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"I'm pretty sure Lucy told you to let me relax!"

Kel slumped over, trying to catch her breath.

"Is that really all it takes to exhaust you?" Calix smirked. "I should review my soldiers' training regimen."

"Yeah, you do that," Kel flopped backward on the grass. "I'm gonna rest for a minute in the meantime."

She'd been exercising, sword fighting, and archery training for her entire life. In fact, she'd always been considered one of the most fit and capable soldiers.

So how had only an hour of clashing swords with the Dragon Emperor tired her out so quickly? She'd feel ashamed of herself if not for the sharp pain in her lungs and throat.

Feeling her pulse finally begin to calm down, she glanced over at Calix, who was standing with his sword slung over his shoulder, a few beads of sweat beginning to form across his forehead. He looked like he'd hardly worked at all.

Seriously. No wonder the man carried on like a beast night after night. His stamina was impossible to exhaust!

Kel knew the man's heritage wasn't exactly normal, but she was beginning to doubt if he was even human at all.

"I think you've rested long enough," Calix brandished his sword. "Why don't you get up and try again?"

No. She was certain.

This man was not human.

"Fine, but only once more," Kel muttered, pushing herself up.

Reaching for her discarded sword, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Concentrate.

Itzae's familiar voice entered her mind as a tingling sensation ignited inside her chest.

"Hold it."

This time it was Calix's voice instructing her.

Obediently, she froze, holding the uncomfortable swirling sensation in the palms of her hands. 

Now.

"Hah!" Kel charged toward Calix, unleashing all of her power into the sword.

As she reached him, he held his own blade up to block her attack, and she was thrown back, accompanied by the disappointing sound of clanking metal.

Frowning, Kel lowered her sword and swept her fingers across the cold blade.

"Not even a single spark."

With a groan of frustration, she threw the weapon back to the ground before sinking down next to it.

"Tell me again what you used to experience when you did this." Calix rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Fire," Kel gazed at the orange sky. "I could wield my sword as if it were a torch, igniting everything in my path."

"Tell me more," Calix probed, settling in the grass next to her. "I need more details about exactly what happened each time you tried to transfer your powers into your sword."

"I practiced a lot in Tael," Kel recounted. "Though I used farm tools instead of a proper sword."

She could remember vividly the power she felt at her fingertips each time she charged a tool with fire.

She'd been able to shoot fire out of the blade of a scythe, like some kind of unholy weapon. Or, she could hold the power inside of the metal, igniting the grass around her with a single sweep. Every time she sliced through the air, brilliant orange flames had followed.

"I can't do it anymore," Kel mumbled as she finished recounting her experience. "Just when I thought I'd finally made some progress, I've been set back again."

"Since leaving Tael, have you ever noticed anything strange with your power before now?" Calix questioned.

"It seems like it's always strange these days," Kel sighed.

Suddenly she bolted up, recalling a specific memory.

"I.. heard a voice in my head," she scrunched her eyebrows. "And then I lost control of my powers."

".. a voice?"

"Yes. It was when I burned a hole in the roof of the palace at Mevani and my face along with it," Kel recounted. "Do you remember?"

"How could I forget." Calix's tone had grown somber. "I expected to find chaos in that throne room, but I never expected to see you in that state."

He paused for a minute, closing his eyes as he conjured up the unpleasant images of that day.

"You were covered in burns, blood and ash. There were heavy stones all around you."

"I.. I didn't mean to do that," Kel admitted. "I had this thought-no, I heard a voice telling me to burn everyone, and for some reason I was so certain I could do it with just a flick of my wrist."

"To burn everyone.." Calix raised his eyebrows. "That doesn't sound like you."

"It wasn't me. It was a voice that I've never heard before or since that moment," Kel insisted. "But my power didn't work. It started choking me, so I tried to scream and.."

She flinched a little as she remembered the eruption of flames that had come from her mouth. It had been so painful, but the most vivid feeling in her memories was fear.

She had been afraid.

Of the voice? Of herself?

She couldn't quite recall the source of her fear.

"So, you heard a voice and lost control," Calix mused, "and have never been able to use your powers properly since then?"

"Wait! Before that, too!" Kel jolted. "I was trying to burn through the chains they had me in but kept backfiring on myself."

"Those Mevani fools kept you in chains after they took you?" 

Calix's eyes were suddenly ablaze, his lips curling back to reveal his clenched teeth.

"Relax. It's not like you've never restrained me before," Kel sighed, accustomed to the Emperor's overreactions.

"I.." Calix blinked, the anger draining from his gaze only to be replaced by guilt. "I'm sorry, Keliyah."

"Ah, there's no need to go that far," Kel laughed awkwardly. "We were talking about my powers, right?"

Was it because the Emperor suddenly called her by her whole name? She'd grown so used to him calling her 'Kel' that hearing him speaking so formally felt strange.

"No," Calix gently laid a hand against one of Kel's burning cheeks. "Because of you, I'm learning that there are some things I'm not very good at."

"But I'm going to try my best to get better at them."