Page 31 of Forged in Fading

A smirk tugged on Boden’s features. He clearly enjoyed making her struggle.

“What are you smiling at, you—oh shit.” Frost had settled onto her skin, glistening in a way she would have found beautiful, reminiscent of home, if she wasn’t acutely aware of how dangerous it could become at any moment.

Ravanel stepped closer, and Boden dipped his head toward the ice wriggling out from under her feet. “Close your eyes and focus on the source of your power. What else makes you angry?”

What didn’t make her angry? Alvara took a deep breath and looked inward as her power continued to drain her life force, drop by drop. All she saw was the usual gloom that nested inside of her.

She started with the person who had taken everything from her. “King Einar.”

A crack.

Deeper, further, Alvara dove, until she finally latched onto a slick patch of ice, the same blue as her eyes and her mother’s.

“Now kindly cut off your power before you freeze me into oblivion.”

Alvara tried to focus on dissipating the frozen crystals, but her mind slipped from her grasp, fastening itself to every way the king had ruined her life. She wanted revenge. She wanted to take everything from him in return. The goal settled in her, hastily patching some of the holes that had begun to show in her thinning armor.

“Alvara…” Boden’s hesitant voice yanked on her attention.

The power within her was multiplying with frightening speed. Her stomach clenched as she tried to squash her magic, but it only laughed, chilling her organs and limbs.

As quickly as it came, it vanished. Her eyes flew open. “I did it!”

“Unfortunately, not the case. You can thank Rav for his assistance.” Boden furiously rubbed his frost-covered pants. “Whose idea was this again?”

“Yours,” Ravanel said. “It’s always yours.”

“Yes, I suppose it is. I do have good ideas occasionally.”

“Once a year.”

“Would you say this is one of those times?”

Alvara had endured enough of whatever in Dalviri’s name this nonsense was. “I’m standing right here. Are we chatting or training?”

By midday, Alvara had accessed her power countless times, only to lose control and be leashed like an animal by Ravanel, who did nothing to hide his thorough enjoyment of the part he played.

She had one more day to prove herself worthy, or she would be cast out with nowhere to go. Boden escorted her to the food hall, where she grabbed a bowl of stew, one of the three dishes the cook seemed capable of creating.

Eating only succeeded in making her stomach queasy as she stumbled into the forge. She would’ve given anything for even an oat or nut biscuit to calm her nerves. Or she could ask Kat for more of the sap candies—anything to give her a dose of numbing sweetness.

Oh, right. Alvara had stabbed her with the equivalent of knives. If the healers hadn’t been available…she could spend the rest of her life contemplating what she had almost done to someone who had only been trying to help her.

At the very least, the exhaustion from expending her power didn’t allow her to think about anything other than keeping her muscles moving.

She needed to do this. If not for Kat’s sake or her own, for Eloisa, who had given every last bit of herself to fighting this battle.

Alvara wouldn’t let anything or anyone stand in her way.

Chapter Twelve

“Would you even like to control your magic?” Boden asked the next day. “Or is it that you enjoy my company so much that you’d like to drag this out as long as possible?” He remained focused on building a teetering tower of rocks with his magic as Ravanel snuffed out Alvara’s for the third time that morning.

“Yes.”

No.

She was still holding back. Each tingle of her Dalvian powers created a tenuous connection with her faded sister and her kingdom that she wasn’t prepared to face.