She blinked, surprised. "Because I want to help you."
"You don't even know me. You're not from this world."
"Maybe not. But I know what it feels like to be afraid of what's inside you. And I've seen how people look at you. With fear. With expectation. No one deserves to carry that alone."
His expression didn't change, but something in his shoulders eased. "Just… don't get too close. The last person who tried got hurt."
"I'm not afraid," she said quietly.
And something fragile passed between them, shimmering like waterlight.
Later, alone in her room, Lila stared into a bowl of still water.
"I have to find the others," she whispered. "Fire. Earth. Wind. I'll need them all."
The water stirred.
In her reflection, she didn't see her own eyes.
She saw Cassian, still chained but glowing faintly with something else.
Hope.
The next morning dawned misty and pale, the sky wrapped in gauze. Lila stood barefoot on the smooth stone of the palace courtyard, a shallow training pool spread out before her. Isolde watched from the shade of a nearby arch, arms folded, eyes sharp.
"Again," Isolde said.
Lila lifted her hands. The water trembled in response. It was easier now—like a language she was finally beginning to understand. She wasn't just pushing it; she was listening. Asking. Guiding.
A thread of water rose, weaving upward into a coil, then split into two streams that danced like birds in flight.
"You're not forcing it anymore," Isolde said. "Good. Water doesn't obey. It harmonizes."
Lila nodded, beads of sweat forming at her brow. "It's like… it wants to move. It just needs permission."
Isolde stepped forward. "Today, we test control. Shape the water, hold it, and use it to see. Focus on your intent. The element listens to emotion, but it responds to clarity."
Lila closed her eyes, letting the sound of the water guide her breathing.
She remembered Cassian's curse—the dark rune burning in the void. She imagined holding it in her mind, then projected it into the water. The surface shifted—and the rune appeared, faint but clear, like ink across glass.
Her heart leapt. "I did it."
"You did," Isolde said. "You're not just bonded to water anymore. You're beginning to master it."
A rush of pride rose in Lila's chest. Not just for the magic, but because for the first time, she didn't feel like she was reacting to the world.
She was shaping it.
And it was only the beginning.
End of chapter 16