The magic inside her flowed eagerly to her fingertips, and as her eyes slid from Alcander’s to the clear sky above she felt the first rain drop on her face. Willing it, she called down more. The rain increased until she could hardly see Alcander through the thick grey sheet of water. Waving her hand, she cut off the flow and the rain ceased abruptly, the moon bright in the sky again.
Turning, she extended her other hand, pulling the wind out of the east. It came, roaring past her and slamming into Alcander. He stumbled backwards a good two steps before righting himself. She squinted as her hair whipped across her face. Pulling both arms together, she forced the wind into a small funnel cloud and sent it zipping around the base of the falls, sucking up water as it went. The funnel collapsed when she closed her fist. Her hair fell back down over her shoulders.
Alcander’s smirk was gone.
Stalking past him she knelt on the bank of the river. Touching her fingers to the water, she sent rivulets of flame racing across the top of the unburnable surface. With a glance over her shoulder at Alcander, Kiora used her other hand to create a wave—pulling it up and over the top of the fire, extinguishing it. She scanned the other bank, breathing hard as the magic coursed though her. Catching sight of what she needed she thrust her hand out, concentrating on several of the larger rocks embedded in the bank. The ground rumbled, sending dirt pouring into the water as the rocks ripped themselves free and rose into the air. Pulling her arm across her body the rocks followed, flying past the falls and landing neatly at her feet.
Kiora breathed in deeply, closing her eyes. It felt amazing. She rarely allowed herself to open up like that. Her body tingled with the rush of magic flowing freely through her. The hard part was shutting it off. Her fingers were actually twinkling with power. They’ve never done that before, she thought, tilting her head to examine them. With a sigh of regret she dropped her hands to her sides, closing down the magic.
She stared out at the water for a minute, trying to calm her breathing. When she turned to Alcander, he stared at her with a look she could not decipher. His chest heaved, but the rest of his body was rigid. His eyes held the most emotion she had seen in them, although she could not tell if it was hatred or fear. The good feeling from using her magic slipped away. Suddenly, Kiora had no desire to finish this conversation. She split the water of the falls and sprinted back to her bed.
She could feel Alcander following her, slowly and deliberately. Sliding to a stop just short of the room where the others were sleeping, she turned to face him. He walked towards her, his eyes glued to the ground in front of him.
“What?” Kiora demanded, her legs shaking. “Was that not enough proof for you?” Her voice bounced off the cave walls. She flinched—it was too loud. She heard Emane stirring and felt his wave of concern.
Stopping in front of Kiora, Alcander finally looked up. “Who are you?”
“Are you asking me because you are ready to know or because you are angry?” Kiora asked, swiping hair out of her face. She felt tears trying to form but refused to let them come.
He stepped even closer, leaning nearly over the top of her. “I am asking you because I need to know.”
Emane came out of the room, shirtless. “What is going on?”
“Who are you?” Alcander nearly yelled, his voice cracking.
“Hey!” Emane said, pushing his way between Kiora and Alcander. “Leave her alone.”
Alcander’s eyes widened at the sight of the green metal snake wrapped around Emane’s arm. “Where did you get that?”
“That is none of your concern,” Emane said tightly. “I am telling you, leave her alone.”
“What are you?” Alcander yelled to Kiora over Emane’s shoulder, his cool facade crumbling.
“Leave them alone, Alcander, she is but a child.” Drustan’s voice came from behind Kiora. “A child and a Witow.”
Alcander stepped sideways to watch Drustan as he strolled nonchalantly in, his dark hair floating behind him, the red streak muted in the darkness. “What did you say?”
“I said, leave them alone. She is but a child and he is but a Witow.”
“No,” Alcander whispered. “It’s not possible.” His face went even whiter than it had been. “It’s just