Page 17

The next day, Rowen and I headed to the training grounds. Out of habit, I fell into my familiar running stretches.

Before I could even settle into my third pose, Dyani appeared like the flash of a blade you didn’t see coming until it was too late.

“I want to resume your training,” she said, her silver hair down and flowing, accentuating her light brown skin.

“Whatever this is,” she gestured to my stretch, “it isn’t going to help you in combat. ”

My eyes narrowed, and I contemplated saying no, but I knew turning her down would end any relationship we could ever have. So I met her guarded stare and said, “I accept.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Rowen said as he left the field, and I wondered if he would watch from a distance.

He had observed my first lesson with Dyani, and it had been utterly humiliating as she knocked me to the ground again and again.

The sting of each fall echoed in my palms, knees, and ego.

“Is this going to be a repeat of last time?” I asked, remaining in the stretch she found so distasteful.

“It was careless of me to start you on your journey and then abandon you. I can’t have people thinking this is my work,” she said, making a face and gesturing to my whole body.

I realized all the training had stopped as everyone turned their attention to my interaction with the Wyn’s most fearsome warrior.

“I’ve seen what you can do, and it’s atrocious. Most of it is just dumb luck.”

“Was it luck when I took you down?” I asked, standing to meet her head-on.

“Watch it.”

“Too soon?”

“How about I teach you the proper forms before you start bragging? You look like a youngling with a stick.”

I tied my hair back. “Should we pick up where we left off?”

“How about we start at the beginning,” she said, tying her own hair into a high ponytail.

“Great. So I’m reverting?”

“I’m not trying to get on Nepta’s bad side.

These movements technically fall within her parameters of you not overdoing it,” she said as she adjusted her red jerkin, and I noticed she wasn’t wearing her fighting leathers or weapons.

“We need to start at the beginning. It’s where we should have started in the first place. "

“What’s the beginning?” I asked skeptically.

“The Five Phases of the Moon.”

“That sounds fun!”

“It’s not. It’s a life-long and studied discipline.”

“Oh. Right.”

Even though we were eye to eye, she still somehow managed to look down her sharp nose at me. “Each phase contains a series of movements designed to aid in battle. These exercises will teach you which muscles to strengthen and how to use them properly. Mastering them can be lifesaving.”

“Got it.”

“No, you don’t. But let's begin. The first phase is crescent,” she explained, easing into a deep lunge.

“The crescent moon teaches us fluidity and smooth transitions when in combat. The second is the waning moon.” Her movements gradually changed as she described each phase.

“The waning moon teaches us physical conditioning, the working of our muscles both large and small, providing endurance and strength. The third is the waxing moon, which teaches concentration, focus, and breathwork. Fourth is the full moon, adding power to your movements to strengthen forceful kicks, strikes, and attacks,” she said as she ended her demonstration with a spinning back kick.

“What is the fifth?” I asked eagerly, admiring the strength and grace in her movements. It was like a dance.

“The new moon,” Dyani answered, her body stilled yet became pliant, as if ready for anything.

“It represents a blank slate. What lies beyond your sight and senses. You must learn these movements so well that you forget them. Become them. Breathe them. When you are fighting for your life, it must be a natural part of what you are, not something that is reenacted like a play or repeated like a prophecy. It is real life. You must understand this. Your life—and my life—depend on it.”

The warrior’s words were delivered with such gravity and passion that they infused my spine with steel. “I understand,” I said, my gaze never faltering from hers.

“Then are you ready to begin?” she asked, her tone that of a master.

“Let’s do it.”

Dyani taught me The Five Phases of the Moon, each movement so intricate and nuanced, it would take me forever to memorize them. We ran through each phase several times, then started again, the cycle repeating.

Dyani was as patient as she could be, willing to answer my every question. Was the foot turned inward or outward here? Was the fist open or closed there? Each time, she answered patiently.

Though the moves were slow, they were agonizing, and I was dripping with sweat by the end of her coaching. Even with my new elven body.

Exhausted and trying to catch my breath, I sat by Dyani, who had barely broken a sweat.

I drank the last drops of the precious water from my flask.

Though I was grateful for Dyani and her willingness to train me, I couldn’t tell whether her motives were altruistic or if she was trying to atone for her brother’s sins.

Regardless, I had another gripe with her.

“Rowen told me you wanted him out of the village while I was gone. Threatened him to a duel.”

She scoffed with a shake of her head. “Maybe if I would have been the clear winner, I would have pursued it. But, Keira, he was frightening to battle, and I couldn’t beat him.

I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s the closest I’ve come to a true opponent.

I knew he was starting to get bad again when he got that look in his eye. ”

“What look?”

“He used to walk around with an emptiness in his eyes, a hollowness that was painful to witness. Even though he walked around like a soulless shell, he would always help anyone in need without hesitation. He was always the first to volunteer for the least desirable tasks, like cleaning the weapons and dishes, chopping and collecting firewood, dome and path repairs, and plowing the fields. But then he met you, and it was like watching a dormant fire suddenly reignite.”

The twin flame within me pulsed with pride.

