Thinking about Amber always made Ella feel sad, and then she thought about her brother. Miro had loved Ella's friend, and tried to convince himself she was dead, and there was nothing he could do; but Ella sometimes saw him staring into the east, his fists clenched at his sides, and she knew he was thinking about Amber.

"That's right." Shani removed the cuffs from Ella's wrists and confidently attached them to her own, "we've chosen this place because it's warm, and because there's water nearby. It's cold at the moment, and there's still ice melting in the Sarsen, but…"

The elementalist spoke some words, and a tight ball of flame appeared between her wrists. Where Ella's flame had been wild and unruly, the fire Shani had called forth was tight and almost perfectly spherical.

"Try to hit this with your sword, bladesinger," Shani said.

A lone hawk wheeled in the distance, scanning the earth for prey. With a flick of her wrists and a pushing motion from her body, Shani released the fireball towards the bird. Like a small, fiery sun it flew through the air, searing it with a sound like paper being torn, before colliding with the hawk in a burst of sparks and cloud of ash.

Little flickers of residue fell slowly through the sky, and Ella looked for the remains of the bird to plummet to the ground, but there was nothing left of it.

"Shani, that was cruel," Ella said.

Shani shrugged. "You should see what they use in Petrya for target practice."

"Birds don't fight back," Bartolo said, "and you overcooked it. You'll never get a man at this rate. I think we've found something you really do need to work at."

Shani looked at Bartolo and smiled, giving him her full attention for the first time.

She walked towards him, swaying her hips and dipping her hand in the cool river water. Then Shani suddenly stopped, and Ella heard her chant under her breath, before the elementalist made a sweeping motion with her arms.

A wave of water leapt from the river, higher than Ella's head, before coming down to fall with a mighty splash.

Directly on top of Bartolo.

Immediately the bladesinger was drenched to the bone, and with winter barely over, the water was cold. Freezing.

"You were saying, bladesinger?"

Bartolo was up like lightning, and his armoursilk suddenly blazed. The water fell away from him and he placed a hand on the hilt of his zenblade.

"Bah," Bartolo said.

His expression black, the bladesinger stormed away.

Ella watched his departing back, while Shani chuckled and shook her head. Ella thought she saw something in Shani's eyes while she looked at Bartolo, but it was swiftly gone, with Ella wondering if she'd imagined it.

Not for the first time, Ella looked at the runes on the red cuffs Shani wore on her wrists. Ella felt that with time she could decipher them, and truly understand how Raj Petrya's lore functioned.