Chapter 26 TRAINING WITH MORGANA
CHAPTER 26: TRAINING WITH MORGANA
The private arena is empty when we arriv
It's tucked away in the oldest part of the academy where the stone walls are cracked and moss grows between the tiles. Nobody comes here anymore except for students who want to train without an audienc
That's exactly what we nee
Morgana walks in behind me. She's changed into training clothes, plain black that makes her look smaller somehow. Less threatenin
Sofia leans against the wall near the entrance with her arms crossed. "This is the weirdest team up I've ever seen
"Tell me about it," I mutte
Morgana and I stand on opposite sides of the arena. The space between us feels massive even though it's only about twenty fee
The bond hums in my chest. Constant. Uncomfortabl
"So," Morgana says. She shifts her weight from foot to foot. "How do we do this
"I don't know. I've never trained with someone I'm soul bonded to
"Neither have I
Sofia snorts. "You two are adorable. Just fight already
I shoot her a look. She grin
"Let's start simple," I say, turning back to Morgana. "Show me your shadow magic
She hesitates. Her fingers twitch at her side
"I'm not going to attack you," I ad
"I know." But she doesn't sound sur
Finally she raises her hand. Shadows peel away from the corners of the room and swirl around her fingers like smoke. They twist and condense until they form a blade. Sharp. Soli
"That's good," I sa
"Your turn
I take a breath and reach for my time magic. It's there humming under my skin. I focus on the air around me and pus
Everything shimmer
The world slows to a crawl. Dust particles hang suspended in the light. Morgana's hair floats around her face like she's underwate
Then it snaps back and I gasp from the effor
Morgana's eyes are wide. "That's incredible
"It's unpredictable," I admit. My chest heaves. "I can't always control it
"Then we train until you can
Something in her tone makes me look at her differently. She's not mocking me. She means i
"Okay," I say. "Let's try combining them
"Combining them how
"I don't know. Let's find out
We move toward the center of the arena. Sofia sits on a bench now watching like this is her favorite sho
"You slow time and I'll try to move through it," Morgana suggest
"That could work
I reach for my magic again. This time I push harder. The air bends around us and everything slow
Morgana tries to move but it's like walking through mud. Her shadow blade flickers and struggles to hold for
"It's fighting me," she says. Her voice is stretched out like a recording on slow spee
"Try pushing back," I sa
She does. Her shadows pulse and suddenly they cut through the slowed time like a knife through pape
The magic snap
We both stumble backwar
"That was weird," Morgana say
"But it worked," I point out. "Sort of
"Let's try again
We do. Over and ove
Sometimes my magic fails completely. Sometimes her shadows dissolve. Sometimes we manage to work together for a few seconds before it all falls apar
By the third hour we're both drenched in swea
"Break," Sofia calls out. She tosses us water bottle
I catch mine and drink half of it in one go. Morgana does the sam
We sit on the floor across from each other. Too tired to care about personal spac
"You're better than I expected," Morgana says between breath
"And you're not as terrible as I thought
She laughs. It's a real laugh. Not bitter or cruel. Just tired and hones
"I hated you so much," she says quietly. "When you first got here I wanted to destroy you
"I noticed
"The Hollow King made it easy. He kept whispering in my head telling me you were the reason I was alone. That if I got rid of you everything would be better
"But it wouldn't have been
"No." She looks down at her hands. "It would have been worse. I just couldn't see that until the bond forced me to
Through the connection I feel her regret. Heavy and rea
"You're not alone anymore," I sa
She looks up. "What
"You said you were alone. But you're not. Not anymore
Her throat works like she's trying not to cry. "You don't have to say that
"I'm not just saying it. It's true. Like it or not we're stuck together. And I don't abandon people I'm stuck with
A tear slips down her cheek. She wipes it away fast. "You're really annoying you know that
"So I've been told
Sofia walks over and sits beside us. "You two done having your moment? Because we've got like twenty four hours before the ritual and you both still look like you'd lose a fight to a strong breeze
"Encouraging as always," I sa
"It's my gift." She grins. "But seriously you need to be ready. If the Hollow King knows we're trying to contact the Oracle he's going to try to stop us
"Then we make sure he can't," Morgana says. She stands and holds out a hand to me. "One more round
I take her hand and let her pull me up. "One more
We move back to our position
This time when we start something feels different. The bond doesn't fight us. It flow
My time magic bends the air. Her shadows weave through it. They move together like they were always meant t
For thirty seconds we hold it. Moving in sync. Two powers that shouldn't work together somehow making something ne
