Daughter of Dusk

I bring myself back to reality, to the training complex on Kera, and shift into an attack stance when Blaire stops me.

“Plant your feet wider and bend your knees. It’ll make you more stable.”

I nod, doing as she says, raising my hands once more as the silvery mist lingers between my fingers.

She makes the first move, sending a ball of flames in my direction, and I instinctively shut my eyes and block the attack with a translucent shield. The cracking sounds meet my ears on impact, and I know another blow will cause it to shatter.

“Hold on,” Blaire stops, and I lower my shield as my shoulders drop. “Try not to close your eyes. I know that’s a weird thing to say when you have a ball of fire coming at you, but you want to make sure you’re ready for what’s coming next, right?”

I look down. “Right, sorry.”

She chuckles. “Don’t apologize! I did the same thing when I was learning. Mychal can attest,” she jokes.

I glance over at Mychal, and he nods. “It’s true.”

I turn back to Blaire and settle back into the attack stance she showed me and try to refocus, but my vibrating hands make that impossible. My mind flashes back to moments ago, and Blaire’s fire turns black, and soon her bright green eyes are replaced by my sister’s.

Honestly, why am I scared right now? I know Blaire’s powers aren’t like Melinoe’s. Snap out of it, Luna.

Blaire is about to begin, when Teagan speaks from the edge of the mat. “You’re nervous.”

I blink at her. “What?”

“You’re nervous. I can feel it from here.”

I’m about to ask how she knows, but then I remember she’s an Earth Wielder; she can read my energy.

Blaire lowers her stance. “You’re nervous? Is everything okay?”

I sigh. “Not really. Sorry, I – I want to learn this, I do. I just – Shadow Wielders use our powers for offence too, and I don’t have a lot of great memories of it.”

Blaire steps forward. “I get it. Well, maybe not exactly, but . . . I can understand how this could be scary. Someone is literally directing their powers at you. That’s not always a fun time. I don’t really know what happened in your past, but maybe . . . think about it like you’re making new memories? If that helps.”

Her words stop my thoughts in their tracks. Maybe that would help. It’ll at least get Nox and Melinoe out of my head for now.

I nod and look down as my hands steady. “I think – I think that could work. Thank you.”

She grins. “Anytime. Ready to try again? You can have the first move this time.”

I nod, and we get back into formation.

I shoot a beam of silvery darkness toward her. She quickly dodges the attack and closes the space between us as heat whizzes past my cheek from a fiery kick. But then she comes at me again as flames envelop her fists and I make my shield again to protect myself. But I keep my eyes open this time.

“See if you can find an opening to attack,” she says. “You have to go on the offence at some point, otherwise it just becomes a strength test, right?”

I nod. “Right.”

As she speaks, I remember one variety of Shadow Wielding I have at least some aptitude for.

I focus as a small wispy dagger forms in my right hand and swing it toward her; not with the intention of hurting her, but to create space between us. A cloud of shadow drags behind the tip of the blade and she quickly jumps back, before giving me a nod of approval.

“See, there you go!” She supports, before looking at the small knife in my hand. “When you said you could create weapons out of Shadow before, I thought it’d be like an apparition. But that’s real?”

“It is, but it’s made of Shadow. So, when I want it to, it can fade away.” I hold up the knife and she examines it with wonder in my hands, running her fingers along the edges before I let it dissipate into nothingness.

She looks between me and my hand, bewildered. “Wild. That’s not the only weapon you can make with your powers, is it?”

I shake my head. “I’m not sure of the full scope, but to my knowledge, you can create any basic weapon out of Shadow. This is my personal favourite.” I concentrate again as a circle of arrows surround my head and shoulders, the tips pointing towards her.

I send one whizzing past her shoulder and we watch it fly across the room and hit the far wall with a small thud.

“Okay, those are a little deadly, I think,” Blaire jokes with a wince. “Do you want to try one more time?”

I pause and realize I’m waiting for the unease to wash over me again. For the bad memories to come back. But surprisingly . . . they stay away.

I nod. “Yes, I can try one more.”

I wonder what else I can do.

Blaire runs at me, and I conjure a more concentrated version of the mist I did earlier, compressing it between my fingers. It almost feels as though I’m trying to control chaos, that the energy is desperate to escape as quickly as possible, but I don’t have to have a handle on it for too much longer. The ball of darkness gets smaller and smaller, harder to contain with every passing second, until . . .

I release it with a bang.

A shockwave of darkness powers through the room, knocking Blaire backwards, and my stomach drops to the floor.

I cover my mouth with a gasp. “Oh no, are you okay?”

