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Nadis took a deep breath, regaining her composure. “Azar and Otal had been abandoned by their conduit, so they were banished from the Citadel. They were humiliated and ridiculed, shunned by society. It made Azar angry. He was determined to find Autumn so he could recover you. Otal was not that strong. He never recovered from the forced separation or the humiliation that followed. He grew progressively more depressed until he took his own life. That was three years after your mother departed.”
Shocked and conflicted, Flora debated what to say. It was hard to defend her mother when Autumn’s actions had resulted in such dire consequences. Still, her mother believed she was protecting Flora and the other girls. Autumn’s motives had been pure even if her perspective had been myopic.
“Enough about the past,” Nadis said after a tense pause. “The past cannot be changed, but we can work to reverse your neglect.”
Neglect? She certainly didn’t consider herself neglected.
“Your training has been neglected,” Nadis clarified, apparently reading Flora’s expression. “Most conduits begin training at twenty. By twenty-five they are fully integrated into their triads and have completed several missions.”
Now she was depressed. Nadis needed to work on her motivational speeches. “If I’m five years behind already, how will I ever catch up?”
“Your mother was one of the most powerful conduits ever born. Your fathers were unusually powerful as well. We are hoping that you will master the basic skills quickly. We would like you to participate in an upcoming mission, but I’m not sure the goal is realistic.”
“What is the mission? What will I be expected to do? If I’m ready for action, of course.” Would they want her to kill? The Torretian emperor sounded like he deserved what he was getting, but what about ordinary Torretians?
“The Torretians are constructing a large manufacturing facility. It will allow them to build warships even faster than we can. The problem is they have placed it in a well-developed section of one of their moons. Ordinary explosives would damage the surrounding complexes. It could also shift the orbit of the moon, which would in turn cause catastrophic changes to the planet.”
“How would a power triad help?”
“It will take several triads working together, but Altorian fire is not ordinary fire. The triads would control it every step of the way.”
Flora understood that she was imbued with magic. She’d seen it, felt it even, yet there had been no tangible evidence of this mystic fire. With the brief exception of Noratu’s demonstration. “Can fire even burn in space? How can the laws of physics not apply to magic?”
“The laws of physics, as you know them, apply to Earth. Our technology, not to mention the ability to manipulate mystic energy, established an entirely different set of rules.” She smiled as she pushed to her feet. “Shall we begin?”
Begin? What had they been doing for the past ten days?
Nadis led Flora back to the open end of the lounge. “Take a moment to center your mind. Try not to close your eyes unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
This stipulation had been added a couple of days ago. In the beginning Nadis encouraged her to close her eyes to help tune everything else out. But she wouldn’t be able to fight with her eyes closed.
With her eyes still open, Flora stared at a spot on the opposite wall and let her mind go blank. The sounds around her diminished. The room seemed to still, but it remained in focus.
“Good,” Nadis praised in a soft, un-intrusive voice. “Raise your hand, palm up, and picture a small flame.”
Flora positioned her hand where she could see it and focused on the center of her palm.
“See the shape, the light, the flicker.”
Gradually, the image formed. First, she saw it in her mind, then she pictured it on the palm of her hand.
“Now feel the heat, the tingling of energy. Bring the image into reality.”
Without conscious thought, Flora obeyed the directive. Her eyes widened as the flame sputtered to life, but she redoubled her efforts and maintained the manifestation.
“Excellent. Slowly feed energy into the flame, increase the heat and the size. Let it encompass your fingers.”
“My skin already feels hot. I don’t want to burn myself.” As she voiced the concerns, the tiny flame blinked out and she released a sigh of frustration.
“The flame is as much a part of you as your hand,” Nadis insisted. “It cannot harm you.”
For the next three hours, Flora manifested the Altorian fire. A single flame became a ball of combustible energy that swirled around her fingers. The following day, they moved into a cavernous training room that Flora had never seen before. Partitioned lanes lined the back wall. They reminded her of a shooting range, only the people here were throwing fireballs and streams of energy rather than firing bullets. The rest of the floor space was padded. Triads were practicing and being instructed in various forms of hand-to-hand combat.
“If I can throw fireballs, why do I need to know how to kick and punch?” Flora asked as they crossed the room, heading for one of the protective lanes.
“It is best to be prepared for any threat,” Nadis told her. “It also increases your strength and endurance, which makes you a more effective conduit.”
By the end of the third week, Flora was accessing Noratu’s energy and channeling it through her body with effortless ease. She could instantaneously incinerate anything she aimed at, or singe a tiny target without harming the things around it. The skills came so naturally that it was hard to believe that she had not been manifesting Altorian fire her entire life.
