Page 160 of To Scale the Emerald Mountain

“I promise.”

Alec’s eyes shutter closed before his lips meet mine.

“I’m finished being afraid.” I press my mouth gently against his once more before I reluctantly pull away and focus on my targets.

I practice for another hour, and by the time I’m finally finished, a large portion of the former village is nothing more than an empty space.

The emerald does, indeed, work as a conduit for my power, allowing me to not have to place a hand on the ground. I’m also able to fork off the veins of shimmering electricity to hit multiple targets at once, like raging rivers branching out to deliver destruction. With my last attempt, I imploded seven buildings at one time, leaving a cloud of golden-green smoke. The smoke always clears quickly on a harsh wind smelling of cloves and jasmine.

Despite the incredible amount of power I’ve exerted, I’m not drained. In fact, I’m barely tired, only hungry. Alec packed me multiple apples with a jar of peanut butter. I fill the divots from each bite with large amounts of nut butter and repeat until I’ve eaten four, and I drain a whole water skin.

As promised, Nana gives me a fair fight. We dance around each other with swift movements, the sound of metal against nearly indestructible fenwood carries on the hot desert air as Alec happily watches us, giving me pointers occasionally—a meticulousinstructor. Nana easily bests me and reminds me she has had hundreds of years to master her art before she leaves.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

ELLYA

“Are you ready for me, now?” Alec asks me after I’ve rested.

He unsheathes both of his swords, the blades hissing against their leather housings. “I love watching you fight, but I fear I may now be addicted to the smell of your sweat up close while you dance gracefully with death.”

“Aren’t you afraid I might light you on fire from within?” I quip.

His rumbling laugh warms me more thoroughly than the heat of the sun. “You do that by simply existing.”

“That’s not the fire I’m talking about, my king,” I throw back at him playfully, remembering his visceral reaction to me calling him that when I reminded him to beg for me.

Alec darts his tongue over his full lips, wetting them as he begins to circle me, both weapons raised. “Mmm, I am aware. And quite the contrary, I am not afraid of your fire. I want you to give it to me.” He beckons me towards him with a flick of his sword, but I pause.

“You want me to use my currents against you?”

“Yes. I want to see how you use your power in a physical fight.”

The cold agony of Alec’s death washes over me, and my gut clenches.

He senses my hesitance. “Who better than I?”

“I just killed you yesterday, Alec. And then—I only stabbed you. This is different. What if this amplified power sends you to true death?”

“I will always come back for you, Elly,” he reassures. “But I will not ask you to do something you are not comfortable with. Come on then, just weapons.”

Alec’s fighting style today is different, now that he’s not trying to provoke me, and he isn’t fighting with his own avalanche of emotions. Our attacks are more playful and light; we banter throughout.

Alec tells me that he fought with one sword, left-handed, because of how much I always hated it, hoping I would have the same reaction. His grin with his confession motivates me to feign an attack on his left before instead swiping his feet out from under him with a harsh blow to his calves.

He grunts when his back collides with the hot sand. I grin down at him and place a foot on his chest.

“Your arrogance got you beat,” I say with glee.

Alec grabs my ankle and pulls my leg out. I yelp as I rush through the air towards the ground and land on the sand with a muffledthump.

“And yours has put you right next to me, where you belong.”

My head is next to his legs, and I playfully pinch the back of his thigh. He laughs, and we sit up at the same time, facing each other. The rusty sand sticks to our sweat slicked bodies and is caked in our hair, like thick red clay.

“You’re a mess,” I tell him in a joking tone, knowing I look the same.

Alec pulls me towards him. “And you are beautiful.”