eturned, an odd warmth bl

but it soon spread, igniting something dee

ared to be stuck in a drab fog of weakness and rejec

d, and breath around her felt more acute. The feeling

s face unreadable. His sharp features appeared even more menacing due to

in a smooth, too-calm voice. Lily b

something she could not quite place caused his da

ftly and shook his head, seemingly amused

ith his eyes still fixed on he

" She felt a chill go down her back. That was no

o was tur

ssing the growing anxiety that was tea

I have been weak all my lif

e. He was a few feet away one moment, and

closing around her throat with enough firmness to make

olf rushed forward before she

a sudden shockwave of ene

th a tree, but he was not up

ggered back and looked do

sheer force that had just explo

, Kieran pushed himself off the ground. "They attempted to bur

s grin growing, "You sent me flying without eve

possible. Lily was all she was. The girl wh

e. However... She flexed her fingers and glanced down at

rful now, alive, pulsing, like

ng more? Kieran kept a close eye on her, hi

ypical. They took something else f

tual ch

returned. Lily took a deep breath. "And you b

I can." S

boured misgiv

ced that power surge, howe

e truth had to be told to her. She inhaled dee

ed Lily farther into the forest, past the luminous runes an

ir feet was the only sound they

ad happened back there, the force that had exploded out of her, a

ed? At last, Kieran came to a stop close to a remote cleari

unreadable as he

sed her arms. "And what precisely am I meant to

eyes. Pay attention. Feel. After a mom

the rustle of leaves in the wind and the distant soun

t. The night itself appeared to be alive. Her wol

st spread once more. It was controlled and steady.

t now? Slowly, Lil

more streamlined. Th

ugh she had previously been viewing the world

she ackn

at is only the start. Lily's

y for the first time in he

rob her of that? They wou