Page 45 of Ocean of Silver

I took the pack from her, which was significantly heavier than last time. I prayed that meant there were normal clothes in it and not just skimpy swimwear. “I will, Patricia.”

Once in the hall, I halted. Kole was standing outside my door. I tried to turn away from him, but he grabbed my arm before I could flee. He was waiting for me. “Let go,” I growled.

“That’s not how you treat an old friend. Haven’t you missed me, little nix?” he hissed as he dragged me further into the hall, away from my maid. He pushed me against the wall, my back slamming hard into one of the diamond frames that decorated the place. I winced as a throb ran up my spine.

Kole’s eyes glimmered, lingering over my chest. “I see you aren’t wearing your Alluse necklace anymore.”

I cowered, hating that I did. My body began trembling in his presence. I tensed, anticipating his compulsion.

“Let go of hernow.” Tezya’s voice was sharp and authoritative that even I shivered at the menace laced in every word.

Kole straightened, not quite reaching Tezya’s full height. “We were just chatting,” he replied coolly, but he dropped my arm immediately.

“I don’t care what you were doing. You aren’t allowed to talk to her. You aren’t even allowed within a hundred-foot radius of her.”

“Says who?”

“Saysme,” his voice lowered with the command. “If you try again, I will make you regret it.” Tezya’s hard gaze remained fixated on Kole. I stopped breathing as Kole looked at me one more time, then sauntered off.

“Are you okay?” Tezya asked once Kole was out of earshot. When I didn’t answer, he raised his voice, slightly shaking me to attention. “Rumor, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I still couldn’t speak. I shook my head once in answer.

“He’s a prick,” he said after a moment. “I can’t believe the King is still allowing him to roam the castle, especially after knowing his role with you. I’ll make sure he doesn’t come near your room again. I promise.” Tezya wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me toward him. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

* * *

When we gotto the hut, Tezya immediately wanted to go into the water. I didn’t protest as the humidity clung to every crevice of my body. I was eager for the coolness of the water’s embrace.

“I brought you to the hut because I want to work with fire today, and I don’t think doing that in an enclosed building is safe,” Tezya said.

“How?”

Tezya produced a small ball of flames in his hands in the blink of an eye. The ball was so tight and closely compacted, no flicker of smoke escaped its embrace. The control he had to possess in order to wield such a wild, untamed element was impressive. Fire begged to travel, it wanted to encompass everything in its path, but yet he kept it tightly bound.

“I possess fire, so I want you to use your water to douse my flames,” Tezya shifted the flaming ball from one hand to the other. “You need to learn to use your abilities with purpose. With practice, you’ll be able to move water at your will.”

“But I can’t create. I can only manipulate.”

“That’s why I brought you here to practice first. You can use the ocean today, but eventually, you shouldn’t need it. Water is everywhere. You might even be able to shift the fluid inside of an Advenian. You can do a lot with water once you know where to look. So today, we’re going to work on two things at once. You will practice your water abilities, moving the water to where you want it to go, and at the same time, you will work on overcoming your fear of fire.”

“How is your flame supposed to help me overcome my fear?” I asked as I shifted in the sand, my feet slowly sinking into the hot, fine grains.

“I’m hoping that once you learn to control your own ability, you will realize that the flames can’t hurt you. Water is powerful and puts out even the strongest of fires.” He nodded toward the ocean and the crashing waves to my back. “You ready?”

“Yes,” I answered, and I was. I wanted to master my ability. I wanted to control the water and expel the flames, to extinguish my fears. I was sick of being terrified of them.

“Good,” Tezya smiled as he sent the flaming ball of fire past me. It landed in the sand just out of reach of the waves, burning through the golden shells and small rocks. “Move the water toward the flames.”

I turned to stare at the ocean behind me, then at the ever growing blaze. I watched as it grew and grew. “Now, Rumor.”

Turning back to the ocean, I took a deep, calming breath and called to it, envisioning myself becoming it. Stretching and manipulating the water as I would a limb. I curled the wave over the flame like I was bending my arm.

The flames flickered out.

“Good. Now get in the water. I’m going to produce bigger flames.”

I nodded as I followed Tezya into the blue. He halted once the waves reached my waist. “This will do. You ready?”

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