Emily sat cross-legged on her bed as she listened to Tao speak, her hair still damp from her bath. The water had been icy, but that was nothing but a balm in this heat. Once she was finished, she'd come straight here to begin working on her technique again. Even though she was stuck as to how to project two shapes at once, Tao insisted that she learn the next step.

"While I understand you are searching for answers, I also understand you only have today and tomorrow to figure this out. So, let's begin with the next step, and I hope you'll be able to apply it then to your advantage."

Emily nodded, agreeing that it made sense.

"So, you've created a cover over your hand, but that won't be nearly enough to help you out there. So, the next step is to extend the cover over your whole body and maintain the technique as long as you can. Now that might sound simple, but I assure you it is not."

Emily didn't quite agree; it sounded plenty hard, but she had certain advantages that others didn't.

For lack of a better word, she'd begun thinking of the pattern she created as a matrix. Because of her experience controlling energy, projecting it from her hand, head, or even her elbow shouldn't be a problem.

Seeing Tao look at her with a smirk, Emily felt her spirit rise to the challenge. So, starting at her palms, Emily created the matrix, and cupping her hands together, she began spreading it over her skin. It took some concentration to will it up her arms, but she got it to her shoulders before she hit a speed bump.

Emily was pulling source from her bones and using her skin as a threshold to release the energy at a consistent rate. This was how she was able to mimic the shape needed to block heat by varying the amount of energy expelled. The thing was, it took a fair bit of energy to maintain the technique in this way, far more than the average person had available.

Emily certainly didn't lack source, and if she wished, she had more than enough power to brute-force this exercise. However, since others would need to sustain this technique for long periods, she realized she was missing a key element. Not everyone had the disposable energy to throw away.

Already she had lost one-hundredth of the source in her body, and she'd only brought it up to her shoulders. If Emily were to cover her whole body, she estimated she'd only last a couple of hours using this method, maybe a few more if she drew in external source at the same time.

That thought gave Emily pause, maybe she could make use of that.

What was the difference between her internal and external source? For others, it was obvious that the internal source was free of the influences found outside the body. The Mages in Lorethil had called it the god's will, which was as good as any answer, but it didn't change the fact that drawing in this energy caused source exposure.

However, when one used this internal source, they didn't experience it. Plus, internal source was far more malleable than external energy.

Emily was the current exception to the rule in that she could draw in source without risking exposure, unfortunately, her lack of control diminished the advantage somewhat.

She had learned that drawing in large quantities of source indefinitely was impossible, so looking at her current limit, what could she create?

The solution Emily arrived at was to not lose the source in the first place. Instead, why not change the direction of the source?

Right now, she was releasing source from her body at a constant rate, letting it dissipate into the surroundings. What if she were to redirect the power back towards herself?

Recycle it in a fashion.

Glancing over at Tao, she saw the man was smiling at her with a raised brow.

Focusing on herself again, she adjusted the flow of source coming from her body.

Moving the origin to the front of her body instead of her arms, then angling the source like quills, she spread them out from a single point on her chest.

Directing them up and over her shoulders and down her back. Making sure the matrix flowed toward her bridge. Then, like she normally would, Emily drew the source in through the organ.

She projected the matrix from the front and recycled its power behind herself.

The amount of power used here was astronomical, but Emily recouped almost eighty-five percent of her spent energy.

Holding the shape took a bit of concentration but nothing she wasn't used to working.

"Heat" was all she said.

Tao nodded and pushed the fresh pot of coals in her direction. She laid her forearms on it without hesitation.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Because the amount of power in the matrix now was ample, she couldn't feel even the slightest warmth coming from the pot.

In fact, the room itself had cooled significantly.

Tao swallowed and lifted the pot to press it to her forehead, which she allowed.

When it came back, his face was twisted into a wry frown.

"That took me almost a year to learn, and you got it in less than ten minutes. Just how powerful are you? I saw you fighting the Wyrm, but how did you get this strong?"

Emily cocked her head at the question. His curiosity seemed genuine, and while it might look like she was grasping these techniques effortlessly, that wasn't the case.

She had spent decades struggling to master her powers. And while her current abilities weren't an exact translation of what she had known before, they had taught her to approach problems from different angles.

That was why she had asked to go outside earlier. When one got too close to a problem, sometimes the best solution was to step away and reassess. She had already endured the frustration—now, her experience was guiding her.

"Through hard-fought battles and bitter defeats," Emily said. "That's how I got here."

Tao didn't look entirely satisfied, but he leaned back slowly.

"Alright," he said. "Then, should we move back to the coals?"

Emily nodded, and he handed over a glowing ember, which she promptly dropped after five seconds. The heat was slowed somewhat when it met the matrix, but just like yesterday, not for long.

