Page 55 of When the Moon Met the Sun

I looked up to see I’d been pushed forward so much I reached Quinn, who had both of her hands firmly gripping my shoulders. She walked forward, forcing me backwards, until the water was once again up to my collar bones. Then she returned to her spot.

I felt my frustration boil as she pushed me, and I wanted to snap at her. But for once, I found Quinn with a smooth expression, no ill intent behind her eyes.

“This exercise issupposedto be frustrating, Aviva, that’s what makes it realistic,” she said. “Try again. Find your footing, then really focus this time.”

I sighed, fighting back a groan. Taking in a deep breath, I nodded to Quinn, then closed my eyes and focused on the sound of her voice.

“Bend your knees slightly, and try to dig your feet into the sand and rocks some to help ground you in place. Then,focus. Focus on the energy under and around you, and block out all the rest,” Quinn spoke, her voice calm and neutral.

I did as she said, digging my feet into the ground below and finally finding solid footing, no longer stumbling forward with each wave that passed. But when I tried to focus, I couldn’t feel anything—the waves, and water, and fish swimming between my feet were all too distracting.

Quinn was silent for a moment, then she asked quietly, “Do you feel them?”

“Feel what?” I responded, slightly annoyed.

“The sand is hiding a pocket of crystals not but a couple feet from us. Reach out your energy as though you’re reaching out a hand. The same way you call to the earth or to the plants when you use their zirilium. Focus on the energy the crystals emit, and feel them. Reach for them,” she said, her eyes closed.

I suppressed a sigh as another wave crashed into me, but I stood firm, my resolve growing stronger. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get this, but Quinn didn’t seem to be giving up on me, so I wouldn’t either.

I closed my eyes again andreached.

As though my energy was a third arm, I reached out, scanning the area around us for different energies. I searched the ground below, feeling lots of rocks through my earth zirilium as well as small sea plants. I cast my reach farther, like a fishing net in a circle around us, and finally felt the cluster of crystals. Their energy felt almost like a prickling sensation at first as I adjusted to the new zirilium, then I dropped the connection.

“I felt them!” I cried out, eyes flying open.

For the first time since I’d known her, Quinnsmiled. I couldn’t help but return her smile with one of my own.

“I knew you could do it after your freak out a few days ago. You just needed to be pushed,” she said, still smiling slightly. “Like I said, everything has an energy—you just have to learn what they all are. Now, reach out again. But this time, draw the crystals towards you. The energy of crystals is important in wielding them, but they’re also complex. They almost have a mind of their own. Pull the energy of the crystals towards you, and the crystals should come, too.”

I nodded enthusiastically, suddenly feeling reinvigorated in my efforts.

I closed my eyes again, casting my net of energy towards the left where I felt the group of crystals before. I found them easier this time, but when I tried to tug at them, they didn’t budge.

“Remember, they don’t like being told what to do. Pull at their energy with your own, not on the crystals themselves,” Quinn said, her voice calm and tranquil once again as she instructed me.

I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. The waves crashing into my back barely bothered me anymore, the water simply ebbing and flowing around me. I felt like a rock standing tall in the water, taking every hit without budging. I felt pride swell in my chest, and I used that positive energy, feeding it into the connection I felt with the crystals. I used my energy and imagined wrapping a giant hand around the bundle’s small circle of energy. Gently, I pulled on the crystal’s energy with my own, but nothing happened.

I breathed slowly and deeply, then tried again. I tugged softly a second time, and this time, I felt the crystals give. I continued to pull on their energy until I’d placed them between Quinn and me, letting the connection break off.

As soon as I dropped the connection, my eyes flew open and I beamed up at the redhead before me.

She smiled in return.

“Nice job, my queen,” Quinn said, and I could almost hear a hint of affection and pride in her voice.

On the inside, I could tell this was a huge turning point in our relationship. She’d finally just accepted me not only as her queen, but as her friend. I didn’t realize I cared what she thought of me so much until that moment.

I didn’t let any of that show on my face, though. I simply smiled wide, and let my pride surge for a moment.

“Now, that was just the warm up. Are you ready for more?” Quinn asked, a mischievous smirk replacing her beautiful smile.

Chapter Eighteen

“Aviva,” a voice whispered, drawing me from sleep.

I'd spent the last four days of our trip training with Quinn, and it’d been exhausting, to say the least. Not only did she teach me how to find and move crystals, but how to sprout them into different shapes that I could use as weapons. She also taught me basic fighting moves I could use in battle, though a lot of the basics were ones Dimitri had taught me. Instead, I asked her to show me how to take somebody down without killing them.

I decided that if war ever broke out again, and I was forced to fight my own people, I wanted to give them the opportunity to survive, at least.

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