*Saoirse*
"Ah!" I shouted out in pain as my back slamd into the hard ground.
"Co on, Saoirse, you have to do better than that," Axureon said, bending down to help pull back to my feet.
He was standing in front of , shirtless and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. We had been training for an hour already, but the sweat was the only sign of his effort. For how old he actually was, he was surprisingly fit and agile.
"You’re like three tis my size," I growled out but took his offered hand anyway.
"I do not want to hear excuses," Axureon said. "You are small. Everyone will be bigger than you, and you should accept that now."
"I don’t understand why you insist on physical training anyway!" I shouted, trying to let out so of my frustration. "I thought you brought here to teach magic. I’m from a wolf pack. I already know how to fight."
"Obviously, not very well," he said, earning a growl from in response. "And you already know why. We need to build your endurance. There could co a ti when your magic cannot defend you. I am just trying to make sure you are prepared."
"That and you don’t know how to teach magic," I grumbled under my breath.
I had been in the dragon sanctuary for three days, yet all I had accomplished was bruising my entire body with his ridiculous training regin. Most nights I was so exhausted from the day of physical exertion that I would fall asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
I was too tired to even search for Rhys.
I knew he was in the valley, but no matter how much I argued with Axureon, he would not let see Rhys. He was convinced I was too much of a danger. Based on how my training was going, I couldn’t see how.
I wondered who would ever think of as a danger.
In tis of extre anger or fear, I had been able to produce a small fireball or stream of fire, but there was no consistency in it. Just like I was failing in the physical training, I was failing in the magical training as well.
"Have you been studying the books?" Axureon asked, sounding like a disappointed parent.
"Yeah, because reading books is just so great." I rolled my eyes.
The first day I was in the valley, I learned that there hadn’t been an actual person to wield the powers I had for hundreds of years, which also ant there was nobody alive who could actually teach . He seed to be the only dragon old enough to rember the power the fire mages and dragon slayers held. Unfortunately, that line had died out long ago.
Well, it had not died out entirely because I was still there. However, the magic had disappeared long ago, and they believed the magic wasn’t possible in this realm. So they lived normal lives... like my mother.
I shook my head again, trying not to think of her. It always created a mix of emotions that caused to burn an entire circle around . It was partly because it made hosick but also because I still felt betrayed by her.
It was internal turmoil with which I struggled.
"The books will help the most, Saoirse. I have told you that," Axureon said. "You have to trust in ."
Since there wasn’t anyone in particular to train , Axureon relied on giving all of the books and records created by my ancestors. So were magic spellbooks, while others were journals describing their lives.
While I found both extrely interesting to read, I hadn’t noticed them having much of an impact on my powers yet. At least they helped answer so of my questions. One main fact remained the sa.
"I didn’t ask for this!" I yelled at Axureon. "I didn’t ask for magical powers or to be brought to this valley! All I wanted to do was make sure my pack was safe!"
"It is not what you asked for, but it was who you were born to be," Axureon said in the sa calm tone.
"And what if I choose not to be that person?" I asked, close to tears now. Since receiving my powers, all of my emotions seed to be heightened beyond what I had felt before. "Will you continue to keep prisoner here?"
"You are not a prisoner here, Saoirse," Axureon said, stepping closer to and putting a hand on my shoulder. "We are just trying to help you."
"If I’m not a prisoner, then why won’t you let see Rhys?" I asked, shrugging out of his grip. "I know he’s still here, yet I am constantly monitored and unallowed to roam freely in a valley of dragons that could all very easily kill ."
"It is for your safety and the safety of others until we are sure you are in control."
I yelled in frustration and stomped my foot like a four-year-old having a tantrum. Axureon’s calm voice did more to irritate than soothe most tis he used it. It made feel like he wasn’t taking my words or concerns seriously.
"Perhaps it is best if you go for your daily run now," Axureon said as he gestured to my feet.
I looked down to see the green grass turning black with a light smoke curling up from it. As if to prove his point, my magic had escaped without my control.
I didn’t say another word. I just turned and started to run in the normal route he had carved out for earlier. He might have been trying to build up my stamina and endurance, but all the physical exertion had another benefit. When my body was tired, so were my powers.
The first couple of steps I took simred quietly. After that, I could feel the heat leave my body and return to the new fiery core inside of . It was a hole inside that seed to grow with every passing day.
Noises reached my ears. I looked up to see so of the shifters standing around, watching my run. Axureon had stated that I was supposed to train in exile, but that didn’t stop the other shifters from coming down and witnessing for themselves.
The two dragons whispered to each other. I felt a fla worming its way out of the hole I forced it into. It was because the two looking at did not have looks of curiosity and wonder on their faces. Instead, they had looks of contempt and even anger.
