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“Keep going,” Nadis urged. “You must find the water’s source.”
She was searching for thesourceof her power. Noratu’s face suddenly appeared in the back of her mind. It didn’t disrupt the visualization, but it made her pause within it. Noratu was her source. She was a conduit through which his energy flowed.
“How do I get up there?” She motioned toward the top of the cliff.
Nadis’ image smiled, patient amusement shimmering in her eyes. “You are being too literal. None of this is real. Jump up there or float. Give your image wings so you can fly. You control this world, because you created it.”
Feeling foolish, Flora held her arms out to the side and smoothly levitated until she could see above the cliff face. To help remind herself that this was a visualization, she remained in midair as she looked around the upper level. Beyond the cliff stretched a massive body of water. Nothing seemed to contain it. There were no banks, no hills, no shoreline. Stretching out as far as her eyes could see, the ocean or lake filled the horizon. This was the source of her power, the energy that would fuel her abilities.
“Where are you, Flora? Do you understand what you are seeing?”
Humbled and a little afraid, she wasn’t able to speak for a moment. “This is Noratu. I am the river, or more like the river banks. His energy flows through me and together we will use this to—” Flora opened her eyes and looked at her mentor. The visualization dissipated and the lounge came back in focus. “Why do I keep seeing water? I thought Altorian energy manifested as fire.”
“It is a very good question,” Nadis agreed. “I do not have the answer, but your grandmother might. Autumn never mentioned having a Torretian relative, but she might not have known.”
Two things caught Flora’s attention simultaneously. “This doesn’t prove I had a Torretian relative. Maybe I just like water. How well did you know my mother?”
Nadis did not seem insulted by Flora’s defensiveness. “Your mother and I trained together with the same mentor.”
The casual statement unleashed a storm of questions. There was so much Flora didn’t know about her mother’s early life. “Azar said something about my mother being captured in a raid. Did you grow up knowing you were a conduit, or were you hidden like my mother?”
“I was hidden from the Citadel, but my community was not as secretive as the one where Autumn grew up.” Nadis motioned toward the sitting area across the room from where they stood. They sat facing each other then Nadis expounded, “My mother believed that information was power, so she told me what I was and what the Citadel leaders wanted from me. My mother refused to participate in war, but I was allowed to choose my own life path.”
Flora tensed as an unexpected surge of resentment rippled through her being. She hadn’t been given a choice by either of her parents. Her mother took her to Earth and raised her as a human. Worse, she had been robbed of her abilities. Her grandmother had been pressuring her to find a human husband, so it was obvious that Iris had no intention of telling her anything. And then the contract her father negotiated had resulted in her current situation. No one had allowed her to have input into her ‘life path.’ Well, Draven and Noratu had given her choices but her father’s threat against her grandmother had pressured her to cooperate.
Refocusing on the present, Flora released a sigh. The beginning of this journey had been rocky, but she no longer felt coerced. She wanted to learn more about her abilities. She had yet to decide how she would allow her abilities to be used. First, she needed to learn how to control them.
“Did you choose to come here or were you captured in a raid?” Flora was pretty sure she knew the answer. She just wanted Nadis to confirm her suspicion.
“I chose this life. I was born with an amazing gift. I think it is selfish to squander it.”
Flora wasn’t sure how she felt, so she returned to the original subject. “Why do you think I have a Torretian relative?”
“My controller is half Torretian,” Nadis told her. “I am well acquainted with Torretian energy.”
“But doesn’t my energy come from Noratu?” Flora shook her head, confused by the complexities.
“Each member of a power triad has mystic energy. Without it we would be unable to manipulate magic. I sensed the anomaly the first time I touched your mind, so I don’t believe it is coming from Noratu.”
She nodded, but the intricacies of her abilities were not as interesting as understanding her mother’s past. “Do you know why my mother agreed to bond with Azar? They seem like such an unlikely couple.”
“Azar is only half of the equation,” Nadis reminded. “Autumn’s source was wonderful. His name was Otal and he was as likeable as Azar is abrasive.”
This was the first time she had spoken with anyone who knew the truth about her parents. Well, obviously her grandmother knew but Flora had spent a whopping ten minutes alone with Iris since they left Earth. “How did they meet?”
“To understand all the events regarding your mother, you need to understand your grandmother.”
Flora shifted on the padded bench trying to find a more comfortable position. Apparently, this was going to be a longer conversation than she’d anticipated. “Iris was on Earth with Mom, so it’s pretty obvious that she agreed with running away.”
Nadis nodded. “Iris grew up during the Great Upheaval. Her parents insisted that she remain at the Citadel, but she was not subtle about her allegiance. The mates her parents chose for her were powerful and controlling.”
“Is that a bad thing? Draven is very controlling, but he knows when and how to use it.”
Nadis responded with a one-shouldered shrug. “Iris’ source was nearly as domineering as her controller. Her parents knew she would defy them at every turn and thought they would be the only team strong enough to keep her in line.”
“It made her more rebellious?” Flora guessed. That is likely how she would have reacted if Draven’s stern discipline weren’t tempered with deep devotion.
“There were other factors as well.” Nadis sighed, obviously reluctant to share whatever came next. “Iris’ mates thought children might settle her down so they bred her relentlessly. She gave birth four times in five years and each infant was female, which was extraordinary. It made her incredibly valuable.”
