Chapter 2

I thought we'd start with something simple. Maybe some stretches. A warm-up jog. Perhaps a gentle discussion about the nature of my mysterious powers.

Instead, he handed me a rock.

"Lift it," he said.

The rock was the size of my torso. It sat in the middle of a clearing like it had been waiting for me.

"You want me to lift that?"

"With your mind. Or your whatever-that-light-was. Just... make it move."

I stared at the rock. The rock stared back. Nothing happened.

"I don't think it's working."

"You're not trying."

"I'm trying very hard. I'm sweating."

"That's from the sun."

Liora watched from a fallen log, her sketchbook balanced on her knee. "Maybe he needs motivation," she said without looking up.

"What kind of motivation?"

"I don't know. Picture Riven's face on the rock."

That was actually a good idea. I closed my eyes and imagined Riven's smug, perfect features. That cold smile. Those eyes that had watched my parents die.

The heat in my chest flared.

I opened my eyes. My hands were glowing. Not with fire, exactly. More like... light that wanted to be fire. It pulsed and crackled, and the air around me went hot.

"Good!" Eron said. "Now point it at the rock!"

I pointed. A bolt of something shot from my palm and hit the rock dead center.

The rock exploded.

Chunks of stone flew everywhere. One hit Eron in the shoulder. Another whistled past Liora's ear. I ducked as a piece the size of my fist sailed over my head.

When the dust cleared, the rock was gone. In its place was a smoking crater about three feet wide.

"Well," Liora said, brushing dust off her armor. "That's one way to lift a rock."

Eron was rubbing his shoulder. His expression was unreadable. "You destroyed it."

"Was that bad?"

"No. That was... good. Very good. But you need to control it."

"I felt angry," I admitted. "I pictured Riven."

"Anger works. But anger can also get you killed. You need to find other ways to access the power."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Joy? Determination? The memory of your mother's laugh?"

I thought about my mother's laugh. I couldn't remember it. That hurt more than I expected.

"What if I can't control it?" I asked again.

"Then we try something else." Eron walked over to the crater and peered into it. "But you have the power. That's the important part. Now we just learn how to aim it."

"And not blow up our camp," Liora added.

"That too."

We spent the rest of the morning trying different emotions. Happiness produced a faint flicker. Grief made my hands go cold. Fear did nothing.

But anger? Anger made the light roar.

By noon, I could make a small ball of light appear in my palm. I couldn't throw it anywhere specific, but it existed. That felt like progress.

"Rest," Eron said. "You'll burn yourself out."

I sat down heavily. My arms ached. My head throbbed. But underneath it all, that heat was still there, humming like a satisfied cat.

Liora sat beside me. "You're doing better than I expected."

"Thanks. That's almost a compliment."

"It is a compliment. I expected you to set the forest on fire on your first try."

"I only set one tree on fire."

"And I put it out. So we're even."

I managed a laugh. It felt strange. "What do you know about Riven? Really know?"

Liora was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "I know he wasn't always like this. When he first became ruler, people thought he'd be great. He was charming. Handsome. He made promises."

"What changed?"

"I don't know. But I've been studying his old records. Before he killed his army, he was already different. More paranoid. More cruel. He executed a servant for spilling wine."

"That's insane."

"That's power. It corrupts. But there's something else." She lowered her voice. "I found a journal. His, I think. It mentioned a source of power. Something he found in the mountains."

"What kind of power?"

"It didn't say. But it mentioned a cost. 'The price of divinity is the soul.'"

I shivered. "That doesn't sound good."

"It doesn't. But it means he's not invincible. He paid a price for his power. Maybe we can use that against him."

Before I could ask more, a scout came running into the clearing. Her name was Mira, and she looked pale.

"Kael," she said, breathless. "They're coming."

"Who?"

"Riven's new army. He's rebuilt it. They're marching toward the forest."

My heart stopped. "How many?"

"Hundreds. Maybe a thousand."

I looked at Eron. His face was grim.

"We're not ready," I said.

"We're never ready," he replied. "But we fight anyway."

Liora was already folding her map. "I have a plan. But we need to move fast."

"Tell me."

"We draw them into the valley. Use the terrain to split their forces. Then we hit them from three sides."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Then you'll need to figure out how to control that power. Fast."

I looked at my hands. The light flickered under my skin.

"I'll figure it out."

"Good." She smiled. "Because I'd rather not die today."

Neither would I. But as the rebels scrambled to prepare, I felt that heat in my chest grow stronger. Brighter.

Riven wanted a fight. He was going to get one.

And I was going to make sure he regretted it.

The sun dipped below the treeline. The army marched closer. And somewhere in my chest, the promise of power burned like a star.

Tomorrow, we'd see if I could keep that promise.