.

His magic wrapped around her arm and wrenched her left wrist behind her back. Arianna flipped with the movement, exploded the rock away from her arm, and bolted toward the river.

When she didn’t hear him pursuing, she paused. Rion had stilled, his brow furrowed, and lips parted.I’m not running from you.Arianna smirked and gestured for him to follow. He answered with a soft snarl, and she was sprinting all over again.

The fresh air filled her lungs, her feet raced across the hard ground, and Arianna felt more free at that moment than she had her entire life. She lifted her arms out and relished in the wind filtering through her hair.