Page 103 of In Violent Waves

“I don’t want you to reach for your magic, or touch it at all. I want you to study it only. What does it look like?”

Lyra’s bottom lip quivered, and her breathing stuttered.

Maelys reached out and clasped Lyra’s hand.

“I’m right here with you.”

Ice flooded Wilder’s veins, watching the companionship of that embrace. They could have been sisters with the way Maelys was treating her.

Ridge shifted on his feet, relaxed shoulders, and then tugged at one of Otto’s beads in his hair. Otto smirked but swatted at Ridge’s hand.

“What does it look like?” Maelys asked again.

“A thread of gold,” Lyra responded.

Otto’s face lit with surprise, and Maelys beamed with pride.

“Good. Very good.”

Lyra inhaled through her nose, and her eyes whirled wildly beneath her closed lids. Wilder was enraptured, watching her stand as still as a stone—but work so hard. She hadn’t even tried to touch her magic when he was around.

“What does it feel like?”

Lyra didn’t answer. Her face pinched with what looked like pain, her breath slipping through her parted lips in pants. Maelys squeezed her hand, reminding Lyra that she wasn’t alone. In response, her face relaxed, and her breathing slowed.

“Lyra, don’t be afraid. What does it feel like?”

Wilder could see Lyra’s eyes move behind her closed lids before they froze—as did the rest of her. Her arms and legs seized before she toppled like a felled tree.

Maelys crouched beside her and brushed a hand against her arm. “Are you alright?”

Lyra’s body shook with chaotic tremors.

“Let’s get her back to the castle. She needs a healer.” Ridge’s voice was strained. Maelys turned wide eyes to him and swallowed forcibly.

With those words, Wilder dropped to the ground beside them.

Ridge whirled, sword drawn. Otto held two daggers in his palms. And Maelys positioned herself in front of Lyra.

“I will take her,” Wilder growled.

“Good gods. Was that necessary?” Maelys spat. “Why are you hiding in the shadows?”

Wilder glared at her. “You took my position. I wanted to see how it was going without me.”

Maelys pointed a finger at his chest. “I was ordered to since you abandoned your duty.”

Her words stung more than he would ever admit. His duty was all he had, even if he resented it most of the time.

Wilder shrugged off her words and continued past her and to the now still Lyra. He swept her off the ground and clutched her to his chest.

“Had she come that close before?” he asked, looking at the freckles that blazed against her porcelain skin.

“No, that was the first time,” Otto replied.

“And the rest of her training?” There was a bruise blooming on her cheek. It made his blood boil. “Someone struck her?”

Ridge chuckled. “No. She did that to herself.”