A Shattered Dawn

Chapter 31

It has been three days since we first started training. This morning, a servant dropped off all of my belongings, including my cat, which I was surprised Adrian let me keep. At least she was happy to see me. All the servants give me are disdainful looks and sympathetic glances.

An odd exhaustion has overcome me after training for only a few days. My headaches are getting worse. My body hurts.

Fallon and I have a training schedule now, where he brings me breakfast, then we head down to the beach to run and train. I have still had no luck learning how to wield my powers, which I am supposed to have. Even the Celestial powers, which are supposedly easier to access, still have not shone through.

I've pushed my visit with my father out of my head.

Maybe I overreacted, but he didn't even try to find me. He didn't care. So even though I yelled at him, I still think he deserved it. He abandoned his daughter.

The sinking pit does not leave my stomach.

Not even when Fallon waltzes into my bedroom, energized and excited for yet another day of training.

Not when I almost hurl up my breakfast, lying on the beach, after a particularly intensive run.

Not when he grabs my hands to lift me back up.

Not when he smiles at me.

I'm getting distracted again. Maybe it is not the best idea for us to train together. We sit on the sand again, and he summons his shards of the darkest night. They fly around him, and for a moment, I am mesmerized. Then he closes his eyes, and the shards collectively point to the ocean, then shoot like a bow and arrow, but faster. They whiz off into the sky, skimming the sea and flying until they disintegrate into the wind. He attempts to explain how he did it.

"It's as though they are a part of me already. I am not controlling them as much as guiding them." He summons a single orb of darkness in his hand and it swirls around like smoke.

"I can shape it like clay if I focus on it. If I focus on that part of me."

I nod, closing my eyes and trying desperately to summon the side of me that is one with darkness. Fallon rests his hand on my leg and butterflies replace the sinking feeling in my stomach. I feel the skin on my arms rise into tiny bumps. I hear him suck in a breath.

"What did you just do?"

My eyes snap open.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

He pinches his chin, thinking.

"You—" He hesitates. "There was this aura to you for just a second. It was like night was radiating from your very soul. It was your power, at least I think so. Whatever you did, do it again."

He takes my hand and opens my palm to the sky.

"Here. Try to summon it as I did. Try to reign it in."

He keeps his hand on mine. For a moment, I have no idea how to summon it again, but then I take a deep breath, closing my eyes.

I think of Fallon and feel his gentle touch on my hand. I feel a sudden cool feeling spread throughout my body and remember his words. I focus on it, channel it, and open my eyes as I shape it—into an orb of darkness. Floating above my palm. I grin at the same time I notice Fallon's. He slowly removes his hand and I stay focused. I can't embarrass myself by only being able to summon this power with his help. It flickers for a moment and my breath catches, but I keep it steady.

It is an odd power. It is made of absolute darkness, but it is cold to the touch. And I can control it. I wind it around my fingers, playing with my creation.