She growled and took time to reconfigure the hexagonal matrix to a full-body suit.

Emily tried again, and each time she did, she decreased the time it took to switch from the straight pattern to the hexagonal one, but it never seemed to help. She spent the better part of the day practicing the shift, but eventually, she hit her limit. She'd managed to extend the time she could hold the coal to a minute, but by the end, it still wasn't enough. Tao wasn't being very much help, and eventually, Emily just collapsed onto her bed with an annoyed huff.

She was doing something fundamentally wrong, and Tao was remaining stubbornly quiet.

"How about you take a break? It's almost time for the sleeping meal, you should relax." Tao said.

Emily figured he meant it was dinner time. Which meant morning was almost here, and the city was getting ready to go to bed.

She hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Hey, just out of curiosity—could I have a visitor?"

Tao tilted his head. "A visitor?"

"It'd be nice to see a familiar face," Emily admitted.

He stroked his chin. "You mean like council?"

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Emily nodded.

"Sure, exactly," she said excitedly.

Tao nodded slowly.

"It is your right. Mo, are you there?" he called out to the door.

Emily saw the man poke his head in through the curtain. He had an attentive look in his eyes as Tao spoke.

"Take a few men and go to where the Wandering Fangs are staying," Tao instructed. "Tell them that Emily wishes for council and that they must send someone."

Emily considered arguing—she had someone specific in mind—but then thought better of it. Things were going her way. Best not to push her luck.

She didn't want to interrupt whatever was going on here, or Tao might scrap the whole idea.

So she simply allowed Mo to leave; whoever arrived, arrived.

Hopeful Alex volunteered so that she could use his knowledge of runes to help get her out of this mess. Or if she was lucky, he may have a backup plan to surviving this storm.

As Mo left, Tao went to get them some food, and after around twenty minutes, he returned holding a bowl full of what looked like seafood stew.

Emily sniffed suspiciously at the pungent-smelling broth and took a small bite. Salty, warm flavors coated her palate, tasting eerily like shrimp. However, seeing as there was a significant lack of oceans nearby, she had to wonder what this meat was.

Tao looked happy, but Emily couldn't help wondering if it was some kind of bug. She was just about to ask when the curtain moved aside again, and Mo walked in with Ashe by his side.

Emily's face froze somewhere between a smile and a grimace—relieved to see Ashe, yet dreading it all the same. Joy warred with frustration, twisting in her chest like a knot she couldn't untangle. Of course, it had to be Ashe.

She wore a light brown hood over her body and threw it back as she entered. Letting her dark locks flow down her shoulders, she glanced back at Mo.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Mo'lesh," she intoned.

Tao glanced between them.

"I will give you two a moment to yourselves; there is plenty of food, come, Mo," he said as he left the room.

Emily watched them leave, and though she couldn't see any movement beyond the curtains, that didn't mean they were gone for certain.

Ashe took another step into the room

"Emily, are you alright?" she said, a deep worry moving through her eyes. "Kael was told you were undergoing a trial. Are you alright?" she asked.

Unsure of what to say, Emily shrugged.

"I have yet to begin, but I leave in a couple of days," Emily said quietly.

Ashe let out a sigh of relief, but that quickly turned to a frustrated scowl.

"Why are you going along with this?" Ashe said.

Emily pursed her lips.

"They're not giving me much of a choice here," she growled back.

This was all to make sure that Alex and, to some extent, the rest of them were not slaughtered. Why was this a surprise? Some might even call what she was doing heroic. Emily would have cut out their tounges if they'd said it, but the irony was not lost on her.

"Because this is not like you. By now, you would have attacked at least one or two people. You wouldn't have cared if all of us died in your escape," Ashe hissed quietly.

Emily opened her mouth to argue but shut it again. Ashes' words were harsh because they were true to some extent.

Why had she gone along with this so easily? Emily knew why fundamentally.

Alex needed to live, and by extension, so did Kael, to ensure they got through the desert. Kael needed his men because he couldn't be everywhere at once, so they were also included.

However, ultimately, they weren't necessary for their survival, so why was she trying so hard to help them?

Emily had been with the Wandering Fangs for weeks now. Had she unintentionally become fond of them?

Shaking her head, Emily brushed those thoughts aside.

"Where's Alex? I need to ask him something."

Ashe looked into Emily's eyes with a painful expression on her face.

"Alexander was in the city when they came, so I volunteered. They said you needed counsel, and if you are going to go through this, then at least let me help you."

Emily held her gaze and sighed, weighing up the pros and cons.

"Alright. There is actually something you could help me with," she said as she began to explain the trial before her.

Blood points: 629

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