Chapter Twenty

“I will be Aranren for you.” Rath's words kept circling my mind as we set up for my first training session.

We'd chosen the meadow in the nearby forest where I'd conducted my previous training. Sure, we could have used the training yard, but I didn't want the added pressure of the other lords watching me. General Ranor decided to join us. But one gawker was better than hundreds.

First, I had to look through the Elements. This entailed summoning each one and looking around at things with its metaphysical eyes—seeing things from its perspective. It's harder than it sounds. I'd done it before when I was first trained by the Emperor's mages. But Air was right—doing it with a deeper understanding of the Elements helped. Not only that. I summoned them with the intention of understanding them even more. They came willingly and showed me things I had never noticed. Perspective is everything.

That took a while. By the time I was done, the men were sprawled on the grass or sitting against tree trunks. But they didn't complain. Even Ranor waited patiently. At last, Air said it was time to practice the caging spell.

Rath stood up and went to stand before me.

“You will need to strike quickly,” Air said.

“Like a snake,” Earth added.

Water explained further, “You could form the cage without entering Aranren, but then you wouldn't be able to draw all of Death into the cage. So, before you gather us, you must enter your target. You have an easy way in with your bond. So focus on your bond with Rath. But don't draw on it. Just find it and let it lead you into him.”

“All right,” I said. “You ready, Rath?”

Rath had never looked so uncomfortable. It would have been laughable if I wasn't so nervous. He was a guy with unshakable assurance—in himself and everything he did. Even when he was worried, he looked calm. Not so much now.

My Varraen lover ran an elegant hand back over his braided hair. The tips of his ears were red, but that could have been due to the chill in the air. The thinning of his lips was not chill-related. Nor was the twitching skin around his stunning lavender eyes. I stared into those eyes, trying to convey confidence for once, and ended up absorbed in their beauty, contemplating the dark purple ring around the lavender-gray irises and how he might have looked blind without it. But with that ring, his eyes looked as if they were glowing.

“Ember!” Xae smacked my arm.

“Huh?” I blinked and looked away from Rath.

Rath chuckled. “I said I was ready. But if you keep looking at me like that, I'll be ready for another type of bonding activity.”

The General cleared his throat.

Rath did not apologize to him.

“Tonight,” I promised. “You and me alone. It will be your reward for playing the part.”

“So, you consider yourself a reward?” Rath lifted a dark brow.

“You don't?”

Ratharin laughed boisterously. “I consider you to be much more than that, love. But I'll gladly take the time alone with you.”

“Great. Now that we've got that settled, can we get to the training?” Earth grumbled.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Ranor said in the same tone.

“We don't mind your presence, General,” I said. “But if you're going to stay, you need to let us work as we do best. We aren't just a team. We're bonded lovers. It's the love that makes all the difference.”

“Well said, Ember,” Air said.

“I just wanted to get to it,” Earth huffed.

The General cleared his throat. “You're right. I will be a silent observer.” He crossed his arms and lifted his chin.

“Thank you,” I said. Then I focused on Rath. “You'll be fine. I'll feel it if you experience any distress, and I'll stop immediately.”

“I know you will,” Rath said. “I trust you.”

“All right, so connect with him,” Air said. “Follow the path inside. And when you're there, search for the feeling of the element you wish to contain.”

“What would be the hardest to contain?” I asked.

Every element answered with their magic in unison.

I rolled my eyes and thought it through. Air needed freedom. It was the only element that you couldn't contain in a vessel. Sure, you could cap a bottle full of air, but was it really trapped in there? No. Not like water or earth would be. And fire stayed where its fuel was. They could be contained. But not air. Air went where it wanted.

As they argued over who was the hardest to control, I reached into Rath and sought Air. It was cool, almost effervescent, and tingled. I recognized it instantly. Hard not to when I had worked so long with it and held it inside me.

“Oh!” Air called out, stopping the argument. “He's chosen Air. Shush, all of you! I need to guide him.”

Shockingly, the others went quiet, no one complaining that I hadn't chosen them. They may argue, but they also knew the gravity of the situation.

“Ember, you will act differently with Death, and yet, I can tell you this; you must follow your instincts. You have worked with Death Magic. Controlled it. Been controlled by its consciousness. Which is all to say that you know it intimately. You can use that against it. But for now, you will train under the same premise. You know Air. How can you condense it?”

