Page 12 of Forged in Flame and Shadow

“Imind,” I say before Gallis can respond. “The last thing I need is you lot throwing me off while I try to focus.”

“Actually, it would be good for you to have an audience,” Gallis says. “There’ll most certainly come a time when you’ll need to perform under pressure. Better to prepare for that from the start.” She beckons to the other fae. “Stay.”

“Thank you, proctor,” Phaia offers as they settle themselves on the benches. Eryx still has a slight limp and so arrives there last. He eases his leg up with a groan until it lies flat on the bench.

“Anything else we can do to help, proctor? The occasional heckle, perhaps?” Stratton calls from the stands. To my horror, Gallis’s lips twitch a little in amusement.

“If you like,” she says.

Lusteris help me, Gallis has been charmed by Stratton, just like everyone else. I throw him a deadly glare, but the proctor is soon calling my attention back to her.

“Now let’s start with something relatively simple,” she says. “That cushion over there on the bench. Send it to me.”

I allow myself a small sense of relief. At least I know I can dothis. I reach into myself for my magic, focusing on the one thing that has the biggest draw for me in this moment: my need to be able to make my own choices, to run my own life, free from the demands of a certain fae prince.

The cushion floats across the room, coming into my orbit. I can’t resist smiling a little, but Gallis’s expression is unchanged.

“Now send it back to the same spot, and faster this time.”

I concentrate. I’ve been this precise with smaller objects before. But while the cushion isn’t heavy, it is a little unwieldy. I have to be careful as I send it zooming back across the room.

“Again,” Gallis says. “Now in a figure eight around us.”

I exhale, but obey, sending the cushion floating in a loop around her and then me.

“Faster,” she orders, and I push harder with my magic, yanking on that “pull” inside of me. The cushion skids across the bench as it lands, toppling off the edge and dropping onto Eryx’s outstretched leg.

“Watch it,” he grunts. The soldiers snicker, and Damia reaches out to pick up the offending object.

“Aw, did the big bad cushion get you, Eryx?” she smirks as she tosses it back into the arena.

“You lost control,” Gallis says, raising an eyebrow at me. I suppress a huff of frustration. She’s not going to be an easy teacher. I remind myself that I don’twanteasy. What I want is to get better at this as soon as possible.

“I was trying to go faster,” I explain.

“With brute force,” she replies.

I shrug, unable to argue. “When you said ‘faster,’ I pushed harder. I don’t know how else to do it.”

“His Highness has informed me of the unusual levels of power you possess,” Gallis says.

“Oh, he has, has he?” I can’t help but bristle at the idea that Leon’s been sharing all my secrets, even if by now it shouldn’t surprise me.

“Yes, because it’s relevant,” Gallis points out dryly. “With that much power, you don’t need topushanything. The challenge for you is in learning how to moderate your magicdespiteyour natural strength.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Stratton calls to me from the stands. “Didn’t anyone tell you it’s not about the size of your power but how you use it?”

I glare at the blond fae.

“Lord Mureln is right,” Gallis says. “Now, let’s try again.”

We only practice for an hour, but it feels like a lifetime, especially when Gallis asks me to change things up and start using my sun beam power too. I start to really feel the strain then, while switching between two powers. It’s not as abrupt as in the mountain tunnels—where I was injured and exhausted from running for my life—but my body starts to ache, and my focus wavers.

The rabble on the benches doesn’t help. When I misfire a sun beam, singeing the floor, they start taking bets on who I’ll burn a hole in first.

I stare at the smoking black gash running through the carpet of moss, defeated.

“Don’t worry, we have a mage who grows it back good as new,” Gallis explains. She pauses, examining my face, which I know must be red and sweaty.

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