When it breaks we're both smilin
"That was it," Morgana says breathless. "That's what we need
"Think we can do it during the ritual
"We have to
Sofia slow claps from the sidelines. "Character development. I love it
We train for another hour. Then tw
By the time Corvus comes to tell us it's time my legs are shaking and I can barely stan
But I feel read
Or as ready as I'm going to b
That night I dream of fir
But this time it's differen
I'm standing in the courtyard. Flames surround me on all sides. The heat should be unbearable but I don't feel i
Someone's beside m
Morgan
She's here in the dream. Real and soli
"Is this your memory or mine?" she ask
"I don't know. Maybe both
The fire rises higher. I can see figures moving in the flames. The four boys. All of them trying to reach m
But they can't get throug
"They always try to save you," Morgana says quietly. "Every lifetime
"And they always fail
"Not this time." She looks at me. Her shadow magic swirls around her hands. "This time we save each other
The flames rush toward u
But Morgana's shadows rise to meet them. And my time magic freezes the fire mid lea
Together we hold it bac
The dream shifts. The courtyard dissolves. We're standing in darkness now. Just the two of u
"He's here," Morgana whisper
I feel it too. The Hollow King's presence pressing against the edges of the drea
"Let him come," I say. "We're ready
Red eyes open in the darkness. Dozens of them. Hundred
A voice echoes from everywhere and nowher
"You think training together makes you strong
The Hollow King's laugh shakes the drea
"You're still children playing with forces you don't understand
The eyes move close
"Tomorrow you'll call the Oracle. And tomorrow I'll show you what true power looks like
The darkness rushes i
I try to fight it but it's too stron
Morgana screams beside m
Then I wake u
I'm in my bed. Gasping. Covered in swea
The bond pulses and I know without checking that Morgana just woke up to
We both had the same drea
My door bursts open. All four boys rush i
"We felt you panic," Kieran says. "What happened
"He was in my dream," I manage to say. "The Hollow King
"What did he say?" Alaric demand
I sit up. My hands are shaking. "He knows about the ritual. And he's going to try to stop us
Zev's expression darkens. "Then we move up the timeline
"To when?" Cassian ask
"Now." Zev looks at me. "We do the ritual now before he has time to prepare
"It's three in the morning," Sofia says from the doorway. "And we're all exhausted
"Exhausted is better than dead," Kieran growl
I look around at all of them. Tired. Scared. But determine
"He's right," I say. "We can't wait. If we give him more time he'll just get stronger
Morgana appears behind Sofia. Her face is pale. "I'm ready when you are
I nod and stand. My legs still feel weak but I force them to hold m
"Then let's go find an Oracle
We move through the empty hallways. The academy is asleep. Silen
Corvus is waiting for us in the east wing. He doesn't look surprised to see us earl
"I had a feeling," he says. "The chamber is ready
He leads us down. Down stairs I didn't know existed. Down past layers of wards and protective spell
Finally we reach a door carved with symbols so old I can't read the
Corvus places his hand against it and the door open
Inside is a circular room. Stone floor. No windows. A single brazier burns in the cente
"Stand in the circle," Corvus instructs. "All of you
We do. Me and Morgana in the center. The boys and Sofia surrounding u
Corvus begins to chant in a language I don't recogniz
The brazier's flame turns blue. Then green. Then whit
"Join hands," he say
I take Morgana's hand on one side. Kieran's on the othe
The bond flares hot in my ches
Corvus's chanting grows loude
The room starts to shak
The flame in the brazier shoots up toward the ceiling. It forms a shape. A fac
It was ancient and feminine. Made entirely of ash and smok
The Oracl
Her eyes open and they're empty and hollo
When she speaks her voice sounds like wind through dead tree
"Who dares summon me
I step forward. "I do. Thalira Moonwhisper
The Oracle's ash face shifts. Almost smile
"Ah. The Phoenix Soul. I've been waiting for you
"Can you help us?" I ask. "The Hollow King planted something inside me and Morgana. We need to remove it
The Oracle is silent for a momen
Then she laugh
It's a terrible soun
"Remove it? Child you don't understand. The seeds aren't just inside you. They've already become part of you. Removing them now would kill you both
My blood turns to ic
"There has to be another way," Morgana says desperatel
The Oracle's hollow eyes turn to he
"There is one way. But it requires a sacrifice
"What kind of sacrifice?" Kieran demand
The Oracle's gaze moves across all of u
"One of you must die. Willingly. Their life force will be enough to burn out both seeds before they fully take root
There was silenc
"No," I say. "There has to be another option
"There isn't." The Oracle begins to fade. "You have until sunrise. Choose wisely Phoenix Soul. One life to save two. Or lose all three when the Hollow King takes control
She disappears.