Page 84 of Of Shadows and Blood

“I promise,” I say, squeezing back. “What exercises do you want to do today?”

Avonde reaches for a box full of random objects, I can hear them clinking around. When I go to look in, she swats at my head. “No peeking. This is an acumen test. In the past, you were able to conjure the standard power range as the rest of the cess. Some have special gifts.”

“Like how you can read minds?”

Avonde nods. “Precisely, though we were unsure of yours, and the hope was after the Bloodrite that you would manifest but alas, the timeline was shortened.”

“I was able to bring dirt to my hand!”

“That will help today actually,” she chimes.

“How did I lead the cess military division of Lux if I was average?” I snort. Surely my title couldn’t have stretched that far.

“Right.” She swallows. “My apologies for not explaining. You were not – are not – average. Cess can influence the elements. Water, earth, wind, fire. Most at mild levels such as diverting a stream, growing vines, creating wind barriers, melting ice, among other various things. We also conjure other magics like offensive blasts, shields, things like that. It’s a raw magic.”

“I think I saw that yesterday,” I muse.

“You definitely did.”

My hands, when looking at them, are the greatest mystery. The zaps of magic I feel are so minuscule, I cannot imagine them doing more the way that Yully can.

“Before, you could do all of them at once, Liv. Without thinking about it. Where I can deliver a letter across the continent with wind, you can send it across the Harren Sea. The cess lights all around you were fortified with your magic. An ember that never dies.”

The world around me is so much more vibrant, more alive knowing my untapped potential. As the flames on the wall bounce, I yearn to feel the lick of their warmth upon my skin. Would I burn?

“Today I want to see if you can conjure them individually. There are four elemental items in this box.” Avonde gestures to it once more, sliding the lid back on. “To begin, ground into yourself for earth. Perhaps you should remove your shoes to feel the natural stone beneath. Close your eyes and hone in.”

Without hesitation, I slip my shoes off and sit on the ground, cross-legged. In an effort to be more successful, I plant the pads of my fingers into the earth as well, closing my eyes. Avonde begins instructing me, giving cues that might help me identify the hidden object. No hints, of course. Just suggestions.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Four objects, what could they be? The wall in my mind is present, but unimportant, as I breathe in through my nose and out the same. A fuzzy cloud appears before me, whirling around slowly as if time has slowed. Tingles pull through my fingers, up my forearm, winding around my bicep and into my shoulder. Just the sensation of connecting with the earth like this, almost infinitely, overstimulates me but I focus on it.

Connect.

Find it.

Inhale.

Exhale.

The threading sensation pulls taught as if a string was implanted from my neck to the ground and into the box, something I cannot accurately describe.

“What do you see, Liv?” Avonde’s voice lingers in the background. “Visualize your target.”

On her cue, the fuzzy mass before me begins to produce a shape. While abstract, it takes a slow spin as it forms completely. My hand reaches out, hesitantly, afraid to break the connection.

An elys flower.

My eyes jolt open and Avonde slides the top from the lid and a delicate bloom rises from the inside. Its purple petals catch the light beautifully as it slowly turns.

“I did it,” I breathe.

“Yes, you did.” Avonde reaches for it, plucking the stem from the invisible levitation. “Very well done, Liv. That was incredible. Faster than I would have imagined.”

“What next?” I ask, excitedly.