The Bound (Ascension #2)(104)

“And, to do that, you need more training,” Matilde cut in. “So, let’s get started.”





Cyrene spent the rest of the day learning to remove exactly one drop of water from the bucket and transferring it to another bucket. If she had thought she was wet from trying to row the boat, she was wrong. She had no control over what she was doing. She was more likely to drown herself with the water then she was to pick up a single, solitary droplet.

By lunchtime, she’d had no success. She could dump the entire bucket onto her lap over and over and over again, but moving a single drop was not possible. She was starving and could eat an entire feast table, but Matilde and Vera had only packed a light meal. Not to mention, she was exhausted as she hadn’t had any sleep the night before.

After eating, Cyrene concentrated again and felt a familiar burst of energy rush through her. She knew she should push it back and only use a small amount, but rationing the power was more difficult than drawing so much to her body that she couldn’t breathe.

“This is hopeless,” she grumbled under her breath.

It didn’t help that Matilde and Vera were endlessly patient. Two thousand years seemed to have given them more patience than the average person.

“Hopeless is only for those who give up,” Vera said.

“You will keep trying until you have it,” Matilde said. “There is no other option.”

Cyrene ground her teeth and focused on the task at hand. One droplet. Just one tiny droplet. She could tear down a building but not move one droplet of water. Just as she was cursing herself, a tiny drop of water rose out of the bucket. Cyrene shrieked and jumped into the air. The water fumbled and then fell down onto the beach, disappearing into the sand, but she couldn’t even care. She had done it.

Vera smiled. “See?”

“Again,” Matilde said. She was smiling, too.

By the end of the day, Cyrene could successfully move one droplet of water from one bucket to the next. She couldn’t do it very confidently and definitely not when there were distractions. She also couldn’t move much more than that without soaking herself all over again. But it was a start.

When Captain De la Mora’s vessel appeared on the horizon, Cyrene could barely stand on her own two feet she was so tired.

Matilde quickly grabbed the buckets and sloshed the water out onto the ground. “Pretty good,” she said.

“Pretty good?” Cyrene asked. “This morning, I couldn’t even feel the water element inside me, let alone move one droplet on its own!”

“But try to move a whole ocean,” Matilde said.

“Or find water in the desert,” Vera countered.

“Or stop a hurricane.”

“Or do anything with a distraction at hand,” Vera said with a smile.

“Okay,” Cyrene said sullenly, “I get it. Baby steps. But it’s an improvement.”

“It is,” they agreed.

The ride back to the capital left Cyrene feeling ragged and beyond hungry. Her stomach growled, and she had to force down the desire to beg the Captain for any food. He didn’t like her as it was.

The Captain insisted on sending a gondolier with their party, which Cyrene was thankful for even though she was sure he hadn’t done it for her. But she didn’t exactly want to be the one to try to make the boat move on its own all over again. She wasn’t entirely sure that Matilde and Vera wouldn’t make her do it either.

When they arrived back within the palace gates, Cyrene could see a figure pacing the deck, as if waiting for them. Once they got closer, Cyrene could tell that it was Avoca. She frowned and hoped that her friend was all right. The last time something had happened to her, Cyrene had known by her burst of magic.

Oh. Cyrene had been using magic all day. Avoca must have been worried even though she had known what Cyrene was doing.

Cyrene quickly got out of the boat once it had docked and rushed to Avoca.

“You’re all right?” Avoca asked. “You were using small portions but constantly. I could feel how drained you were.”

“Starving actually,” Cyrene said with a smile. “And tired.”

Matilde and Vera appeared behind them.

“Hello, Avoca,” Matilde said.

Avoca gave the formal sign of deference for her people.

Vera produced a smile. “If I heard correctly, you said that you felt Cyrene’s powers while she was using them?”

Avoca and Cyrene glanced at each other, and then Cyrene shrugged. They had to know one way or another.

“We’re Bound,” Cyrene told them.

“Well, that explains it,” Matilde said, looking to Vera.

“Yes, it certainly does.” Vera reached for Cyrene’s wrist at the same time as Matilde reached for Avoca’s. They each ran a finger over the spot where the gold tattoo lay, and it sparkled iridescently in the sun.

“The first in two thousand years,” Vera whispered.

“And it still takes the shape of a dragon,” Matilde said.

“As it should.”

“Who performed the ceremony?”

“My mother,” Avoca said.

Both women’s lips curved up into wicked smiles as they released their wrists.

“I see. In Eldora?” Matilde asked.

“Yes,” Cyrene confirmed. “Avoca saved my life and offered me a blood debt, but her mother suggested we be Bound until her blood debt has been paid.”