Chapter 4 Arya

I could hardly contain my excitement as I made my way to the avian training room after defense class on Tuesday afternoon.

I felt like this was the first day of class at a new school, but in a whole different way than I'd ever experienced after years of moving from town to town. Because I wasn't just some aimless new girl, and at least as far as I could tell, the harpies didn't utterly despise me like the mer did.

My brief healing session with Ms. Heather the other night gave me so much hope! I was actually going to learn something new, and I couldn't wait to explore this new part of myself.

The avian training room was a world apart from the mer training room. There were still hoops hanging from the ceiling, all varying sizes and heights, but no oversized pool. To one side stood what could only be described as a miniature mountain, rocky and perfect for climbing. On the opposite side sat a huge earthy hearth with a blazing fire.

I understood the need for the fire when it came to dragons and phoenixes, but I didn't see how it was relevant to harpies.

Ms. Heather stood next to the hearth, the glow of the fire shining in her fluffy yellow hair. She wasn't in her white nurse's scrubs as I was used to seeing her. Today she was wearing a snug t-shirt of the same smart material as my swim top, the avian symbol over her right breast. I couldn't help but notice that her feet were bare, and I tried not to stare at her exposed toes as I came closer.

"I have always loved the warmth of a fire," Ms. Heather said, gazing fondly at the blaze as if it were an old friend. "Man-made heat just doesn't compare. Don't you think?"

I made a non-committal shrug-nod. I hadn't spent much time around fires in my life. Growing up, there were no campfires for me and Mom, not even in the backyard. The no-going-out-after-dark rule was very firm, and none of the houses we'd ever occupied had a fireplace.

"I think it's funny that our genus is called avian," Ms. Heather went on. "Because you know what I think? Even though flying is something that dragons, phoenixes and harpies have in common, it's not the shared trait that binds us as a family. No, it's the connection to fire."

"Fire?" I asked, confused. "But harpies don't wield fire."

"On the contrary," Ms. Heather corrected. "In the days before man-made light, fire was our only easy access to light. Even now, it remains the most potent form for us to use, save for the light of the direct sun. But we don't get that down here." She laughed. "So fire is the source we will be using to practice."

Now that Ms. Heather had spelled it out, I was surprised I hadn't realized it before. I had only ever seen dragon and phoenix shifters use fire directly, so I hadn't made the connection that fire also made light and didn't just burn things.

Ms. Heather turned toward the flames and reached her hands out to warm them. "Do you mind if I get a little more comfortable?"

I didn't really know what she meant, so I stammered, "Um, sure. "

With Ms. Heather's back to me, I could now see two long slits in the fabric of her shirt right over her shoulder blades. I could only cock my head at that for a moment before Ms. Heather made their purpose apparent.

"Thank you." Tiny white feathers sprouted through the slits, growing and lengthening, and soon it looked like strange deformed arms were reaching out from her back.

I jumped backward, a sick feeling in my chest as I watched what was surely a gruesomely painful mutation. But in seconds, the little arms filled out with the prettiest, shiniest pearl white feathers, turning into a breathtaking pair of angelic wings.

"Whoa," I gasped, openly fawning over the majesty of her wings as they unfurled and settled.

"Much better," Ms. Heather said before turning around to face me.

It was only then that I saw the change in her feet. Where her dainty pale feet had been a moment ago, there were now two eagle-like claws, with talons at the end of each digit that resembled pointed, oblong black pearls. This time, I had to forcibly pull my eyes away from the harpy teacher's feet.

I had never seen a transformed harpy before. Though I knew from Shifter Bio that they had clawed feet in their shifted form, I was not prepared for it. I had also never quite connected the dots as to why many of the students in avian shirts wore open-toed sandals. Now I got it.

I looked over my shoulder at the empty space there. "Will I be able to do that too?"

Just because I could use harpy powers didn't necessarily mean I could sprout wings. After all, Ashlyn had been able to use her powers for a long time without shifting and had only shifted for the first time when it was a life-or-death situation .

"I'm sure you will," Ms. Heather said. "In time. But we'll start with the basics of using your powers first. Transforming doesn't come easy for everyone, no matter their species."

I knew that all too well. Mermaids were supposed to be born in their shifter form, and even after months of practice, I still didn't quite have it down. Would I be as awful at harpy shifting as I was at mermaid shifting? Would I be a horrible harpy in general? I was unquestionably a horrible mermaid, maybe the worst in the world.

