Page 71 of These Fractured Bonds

“What was that? I saw the apple, but yours was bigger… morealivethan it.”

“Living things have greater energy than nonliving things. Magical folk will have even greater energy than non-magical folk since the magic core is essentially additional energy storage,” he explained.

She pondered that for a moment. “Then, is the life force that energy I saw?”

“Yes, any living thing will have a life force. It gets a little complicated when you compare something like an apple and a rock. An apple, although non-living, has dying cells within thatare technically living. A rock does not, but since all things have energy, then the question is, ‘what is life force?’”

She waited for him to answer the question. There was that spark in his eyes again—the spark of a scholar. How, then, had a man with a scholar’s heart ended up as the commander of the Water Court’s army? Maybe one day she would ask, but that question crossed a boundary she had set.

Augrys continued. “Our scholars have defined it rather crudely. A living thing will have a life force. A non-living thing will have energy. A life force encompasses more than just the energy needed to exist. It contains the essence of the living thing. For example, when you touched my life force, did you experience anything strange?”

Flashes of Augrys came to mind. “Yes.”

He didn’t seem surprised. “That’s the difference between a non-living thing’s energy and a living thing’s life force. If you touched a rock’s energy, you’d feel what it is, but you wouldn’t feel its desires, needs, and thoughts.”

“I didn’t sense your thoughts.”

“I didn’t let you,” he said. “Protecting your life force is one of the first things taught to young Fae. Without protection, anyone with magic can manipulate your emotions, thoughts, and even control your actions. Non-magical folks are susceptible to this kind of control.”

So that’s how Tuom had bound her to him. He had taken advantage of her exposed life force. She exhaled. “That’s terrifying.”

“Which is why we’re going to make sure you can protect it.”

“How do we do that?”

“First, find your life force. We’ll use it to find your magic core, because they take on different shapes depending on the person. Join me on the floor.” Augrys had moved the furniture from himwith a flick of his hand and settled on the floor, sitting cross-legged. He patted the floor next to him, and a rug appeared.

Once Yareli settled into position, he instructed her. “Close your eyes, and open your senses again.”

Colors blossomed in the darkness, and she nodded.

“This is the difficult part. You want to draw your senses inward instead of letting them stretch outward. Keep your breath steady and focus on your heartbeat. It’ll be like meditating again.”

Relaxing came easier this time, and soon, her muscles loosened. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears.

“Good.” Augrys’s voice took on a quieter, softer tone. “Now trace the flow of your blood from your extremities to your heart.”

Yareli did so, her pulse quickening as her anticipation grew.

“Once you’re able to stay at your heart, explore downward. Search for the currents of energy in your blood.”

She followed the ebb and flow of her blood until whispers of purple flashed in the darkness, convening south of her heart. The mauve tributary grew as she approached her life force until there was nothing but a sea of color.

“I see it,” she whispered.

“Look for a single strand that never strays from its path and follow it,” Augrys said.

Yareli frowned. Everything was purple. How was she supposed to find a single strand? The answer came to her as soon as she asked the question—she needed a better vantage point. She flung herself backward, away from the ocean that was her, and it became a single orb like Augrys’s had been. She was astounded by what was essentiallyher. Then, to its left was a single offshoot. She grabbed it, following it behind her life force. A tall, metal wall lay in front of her, freezing to touch. She hissed as she pulled back from it.

“What is that?” she asked.

“That’s your core. What do you see?”

“A wall—it’s cold.”

Augrys hummed in thought. “Interesting. You have to break it open. It’s like cracking an egg and letting its yolk stream out. That’s how you’ll free your magic to freely run through you.”

“How do I break this?” She had no physical body to use against it. “It’s steel.”