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Ellie let out an exasperated sigh. “For the same reasons anyone trains.”
“But we have people in place to protect you.”
“A lot of good that did her when she was in chains.”
Niall shot Ellie a hard look. He was usually so irritatingly composed, but Ellie’s tone seemed to irk him. At least one of them could get under his skin. “If she’d been in Ruadhán, where she belongs, none of that would have happened.”
Ellie growled. “If—”
“Ellie,” Arianna warned. Her sister snapped her mouth shut, but she didn’t turn away. Arianna wondered if the slaves had reminded Ellie of the kind of hardships Arianna had faced at the hands of the slavers. She’d told her sister a few stories.
Arianna rolled her shoulders and felt her scars stretch. Her sister didn’t even know half of it, and Arianna didn’t possess the heart to tell her. She didn’t want to see the pity or anger that would follow. She hadn’t told Talon for the same reasons.
“I like to train,” Arianna offered. “It gives me something physical to do.” Niall’s eyes glinted in a way Arianna wasn’t sure she liked.
“We have the best instructors around. I could fetch one for you.”
“She’s fine with us,” Ellie said, her tone still hostile.
“And yet, she was kidnapped and held hostage for a very long time.” He glanced at Rion and Arianna could have sworn her mate flinched before anger trickled down the bond.
Niall stepped back. “But you seem confident in her abilities so,” he gestured, “why not give us a demonstration of your abilities?”
All color drained from Arianna’s face as she stared at Niall’s expectant expression. She lifted her gaze to the stairs where the council had also gathered.
This wasn’t happening. If they saw her fight and determined her abilities less than adequate, it would be like facing her father all over again. They’d view her as nothing more than a weak, defenseless female. A female that needed their protection and coddling.
“Arianna,” Ellie called, but her sister wasn’t smiling and she most certainly wouldn’t be holding back. But it wasn’t arrogance that sparked through Ellie’s eyes. No, her sister honestly believed in her. Arianna just wished she possessed the same level of confidence to believe in herself.
Arianna shifted into a stance, but her legs had gone heavy, as if they were one with the stones beneath her feet.
Her arms suddenly felt ridiculous by her face, as if she were holding them all wrong. Her breathing was off, too fast and shallow. Were they already laughing?
Ellie sped forward, her feet light and virtually silent against the stone. But Arianna missed the first block. Ellie pulled back at the last second, her hand barely grazing Arianna’s stomach. Arianna blocked the next strike, but missed the one after and felt Ellie’s knuckles graze her cheek.
Ellie slowed, pulled back, and scrunched her face. Arianna’s heart fell. Disappointment. Disappointment would come next and Ellie would be another person—her sister turned toward Rion and raised her voice. “I need you to do me a favor.” He raised a brow. “Block.”
Ellie’s magic ripped from the air, the particles moving so fast they crashed into one another and solidified before shooting toward Arianna’s mate in deadly jagged spikes. Arianna’s heart leapt into her throat. Rion blocked them easily enough.
But Ellie continued throwing her magic again and again and again.
The crowd murmured. Rion stepped back and confusion knitted his brow.
“Stop it,” Arianna said, but her sister ignored her. The icy mixture struck out again, peppering Rion’s barrier. He stepped back again and Arianna sensed his fear when Ellie’s magic came at him from his left side.
“I said stop it,” Arianna demanded with a bit more force. Again, Ellie didn’t respond and when Ellie’s magic drew too close, Arianna snapped.
The ancient power spilled through her blood, coating every cell with raw energy. She felt like a storm, like a bolt of lightning ready to strike out from the building pressure.
Ellie’s magic barreled toward Rion again, but this time Arianna screamed and ice cracked the stone they stood upon. It shot between her mate and sister like an asp, so fast she didn’t register what had happened until it was already over.
Frost coated Arianna’s feet, rooting her to the stones, and a sheet of ice thicker than her body separated the two people she cared for. It towered over their heads, three times the size of the hedges that wrapped around the gardens.
Arianna’s breath came too fast and she struggled to rein herself in. Her breath clouded the air and her heart hammered in her chest. Panic gripped her in a steel vice threatening to suffocate all rational thought.
She just—she had barely moved. Hardly thought about what she had wanted. But her magic had responded.
Kirian still sat on the stone bench, a quill in his hand. Talon stood on the sideline with his lips parted. Rion was already crossing the slick stones and Ellie—Ellie was smiling. Smiling so wide that it infuriated her.
