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My chest sinks. “No, that can’t be.” I search his eyes for any doubt but find none. “I was in Barkovah, and there was no sign of any military force. Raine was leading the city when I arrived. Finn’s father couldn’t have been involved. They fled to Whales of Tauh.”
Edgar lets out a small grunt. “I know what I saw.”
As we resume walking I let my thoughts run rampant. Is Heirah working with Fernestia? But why?
Elias turns his head and looks at me briefly. My stomach curls with heat and I have to shake my head to keep from thinking about last night. “Barkovah was taken. I was there when everything fell apart. He’s the beacon for the Skyfell.” I nod toward Elias and lower my eyes to the snow. He’s the reason my family is dead and I should hate him more than anything, and yet I can’t.
Edgar’s deadly glare slowly returns to his eyes. “And you’ve been by his side this entire time?” There’s judgment in his stare. Of course there is. Why wouldn’t there be? But it doesn’t stop it from stinging all the same.
“Not by choice… My Shadow has a thing for his,” I say quietly.
Edgar narrows his eyes, but before he asks me to elaborate, we nearly walk straight into Raine and Ash.
Elias gives Edgar an assessing look and mutters, “Let’s start with Ash since he’s already received blight-training from Arthur.”
Ash walks to the center of the small clearing and shuts his eyes. When they reopen, circles line his pupils like doorways. Elias stands next to him and as he blinks, the crescent moons from the other night return to his eyes.
“Novas have a distinguished power, one that is visible in our eyes. As a defense mechanism, if we are not in tune with our powers, we cast out a blight in times of distress.” Elias holds his hand out toward the clearing and darkness blasts from his palm, scorching the snow and trees into black smudges.
I raise a brow in confusion. I’ve seen him kill without so much as a trace of Velis before. His gaze catches mine as he speaks. “Uncontrolled power like this will blight those around you who are not Novas or in full unity with their Shadows. While if you are in control—” Elias performs the same attack, but this time, there is no dark smoke. A pine tree snaps in half and falls without a trace of him having anything to do with it. “No evidence of your power will be left behind.”
Elias nods to Ash and he performs the same attack. He slices a lone tree in half with no evidence of magic.
“Until you can do it perfectly like that, we’ll be here every morning practicing,” Elias states and looks from me to Edgar expectantly.
I swallow tightly. Raine stands tall beside me, his eyes unmoving and cold.
Elias grins at him as he points to Raine’s chest. “Terra has already blighted Raine, so he makes the perfect test dummy.” Elias’s hand clamps down on Raine’s shoulder and his fingers dig into his flesh. Raine’s brows twitch but he shows no fear.
“Why not just practice on the trees?” I scowl at Elias.
He shrugs as he mutters, “Higher stakes and whatnot by using a live target.”
Asshole.
I try to intervene but one hard look from Elias stops me. His gray eyes burn into me, making me believe that he very much has an issue with me being so close to Raine.
“Edgar, I want you to try to decapitate him from twenty feet away. Keep your Shadow in check. You won’t stop until I think you’re stable enough to join classes. Raine, try to keep him from taking your head clean off,” Elias says with an eerie grin.
“That’s insane!” I interject, but Raine dismisses me with a low grunt as he takes his position twenty feet away as instructed. Edgar fists his hands at his sides and looks at Raine with determination.
Elias grabs my wrist and drags me to the side of the clearing so we can watch.
“This is fucked up. If Raine gets hurt?—”
“You’ll what?” Elias snaps, his jaw set and eyes trained carefully ahead. “We aren’t playing games anymore, Terra.” My stomach curls and I want to lash out at him but I think better of it. He’s been tolerant of my outbursts so far, but with his peers around, I’m not so sure how far that tolerance will stretch.
The snow crunches behind us and I turn my head to find Arthur walking up the path from the forest. His gray eyes calmly meet mine as he stops beside me. “Sorry I’m late. I had to attend to a few matters at Za’Afiel. Cein will be arriving this evening to discuss your mission delay, Elias.”
I look between them. Elias’s permanent glare is set in stone, while Arthur has a light air about him. I’ve heard this man’s name tossed around a handful of times. Who exactly is Cein? From what I’ve gathered, he seems like someone in high standing, maybe even higher up than the headmaster.
My assassin offers him no reply so we watch Edgar in silence. Ash stands alone on the opposite side of the clearing, his hands tucked into his white cloak, almost blending in completely with the white trees surrounding him.
My breath seizes as Edgar raises his hand.
An explosion of power bursts from his palm and the gravity around us instantly intensifies. My feet dig heavily into the earth and panic rushes me as Raine’s eyes widen, his hands barely lifting in time to shield himself from the black wave of power that crashes into him.
“Control,” Elias barks out to Edgar and my brother lowers his hand, breathing heavily and shock glazing his eyes at his own strength.
