Page 64 of A Dance of Water (Moon Song #2)

A FORTNIGHT

LUELLA

T raining continued just like that.

Her body was in a perpetual state of soreness, and her fear of water did not abate but only grew stronger. She did not bathe, and she felt like she might never be truly clean again, even after all of her furious wiping with rough cloths soaked with sweet-smelling soaps.

The thought of submerging herself in the bathing pool made her whole body tremble and her head spin.

So, she did not go into the water, and when she was chased through the woods, stumbling and blind, she stayed far, far away from the outskirts of the forest, scared to once more find herself trapped.

Tharen had been pleased to find her shaking and despondent on the water bank, mumbling a soft, You should’ve kept your fears better hidden from me. She only stood emotionless in Graves’s arms. Az had been at her side, his chains cold against her skin as he had held her…

They had a fortnight to train her. A fortnight for the Prima to deem her worthy.

And every night she found her head on her pillow, falling into a dreamless sleep as her fists clutched the amulet Tharen had gifted her, she wondered if she’d ever find control over her power.