“I don't know. That's why I chose it.”

“Good lad,” Air said. “Smart. So, feel for it. Forget reason and feel. Delve into the magic and feel your way around it.”

I reached for Rath's Air Magic, spreading my mental fingers around it. Then I thinned my touch. Air needed to be coerced gently.

“Good. Now, hold it loosely,” Air said. “Got it?”

“Yes.”

“With Death, you will have to use your link to pull all of him into Aranren. Remember that. With Rath, you are containing only the magic inside him. However, the process of containment will be the same. So now, as you continue to hold Ratharin's Air Magic, summon the Elements to you.”

“Even Air.”

“Even Air. As I said, it will not be the same with Death. You won't be containing Death in itself. That would be impossible and so it is with Air as well. But you must practice creating a cage out of all the Elements. Air might be contained for a moment. If that happens, I will consider it a success.”

“But how do I summon Air when I'm holding it?”

“You will summon your Air Magic. You are currently holding Lord Ratharin's.”

That's when it clicked into place for me. I understood. I saw the pattern. No, it wouldn't be the same when I tried to conquer Death, but it would be similar enough to prepare me.

I summoned the Elements.

“Excellent,” Air said. “Now unite us.”

Light filled my hands as it had the very first time I had unified the Elements. Back then, it had been to save Rath's life. It felt strange and yet appropriate that he be the one I practice on now. I felt the rush of four unbound magics swirling in my palms.

“That's it!” Air said. “Now, open the bonds between you and your other lovers.”

The air shimmered around me as the lines between me and my other three lovers snapped with power. They gave it freely, standing steadily beside me as we faced Rath together. Now, that felt wrong. But this was just practice. For the real event, Rath would be on our side of the battlefield.

And Ara would be in his place.

“I will be Aranren for you.” Rath's words came to mind again. I winced, and the power stuttered.

“Hold fast!” Air said. “Latch onto the magic and don't let go.”

I refocused and used the power I borrowed to solidify my hold on Air right when it was slipping through my mental fingers. I caught it. Held tightly.

“Now the cage, Ember,” Earth said.

But he didn't have to urge me. I already had the Elements joined. They swirled around Ratharin, together and yet separate. I needed one more thing to fully merge them—Spirit.

Holding Rath's stare, I poured Spirit into the tornado of elements around him. Water made Earth into mud. Fire hardened mud into clay. Air fueled Fire and dried the clay. They worked harmoniously under Spirit's guidance. But I didn't know what to do after that. The first time I had tried this, I had turned the Corrupter into a statue. I thought I had killed him. But then he broke free. And I was trying for a different result this time.

“Now, pull Air out of Lord Ratharin as you lift the shell,” Air said.

Ah. I saw it then. And when I saw it, the magic reacted. My mind functioned with little guidance. I pulled Air upward while I lifted the clay. Even though it was solid, it rose—a perfect duplicate of Rath that rippled as it slipped over him, the clay turning into granules before becoming seamless again. When it was free of Rath, hovering above him, the statue sucked inward to become an orb. Within that orb, Air pulsed in fury. I managed to contain it for three seconds. Then the orb exploded, blasting clay fragments everywhere.

“Excellent!” Air shouted as the other elements cheered.

But I didn't cheer. Because as soon as the orb exploded, I looked at Rath. And Rath didn't look good.

“Ratharin!” I shouted as I ran to him, feeling how drained he was through our bond. “Take from me, love. Here.” I shoved the power in the other direction for once, giving instead of receiving.

Still, Rath swayed and would have fallen if I hadn't steadied him. “Ember,” he whispered.

Damn it! He was fighting me.

“Take it, Rath.” I smacked my hand on his chest, forcing the energy into him.

Rath gasped, body undulating and head flinging back. When he straightened, he opened his eyes and met my stare. Those glorious lavender eyes didn't merely appear to be glowing anymore. It wasn't a trick of light or color. They were actually alight with power.

Then Rath blinked, and the power settled inside him.

We took a bracing breath together, and he pulled me into his arms. “I think I've earned that reward.” Without another word to me or the others, he faded us away.