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“That was better than yesterday. Progress!” Eldacar wiped off the lens of his glasses as they had fallen to the ground. “You’ve rarely practiced this power before. Your fire comes naturally; this will take some time.” He smiled, always kind, always patient.

Alora exhaled frustration.How much time?How much more embarrassment must she endure in front of such skilled Mystics and fighters? Every day, a crowd formed to watch. Making it much harder to focus. Especially when this power—raw and untested—was incredibly dangerous and so unpredictable.

“Come on. Let’s try again.” He gestured toward the table.

“No. I will hurt someone else.” She raked her eyes around, noting every new, smoldering hole in the arena walls, and soldiers relocating themselves closer to the tent line.

“No one got hurt today. You’re doing well!”

“Today,” a gravelly female voice snickered from the trees near the lake.

Alora glared over at Jade, who leaned against a pine with arms crossed. The urge was there, but she mustered enoughself-control to not produce a healthy, middle finger in Jade’s direction.

Though she truly didn’t want to admit it, Jade was right, which boiled her blood even more.Today, no one had yet been carted to the infirmary from injuries her magic caused.

“I don’t understand. How can I summon fire or even use my magic to wield a sword, but I can’t do this without it exploding?” Alora picked up a piece of jasper and threw it over the wall into the lake.

Eldacar smiled again, swelling his cheeks to lift his glasses. “It takes great concentration to do all things. You’re not only lifting one object among the many, you’re changing its entire being while keeping your fire at bay. Everything it has ever been. Everything it wants to remain as.” He paused. “Water runs when poured. You can’t expect it to flow up to the stars. That is against its nature. This iron has been its true form for its entire existence. It won’t be easy to form something from what itwasinto something you want it tobejust because you wish it.”

That doesn’t help.She lifted the stones from the ground and placed them back on the table. “If it’smymagic, why can’t it just do what I command?” she asked and turned to Eldacar, frustration winning the war inside her veins.

A presence moved close.

His deep, calming voice rushed over her body, whether she wished him to be there or not. “Power is not simply given. It is earned.” Garrik moved by her side. Smokeshadows whirled in his palm before cascading away to reveal a new piece of iron. “Kick, shout, and curse as much as you wish, but power will not permit you to use more than it will allow.” He placed the iron in the center of the table. “It needs to know we are worthy enough to unleash it. To even protect it. We must strive for its blessing—to trust us. Practice, make it and us stronger, together. Standwith reverence. Humble yourself before it. And thank it every time magic works in our favor.”

Garrik crouched and swept his hand in a smooth, gliding motion in front of him as a rippling wave of air crossed through the grass. “It can give you as little…” He paused, swiftly twisting his toned body around and toward the lake, simultaneously thrusting his palm in its direction.

Power erupted, causing a massive force of air across the water, rippling waves in its wake that almost crashed against the trees on the other side. Garrik wrenched his hand back, forming a fist as the waves stopped like they hit a wall, climbing it until they eventually lost momentum and died into calm waters.

“Or as much as it allows,” Garrik finished. The sun caught silver as he stood and faced her, sending glistening sparks in his eyes. And he seemed to be captivated by the release of magic—as much as she was. “Power earned is much more pleasurable. You cannot command it.Askfor its help.”

It was hard to deny—his magic was beautiful. Deadly. And she wondered: how many years must it have taken him to perfect it? For his magic to grant such power, for it to allow him to use it, ceaselessly, to shield his camp, his people. To invade and manipulate minds. And not even that power. But his Smokeshadows seemed to be able to doanything.

She shuddered.

Will mine ever allow me the same strength?

Eldacar dropped his pencil in the book and closed it. “Go on, let’s try again.” His auburn curly locks danced in the gentle breeze.

Alora hesitated, but Garrik stepped forward. “You promised to trust me, remember?”

She frowned, squeezing her hands into fists.That damn flower…“I’ll just end up hurting one of you.”

Garrik grinned. “Luckily for you, my magic possesses the power to protect. Try again. You will not hurt us. I am here. I will contain it for you.”

With her eyes closed, her heart hammered against its cage.I don’t want to hurt anyone again.

You won’t, I promise. Just breathe. Ask your magic.

Alora reluctantly nodded, turning her gaze to the table.

Jade pushed off the pine and stationed herself behind. “Here we go again.”

Garrik shot her a deathly glare before turning back to Alora. “Ask.”

Alora sighed and lifted her palm once more in front of her.Okay magic. If you would allow it…

Good.Garrik lifted an eyebrow.