I whipped my head around before I could let their sneers and mocking laughter trigger so sort of response from .
Axureon said they were all trying to help , but that wasn’t the truth. Axureon seed to be the only dragon shifter who even wanted in the valley, let alone wanted to be a part of their ranks. On the first day, I noticed the negative feelings the dragons held toward as a newcor, and they hadn’t gotten any better.
I tried to focus on my running, even as I noticed more and more of the mocking crowd arriving each day. It was a never-ending cycle.
Train...
Study...
Run...
Repeat...
I was exhausted. My body was sore, and the dragons were getting more daring with their observation, sotis even attempting to interact with by throwing stuff at or hiding traps along my running trail.
The bullying didn’t help my ntal state one bit. I wasn’t doing well in training with Axureon. I still hadn’t learned any control over my powers, and I was not accepted by the people I was training so hard to help protect.
I wasn’t good enough. No matter what I did, I would never be able to help anyone, not even myself.
When Axureon showed up for my training on the seventh day, I could barely even stand in front of him. My ntal weakness was reflected in my physical abilities.
"Please, Axureon," I broke down and cried as he knocked down for the sixth ti in a row. "Please, just take the abilities back. I am not cut out for this. I can’t handle the responsibility of the powers given to ."
Axureon straightened out of his offensive stance and gave a rare smile. It ward his serious face, but the smile was still not positive enough to change my attitude.
"You know that’s not how it works, Saoirse," Axureon said. "I cannot just remove the powers from you now. As I explained before, it is because of who you are that the powers accepted you. And now they are a part of you."
"Then rip them out of !" I yelled. I could feel the tears streaming down my face. "I am not deserving of this power!"
Axureon’s smile slipped into a frown as he realized how serious I was. He stepped forward until he was right in front of and reached up to wipe a tear from my cheek.
"You are Saoirse Strider," Axureon said in his calm voice. "You are the only one deserving of this power."
"You don’t even know !"
I slapped his hand away from my face and took off in a run. I heard him call out to , but I didn’t slow or stop. There was no point in talking to him. He never really listened, much like many of the n in my life.
My feet found their normal trail, and I began to run, muscle mory taking over as I tried to regain control over my emotions. It was hard as they had been building every single day.
A figure suddenly dropped down in front of . It dropped so fast that I was unable to stop myself and ran right into it, bouncing back onto the ground. A curse escaped my mouth as I looked up at what I had run into.
A beautiful, elegant young woman was standing in front of with a long braid of golden hair pulled to the front, framing her lovely face. The face had silver, dragon-shifter eyes staring back at . As usual, there was no kindness in them.
"You need to leave," the woman, Claire, wasted no ti saying. "You don’t belong here."
While I didn’t deny her words, my skin bristled at her aggression toward .
"What is everyone’s problem?" I asked, grateful that my voice didn’t shake despite the tears still stinging the corner of my eyes.
"You are." She kicked as I tried to stand up, forcing back to the ground. "Outsiders don’t belong here, and Axureon shouldn’t be wasting all of his ti on you."
My eyes glared up at the woman, but there was another look behind her eyes. She almost seed jealous.
"I’m really not in the mood to deal with this right now," I told her, moving to the side to get to my feet.
"Aw, is the poor baby sad?" Claire’s annoying voice took on an even worse tone.
I clenched my jaw, but I still wasn’t feeling up to the task of dealing with an girls and the bullying of the dragon kind. I was already going through enough.
"Let go," I said when she blocked my path as I tried to pass.
"Why? Can’t you handle having a real conversation?" she continued. She shoved back with her hand. "You really are just a weak human."
"Why can’t you all just leave alone!" I scread.
With the release of words, I felt the release of magic as well. At first, I expected heat and flas to shoot up. Instead, I beca disoriented as my hand in front of my face disappeared. After a quick assessnt, I realized the rest of my body was missing as well.
I was invisible.
"Hey, quit playing tricks," the girl sneered. "You can’t get away from that easily."
It seed that now I could. Without another word, I turned and headed back to the place I was staying. The invisibility lasted the entire way there. I felt lighter at being reprieved from the stares and whispers along the way.
When I reached my place, I walked inside and shut the door behind . The tears weren’t stinging my eyes anymore. For the first ti, my spirits were lifted. It was not because I had managed to wield magic but because I finally had sothing that I could use to my advantage.
I sat down on the bed and pulled a sheet of paper onto my lap so I could begin mapping out my plans for the coming days. With every step I planned, my mood grew brighter. The plan would take so reworking, but the overall concept was the sa in every deviation.
I would find Rhys.
We would escape.
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