Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Liora’s POV

He made it sound so easy.

“With my bare hand?” I asked.

“Yes.” he replied, again with that impossible calm.

There's no way I could actually do that. Did he think I had already mastered how?

“Listen, I’m not-”

“Liora.”

The way he said my name made me stop.

“Don’t think about whether you can,” he said quietly. “Think about whether you will.”

Vyrmoth stirred.

“Anger is not required, he said. Focus is.” he said.

I stared at the rock again, like it had personally offended me. Then I wrapped my fingers around it and squeezed.

Nothing happened.

I frowned and squeezed harder.

Still nothing.

Frustration crept in slowly. My chest tightened in annoyance and my pulse picked up.

The stone grew warm, and my breath hitched.

“There,” Kysen said. “Now stop.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Stop pushing.”

“But it’s working-”

“Stop,” he repeated.

I let go, breathing hard.

“It was finally starting to work, why did you stop me?”

“No, that wasn’t control,” he said gently. “That was just your emotions driving power. Do it again, without the anger this time.”

I released my grip, shaking out my hand and I picked up another stone.

Okay, focus Liora. Focus.

I thought about stillness, focused on my breathing, let go of every annoying energy in my system.

One deep breath in, and a slow one out.

Everything within my entire body slowed, and I let Vyrmoth’s presence settle instead of surge.

My hand tightened slowly. The stone slowly grew warm, and just like that the stone cracked.

Not violently, not explosively, just enough.

It simply split down the middle,and fell apart into two pieces.

I gasped in shock and reflexively dropped it.

Kysen’s eyes lit up.

“There,” he said softly. “That’s it.”

My chest filled with something warm and unfamiliar.

Pride.

“I did it. That was… me,” I whispered, as a smile graced my lips.

“Yes,” he replied. “And your drakyn. Together.”

Vyrmoth’s satisfaction brushed through me like heat under my skin.

Kysen smiled faintly. “Good. But don’t get comfortable. Do it again.”

We spent the next few hours like that. Learning when to stop, when to breathe, how to control the surge.

The bigger the stone, the harder it was.

It was exhausting to say the least, but somehow exhilarating at the same time.

We kept going, and failing, and trying again.

I broke one stone too hard and sent shards flying.

Another time, nothing happened at all.

My control was inconsistent and messy, but Kysen only guided me, he didn’t criticize or mock me. He barely even spoke unless he had to.

At some point, I lost track of time. Lost track of everything, except the rhythm of the power and control.

When my legs finally gave out and I dropped onto the grass, he sat beside me, close enough that our shoulders almost touched.

Almost.

“You did well today,” he said.

“Don’t sound so surprised.”

“I’m not surprised,” he replied. “I’m impressed.”

“I’m terrible at this,”I said, and he turned to me.

“You’re a fast learner, and today is your first time. You're not terrible. At all,” he said.

“Well, I feel terrible.” I said, as I tried to calm my heavy breathing. It wasn’t a lie, I was exhausted.

“That’s pretty normal,” he said. Maybe it was not intentional, but his words encouraged me.

I looked at him. “Why do you care so much?”

He didn’t answer right away. He hesitated as he stared out at the lake.

“Because I know what it feels like,” he finally said, “To feel alone, and to be born into something you didn’t choose. To be told who you are before you ever get the chance to decide.”

My throat tightened.

“And because,” he added quietly, “You deserve better than what you’ve been given.”

I swallowed and spaced out for a moment, my head swirling with things to say, and trying to handle how his words made me feel.

So, I said the only honest thing I could.

“Thank you… for caring”

He turned to look at me.

“I’ll never stop,” he said. “Not now, not ever.”

For the first time since I could remember, I felt hopeful, even with all my problems. I felt like I wasn’t facing them alone.

Not with Vyrmoth within me.

And the most shocking development, not with Kysen beside me.

I sighed beside him as we watched the sun rise together in beautiful silence. It  was such a sight to behold.

After a while he spoke up.

“Tell me about your fae gifts.”

My stomach dropped.

“I… I don’t like talking about them.”

“I know,” he said softly. “But I need to know what we’re working with.”

I stared at my hands.

It was embarrassing.

“Just tell him, little one” Vyrmoth pitched in.

“Okay. Fine.”

I took a breath.

“Speed, I can be very fast.” I said.

His head snapped toward me. “That’s not embarrassing. That’s incredible.”

“That’s the normal one,” I muttered. “The other one is the problem.”

He waited.

I squeezed my eyes shut. “I can… I can hear lies.”

Silence.

I peeked at him. He looked more confused, than about to burst out laughing any second.

He wasn’t going to mock me?

“How does it work?” he asked slowly.

“I know when someone is lying,” I rushed on, “But it’s not like mind reading. It’s more like… my chest tightens, my ears ring, the air around them feels wrong. It’s uncomfortable and awkward and I can’t always control it.”

“That’s not useless at all, it’s powerful,” he said.

“No one takes it seriously,” I snapped. To me, it sounded like he was just trying to make me feel better.

“My mother and brothers say it’s creepy and invasive. Not elegant enough for a royal fae. So, it’s a secret, because it will definitely bring shame to the family. So, it’s okay if you want to laugh, it is an odd gift. More of a curse really.” I added, as I looked away from him.

“Liora,” he said softly, and I turned to him, “That’s one of the rarest abilities I’ve ever heard of.”

I blinked.

“It’s not useless,” he continued. “It really can be powerful, when used the right way and it can even be dangerous, in the hands of the wrong people.”

Our eyes met and…

Dear Green, save me…

Those stunning eyes again. The way rays of the sun reflected off his orbs, and brightened the color, almost made me stop breathing.

My pulse picked up, and I attempted to get rid of the way my heart raced at the sight.

“Well, now we have something on each other, don’t we?” I said, changing the topic and looking away, finally managing to breathe

“What's that?” he asked.

“Our secret powers” I answered, in a hushed tone and he chuckled lightly.

“My life is in your hands now, princess” he teased and I smiled softly.

“Mine too” I said, softly.