Bonds of Light and Fire

2. Gone and Free

The artwork above is not mine.

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    Luciana took up a starting position, curving her palms towards one another. She was already tunneling into her well of power, keeping a close eye on its end. That was one of the first things Vaughan had taught her. She always had to be aware of the end of her magic, so she wouldn't accidentally use it all and push herself into a burnout.

    Magic was far more complex and dangerous than Luciana could've imagined. Her father had kept her ignorant of the true depths of her power and how to use it, and she had to wonder why. Brye Alburn was always scheming. Always planning. Always plotting. There was rarely a moment when he wasn't hatching some elaborate ploy to gain power and leverage. What power and leverage could she have brought to him?

    When she'd first asked herself that question, she answered "Very little," with much confidence. Now that she'd seen her own magic, she knew she was mistaken. Brye was going to use her for something. Luciana knew that with absolute certainty. She was even more glad that she'd chosen to leave him when she did.

    But what if General Aedion orders me to leave the Bane? Luciana wondered, forming a ball of light between her palms. Where will I go? What will I do? I can't go back to Father. Not now. Not ever.

    "Breathe, Luci," Vaughan murmured nearby.

    Luciana stared at her light as it spiked in different directions. Before she began training with Vaughan, she hadn't realized that her emotions could have an effect on her magic. She was constantly working to keep herself in check, especially when she grew anxious or fearful.

    Luciana obeyed and drew measured breaths. Gradually, her light smoothed out once more. "What are you thinking about?" Vaughan asked. He circled her warily, his boots making no sound on the brittle grass.

    "I know General Aedion doesn't want to keep me around much longer," Luciana sighed. She split her ball of light into five separate ones and began to rotate them between her hands. "I'm worried about what I'll do when he makes his final decision."

    "He promised Nascha that you won't be forced to leave the camp until you have somewhere to go."

    "I have nowhere to go. Nowhere but back to Wendlyn, and I will never return to my father's house."

    Luciana blinked as a faint male voice emerged from the breeze. "Come here, my little Sunbeam. Don't look at me like that. You've done nothing wrong. Come here." Cunning gold eyes flickered through her mind.

    The voice shifted into a female's. "Luciana, come here right now! How many times have I told you not to go outside in the afternoon? Do you want to be stuck here forever because no male wants such a tanned female for a wife? Your place is inside. Defy me again, and you know what will happen."

    Her heartbeat quickened as faces blurred before her eyes. Her father's cruel smile, that never seemed quite right. Her mother's angry frown and raised hand, waiting to strike her at any moment. Waiting to belittle her if she failed. Waiting to remind her how worthless she was. What a disappointment she'd turned out to be. How useless. Such a burden. So ungrateful. So unwanted. So... so... so...

    "You are nothing to me. You are nothing to him. You exist only because he needs you. If I had it my way, I would've thrown you into the rivers of Doranelle as an infant! I would've left you in the forest for the wolves to eat. I would've..."

    "Luciana!" A dark but familiar voice shouted next to her ear. "Breathe. Remember where you are. Remember who you're with." The voice was Vaughan's. She was with him, in the clearing. "Rein in your magic."