Merihim crumpled a note, letting his toxic aura decay the parchment. The search and rescue team he had sent to save Cresil was killed. It was the third one in the last week. "I think we might need a different type of help for this one." Dásos had been absent for over two weeks. Merihim had not wanted to involve him. Having the creature around caused too much stress. 'I guess it can't be helped.' Merihim took a pen and paper from his desk. It had been ages since he had written in Daemon. 'Help' in an ancient script was all he wrote before sitting back in his chair.

  "I'm busy, so it better be important. What do you want?" Dásos growled from across the room.

  "Some of my men have been taken hostage. we believe someone is setting a trap for Keshiema. We would like your help protecting her from this potential threat."

  ***

  Ayperos watched from the sidelines as Keshiema and Eurynome faced off. His wings twitched in anticipation as he waited for the next move. Keshiema held one sword tightly in her left hand. Her hair shone a radiant crimson. Sweat dripped from her face as she panted heavily. Eurynome stood in front of her, smiling. His unlabored breathing and slow, steady heart rate infuriated her. She launched towards him, crying out in anger.

  Eurynome dodged her attack with ease. Without missing a step, she turned and swung again. The clash of metal rang through the courtyard as he parried the attack with his own sword. He slammed his palm into her ribs, and she yelped in pain as they cracked under the force. Her light body slid across the stones. She stood, using her sword as support. She glared at him, holding her injured side. Her carnelian eyes hid none of her fury. As she tried to concentrate her aura, he launched his attack. Springing backwards, she barely missed his blade.

  Eurynome stood up straight as he sheathed his sword. "You're getting sloppy, Keshiema. You cannot let your rage fight for you. You need to maintain a clear mind. You've had it fairly easy, going up against regular soldiers. You may have outmatched them, but you're in a new league now. Adramelech is a ruthless swordfighter. Not only is he skilled, but he will play dirty. You will not have enough time to heal yourself if you get hit. I'd prefer if you could avoid it all together, but if you do get hurt, you need to be able to fight through the pain. A few broken ribs should be nothing to a skilled warrior – at least long enough to get through the fight."

  She stared at the ground, unable to make eye contact with him. He was right; she was weak when it came to pain endurance, and her anger tended to get the best of her. The clock tower interrupted her thoughts as it rang out its seven chimes.

  "I guess that's it for today." Eurynome smiled. He walked over to her and held out his hand to help her stand up straight. Her hair had yet to change. "Kesh, you know it's nothing personal, right? I have to make sure you're ready to face any challenge that might come your way."

  "I know." She spoke through clenched teeth. "It's not you I'm angry with." Her aura surged through her hand as she held her injured side. "I know I need to keep my cool. How can I defend myself against the king if I can't even keep up in a sparring match against you or pyro?" Her knuckles turned white as her grip on her sword tightened. "Why does it have to be me!" she shrieked, taking the sword in both hands and swinging it into one of the marble pillars. Her crimson eyes sparkled like polished gemstones as metal shards fell to the ground with pieces of broken marble.

  "Kesh, since you're healed enough to throw a tantrum of that magnitude, I'm sure you can get to your room fine on your own. Training with Pyro starts in an hour." Ayperos spoke firmly. After she left, he walked over to Eurynome, who still stood next to the damaged pillar. "well there goes a perfectly good sword." Ayperos mumbled. "Two weeks of training and this is as far as you've gotten? She'll never be ready at this rate."

  "I'm doing my best here, Ayperos. You're supposed to be teaching her how to ground herself."

  "I've never had an issue with her getting emotional. You and Merihim seem to be the only ones she shows any anger towards." They both looked toward the pillar. "When do you think he'll tell her? Its already been a week."

  "I hope he doesn't wait too long. He promised her she'd be the first to know if anything happened to him. If she finds out after it's too late to save him, she'll never forgive us."

  ***

  Pyro stood in front of Keshiema in the courtyard arena. She watched demons gather around the pillar she damaged earlier, working to repair the marble. Clearing his throat, Pyro called her attention back to him. "Your mother is an Ice-Daemon. The power of ice is as strong as it is rare. I've seen Ice-Daemons perform many amazing feats. They can create flurries and hail, freeze waterfalls, make weapons, and encase entire cities in ice. Some Ice-Daemons have such strong abilities that most fire elementals cannot thaw their ice. It's a very versatile power. If you have that power within you, it should manifest itself eventually. However, we don't have time to wait for it to awaken on its own. I'm going to try to teach you how to awaken and control your abilities."

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  "So, how do I start?"

  Pyro held his hand out, letting a small flame form just above his palm. "Elemental abilities are, at their cores, all very similar. I am a Fire-Daemon. I can control my aura into a vortex, a ball, a pillar, or just a simple flame," he showed her an example of each as he mentioned them. "It can be as hot as lava or just warm enough to take the chill out of the air.

