Jayden stared at the bucket. Grains of sand rose into the air. They converged and formed a young woman around Shyla’s age made of sand. Murmurs raced through the crowd at the display. Most of the protectors hadn’t seen magic in action. The sound piqued Mojag’s interest and he glanced over his shoulder. The sand woman smiled at the boy.

“Is that your sister?” Shyla asked Jayden.

“Yes. Beautiful, isn’t she?”

“She is.”

“This is how I’ll always remember her. I thought she’d be perfect for my last sculpture.”

“She is.” Shyla focused on him.

Jayden’s entire body glowed with magic. Not like an open druk lantern at all. Head to toe, he was filled. When she tried to close it, the power found a way to escape; it was like trying to put too much water into a skin. She needed to switch tactics. If she couldn’t squash it, perhaps she could drain it. Shyla tugged on his magic, pulling it from him like unraveling a ball of yarn.

He hunched over with a grunt of pain. The sculpture began losing shape as the grains fell back into the bucket. Then he cried out and went down on his knees as Shyla collected more and more of his power. While she had access to his mind, she erased his memories of the location of the Invisible Sword’s headquarters and the tunnel they were building to connect it to Zirdai. If Jayden turned into another despot—doubtful, but better to be safe—she didn’t want him knowing where to find them.

When she ripped the last thread from his soul, he screamed and the ball of magic in her hands exploded. The invisible blast sent her flying across the room while Jayden was pushed in the opposite direction.

She had no memory of hitting the floor.

Rendor was next to her when she woke. Everyone was on their feet and glancing between her and Jayden.

“How is he?” she asked.

“Like you, knocked out.” He helped her sit up. “Zhek says he should be fine.”

“Did it work?” Gurice asked.

“Give her some time,” Rendor snapped.

“It’s okay.” She stood but grabbed Rendor’s arm for support. Thankfully, he kept quiet as he assisted her over to Jayden.

Jayden was still sitting on the floor. He rubbed his chest absently. “I feel empty.”

“Can you move the sand?” she asked.

He stared at the bucket. Nothing happened. No glow inside him. Shyla thought she was going to be sick. How could she do that to another person? Turning away to avoid his reaction, she said, “It worked.”

As Rendor guided her from the room, they passed Mojag. He was staring at Jayden as if he’d never seen him before. It was better than anger. They didn’t get far before Shyla sagged against Rendor.

“Should I find Zhek?” he asked, scooping her up.