Page 57 of Rising Out of the Darkness (Divine Guardians Duology #1)

Elena

T he pain in my chest swelled and I began to feel lightheaded as I walked down the corridor that led out to the training ring, which was just outside the kitchen.

With each step, I could feel my anxiety building and I paused to lean against the wall to rub the tightness away from my chest. When the pain didn’t cease, I decided to cut through the kitchen and grab some water to help calm myself before I fell into a full-on panic attack.

Divine aromas of freshly baked goods invaded my senses as I stepped inside the warm kitchen. Loaves of bread and sweet pastries were scattered across the butcher-block counter. My stomach rumbled at the sight.

A few servants gathered baked goods into small baskets, their glares pinned on mine. Alana stalked out of the pantry carrying a sack of flour. Her eyes met mine and she gave a nod to the open door behind her.

Alana followed me outside a few moments later, apron full of bread and a skin of water.

“Bless the gods, you are wonderful, Alana,” I mumbled into the loaf of bread I was devouring.

“Sorry about that, my lady.” She nodded back towards the two women inside. “Those two are slippery as eels. Anything said within an inch of their ears goes directly back to Alastor. They’re his personal servants.”

My lips curled around the loaf of bread as Alana let out a breathy laugh. “Are you alright, my lady?”

She assessed my disheveled appearance as I gulped down water. “Yes, I’m okay, just on my way to meet Nayla for some training.”

“If you need more food later, you stop in and see me, alright?”

“Thank you, Alana. I will.”

Pulling her into a side embrace, I thanked her once more and made my way out to the training grounds. After talking with Clara about Declan, I needed more than just training for my dynamis. I needed answers. Answers about the secrets they’d been hiding for so long.

If I was to help, I could no longer be left in the dark.

B y the time that I made my way back to the training ring, the other guards had gone, leaving behind Liam, Killian and Nayla.

As I got closer, Liam pressed a finger over his lips, his gaze locked on mine.

Shortly after, Killian and Nayla appeared behind me.

They all huddled in close, wrapping their arms around me.

“Hold on tight, Elena,” whispered Killian.

In a flash, my hair twirled around me, and it felt as though I was flying inside of a tunnel of wind. Finally pine needles crunched underneath our boots, and the turbulent wind ceased.

Gigantic pine trees soared above us, and I could hear the sounds of a river rushing only a few feet away. A tent was set up near a small fire pit, and I began to realize that this must be a place they often zephyred to.

My head felt like it was spinning as we all stepped apart from each other. After adjusting my hair back into place, I clutched my stomach, trying to suppress the nausea.

“Was all of that necessary?”

“Yes, little lady. There are a lot of ears and eyes in the castle that shouldn’t be privy to what we are about to discuss.”

“Sorry, Freckles.” Killian chuckled. “The nausea will cease soon. Longer distances stress the body a little more than usual.”

“Who put those scars on Declan?” I asked, a little more bluntly than I had intended.

“I think you already know, Lena,” Killian said.

I pressed my lips together, trying to force back the rage that was building inside of me. Killian was right, I’d assumed that the king or his advisor were likely responsible. Gods, I had just clung to the hope that I was wrong. “Was this the first time?”

“No,” Nayla breathed.

“How long?”

“Too long,” they replied, almost in unison.

I tried to erase the image of a much younger Declan displaying the same scars that I had witnessed today. Nayla placed a hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay, Elena?” she muttered.

“Barely,” I breathed. “The cruelty of this realm confounds me. How could they do such horrific things to him?”

All three of their heads hung low in silent agreement.

“Ever since my Ascension, I feel like I’ve been trying to live up to this power the gods decided to bestow upon me.

It swirls within me, urging me each day to be good, reminding me of the gods’ quest to heal the evil that lies before us.

How am I supposed to bring about good, when those men are far darker and more evil than those foul beasts that have threatened the land?

If Declan, our most powerful Elysian, can be overpowered, what hope do I have?

Honestly, some days I feel like I’m drowning, and I pray to the gods that they just let me fall into darkness. ”

The admission flooded out of my mouth before I could stop it. Turmoil twisted inside my stomach as I awaited their disappointment.

“I hope you know us well enough by now to trust us. To know you don’t have to carry this burden alone,” Killian said, giving my shoulder a squeeze.

