Page 20 of Artemis' Bow
Jayden would be the best, but he refuses to train with me because he doesn’t want to hurt me, and Thad and Adrian aren’tgods touchedso they may not be quick enough to stop whatever is building inside me.
It wants out and for me to use it but I’m afraid. My nightmares plague me throughout the day as well and it’s not all about the island but the atrocities I’m capable of with this new power.
Don’t think about that. We need to train, not just us but the army at our backs.
“You can’t hold back, Beth. We’re going to need you,” Raven says.
“Can you promise me I won’t hurt you? I don’t know what I’m capable of now.” I wring my hands together.
“I threw Dax into a wall. I’m pretty sure I can shield in time but just in case.” She turns to Jayden. “Can you shield me?”
Jayden turns away from his training with Thad and nods. “Of course, if it will help Beth practice, I’m up for just about anything.”
“Anything but practicing with me,” I grumble.
“I am physically incapable of harming you, baby. My magic won’t let me even if I did want to which is the last thing I want.” Jayden grips my hand, bringing it to his lips before pressing a kiss to it.
“You’re the only one who is as strong as me now. I need to practice. You’re the only othergods touchedwith a parent in the original three. We need to test each other.”
“Are you telling me that your magic would allow you to try to hurt me?” he asks.
I rear back as if slapped because he’s right. My magic won’t hurt him. I begrudgingly found this out before our first battle when I disliked him more than anyone else in the academy.
“No, we both know that would be a lie,” I grumble.
“Then we both work with what we have. I will shield Raven while you practice. Thad doesn’t need a shield because he can use water to shield himself.”
“Fine.” I brush a hand down my face before getting into a fighting stance.
I’m still not sure what we are capable of with our new magic or how the hell we are supposed to call these new abilities. Closing my eyes, I concentrate on the nearly endless well of power in my gut and bring it to the surface.
“Holy shit, that’s great, baby. Keep doing that. You’re glowing,” Jayden says, awestruck.
“What?” I gasp, opening my eyes.
Sure enough, there’s a faint blue glow around my body and lightning crackles at my fingertips. It didn’t even stop with Jayden startling me and losing my concentration. My entire body vibrates with the sheer amount of power thrumming through me as it continues to build.
“Beth, you need to do something with all that magic,” Raven yells.
“Okay, Jayden, shield her,” I say.
“On it.” Shadows writhe around his arms and blast out of his fingers darker and more solid than I’ve ever seen them.
“Whoa, what else could you do with those, I wonder?” I ask.
“Focus, Beth.”
I jolt at the reprimand and focus on the shadows in front of Raven. My vision blurs and the world spins for a second before I blink and glance around.
“What in Hades?” I say.
“That’s not what I was expecting you to do but still seriously cool,” Raven cheers. “You just god traveled like a fucking boss.”
I spin in a circle, finding Jayden and Thad staring at me in awe fifty feet away where I was just standing.
“I don’t know how I did that. I just focused my magic on the shield and then spun out for a second and ended up here.” I shake my head.
“Do it again. Focus on me, Beth,” Jayden calls.
