Soul Bound

Chapter 17

I hooted in joy and even jumped like an overzealous child when Anna told me we were going to be practicing magic today. And not any old magic--something new!

"Are you going to teach me how to make little figurines with lightning?" I probed her excitedly. Her display of magic when I was first getting to know her had been so beautiful; I wanted to make something like that. 

 We'd travelled all the way down to the bottom of the base and were now walking through a long tunnel that seemed to cut through the entire length of the mountain the base hung off. It was dark this far down and the tunnel was so long we couldn't see the sun on the other side, so we used our lightstones to guide us; the white glow on the raw, rugged walls felt otherworldly and mysterious. The beginning of an adventure.

Anna laughed, blatantly amused by my thrill of magic. It was cold in the depths of the mountain, but not nearly as windy, so she only wore riding pants and a long sleeved under armour shirt. "No."

"How about a lightning spear?" I guessed. If not something beautiful, maybe something I could use in a fight. 

"No!" She slapped my arm, too entertained to be mad by my pestering . "Eva, I've told you I can't teach you how to use your elemental magic."

I sighed, only slightly disappointed. With the promise of something new on the horizon, my enthusiasm refused to die. "Okay. Fine. Then where are we going and what are you going to teach me?"

She tsked at me. "Jacob's not this impatient."

I blew a strand of hair out of my face in a huff. "Jacob doesn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders."

"Neither do you," she scolded me. "You're important and will definitely change things if war comes, but it's not all on you, Eva. Remember that."

It was hard to. Tension in the base was rising. They all knew war was coming and everyone kept looking to me and Arkon.

We reached the end of the tunnel, which opened up to a dirt path amongst a cluster of trees. We were still within the safety of the mountains and the base; unnatural cliffs, likely created by an earth dragon, rose up around the entirety of the grove, holding it in a protective embrace. No man, animal, or beast could trespass and disturb our training. 

Anna led me along the dirt path silently; I caught sight of dummies hiding behind trees and bushes, but kept my questions to myself, knowing Anna would just make another comment on my temperament. The path took us to the center of the grove, a small clearing of grass. Here, there were a benches and a few stands to lean weapons against.

My blood rushed through my body to my fingers in anticipation. I knew a practice range when I saw one. And, man, was I itching to use a bow again. We had been mostly focusing on hand to hand combat or practicing with my daggers and it had taken a long time for me to move with them as naturally as I moved with my bow.

Annalyse shook her head at the giddy look on my face. "You're adorable."

"I'm in my element here. Give me a target and I'll shoot it blindfolded."

Her eyebrows shot into her hairline. "Is that so? Hit those dummies over there then we'll see about shooting blind." She pointed to a pair of dummies, not even trying to hide, only twenty feet away.

Disappointed that she had so little confidence in my skills, I pouted at her. She ignored it, arms crossed with a challenge gleaming in her gray eyes. Her hair was down today, so the fiery red locks moved in the breeze. I watched it move against her back, taking note of the direction the wind blew. It wasn't too strong today--to my disappointment. No challenge.