I turn and run as energy arcs across the sky like fireworks, lighting up the stormy clouds and disturbing a colony of gulls, who squawk in protest. The balls are different colours – red, blue, green, black – but they all land with the same force. I dive and roll, cursing as another missile nearly hits me. Instinctively, I hold up my palm and a dome of black light appears, shielding me from further attack. Two women hover in the sky above, their wings beating fast. They point down and say something to one another, and I get the sense they’re impressed by my ability to dodge if nothing else.

I catch up with my team and realise they’re planning to use the boulders beneath the cliffs as shelter. Thiten rises into the sky and gestures that she will provide cover while I scramble over the rocks. Before me is a narrow crevice, just wide enough for me to squeeze into. I push my way inside. Cackles fill the air as the women shout instructions to one another, the ground beneath me shaking.

Thiten lands on top of the boulder and peers down, her white eyes blazing.

‘To win, the other side must knock us out,’ she shouts. I look at her, confused, and she explains. ‘The winning side are the ones left standing.’

My martial arts class could be tough, but this sounds like a whole new level of brutal. Maybe I haven’t understood right. ‘So …?’

‘So we need you!’ She kneels down and grabs my hand, lifting me up. I find my footing on the boulder and she spins me around. ‘Fight!’ she yells. The second heart inside me beats wild and strong and I let it. Opening my palm, I watch the flame expand into a ball and then extend my arms. I will it to move forward, but it doesn’t budge.

Thiten barges into me, nearly knocking me off the rock.

‘Watch it!’ I yell.

She frowns at me as if I’m deliberately being difficult. ‘Throw it!’

I grit my teeth, knowing exactly where I’d like to throw it.

I stare at the energy throbbing between my hands and command it to move. It drops down, hovering just above the rock, and I fall to my knees. Why won’t it work?

Thiten kicks me hard and I fall to my side, gasping in pain.

‘You let Merlin kill you – are you going to let him kill your mother too?’

Rage claws at my throat and I clamber to my feet and let out a scream, throwing my arms and sending a black ball of energy shooting forward. It knocks Thiten clean off the rock. I bite my lip and stare at the sky, commanding myself not to cry, but it’s too late. Tears are streaming down my face. Gulping back a sob, I wipe my eyes. I’m not someone who loses control. I never lose control.