Page 91 of The Half King
“See?” he said. “Easy.”
“I don’t taste any energy.”
“That’s how little I’m using.” He braced himself, planting his feet wide apart. “You’ll notice this.”
Copper coated her tongue. She tipped back her head to watch the liquid converge into a single glowing waterfall that rippled in luminescent waves and misted her face. The effect lasted for another moment or two before the waterfall vanished and the liquid resumed a scattered dribble.
Nero stepped aside as if giving her the stage. The color in his cheeks showed how much the act had cost him. “Your turn.”
She moved closer to the wall and repeated what Nero had done, pointing to a trickle and trying to sway its path. Nothing happened. She imagined her energy as a beam of light escaping her chest and shining at the wall. When that didn’t work, she stared hard at the water. Energy filled her mouth. A charge lifted the hair on her forearms. And then the moisture in front of her boiled into steam, forcing her to stumble back from the heat.
“You cheated.” Nero pushed her forward. “Do it right this time. Turn off your thoughts and picture what you want.”
She did as he asked.
Nothing happened.
“Try exhaling,” he suggested. “And when your lungs are almost empty, imagine that the last trace of breath carries your wish.”
Shaking out her shoulders, she prepared to try again. She softened her gaze as if searching for a hidden image in the contours of the wet stone. She released a slow breath, and in the last moment, when her lungs could give no more, she envisioned several streams plaiting together like braided hair.
Something warm touched her ribs, as though she had tucked a freshly baked bun beneath her shirt. Focusing her gaze, she found with delight that she had not only succeeded but used so little energy that all she tasted was pride. She smiled, watching the water lace together in a mesmerizing dance. Nero was right. It was easy now that she understood where her energy was and how to let it out.
Giddiness overtook her. She felt like a child with a new toy. She wanted to do more.
She lifted her hands and drew all of the water into a sphere that swirled high above her head. She divided the glowing sphere into two, and then three, and then divided each of those again and again and again until the cavern ceiling resembled a starry night sky. With a sweep of her fingers, she set the stars in motion, orbiting one another. She lowered the clusters to a hundred points throughout the room so they were spinning all around her, the cosmos in motion, and she laughed with the thrill of it. As she raised her hands and face to the heavens she had created, for the first time in her life, she could understand how it felt to be a god.
It was that thought that sobered her.
She waved the water back to the wall and willed the warmth to fade from her chest. She would not—couldnot—forget her purpose. No matter whose blood flowed through her, she was not a goddess but a servant of one.
No false idols.
Now and always, her heart belonged to Shiera.
Brushing the moisture from her cheeks, she turned to Nero, expecting him to reward her with a smile or a nugget of praise. Instead, he fixed her with the same disbelieving stare he had worn the day his grandfather tasted her blood.
His mouth worked mutely before he asked, “Did that tire you?”
“No,” she said. “Should it have?”
He didn’t answer her, which was answer enough.
The silence between them turned thick in a painfully familiar way. Cerise had stood in the temple and looked at the other girls with the same envy that filled Nero’s eyes. She knew it well: the resentment of wanting a power she would never have. If she hadn’t tasted that bitterness for so many years, she might not have taken Nero’s hand and given it a comforting squeeze. But she did.
“You’re not as terrible a teacher as I thought,” she said.
Several moments passed, but eventually he smiled. “You’re not as slow a learner as I thought.”
“I’d like to learn more from you, if you don’t mind,” she said. “Have you had enough for one night? Do you want to go back to camp?”
“And leave you disappointed?” Something impish gleamed in his eyes. “I already told you. No man wants a reputation for that.”
…
Cerise returned to her blankets feeling cleaner than before, her hands and face washed by the blood of the goddess, her spirit polished by the joy of accomplishment. Curled on her side with Blue nestled in the bend of her knees, she fell into a blissful sleep and awoke the next morning with the taste of sweet herbs lingering on her tongue.
Eyes closed, she arched her back and reached out to stretch. When her elbow thumped against a warm, solid chest, she grinned because she knew whose it was. She couldn’t think of a better way to wake up than sandwiched between her king and her dog. Careful not to disturb Blue, she rolled onto her back and blinked at Kian. He lay facing her, his head propped up on one hand, his black waves tucked behind his ears. He gave her a smile that crinkled the skin around his thundercloud eyes.
