She was going to die.

She was going to die in the middle of the lake – her body sinking to the bottom, her bones returning to the very element that she had been born from.

She waited.

But when she opened her eyes, she was still in the water.

There was no explanation for her beating heart, for the pulse she felt hammering in her throat. But as the wind picked up, she dived under and swam until her feet met the shore.

The rain pelted her skin as she stared up at the sky, enraptured by the storm unfolding before her. Another brilliant stroke of lightning filled the air and she stiffened.

The buzz.

Familiar and bone-chilling. The same buzz she had felt near the barrier, setting her nerves ablaze.

She sucked in a few deep breaths, trying to slow her heartbeat.

What are you capable of, child?

She closed her eyes tightly as the voice snaked its way into her brain, the familiar brush of an unwelcome touch.

‘What do you want from me?’ Her voice was small, lost to the storm.

Do you trust me?

No. She didn’t.

A slight laugh reverberated in her mind.

Raise your hands to the sky.

As Sapphire lifted her hands to the storm, the voice offered her no guidance.

So she stood there waiting as the storm strengthened. The rain pelted violently against her skin.

The buzz intensified.

What if …

The thought lingered, begging to be explored.

What if she could do more than she thought she could?

If she failed, then she would return to her room and listen to the rain hit her window.

But if she succeeded … well, she wasn’t sure. But she wanted – no, needed to find out.

Stretching her fingers upward, she let go. She saw the eye of the storm, and recalled the incantations buried in the forbidden books tucked away in her room.

It submits to you.

She flexed her fingers once more before speaking.

‘Hear me.’

A gust of wind wrapped around her.

‘Bend to my will.’

Thunder rolled in response.

Say ‘ignite’, child. And let the truth be known.

She closed her eyes tightly before the word rolled off her tongue.

‘Ignite.’

Her pupils enlarged as searing white light ripped through the sky, crackling and striking the centre of the lake – the force surging over the surface as it rippled at the impact.

She stumbled backwards, looking at her hands and then back to the water.

The storm had listened.

I can help you, the voice purred, and she almost believed it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Claye announced Kaian’s arrival only a few moments after he escorted Evera to Sapphire’s room. Her two friends exchanged a worried look.

‘What’s going on?’ Kaian looked at Evera but she threw up her hands.

‘I haven’t been offered any explanation.’

The two turned to face Sapphire and she felt her cheeks warm.