The Heroes of The Elemental Academies Book 3 The Tides of War

Chapter 14: Restraint

Rylee

  Rylee couldn't suppress her nervousness as she and Seth walked through the camp rain pouring down on them. She had willed a small dome of light to encompass the two of them shielding them from the rain. Now they were walking side by side through the camp, both of them silent. She presumed it was because he didn't know how to start. After ten minutes of walking in relative silence she decided to say what they both knew needed saying.
   " Look Seth, I'm sorry okay," she started she noticed how Seth tentatively perked up and looked at her his golden eyes were still bright and clear even in the gloom.

  "I was told to bring you along and continue your training, but I was also told to help you stop being so reckless. So I thought..."

  "You thought what?!!" Seth snapped back at her. She stepped involuntarily away from him. "You thought I was incapable of spotting my own faults that I didn't understand that some of what I was doing was reckless?" He paused as if trying to gather his thoughts. he took a deep breath.

   "I know that some of the things that i'm doing like taking on new demons without a plan are considered reckless but let me ask you this. Who else was going to keep that thing busy?" Rylee couldn't help her surprise. He knew he was being reckless but still chose to do it so no one would get hurt. It was such a weird concept it took her a moment to process. But, it also made her angry.

   "Do you trust no one?" She asked quietly. Her voice was so soft she didn't even recognized it as her voice. She wasn't one to be soft spoken, but around Seth she seemed to be made of clay. A prospect that had greatly worried her since she had discovered it.

   The question definitely seemed to take Seth by surprise. "No! I trust everyone," He said quickly tried to assure her. But Rylee had already made up her mind.

   " No you don't," She stated flatly and this time with more force. She took a deep breath before continuing.

   "Do you think you are the only capable one here!? That there is no one else who can fight." She stopped walking, turned and grabbed Seth by the shoulder before turning him around to look in his eyes. He squinted at her but she ignored his glare.

   "The problem is you didn't think Seth," she said matching his glare until he looked away from her. " I admit the way I went about teaching you this was wrong and i'm sorry for what Charles said. I'm even sorry for tricking you but you need to understand that your actions could have not only hurt just you but the whole group!" Seth turned away from her pulling his shoulder effortlessly out of her grip. It was like he was taking his finger away from a teething babies grip.
"Look, Seth do you understand how powerful you are. You can cause tsunamis, conjure weapons we've never even thought of, summon a sun's worth of fire and this is just your basic level of power. If you could master your faith and discover yourself in Christ I can only guess how strong you could become. At the same time that means you need to learn the most restraint."
"Restraint?" Seth asked her. He seemed to have set aside his anger... for now. He was no longer looking at her through squinted unbelieving eyes. Great! progress.. she thought.
   "Yes restraint," she continued. "You have a lot of power yes, and it's not my job to teach you how to harness that power that's Lord Bannot's job. My job is to help you learn when to use that great strength." Seth looked at her the question she knew he would ask forming on his lips.
   "What do you mean?" He asked. Suddenly
I was like a light lit up In her head as an idea quickly formed. She quickly gestured out at the camp. Even in the rain agents were still moving back and forth, taking care of the supplies and securing the perimeter. "What do you see?" she asked simply. A sparkle lit up Seth's eyes as he cracked a smile at her for the first time in two days.
"Are you trying to Obiwan me right now?" He asked. She didn't understand the reference but she found herself laughing regardless.
"Be serious," she said only a slight bit of playfulness to her voice. Seth closed his eyes and Rylee waited for him to answer.
"Agents of the Lord, is what I see," he replied. She shuffled her feet hoping she got the words to what she needed to say right in her head.
"Yes, but there's something else. Each and everyone of them are capable in their own right. They wouldn't be here if they weren't. It's ultimately our job to make sure they return alive." Seth's eyes widened in surprise.
   "Our?" He said. Rylee couldn't refute that she had treated him as an outsider. Someone who wasn't even a part of the small family that was her unit. But that was because it was exactly that her small little family. She had been fighting with these guys for quite a long time. Surviving battles and difficult situations. So it was easy for her to end up treating anyone else as outsiders. Not to mention, Seth wasn't just anyone he was one of the most powerful people in the academies, and the prince of the Eleven nation. Even if he didn't know it or care he held  a huge amount of political influence.
" Tell you what," she said, another idea forming. Her heart began to beat rapidly as the ran the idea through her head. She didn't have much experience with mean besides commanding them but she had always found that being direct and up front was the best way to get them to listen.
Without waiting for Seth to answer she turned and took off. She made good time through camp making her way to a secluded spot on the edge of the camp. The area was cordoned off by a ring of trees on the side facing the camp. Facing away from the trees the clearing dropped off sharply down at least 60 feet to continue on into the gloom. Away from the light of the camp the moon shone even brighter. The moon tonight was full and bright giving a clear view of the clearing. Only a few rocks dotted the area and they were small and scattered. Rylee found herself nodding in approval. This area would do.

"What are we doing out here?" Seth asked arriving only a couple of seconds after she did. She turned to him asking for a sword to appear. A bright flash of light emitted from her palms and the familiar weight of her broadsword settled into her hands. The blade was simple and unadorned, the guard was made of white silver and the handle was wrapped in red leather. The pommel was a simple counterweight shaped like a small sun. All in all the weapon wasn't much but she had survived many battles with it and it had formed it's own special place in her heart. Every time she summoned a sword she would always picture this sword without meaning to.

Her summoning a weapon immediately put Seth on guard. She looked up to see a dark expression on Seth's face as he slowly drew his strange curved blade from it's sheath at his side.

"What are you doing Rylee?" He asked cautiously. She almost winced at the dangerous edge in his voice. She let herself smile at his needless caution. For this to work she would have to dedicate time and effort to succeeding. Seth took a subtle step forward his sword still out in front of him.

"Calm down Seth I'm not going to attack you," She said chuckling at his caution.

"Oh?" Seth asked attentively. Seth lowered his blade but cocked his head to the side in a obvious question. "Then, what are we doing here?" She studied Seth for a moment weighing her options one last time before she came to a decision. She stepped forward and pointed her blade at him. He raised his eyebrows in question.

"We are going to train of course."