“It’s what friends do,” Nayla said, placing her palm on my back and rubbed it soothingly.

“It’s what family does,” Liam followed. “You’re one of us now, Lena. We don’t let our family suffer alone … ever.”

Tears welled behind my eyes, and I no longer held the capacity to keep them in.

Over these past years, my father had become my pillar, my support system. However, I’d never fully given in to his help. Guilt over not being to handle every struggle, every fear, made me keep him at a distance, afraid to show too much weakness, too much vulnerability.

Shame had rooted itself deep within me. With each failure, each weakness, a new root dug itself straight into my soul. I was never strong enough, sharp enough, or bold enough.

If I was completely honest with myself, my whole life I’d never felt like I’d been enough of anything.

However, here with my newfound family, I began to see that I had been going about this all wrong.

Maybe we didn’t always have to be our own strength, or our own anything at all.

Why would the gods create a world full of people for us to struggle by ourselves?

Perhaps we were not created to ever do life alone in the first place.

“So, what are we going to do to protect our family?” I swallowed as my chest tightened. “And what are we going to do to protect Declan—to make sure that what happened yesterday never happens again?”

Liam’s mouth curled up. A smirk danced across Killian’s face. Nayla’s eyes glimmered with ferocity.

“We train.” Liam grinned. “We train you with all we have until you have all of the dynamis of this realm at your fingertips, Light Phoenix.”

A mischievous grin spread across my face.

“When do we start?”

T hey hadn’t been joking about the intensity of their training. We started immediately.

After Declan had shared the theory about emotions being the core of our dynamis, the four of them had begun testing out what other dynamis they could get in touch with.

Killian had obtained the ability of fire.

My eyes grew wide as blazing amber flame danced across his palm and through his fingertips.

His emotions had always seemed so calm and collected to me.

However, Declan had said that those who obtained this dynamis loved fiercely.

It also explained why Eloise had Flame abilities as well.

Nayla had been working with Liam on wielding water, a dynamis we called a Tide.

As she manipulated the water like a whip, my mouth gaped wide, then curled into a grin when she slapped Liam against the side of his face with it.

Shortly after, he demonstrated his newfound Terran ability by breaking the ground underneath her, causing her to fall flat on her back.

The burst of laughter that came out of my mouth couldn’t be quelled. Unfortunately, it sealed my own fate. In one swoop, the ground shifted from under me and a wave of water crashed across my face as I fell. We wiped away the mud from our faces. Only Killian was left pristine.

“Don’t even think about it, Liam,” Killian growled.

A twinkle shimmered in Liam’s eye before he zephyred directly in front of him. With a wiggle of her fingers, Nayla shifted the ground underneath them and splashed them both with another round of water as they fell.

“Hey, whose side are you on?” Liam groaned, rolling off Killian as he swiped more mud from his face.

“Obviously, I’ll always be on the Light Phoenix’s side.”

I gave her a wink as we slapped palms.

“When have you been practicing that?” Killian snorted, finally standing up.

“A man has to have some secrets, right?” Liam rolled his gaze over towards Nayla, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Nayla’s tanned skin flushed a rosy red. I stifled my giggle the best I could.

“Alright, your turn, Freckles,” Killian said.

Nerves twinged in my stomach as I made my way over to the captain. His golden hair was darkened with mud, but his face shone with excitement. “Let’s see if we can get you to zephyr.”

Once the words left his mouth, I felt as though my face had turned seven shades of green. A deep laugh bellowed out of him.

“Don’t worry, Freckles, once you retch the complete contents of your stomach”—my nose wrinkled as he shrugged— “you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“Oh, boy, sounds like so much fun.”

Liam and Nayla both perched up against a tree, watching. Shoving the sleeves of my tunic up on my arms, I bobbed my head, signaling Killian to begin.

A fter excavating the last remnants of my stomach, and the millionth time crashing into the icy river, a frustrated snarl escaped my lips.

For hours, I’d tried to dig deep and find the emotions that would call to my Zephyr dynamis.

My first attempts, I’d just ended up launching my Tempest winds, blowing myself backwards into trees, rocks, and the river.

Eventually, I was able to make myself zephyr forward, straight into the river , again.

Water and mud saturated my body, my cheek still swollen and tender from where I had zephyred myself face first into a boulder.