Bartolo opened his mouth and then closed it again. Shani usually got the best of their exchanges.

Miro may have been opposed to locking Shani away, but that didn't mean he was going to take a risk with his sister. He'd admonished Ella to keep an eye on the elementalist, and then assigned Bartolo to keep an eye on them both. High Lord Rorelan was content with this arrangement; Bartolo was a bladesinger, one of their best, and even an elementalist was no match for a bladesinger, so they said. Ella wondered how true that was.

Shani turned to Ella again. "Let's start again, shall we?"

Ella nodded.

"There are two cuffs, one for each wrist. They aren't the same, and it's very important that you put the correct cuff on the correct wrist."

"Or?" Bartolo asked.

"Or you're dead."

"And you think I'm the one waving something dangerous around?"

Ella glared at Bartolo. "Go on, Shani."

"My robe has runes that protect me from the elements, but only from the lightest touch. A direct fireball will kill me just as easily as it will kill anyone else. Are you sure your dress is as protective as you say it is? I can lend you my robe."

Ella smiled. "It is. It's what we do best."

"Ignore what she says," Bartolo said. "Lend Ella your robe, Shani. Don't mind me. I'll just sit here and watch."

"Bartolo." Ella glowered. "Shut up."

Paying no attention, Shani went on. "The cuffs, when activated, can be made to draw moisture or heat from your surroundings. How depleted the cuffs then become, and how successful you are, depends on three things. First, there's obviously the scale of the magic you're trying to perform. A wall of fire requires more energy and more control than a tiny flame. Then there is the amount of control the elementalist has. A small spot of heat is more easily controlled than a wave of water, and more control not only requires more physical strength, but also more judgement and activation sequences to shape the outcome."

Ella listened to Shani intently, digesting the information and storing it alongside what she had learned about enchantment, animation, and illusion.

"Finally, one of the biggest factors is how much heat is in the air, or how much moisture is nearby. Sometimes an elementalist builds a fire or goes near water to make the magic more effective."

"Is that why we're doing this here?" Ella gestured.

The place where they worked was close to the river, located in a path of direct sunshine, near a bower of weeping trees. Shani didn't know it, but she had chosen the place where Ella's friend Amber had married Igor Samson, one of the Academy masters, with Ella standing at her side.