Page 99 of A Dance With Fire
“Have you ever stared at the flame on a candle?” she asked. “The gentle sway from side to side. Or the flickering of a bonfire? Have you ever really studied fire? Because that’s what it feels like. It feels like fire that’s dug into my body like the roots of trees dig into the ground. It’s a part of me, and it’s different, but it’salive.”And it wants out.Those were the words she didn’t say.
Valerio nodded. “That’s what everyone’s magic is, to some capacity. But you are an Elemental. Your magic may be different, but we shall treat it like any other gift from Mana.”
Shula nodded.
“I want you to feel your power, familiarize yourself with it, and I want you to summon the flames to your hands. Slowly at first and then we’ll go from there.”
That was easy, something she’d done before with little effort. It was putting out the fire that seemed to take more concentration.
Inhaling a steady breath, Shula held her palms out and focused, calling out to the fire that lived inside her. Calling to the part of herself that she so long kept buried, knowing that Valerio was right. She’d held it in too long, and now it was time to let it loose.
She’d never fight in a war with them, but she needed to learn about herself, her powers, and know how to control them. It would mean the difference between life and death.
Lungs filling with smoke, she inhaled deeply, and felt it cloud from her mouth on the exhale. Heat suffused her palms, warm enough to bring comfort, but not hot enough to burn.
Her eyes flew open, and she stared down at the fire encasing her fingers. Vestiges of panic started in her chest and spread, making her want to hyperventilate, but she shoved it aside with a louder voice of reason.
I am safe. I am safe. I am safe.
Suppressing her powers had given room for this sensation in her chest. Powers equaled death, betrayal,bad.
But she wasn’t among humans. She was with her own kind. That alone kept the fire around her skin burning. It spread up her arms in long, ribboned tendrils, dancing around her like a friend welcoming another after so long apart.
And the release inside her? To finally let loose that small bit of raw energy that had begged for so long? Already, she could feel her insides relaxing, the mental strain of keeping it locked up tight lessened.
“Good. Now, I want you to hit the emperor.”
Shula’s eyes snapped up and she staggered back, nearly sinking into the water. A figure stood before her just a few feet away but within striking distance.
The figure was human male in appearance, with a shadowed, distorted face and features Shula couldn’t quite make out. A gleaming crown sat on his head, and in his hand he held an obsidian sword.
His form flickered in and out of focus, like shadows dancing around the edges.
“The human emperor wants you. He’ll mount your ears on his walls and chain you to his throne room floor.”
The figure moved like a phantom, charging towards Shula. She knew it was nothing more than an illusion created by Valerio for this precise moment, yet fear snaked up her spine. For a moment, it wasn’t just a spectral image charging.
It was the real Emperor of Illyk.
“Shula! Focus! Use your magic!” Valerio’s voice broke through her paralyzing fear. Her body jerked into movement, hands shooting out, she willed the fire to obey. Eagerly, it did so, a jet of fire speeding towards the phantom figure.
It hit him square in the chest. The figure vanished, only to be replaced by five more.
Fuck.
They charged at her in tandem, nothing more than dark blurs of whispered fury in her vision. She couldn’t see from where they attacked until it was too late. Until the blows were already striking her body from all directions. Pain ratcheted over her body. She turned, heart pounding, trying to tune into her Fae senses as best as she could, but they were merely shadows. They had no scent, gave no sound.
So Shula’s magic responded against the threat before she could stop it.
The fire blazed into a protective inferno.
No, no, no!
Shula tried to call it back into herself, but it was too late; she could already feel it expanding. She was vaguely aware of someone slewing a string of curses, of the searing heat that didn’t burn.
And then she plunged herself into the water, extinguishing the magic and the flames.
She emerged coughing and sputtering, dripping and shivering. Blinking away the icy bite of water from her lashes, she swept a glance around. Valerio was no longer in front of her but standing next to a soaked Uric on the riverbank. The silver haired Fae had likely transported his prince away from Shula’s destruction.