A million scenarios with the worst-case outcome flash across my mind as panic fills me.

Oh no, did I do something irreparable?

Can I even control my own powers?

This was not a good idea.

I look to the side. Teagan and Mychal seem to be unaffected, if not a little windswept, thank goodness. But Blaire quickly gets up and runs over to me, quickly sending my worries to the side.

“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! How did you do that?”

I shrug. “It’s like the mist I made earlier. I just compacted it together until I couldn’t anymore. Are you sure you’re okay?”

She snickers. “Oh, I’m fine. It’s part of sparring. That’s why there’s a mat here. You should have seen the first time Mychal and I sparred. I accidentally knocked him out for a whole week.”

“Yeah,” Mychal says as he and Teagan join us. “And you didn’t leave my bedside the whole time, allegedly.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Blaire’s cheeks go pink as Mychal wraps his arm around her. She turns and addresses me again. “You’ve got some real power with your Shadow Abilities there. Just work on your stances and finding openings to go on the offence, and you’ll be golden. Don’t be afraid to make a move if it gives you an advantage.”

“I’ll practice. Maybe there are other things my Shadow Abilities can do.”

I wonder how my powers compare to Soren’s. But even still, I’ve never seen either of my siblings pull off a move that powerful.

Warmth expands through my chest as the corners of my mouth tug up. I suppose I have more strength than I realized.

I’m about to continue the conversation when Teagan suddenly interjects. “I wasn’t a hundred percent sure until that shockwave attack, but – you’re not just a Shadow Wielder.”

My heart nearly stops beating as my eyes widen.

She – I’m not just a Shadow Wielder?

I blink at her, taking several moments to regain my ability to speak. “What do you mean? Of course, I am. I’m from Zala.”

“Not completely. I can sense some darkness within you, but there’s something else too. I’m not sure what it is though. I’ve never felt anything quite like it.” Her tone is almost blasé, but there’s just a hint of curiosity within her voice too.

“Oh.” I look down, scratching the back of my head. “I’m not sure why. I’ve been told all my life I was a Shadow Wielder.”

“You did say you looked different from other Shadow Wielders,” Blaire suggests. “Maybe Teagan is onto something.”

“Hmm,” I say as I lose myself in my thoughts once more.

Is she right? Am I not a full Shadow Wielder?

But what does this mean for me? Does this have something to do with why Father treats me the way he does?

I swear, I’m going to find out why Teagan senses something different within me.

I look down at my hands, pulling myself back to reality. “But if I’m not a Shadow Wielder, then what am I?”

Teagan shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s hard to say.”

“I still can’t shake the idea that you look familiar though.” Blaire’s cheerful voice brings me back to reality as she elbows Mychal. “What do you think?”

He looks at me with a frown. “Not that I can think of.”

“Oh, come on,” Blaire teases, deflated. “You’re making me sound like I’m crazy now.”

“She does seem familiar,” Teagan pipes up once again.

Blaire makes a silly face. “See? I knew it!”

First, I’m not a full Shadow Wielder, and now I’m familiar to not just one, but two of these people? What is going on?

“I’ve never been here before though,” I start, unaware my thoughts had manifested into speech until it’s too late. “Why would I be familiar to either of you?”

Teagan opens her mouth to speak when someone else enters the complex, stopping the conversation in its tracks.

A man with gray eyes and dark hair enters the space – so he’d be an Air Wielder, I think. But his gaze hardens on Blaire and Mychal the moment he sees them.

“Earth Wielders hanging out with Fire Wielders? Better be careful, they might burn you to a crisp,” he says as he comes further into the space.

That’s right – Blaire thought I was an Earth Wielder at first thanks to my brown eyes.

I glance at Blaire, who scrunches her face in disgust, but it’s Mychal who steps forward. “What makes you think you can say something like that? We weren’t doing anything wrong.”

“I was telling the truth, Fire Wielder. We’re lucky you and your little girlfriend haven’t lit the training centre on fire.”

Blaire’s green eyes simmer with fury, but she doesn’t say anything.

“That’s not the truth and you know it. And leave her out of this,” Mychal says back without raising his voice.

“Isn’t it, though? What’s to say you and all your friends won’t burn down the island one day? Your powers have more ability to destroy than any other. What’s stopping you?”

My hands begin to shake as I listen to the interaction.

Why is this person saying these things to Mychal? To Blaire? And why isn’t she fighting back?

I have to do something. I can’t keep listening to this. It’s no better than back home.

The thought causes courage to swell within me, and before I fully realize what’s happening, I find myself between the two men.

“Stop, both of you!”