“Then my brother took you, and it was the worst I’d ever seen him.

Before he met you, he was empty, but this time, he was filled with rage—a rage I recognized in myself.

When we sparred, Rowen was savage and vicious, but so was I.

And I relished it. I can’t even tell you how many times we almost killed each other. ”

I shot her a feral look.

“Sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”

“You think?”

Dyani chuckled, and a smile spread across her stern face. Her features had never softened for me, and the surprising transformation was unexpected.

“I am glad you’re back, though I do miss sparring with your soul flame,” she said, resting her elbows on her knees.

“So everybody knows he’s my soul flame?”

“Please. The way he couldn’t take his eyes off you that first day I trained you.

He watched me like a hawk, making sure I didn’t hurt you.

” She huffed, flipping her ponytail off her shoulder.

“As if I would. Little did he know that I was the one who would have to watch out for you. But really, attempting to make you look like a real warrior will be my new challenge.”

I narrowed my eyes, but I was in no position to be picky.

She drank the last few sips from her waterskin, savoring every drop.

Water was no longer flowing steadily towards the village. The black, glass-like forests had spread, drying up the land and air, turning all to a stagnant death.

From the time I’d been gone, the villagers had been put on water rations, using no more than was absolutely necessary.

The smallest canteens of water were stretched to their absolute limits.

Even the crops were beginning to fail, and I saw the strain on Nepta’s face; it was growing more difficult for her to hide.

“Too bad your panic attacks can’t make it rain again. Only thunderclouds, huh?”

“Does everyone know everything about me?” I asked, throwing my hands up .

“Pretty much.” She shrugged. “No one blames you, you know. There is simply no moisture in the air to pull from.”

Suddenly, an idea struck me. There had to be water somewhere. Maybe I could bring it here. Somehow.

Realization hit me like a collision of stars.

The Alcreon Light within me was a celestial, gravitational force. I just had to find where there was water to pull from.

When I’d summoned rain in the past, I was furious and crying and not in control.

I had no idea what to do. But I had to try something!

The land was so dry it was only a matter of time before one of my bolts of light caused serious damage.

“I could try pulling water from somewhere else, but I don’t have much control, and I’m worried I will hurt the village in the process. ”

Her eyes tilted to mine, squinting from the sun. “What if you went outside the village?”

My heart lurched. Was she trying to lure me outside the village just like Demil?

Even if she was, she was right. If I couldn’t risk hurting the elves within the village, I would have to try outside it.

Was it wise of me to worry, or did I trust Dyani? She seemed to genuinely want to help. But would I be a fool for leaving Nepta’s protective borders again?

Rowen appeared in the distance. His body moved toward me with a deliberate gait, each step showcasing the grace and power of his muscles.

His arms languidly swayed by his sides, grazing past the holstered weapons strapped to his hips.

His green eyes, vivid and locked on me, stood out against his dark hair and rugged scruff.

I reveled that every step he took was to close the distance between us, to get closer to me. “You have a look in your eye,” he said as he neared me like an unfolding dream.

A warm glow spread through my chest. He knew me so well. “I have an idea. ”

“What now, Copeland?” he asked with a knowing smile.

“During the fire, I summoned a rainstorm. And again, when we were stranded in the cave. I needed laith moss to save you from their venom, but the creature wasn’t dead.

To escape it, I jumped over a geyser. Just as the laith leaped after me, the water erupted and dragged the creature down into the river. ”

Rowen shot me a concerned glare. I never planned on telling him that part of the story, but here we were. “I asked you if it was dead,” he said as he clenched his teeth.

“I said it was nearly dead,” I offered with a shrug. “Which technically was true. But there were always drinkable water sources nearby or moisture in the air. Do you know of any places left like that?”

“All our water is sourced from the mountain glaciers, but the last time I checked, the water flow was greatly reduced,” Rowen said, sitting to join us.

Of course he would know that; he knew this land like the back of his hand, having wandered the forest countless times.

“Perhaps we can inspect the main well together,” he added, his voice tinged with both hope and caution.

“The shift in our weather patterns is alarming, but where one village can suffer from drought, another can be inundated with floods.”

“I could help balance it out,” I said, feeling optimistic. Just like Althea.

I would do whatever I could to ensure the Wyn didn’t suffer.

Dyani said no one blamed me, but nearly the entire village shot dark glances my way.

I couldn’t blame them. I’d caused nothing but problems since the day I arrived.

Plus, they had seen my ability to do what this village so desperately needed.

It ate away at me that I couldn’t protect the elves who had given me so much.

Sitting around chatting about my feelings with Takoda or training with Dyani wouldn’t bring water back to the village. I needed action .

Given that the spirits granted me a stronger body, I should be able to wield the Alcreon Light more efficiently . . . I just had to figure out how.

My inability to control my Light hurt everyone; in more ways than I could imagine. Not only was it hurting my soul flame, it was hurting everyone around me.

I needed to get it together. If my touch only brought death, and I wasn’t allowed to do anything, the least I could do was use whatever power I had to help the Wyn elves.

I made up my mind. I would leave the safety of Nepta’s borders once again. The village was desperate.