“I guess so.”
“One more then we can be done. I swear.”
I reluctantly agreed, and racked my brain for another command to use on him.
Sawyer didn't give me any time to think before his sapphire magic blasted me with a forceful stream of water. The pressure knocked me off of my feet, and I fell to the matwith a force so strong that I felt my tailbone bruise at the contact.
I tried to scold him, but couldn't speak. I could barely breathe from the flood of water in my face. I fumbled around on the mat, trying to get away from the lake, but the water followed me. I knew that his intention behind this was to have me harness my powers to stop him, but I didn't comply. I couldn't risk it.
Crawling around on the mat, I tried to position my back towards Sawyer so that I could get some air in my lungs. He moved with me, keeping his magic aimed at my face. It became evident that he wasn't going to stop unless I made him, and if I didn't want to drown, there were no other options but to use my power to retaliate.
Searching for a sense of peace within the chaos, I grasped hold tightly to the minuscule amount I could find and commanded Sawyer to, “STOP.”
The wave came to a sudden halt, dripping to the mat before disappearing completely, leaving me drenched from head to toe.
I spit out a mouthful of water and clutched my chest, gasping for air. I tried to rise to my feet, but decided from a brief moment of dizziness that I would stay down.
“Sawyer, what the hell?” I gasped, scowling up at him.
He smirked, and looked awfully devious as he did. “Nice job. I didn't expect you to be able to gain control of your magic that easily.”
An ache in my temple started to form, and I took the pain as confirmation that stopping someone’s magic didnotcount as a simple use of my power. I’d have to keep that in mind for the rest of the week.
I furrowed my brows at Sawyer as he approached me. He grabbed me by the shoulders and lifted me to my feet. We were both sopping wet—the walk back to my dorm was going to bedreadful.
“You could have killed me,” I snarled, taking my hair in my hands and twisting it, wringing the water out over his shoes.
He stepped back. “Oh please, do you really think I would let the girl my best friend fancies die?”
My jaw went slack. “What did you say?” I asked, my cheeks flushing at his accidental spill.
Sawyer's eyes widened and he smacked his hand against his mouth. “I didn’t say that,” he sputtered, his face filling with panic over his unintentional admission.
I strained to hide the smile that fought its way onto my face. Did Sebastian tell him that he had feelings for me, or was Sawyer just making assumptions? Either way, I obviously wasn’t meant to know that information.
“It’s okay.” I waved my hand in a gesture that disregarded what he said. I tried to act nonchalant, though everything inside of me was screaming and giddy.
Sawyer combed his hands through his hair. He looked way more stressed about this than he should have been.
“Sawyer, it’s really fine. You were just messing around. Right?” I knew that he wasn't, but if he agreed with me, maybe it would help kill the fire inside of me.
He gulped and nodded.
“Alright so let’s just forget it,” I told him—and myself. Because for all the reasons I told Pia earlier, Ireallyneeded to forget this.
Chapter
Twenty-One
By the end of the week training with Sawyer, I was utterly defeated. My muscles felt like they were being twisted any time I made a sudden movement. Sebastian and I trained hard, but Sawyer trained on a whole other level—one that left me beaten and exhausted.
Sawyer and I bonded better than I ever thought we could after our initial introduction, making our week together not as painful as I anticipated. Although our wielding sessions had been almost unbearable, there was only one incident where my vision tunneled. I thought for sure I was going down, but somehow managed to hold it together.Thank gods.
The days had blended into one. Train, eat, class, wield, sleep, repeat—my schedule was exhausting. Luckily, my meeting with King Hawthorne had been canceled this week as he had accompanied Sebastian and Duke Sinclair to Craterra.
My feet dangled over the edge of my bed, my thighs burning with the movement.I peered at the clock—Sawyer was late. That was odd. He hadn't been a second late all week.
I did not question his absence. Instead, I changed out ofmy winter training uniform and released my hair from its braid, shaking the waves free. I laced my boots over my ankles, then went down the hall to Pia’s room to see if she wanted to get breakfast. I knocked, but she didn't answer, meaning she probably had spent the night with Kohen.
