Chapter 17

Weeks have gone by, and I have been through nearly every book on previous elementals who gave birth twenty years ago. I've even delved into records of elementals who had babies in the last thirty years, in case there was a mistake with the data entry.

Deon has been by my side the entire time, helping me go through all the records. I don’t know how far I would have come without him. “ Maybe your parents didn’t go to healers when your mother gave birth to you. They must have had you in secret and left you in the human world so no one could find you. That would explain why there isn’t any record of you in the archives.” I sigh in disappointment.

Hearing Deon say that does make sense, but still. Why would they hide me unless they didn’t want anyone to know they had a baby because they planned to dispose of me in the forest? If it wasn’t for my foster mom, I would probably be dead. I owe my life to her.

“Your Highness!” Zaden calls to my right, distracting me from my thoughts. Over the last few weeks, I have come to accept being called Highness. There is no use arguing with them. “ It is time for your training, Your Highness,” Zaden says, gesturing to his wrist like there is an invisible watch.

“ I am coming.” I give him a polite smile and place the book of records on the table in front of me.

The training is tough, but now I can summon my power on my own. Before, it would only appear when I was angry.

Zaden leads me outside the castle to the conservatory. Merilla is right by my side until we start training; then she usually makes herself scarce. The greenhouse is where we have been training for the last three days. Before, we used the training grounds. It was safer there because I didn’t know how to control my magic yet. If I couldn't contain my magic, we would be far away from the guards and castle. Zaden didn’t want a repeat of last time when I left a huge hole in the garden.

If it wasn’t for my powers saving me, I wouldn’t be here now. So, thank you for that.

As we approach the conservatory, we can see the glow from a distance as the sun reflects off the glass structure. The entire greenhouse is made of glass, making it completely transparent. Once you step inside, it’s like being transported to a different world. Not that I’m not already in a different world, but this is way different.

Inside are species of plants I have never seen in my life, not even in the human world. Zaden explained that some of these plants can be very dangerous and that I should be cautious, especially with the pretty ones. So, I made a mental note not to touch the pretty flowers, even though it is very tempting.

“ Are you ready?” Zaden asks excitedly, and I’m almost sure he likes this training a tad more than he should. “ As ready as I will ever be.”

“ Good, now focus on your core, where you feel your magic is the strongest.” I nod.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. I focus on the small strand of magic I feel inside of me and follow it to the main source where my magic feels the strongest. “ Have you found the main source of your power?” I nod, focusing on the strand of magic that leads to my core. The closer I get to the main source, the thicker the strand gets. When I reach it, I embrace the cold burning sensation inside of me. Once I feel the coldness spread into my veins and the burning sensation erupt across my body, I hold out my hand and push the wave of burning fire toward my hand.

I open my eyes as I feel the blue flame dance in the palm of my hand. It is cold and warm at the same time. Physically, it is impossible for ice and fire to coexist because water dulls fire. But not my blue flame. It is pretty and deadly, working together as an entity. “ That is good, Your Highness. You did it,” Zaden praises me.

“ It took you half the time to summon it than yesterday.”

“ What should I do with it now?”

“ Direct it towards the dummy.” He points far off into the distance. I squint to see where he is pointing. “ That far? It wasn’t that far away yesterday!” I say, a bit terrified. I haven’t thrown my magic that far before, only from a few feet away. “ You must learn to throw your powers far enough for when it is ever necessary.”

I highly doubt it will ever be necessary for me to use my powers in the human world, but I will try anyway for the sake of the training. It might come in handy while I am here. I pull my arm slightly backward, pushing more power into the flame in my hand. I am going to need a lot of power to throw my frost ball that far. Frost-ball may sound cute, but once it collides with something, it explodes like a grenade full of trapped fire.

Once it feels like I have gathered enough fire, I push my hand forward so fast that it felt like my arm went with the fireball. I squint my eyes as the ball of fire flies through the air. Joy fills me as I watch the ball heading straight for the dummy but dropping a few steps in front of it instead. It explodes, spreading the ground with frost. A wave of disappointment rushes through me. “ Again!” Zaden shouts.

Once more I summon my powers from my core until there is a blue flame dancing in my hand. Only this time, I focus on the cold icy feeling at my core. I close my eyes and draw from that huge cold glacier within. Once I open my eyes, the ball in my hand turns into a frost ball. I can still see the fire within the frost. Oddly, the flame doesn’t melt the frost.

“ How are you doing that?” Zaden asks, his mouth gaping open, eyes fixated on the ball in my hand. “ I don’t know. I just gathered powers from the cold side of my core,” I say, just as surprised as he.

Once again, I pull my arm back and, when ready, throw the ball as hard as I can, watching it fly through the air. I wait patiently for the ball to collide with the dummy. The intensity causes me to bite down on my lower lip. For a split second, I close my eyes, and—BOOM!

The frost ball goes off like a bomb. My eyes fly open, noticing that the dummy is actually on fire. “ I...I did it,” I say, quite shocked, not fully convinced I hit the dummy. But then it sinks in. “ I did it! I freaking hit the dummy!”


Kaden )


The urge to see Meara consumes me every waking moment. I want nothing more than to be in her presence, to feel the warmth against me, to know that she is safe. But the tightness in my chest—the pain of being unable to touch or hold my own mate—feels unbearable. The darkness within me still lingers, waiting for an opportunity to resurface. I can’t allow that to happen, not to her.

So I left. Luka and I journeyed deep into the magical forest of the earth kingdom, seeking solace in the dense woods. I needed to get away from the castle, from Meara, before I gave in to the overwhelming desire to seek her out. Luka padded through the thick underbrush, his massive black form blending into the shadows. His presence was a comfort, a reminder that I wasn’t alone in this battle against my darker side.

Yet even as I wandered through the ancient forest, my thoughts never strayed far from Meara. The image of her standing in the garden that morning, surrounded by her blue flame, was seared into my mind. She had been so powerful, so fierce—and yet so fragile. I could still feel the weight of her unconscious body in my arms as I carried her to the infirmary. I swore I would protect her, but how could I do that when I was a danger to her myself?

After hours of riding, I finally returned to the castle. But even as I entered the gates, I heard her voice—Meara—laughing softly in the distance. My heart leapt in my chest as I followed the sound to the conservatory. She was there, training with Zaden. From a distance, I watched as she moved with a grace that took my breath away. She wielded her blue flame effortlessly, her control over it growing stronger with each passing day.