  "You take the energy of your aura and concentrate it into the form you desire it to take. Take your hand and form a ball of energy in it." He lifted her hand into the air, palm up. As commanded, she let a ball of iridescent purple aura form. "Now close your eyes and imagine the ball getting colder. Imagine it solidifying into ice."

  Closing her eyes, she imagined herself on a cold winter's day. She could feel any icy tingle seep through her gloves. She smiled as the memories took hold. The feeling of waking up and discovering a glistening white paradise had replaced the muddy, gloomy winter. The thought of making snowballs and throwing them at her sisters. She could hear their shrieks of laughter after getting hit. She remembered snowmen and angels that only lasted a day. Throwing the snow into the air just to watch it fall again. The awe of seeing the transformed landscape sparkling under the sunset.

  "Keshiema!" Pyro shouted as he shook her. She opened her eyes to see that the ball of aura remained unchanged. "Kesh, are you okay?"

  "I guess. I mean, I failed the test."

  "I've been trying to get you to respond for ten minutes. You started crying and...well, I wouldn't say you failed. Look around."

  A thin layer of frost covered the floor, and a bubble of ice surrounded them. "I did this?"

  "Yeah." Pyro turned his attention to the bubble. "It seems like a shield. Let me try something." He placed his hand on the ice and let his aura flow to it. He pulled his hand back, cursing in pain. "So, touching it is off limits." He held up his now frostbitten hand. "would you mind?" Keshiema took his hand and mumbled words of healing. As she did, the icy shield started to radiate with her aura.

  "Your hand recovered a lot faster than it should have." She looked closely at it, moving his fingers and testing his mobility. "I think the shield might be amplifying my healing abilities."

  "Now that you've made the shield, can you tear it down?" he did not want to touch the ice again. The immense pain it caused him was not something he wished to repeat.

  She closed her eyes again and imagined herself on a warm sunny afternoon. She laughed with her sisters as they splashed each other in the small creek behind her childhood home. The cold water was refreshing against the heat of the day. Someone called her name. She turned to the trees to see a figure sitting deep within the shadows of the forest. She waved at the silhouette but was distracted by her younger sister kicking water at her. She heard her name again. The voice sounded alarmed. Her older sister took her hand, and the three danced in a circle, singing an old rhyme and giggling.

  "Keshiema!" Pyro was shaking her forcefully. Keshiema, please wake up!"

  "I'm..." She blinked several times to clear her vision. The air seemed dense. "I'm awake."

  "I think that's enough for today. You've managed to make it colder in here." She noticed frost clinging to Pyro's hair and lashes. His lips were turning blue. "Your tears are starting to freeze."

  She reached up and wiped the frosty streaks away from her cheeks. "I don't think I can undo this." She admitted, feeling defeated.

  "I'm going to try something, but I need you to trust me."

  She looked into his eyes, searching for anything to tell her if she could. She knew he was the Prince of Falsehoods, but she had no other choice. If he wanted to hurt her, he could easily justify self-preservation. "What do I need to do?"

  "just relax. Huddle down as small as you can. I am going to use my fire to hopefully melt the ice. I'll use my body to protect you, but if you move, you might get hurt."

  She took a deep breath, contemplating the situation. She had been training with him for two hours every other day for the last two weeks. She still knew almost nothing about him. 'What choice do I have? Whether I trust him or not really doesn't matter. I would never forgive myself if he froze to death in this bubble.' "Alright." She folded her legs and crouched down as small as she could, thanking her stars for her small size.

  The prince crouched over her. "I'm going to be letting out a lot of aura, things are going to get a bit toasty. Just. Don't. Move." His body started to heat up. The bright aura pierced through her closed eyes. The humidity rose as the ice on the floor melted. The bubble pulled on her aura, strengthening itself.

  Pyro struggled to keep his concentration divided. He had to keep her unharmed while he let his energy condense. The fire, if let out incorrectly, would scorch her to nothing. As he let his power build, the icy chill worsened. The shield was defending itself. Defending its creator. The heat inside him grew more intense. The longer he let the aura build, the higher the chance he would lose control and hurt her. He had to release enough heat to melt the ice in one shot. He ground his teeth in pain as the high temperature started to overcome him. Letting out a scream, he let the fire explode outward.

  The sound was deafening. Her ears rang, her head pounded, and she felt dizzy and nauseous. Pyro stood, but she was afraid to move until he helped her up. He started to let her go, but as she lost her balance, he took hold of her again.

  The ringing in her ears subsided, but she still felt off. Her aura returned to her when the shield exploded; She could feel it repairing her injuries without her performing a spell. This was the first time her self-healing had kicked in for such an extreme injury. "Are you okay? Keshiema? Can you hear me?" To his relief, she gave a small nod. "I'm taking you to the infirmary." He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "You're lucky you're so tiny. I don't think you'd have survived otherwise." Closing her eyes she let her thoughts drift away.