Page 57 of Acolyte (Tempris #2)

“What the hell!” Taly yelped as she rolled out of the way, barely dodging a second arrow that caught in the gray stone wall behind her, embedding itself down to the fletching.

The Queen was already nocking another arrow. “Shield yourself.”

The bowstring snapped. The arrow flew. Taly dodged again, letting out a colorful string of curses when the point caught the side of her bicep.

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” the Queen called. “You’ll heal.”

Blood soaked the sleeve of her tunic, but when Taly checked the wound, the bleeding had already stopped.

Fey healing. She would’ve died several times over by now without it. Though something told her the Queen wouldn’t be shooting arrows at her right now if she was perhaps a bit more fragile.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Taly sprinted for cover. “What is this exercise supposed to accomplish?” she shouted, pressing her back against the smooth bark of the silverleaf oak in the center of the ring.

“Your magic lacks precision.”

Taly had barely managed to take a breath before the tree at her back dissolved, collapsing in on itself in a sigh of dust. Tiny pinpricks of gold aether prickled in the air where the tree used to stand.

“How the—”

“Everything returns to dust in the end.” Azura pulled back the string of her bow, taking aim. “I was just helping it along. Learn how to control your aether, and I might consider teaching you that spell—even if it is far beyond your current ability. ”

Azura let another arrow fly, and Taly barely managed to throw up a wall of frozen time, stopping it mid-flight.

“Effective, but crude,” the Queen said. “Big spells mean more aether. You don’t need to canvas an area to block a single attack.”

Azura’s magic flashed, and Taly felt her spell shatter. The arrow hurtled through the air, propelled along its original path but faster this time. Too fast for her eyes to track. She shoulder-rolled forward, barely managing to duck out of the way as it sailed overhead.

Another arrow, shot with lethal accuracy.

Then another. Arrow after arrow until Taly was panting despite those new immortal reflexes that made every movement so effortless and easy.

She dodged each one, occasionally managing to throw up a wall, but mostly relying on those fighting instincts Ivain had drilled into her as a child.

“Use magic!” the Queen barked.

Taly twisted as another arrow whizzed past, went to take a step and—

She screamed as an arrow embedded in her thigh. And then again when she gripped the shaft and pulled. If she didn’t remove it now, every step would just aggravate the wound—keep it from healing.

Blood stained her trousers, almost invisible against the dark-blue fabric. The wound itched as it began to clot. The arrow wasn’t poisoned, so she wouldn’t have a scar. But Shards did it hurt . And she was losing aether with every drop of blood spilled.

She’d somehow managed to stay on her feet, but when she went to take a step, she let out an enraged scream .

Her legs had been frozen in place.

“What is this?” she snarled, something inside her coming dangerously close to snapping.

“Time mages don’t get hit,” was all Azura said before loosing another arrow. Taly threw up a wall, but it still managed to punch right through, grazing her cheek.

“Stop thinking about the individual spells. They’re a crutch—a useful tool, but not a necessary one. Simply imagine what you want your magic to do, and then make – it – obey .”

The arrows continued to fly, and Taly fumbled, legs still frozen in place, wincing at each new cut and scrape.

“This is insane!” she cried, desperately reaching for her aether.

“You were the one that said you’d hit a wall,” Azura said. “All I’m asking you to do is to stop trying to go over it and just break through. Walls were made to be broken, my dear.”

“That’s actually the exact opposite of what walls are intended to do!”

An arrow grazed the side of her neck, quickly clotting, but not before a new spurt of blood soaked her collar.

More aether lost.

And she felt it. She was so tired. Tired and sore, and all she wanted was that human girl back. She wanted to go back to a time when she’d known exactly who she was and what her life was supposed to look like.

She probably would’ve started working in a shop when Skye was called back to the mainland for good.

And maybe she would’ve married—a nice mortal man that wouldn’t have minded that she had been given an education far above her station.

She would’ve visited the manor every week and let Sarina and Ivain fuss.

She would’ve grown old, and eventually, she would’ve died.

She swore as another arrow grazed her brow, and the next was already on its way.

Getting closer.

Little more than a blur, a scream on the wind.

This wasn’t supposed to be her life! Not this surreal parody with time magic and Queens and undead armies. She wanted that human life, transient as it was. She wanted the simplicity. She wanted Ivain and Sarina. She wanted Skye. She wanted…

She wanted…

Home .

She just wanted to go home.

The last part of her that had still been clinging to her old life, her old identity—the last part of her that may have actually been human—died as she finally reached inside, farther than she had ever dared to venture, and let out a guttural, fey roar .

Her magic balked, but Taly seized it, giving it a vicious shake when she felt it try to rebel. It was hers. This power belonged to her. Not the other way around.

The spell exploded out of her in a rush.

And the pain, the next nick or cut or scratch… never came.

Taly cracked open an eye. She let her upraised arms drop to her sides, taking a shaky step forward and only vaguely realizing that the Queen had released the spell holding her in place. Frowning in confusion, she circled the arrow that had stopped only a few feet away .

There was no wall of suspended time. Not even a localized shield. Her magic had covered the arrow like a veil, shimmering slightly in the early morning light.

She gave the spell a nudge, watching as the arrow reversed along its path, slow but… controlled. The pull on her aether was minimal.

“ Finally —she learns.” Azura handed her bow to Leto, who floated nearby. “See, I told you, Leto. She just needed the right motivation. Maybe now she won’t be complaining about aether burnout at the end of every day.”

Leto, to her credit, shook her head, looking to Taly and giving an apologetic shrug.

“Az,” Taly said. She swayed slightly, probably from blood loss. “I really hate your teaching methods.”

“You’re not the first to say that.” Azura was already signaling to the fairies that were lining up around the perimeter of the yard.

“Now then, as they say—let the games begin. And this time,” she added, patting Taly on the head as she passed by, aiming for her sitting area, “try not to let your feet flip over your head when the fairies tag you out. It’s terribly unbecoming. ”

Taly frowned, pressing a finger to the tip of the arrow and rotating it slightly. She released the spell, and the arrow blinked out of existence, already halfway across the yard and heading straight for the Queen’s back.

The arrow abruptly disintegrated in a puff of dust.

“Just for that,” Azura said over her shoulder, “I’m adding five more fairies.”

Taly snorted. And then laughed. A real laugh that had her smiling as she drawled, “Make it ten.”