After nearly igniting both the house and surrounding forest, Emiliano decided it was safer to take me to the nearby lake. A solid layer of ice stretched across its surface, forming an ideal, isolated training ground. He’d let me warm up and eat first, but he didn’t wait long to resume my training. I hadn’t bothered to change out of my damp shirt and sweatpants, bracing myself against the cold that, despite its discomfort, sharpened my senses and made me feel more alive than I had in months.
Emiliano guided me to the lake’s center, then retreated to the shore, leaving me in the middle. With careful precision, he melted a circle of ice around me, isolating the platform where I stood. The ice wobbled beneath my feet, tilting slightly, and I felt that familiar surge of heat stir inside me. Just as before, Emiliano’s methods were designed to force me to rely on my powers, and I was beginning to see the wisdom in his approach. This time, I needed to practice control, focusing my fire with more restraint-no more blazing infernos when a spark would do.
“Burn away the ice around you, bit by bit,” he instructed from the shore. “Bring it in closer each time.”
I was keenly aware of Leonardo’s presence nearby, pacing along the lake’s edge with a watchful intensity. His gaze shifted between the water and me, his grey eyes catching the sunlight. That soft radiance in his hair, the way his face seemed carved from the ice itself-he looked like he belonged out here in the cold. Just the sight of him filled me with an unexpected warmth, fueling my resolve.
As the sun bathed my skin, I let myself soak up its warmth, feeling my magic come alive. I focused, letting the energy rise slowly and thread through my body, each strand of Fire magic wrapping around me, waiting. The shimmering threads spilled from my skin, weaving effortlessly when I stopped forcing it. They intertwined, spiraling and looping, until the power ignited in a blinding surge from my core.
A vicious hiss filled the air, a sound like a thousand venomous serpents, followed by an earth-shaking snap. The ice beneath me cracked, sending fissures outward like an avalanche crashing down. Before I could react, the platform broke apart, and frigid water surged up, swallowing me. Ice-cold waves soaked into my clothes, filling my mouth as I gasped.
Steam billowed around the lake, cloaking everything in a dense fog. Emiliano’s magic spread over the lake, thin golden threads stretching across the water’s surface. Slowly, the chill receded as the water around me began to warm, like a vast bath heating up.
“You’re warming the lake?” I called out, wading closer to the shore.
Emiliano shrugged, looking entirely unruffled. “I owed you for earlier. It’ll stay warm for a few hours, so enjoy it.”
As the heat seeped into my skin, the tension melted from my muscles. I glanced toward Leonardo, who stood at the lake’s edge, a rigid expression tightening his jaw. Since returning to the cabin, he’d been ready to throttle Emiliano. He hadn’t known about the harsh tactics Emiliano intended to use on me and hadn’t been able to break through Emiliano’s magic when it happened. Now he insisted on staying close, not willing to leave me alone with Emiliano again.
Normally, I would have fought Leonardo on this. His protective instinct felt too close to smothering, something I’d resisted all my life. But his support felt different-he didn’t shield me from what I needed to do, didn’t stop me from making my own choices. Carlo would’ve demanded I quit training altogether, but Leonardo’s strength was a presence beside me, quietly unwavering. This unexpected openness made me reach out to him, revealing parts of myself I had long hidden. “Swim with me.”