I clenched my jaw. Ms. Heather's words from the other night echoed in my head. Allowing self-blame to darken you will only weigh you down . I didn't want to be weighed down anymore. I needed to rise above and learn to fly.

"Let's get started," Ms. Heather said. "When you're more practiced, you'll be able to harness light at will. But when you're first starting out, it's best to concentrate on a particularly powerful emotion in order to connect with the light. It can be anything. The first time you did it, the emotion was anger—a powerful emotion for sure, but the most powerful is joy."

I remembered the first time I harnessed light. I'd been in my first sparring match in Defense class, paired against my number-one enemy at the school, Cora. I'd been so angry that Cora was getting the best of me, that I was losing to her in yet another facet of life at the Dome. That anger had been the strongest I had ever felt. I wasn't sure I could feel anything that compared, let alone happiness.

"I know joy is in short supply around here lately, but I want you to try to focus on something good that has happened to you and let that joy fill you up. Can you think of something that makes you really happy?"

I considered that for a moment. There were definitely things I was happy about in my life. I had great friends, even if they were few. There was Shea, who had remained a true friend even with the distance between us. There was Ashlyn, who opened her heart and her room to me without hesitation. There was Tobias...

The answer was obvious, really. Tobias had kissed me. Sure, we had kissed before—and done other things—but that kiss the other night was different. He'd been dying, and the way he looked at me right before he pulled my face down to his… That memory was the closest thing to joy I could access at this point.

I must have been blushing because Ms. Heather said, "Ah, so it's a boy then." She smiled knowingly, and my cheeks burned hotter. "Focus on whatever you're thinking about and let it fill you."

I'd been actively trying not to think about it. Tobias hadn't mentioned it or made a move toward anything further. Hell, he'd probably only kissed me out of some blood-loss-induced delusion. I'd be a fool to get my hopes up again .

But now I was being told to think of nothing but that, and the prospect was too tempting to deny. Besides, it was for science.

I closed my eyes and remembered being back in the alley that had caused so much grief. I focused only on the kiss, remembering how his lips felt on mine, the way my heart had exploded with joy that quarreled with the panic of the situation. Tobias...

I felt warm all over, a cozy lethargy settling into my belly and limbs.

"Very good. Now open your eyes and pull light from the flames."

I slowly opened my eyes and aimed my gaze at the fire. I could feel it pulsing with its own sort of life, like a heartbeat thumping within its blazing center. I cupped my hands together toward the pyre in front of me and beckoned the light to me .

As easy as breathing, wisps of light flicked off the tips of the flames, like little fairies flying mellifluously through the air, and pooled into a ball in my open palms.

I laughed almost maniacally as I watched, so overflowing with joy that my fingertips were practically bursting with it. The light was so delightfully warm on my skin. I wanted to jump, to dance until my legs fell out from under me.

"Wonderful job, Arya!" Ms. Heather praised, clapping. "You're a natural!"

I wanted to try something. I shifted the light within my hands and then separated them, tossing the ball of light from one hand to the other and back. All the while, it kept its shape.

"This is the coolest thing ever!" I squealed, my shoulders still shaking with giddy laughter. "I never imagined I could do this!"

"You can do so much more. This is only the beginning. Now, let's try this a few times. Give the light back to the fire and then call it back."

I did, and after that first time, I didn't need to focus on the kiss anymore. The light gave me a joy that was plenty enough fuel. Each time the light came back to me, I couldn't help but giggle. Hell, I could do this all night!

But a sound intruded on my play time, an obnoxious ringing. Ms. Heather knelt to pick up the tablet that had been leaning against the wall on the floor safely away from the hearth. She tapped the screen, and the ringing stopped.

"Celeste?" she asked to the tablet.

"Maya, would you please send Arya to the gym when your session is over?" Celeste's voice sounded from the tablet.

"Of course. We're about finished. I'll send her over now." Ms. Heather tapped the screen, and the call ended. "I think that's enough for today. You did very, very well. Next time, we'll do more with light, show you more ways to use it."

"Great. I can't wait!" I said, sending the light back to the fire for the last time.

I rubbed my hands together as I left the training room, marveling at how naked my hands felt now. I had never felt this fulfilled training with water, and I was almost sad to be returning to the shadows that were so abundant under the Dome.