Chapter 89 Chapter Eighty-Nine

Chapter 89 Chapter Eighty-Nine
Isla stood at the edge of the beach with the water trickling over her toes. She kept her eyes closed, feeling the energy of each small wave that flowed over her skin. The sun was just starting to rise over the horizon. She could feel its warmth reaching out to caress her cheeks. A few feet behind her, she could hear Sylvan, his feet buried in the sand while he passed handful after handful of sand through his fingertips. Her concentration started to waver as she remembered what those fingers had done to her the night before.
“Focus, Isla,” Sylvan whispered behind her, his tone filled with amusement.
“It’s hard to focus when you’re doing that.”
“Imagine how hard it will be to focus with your life on the line and your friend’s safety in peril during battle,” Sylvan remarked.
“He’s right,” Ameretta agreed.
The sound of sifting sand stopped, and Isla turned to face her mother.
“I went to your room to wake you…” Ameretta began.
“I wanted to get an early start, to practice,” Isla told her, crossing her arms.
“It isn’t a bad idea, considering how well you’ve done this far,” Ameretta said, crossing her arms too.
Isla could see Sylvan out of the corner of her eye. His head was turning between the two women as if he were looking at a mirrored reflection.
Isla smirked. “I got some outside advice,” she said, looking over at Sylvan, who gave the fae queen a little wave.
Ameretta raised a brow. “And the wolf was able to give you some insight?”
“Alpha male wolf from a powerful lineage,” Sylvan corrected with a look of disdain at the implication he had nothing to offer her daughter.
Ameretta rolled her eyes and looked away. “Well, take a seat and let’s see what the ‘alpha male wolf from a powerful lineage’ was able to instill in you that your five hundred-year-old mother was apparently ill-equipped to teach you.”
 “I don’t need to sit and wait for the tide to come in,” Isla informed her.
Ameretta’s brow rose higher, and she cast an interested look over at Sylvan, who tilted his head with pride at his young mate. Ameretta gestured her hand outward for Isla to continue and sat down cross-legged, waiting to be impressed.
Isla gave a nod and turned back to the water. She walked out into the waves. Her dress rose to rest on top of the water as she walked out to knee-height. The surf fought to push her toward the beach. As the water was pulled back out to sea, the sand dipped beneath her feet, threatening to throw her off balance. Isla took a deep breath and twisted her ankles, cementing her feet deep enough into the sand to prevent the next wave from knocking her down.
Isla closed her eyes and placed her palms on the top of the foamy surf. She reached out for the energy flowing through the water. She could sense the chaotic energy: the water molecules ricocheting off each other, the churning of the waves meeting the sandy earth, which created even more turmoil beneath the surface. She inhaled through her nose, breathing in the saltwater that invigorated the blood flowing through her veins, igniting a serenity of power that was held beneath her skin. The energy moved over her hands, her arms, soaking into her soul. She exhaled. The chaos started to settle, the energy synchronizing into something manageable, soft, aligned. She took a moment to wiggle her fingers and circle her palms over the water, familiarizing herself with the feel of the energy now at her disposal.
Another breath in, and she made a semicircle with her palm. Starting from her navel, she moved them around her front to her waist. Once there, she pushed her hands outward, picturing the energy of the water moving away from her body. The energy crackled in the space around her, a static thrum that rose the hair along her arms and made her spine tingle. She heard a hum of approval and opened her eyes. She could see a shell lying by her feet, a shell that did not move because all the waves no longer touched her but moved around her as though there was an invisible barrier between her and the water. The tattoos along her skin glowed as she dipped down at her waist and picked up the shell.
Isla swiveled on her toes and walked along the dry sand to the beach. With each step, she released the energy holding the water back, allowing it to flow behind her and kiss her ankles. She continued toward her mother, still cross-legged on the beach, her mouth pinched to keep from showing a smile of approval. Meanwhile, Sylvan grinned from ear to ear, not afraid to show his pride. Isla sent him a wink and then handed the shell down to her mother.
“You didn’t want me to control the tide. It’s impossible,” Isla said as her mother reluctantly took the shell and stood up. She smirked and shook her head. “You just wanted me to learn to connect and work with it rather than fight against it.”
Ameretta looked sideways to Sylvan, who shrugged. “Very good,” Ameretta said. “I was starting to get bored with watching you sit in the sand. Now we can move on to something else.”
“That’s it? You’re not going to say you’re proud of me?” Isla asked, only half mocking.
Ameretta laughed. “What I was asking of you was the most basic lesson any Saltbound must learn. That water is not something you can possess and control but something you must choose to respect and honor. The fact that it took you over a week to figure that out and only after tapping into the other half of your soul not associated with the water itself is not something to celebrate.” Ameretta took a deep breath to stall her ranting. “Water is one of the most powerful elements on this planet, Isla. It can decimate villages, end someone’s life using many, many forms. Only us, those burdened with the ability to connect with its energy, are able to harness that power for ourselves. The weight of this ocean rests on your shoulders. This was just one lesson, the easiest of them all.”
Isla straightened her back. “Okay… well, what’s next then?”
Ameretta smirked and laughed through her nose. “Defending against it.”
“Against it?” Isla asked, her brow crashing down over her eyes. She cast a look at Sylvan, who shrugged. “With so few Tideborns living amongst us, you think the next important lesson is defending against one?”
“I said defending against it, as in the water itself. Remember you are half wolf, Isla. You will be fighting against the primal, dominating side of yourself every day for the rest of your life.” Ameretta touched the side of Isla’s neck with just her fingertips, and Isla hissed, covering the fresh mating mark Sylvan had left the night before with her palm. “I heard what happened last night, how you became lost in the primality of your wolf. That was only a fraction of your instincts. Half of your soul has not even been realized yet, and until it is, the two parts of yourself will fight against each other. The energy will clash. The water will sense your imbalance and resist your desire to connect with it. I imagine it’s why it took you a week to merely redirect it.”
“So why not just activate my fae powers fully?” Isla asked, glancing over at her mate. “I can bond fully with Sylvan and…”
“And unleash a power you will not be able to control,” Ameretta warned. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingertips. “Isla, you must understand the basics before you release your full potential. I am trying to warn you here that your wolf and fae are not two sides of the same coin but rather oxygen and flame; one will fuel the other. If you are unable to control and understand this power… You will be helpless to subdue it. You have capabilities this world has never seen. If you activate it before you’re ready, it will consume you completely. It will alter you in a way you will never recover from. Which is why, before you wield it, before you accept your full potential, you and the side of yourself dominated by primal instinct and the moon must learn to defend against it.”
“Okay, I understand,” Isla said, trying her best to do just that. “Then where do we begin?”
Ameretta looked to Sylvan. “We’re going to need a boat.”
Sylvan stood up and brushed the sand from his pants before sending her a nod. “Give me a few minutes, and I’ll see what I can do.”