Chapter 3

Not because I wasn't tired. I was exhausted. My bones felt like they'd been replaced with lead pipes, and my head still throbbed from the training. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Riven's face. I saw my parents. I saw that ball of light in my hand, and I wondered if I'd be able to aim it at the right target.

Eron found me sitting by the campfire, staring at the flames.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, settling down beside me with a grunt.

"Is it that obvious?"

"You're still wearing your boots. That's a tell."

I looked down. He was right. "I don't want to be caught off guard."

"You won't be. We have lookouts posted every hundred yards. Mira's got eyes like a hawk."

"What if I can't do it?"

"Can't do what?"

"Control the power. What if I lose control and hurt one of you?"

Eron was quiet for a long moment. The fire crackled. A log popped, sending sparks spiraling into the dark.

"I trained with Riven once," he said. "Before he became what he is."

I turned to look at him. "You never told me that."

"It's not a story I like telling. But maybe you need to hear it."

He picked up a stick and poked at the fire. "Riven was always strong. Even as a young warrior, he could best anyone in combat. But he was also... hungry. For power. For recognition. He wanted to be the best, and he wanted everyone to know it."

"What happened?"

"He found something in the mountains. A place where the old gods left their power. He went in alone, and when he came out, he was different. Stronger, yes. But also colder. Like something inside him had been replaced."

"Liora mentioned a journal. She said it talked about a price."

Eron nodded. "The old gods didn't give power freely. They demanded sacrifice. Riven paid it. I don't know what he gave up, but I know it changed him. Turned him into the monster he is now."

He looked at me, and his eyes were serious. "That's the danger of power, Kael. It's not the power itself that's evil. It's what you're willing to sacrifice to get it. And what you're willing to do to keep it."

"I'm not like him."

"I know. But you're angry. And anger can make you do things you regret. That's why you need to learn control. Not just for the battle, but for yourself."

I stared at my hands. The light flickered beneath my skin, waiting.

"How do I control it?"

"You don't fight it," he said. "You guide it. Like a river. You can't stop a river from flowing, but you can dig a channel. You can point it where you want it to go."

"That's easier said than done."

"Everything worth doing is."

He clapped me on the shoulder and stood up. "Get some rest. Tomorrow, you'll need all the strength you have."

He walked away, leaving me alone with the fire and my thoughts.

I didn't sleep. But I thought about what he said. About rivers. About guidance. About not fighting the current.

Maybe that was the key.

Dawn came too fast.

Mira's scouts reported that Riven's army had entered the valley. They were moving slowly, but they were moving. We had maybe an hour before they reached our position.

Liora spread her map across a flat rock. "Here's the plan. Eron, you take the left flank. Mira, you take the right. I'll lead the center. Kael, you're with me."

"What do I do?"

"Wait for my signal. When I give it, you hit them with everything you've got. But be precise. We have allies in the valley too."

"And if I miss?"

"Don't."

She said it with a smile, but I could tell she was nervous. Her hands were shaking slightly as she folded the map.

"We can do this," I said.

"I know. I just wish we had more time."

"Time is a luxury we don't have."

"That's a very wise thing to say for someone who set a tree on fire yesterday."

"I'm full of surprises."

She laughed. It was a good sound.

The battle started with arrows.

Mira's scouts fired first, a volley of arrows that arced over the trees and landed among Riven's front lines. Screams echoed through the valley. Then the ground shook as their soldiers began to charge.

I stood behind a ridge, waiting for Liora's signal. My hands were sweating. My heart was pounding. The light in my chest was roaring.

"Steady," Liora said beside me. "Wait for it."

The enemy poured into the valley. Hundreds of them. Maybe a thousand. They wore black armor and carried shields emblazoned with Riven's symbol: a sun eclipsed by a shadow.

Eron's flank erupted from the left, hitting them with swords and spears. Mira's flank hit from the right. The enemy formation staggered, but they didn't break.

"Now," Liora said. "Hit them now."

I stepped out from behind the ridge.

The light exploded from my hands.

It was bigger than I expected. A wave of fire and light that roared across the battlefield and slammed into the enemy's center. Soldiers flew through the air. Shields shattered. The ground cracked.

But I didn't stop.

The power kept coming. It felt good. Too good. I wanted more. I wanted to burn them all.

"Kael!" Liora shouted. "That's enough!"

I couldn't hear her. The light was too loud. The heat was too bright. I was losing control.

A figure moved in my peripheral vision. Eron. He was running toward me, his arms raised.

"Kael! Stop!"

I tried to pull back, but the power wouldn't obey. It was like trying to hold back a flood with my bare hands.

Eron reached me. He grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.

"Remember what I said. The river. Guide it."

I closed my eyes. I thought about the river. I thought about digging a channel. I imagined the power flowing through me, not from me.

Slowly, the light began to fade.

When I opened my eyes, the battlefield was silent. The enemy was scattered. Our forces were cheering.

But I felt hollow. Empty. Like I'd given something away.

"You did it," Eron said.

"I almost lost control."

"But you didn't. That's what matters."

I looked at my hands. They were steady. For now.

Liora came up beside me. "Riven's not here. This was just a test."

"A test?"

"He wanted to see what you could do. Now he knows."

A cold feeling settled in my stomach. "Then he'll come for me personally."

"Yes. He will."

I looked toward the horizon. A dark shape was forming there. Growing larger.

Riven was coming.

And this time, I'd be ready.

Or I'd die trying.