Splashes erupted from the funnel, landing on dirt, dead trees, and even on their clothing.
One large splash shot through the air until it hit Talise in the face. Rather than fall like it should have, the icy water clung to her skin. Cold liquid crawled into her mouth and slipped down her throat. Another portion of the water moved upward into her nasal cavity. With no warning at all, breathing became impossible. The freezing water blocked off every airway she had.
She couldn’t shape the water away. While River used her own shaping to control the element, no one else could wrest control away.
Instead, Talise formed a ball of fire in both her palms and brought them toward her face. She also flooded her veins with fire. Having fire both outside and inside her body quickly evaporated the water away.
Still, her muscles shook as she fought to evaporate the last of the water. If she had just taken a deep breath first, it probably would have been easier. As it was, her arms went limp the moment her airways opened again. It took several gulping breaths before she could stand up straight.
The water funnel had disappeared. Aaden held his sword at River’s throat, but she merely glanced at it casually. “Relax.” Her hand lazily pointed toward Talise. “She’s fine now.”
His sword didn’t waver as he gave a short glance over his shoulder. Once his gaze met Talise’s, his shoulders dropped with relief. But then his jaw flexed hard as he turned toward River again. “You tried to kill her.”
River had the audacity to laugh. “I knew she’d be able to resist my attempt to drown her.” River cocked one eyebrow up. “But do you think the emperor’s soldiers could? Would that method work to defeat them?”
Reaching for her mouth, a hard shiver rocked through Talise. Her body jerked at the horrifying prospect of being drowned while standing in the middle of a clearing.
The muscles in Aaden’s arms shook as he pointed his sword at River’s throat.
She let out a scoff. “That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? To win this war. Or did you forget why we wanted the amulet?” Her eyes narrowed at Talise. “Did you forget we want your father dead?”
“Give the amulet to Talise.” Aaden’s voice didn’t waver. Each word came out in punctuated bursts. He didn’t drop his sword until after she tossed the amulet away.
Even with her heart beating wildly, Talise caught the silver pendant. The moment her fingers touched it, a warm glow flared in her chest.
She needed mental fortitude.
Whatever that meant.
Taking a deep breath, Talise reached out with one hand.
The power of the amulet strummed through her. The glow expanded out from her chest until it entered each of her limbs. Closing her eyes felt natural, but something stopped her. Would closed eyes make her give in to the amulet’s power too much? The risk didn’t seem worth the help it might give.
Instead, she reached out until she could sense water from the ocean lapping up the nearby shore. With a small flick of her wrist, she raised a large portion of water above the ocean. But she didn’t want to bring it toward herself just yet.
The power inside her began to grow. It moved through her, coaxing. Begging. It wanted more from her. As Claye had explained, it felt as if the amulet had much more power than she used at the moment.
But maybe mental fortitude meant resisting the pull.
With outstretched fingers, she let her shaping senses move through the ocean water. Little by little, she identified the salt and other minerals inside the water. Her hand began moving in a sweeping motion. Each time it moved to the side, she pulled water away from the other minerals. After several sweeps, the minerals began falling away from the water and back into the ocean.
Normally, shaping salt out of ocean water took longer, so much longer that almost no one ever did it. With the amulet, Talise completed the process in a few minutes. Once the water had been purified, she couldn’t help sending a little heat through it to warm away some of the iciness.
With one final sweep, she slid the water over the earth. Before letting the water fall, she spread it out as far as she could, warming and watering the earth as it went. Soon, water sank into the earth, moistening it as if a long rainfall had just occurred.
The moment she finished, River snapped her fingers at Claye. “Get the amulet back. That was enough of a lesson for today.”
Claye bounded forward wearing a grin. “That was amazing,” he whispered as he reached Talise. “She’s only making us leave because she doesn’t like how powerful you’re getting.” He offered a wink when Talise dropped the amulet into his hand.
“See you next week,” he called over his shoulder as both he and River headed toward their horses.
A strange thing happened inside of Talise as she watched his retreating form. Even a few days ago, that wink might have done something to her.
It didn’t now.
Instead, when Aaden stepped to her side, her stomach jolted in a delightful mess. His hand formed a fist as he glared across the clearing. “I can’t believe she tried to kill you.” Even muttering under his breath, the words came out crisp.
An entirely different kind of warmth spread through Talise now. She had managed to fight off River’s drowning attempt on her own. A smile played on her lips. But it was nice to know Aaden would have stopped it if she’d been unable to.
She let the feeling warm her for only a moment before thinking back on the journals.
Claye had been right. They were missing something while using the amulet. The power was there, but they needed something more to tap into it.
A memory flitted through her until words burned across her mind.
Be careful who you choose to be. Power will only amplify that choice.
Eben, the guardian of the amulet, had taught Talise many things in her time with him. But those words were still the most poignant. Maybe those words were just what she needed now.
NINE
AMULET TRAINING TOOK OVER EVERYTHING.
Talise did little more than study the journals. When the time came to head for the clearing the next week, ideas filled her mind.
Once everyone arrived, she gave a deliberate step forward. “This time, we should try letting emotion fuel our actions.”
She didn’t want to explain in too much detail. The complexities of what Eben had taught would probably be lost on River anyway. Claye was smart when he wanted to be, but Talise didn’t have the energy to explain.
At the heart of it, Talise assumed that who she chose to be had to do with her emotions. So, if power could amplify her choices, it made sense that emotion could tap into the power.
She just had to be careful to not let it overtake her.
At her suggestion, they decided to shape air that day. Claye didn’t have much experience with shaping air, but they assumed the amulet would make him proficient enough.
River insisted on going first. She promptly shaped the air out of Talise’s lungs.
Talise reached for her throat just as Aaden reached for his sword. But then River’s face contorted. So did the rest of theirs. The world went black.
The next thing Talise knew, she lay flat on her back, blinking several times before her sight became clear again. The others lay on the ground next to her, also on their backs. But all of their eyes were closed. A few moments later, River, Claye, and even Aaden came to.