Page 46 of Crown of Iron
“Are they? And are you? You never took my gift. I drew it, and you used it outside of my body. Even when a Stigian consumes another's power, it only amplifies their own. But you controlled my power,andyou didn't siphon it.”
He's right; his gift never flowed through my body. He produced the power, and it went where I wanted it to go. It followed my lead like I was the conductor of its symphony of destruction.
“But I've never felt drawn to anyone's gift the way I'm drawn to yours. When you're around, I can feel all your powers at once, and when we touch… it's intense.”
“Why do you think that is?” He leans a little closer like my answer will reveal all the hidden truths in the universe.
“When I’m around you, I don’t feel the normal comforting tremors like other Khiros let off. I figure it's because you're a strong elemental, and you have more power to interact with. You know what I mean?”
Kyron shakes his head. “No. Have you never spoken to anyone about what you feel when you’re around a Khiros?”
The slight sensations have been there since I can remember. I always felt the trembling of the ground when Micah was near, the warmth of Borin, and the soft brush of petals from my mother. I've never had a reason to talk about something that was as natural as breathing.
“I thought everyone felt it,” I say.
“You're special, Raelle. Let me teach you how to tap into and control your gift.”
I lean back into the chair as the implications of what this all means hits me. I’m not a Cyffred. Everything I thought I knew about myself, the prophecies made about my rule. Did the Sibyl have it all wrong? Did Micah choose the wrong person to be his heir?
“What do you say, princess?” Kyron says, disrupting my internalmeltdown. “It will be easier training with me since your power reacts strongly to mine.”
I fight down the bile creeping up my throat and push all questions to the back of my mind. I can’t think about all that right now, not when I finally have the chance to rescue my father.
I sigh and force my expression to one of indifference. “Maybe.”
“You've said it yourself, I'm irresistible,” he pushes, and I crack with a slight smile.
“I believe I said yourpowercalls to me.”
“Close enough,” he says with a smirk, folding his arms behind his head and displaying the defined muscles of his chest and abdomen.
The buzz of his gift mingling with mine and his half-naked state are too much for me. He already has a way of easily tearing down my walls.
I stand and wipe my palms on my trousers. “You're obviously feeling better. I'll send the others back in on my way out.”
“Are you sure you don't want to stay and bask in the glory of myintensegifts?” he asks with a chuckle.
It takes everything in me to keep walking toward the door. This is the man I saw playing with Shianne's children. The one I wanted to befriend. The one I stared at while he chopped wood shirtless. Millions of butterflies flutter in my stomach at the mental picture. It’s an image my mind has wandered to many times. I push past the warmth spreading throughout my body and wave at him over my shoulder. “Sleep well, General.”
“Meet me at the stables at dawn, princess,” he calls after me.
The door clicks shut behind me, and I lean against the frame with my hand over my thudding heart. If I thought being around Kyron before was difficult, he just upped the ante. Training with him may be the biggest test I face since joining the Lucent army.
Sixteen
Icould have easily dwelled on my exchange with Kyron. Coming clean about who I am was not something I thought I'd have to do. I always pictured Micah dragging me home before it ever came to this, and I didn't expect Kyron to let me stay when he found out. And yet, General LeFur has surprised me again.
He isn't the only one who has reacted in a way I didn't expect. My best friend has kept secrets from me since we arrived here. Not one deep, dark secret remains between us. We've always been brutally honest with one another. Leif has tarnished what we've spent years building, and now it's time for him to feel my wrath.
I stomp my way through the officers’ quarters, heading for the second floor and the last room down the corridor. With two firm pounds to the door, I turn the knob. “Leif Stone, I swear to the Statera I'm going to beat your ass,” I bark, stepping inside his room.
“What the fuck, Elle?”
I scream and turn around, but it's too late. Seared in my brain is the image of Leif with his bare ass in the air and his head between Wel's tan thighs.
The steel bed creaks and blankets rustle as Leif says, “You could have knocked.”
“I did!” I peek over my shoulder and release a grateful sigh.
