They followed Khairu to the courtyard, a promontory jutting into the Northern Ocean. It was windy, bleak, and small compared to the more sheltered southern yard, where the practice fields were. High cliffs fell several hundred meters to sharp rocks below, frothing with surf. Dozens of icebergs floated across the northern expanse. The island of Transcend Mount was only a thousand or so klicks from the northern ice cap, and it showed. One day soon, Lucian imagined, he would see nothing out there but an endless sheet of ice.

  “Stand here,” Khairu instructed Lucian. “Emma, face him.”

  They did as they were told. Lucian was already exhausted, but a mere Novice couldn’t argue with a Talent. Being pushed beyond one’s limits was par for the course in this place. Matters were only made worse by the bite of the cold wind straight out of the north. If this were summer, Lucian didn’t want to think about what winter would be like. Even now, it had to be a few degrees above freezing, despite the blue sky and long daylight hours. A few purple flowers clung to life in the scrubby turf, the only thing of color in this place. If there was beauty here, it was of the bleak sort.

  “Draw spears,” Khairu said.

  Lucian withdrew his practice shockspear, extending it with only a thought that could be “read” by the spear through electric impulses beneath his skin—the workings of which were lost on him, though he knew it was some form of Dynamistic Magic. He spun the spear neatly a few times, an action that was easy due to its lightness. He had deft hands; it was a shame he couldn’t use the spear to its full potential.

  “Stream,” Khairu intoned, watching him.

  Lucian recalled his Focus, that damnable stone he had imagined for the greater part of the day. Emma seemed to be doing the same thing, standing only a few meters away.

  “Feel the ether resonating within you,” Khairu said. “Magical potential waiting to be unleashed. Let it flow through the Aspect of Dynamism, running along the length of the spear.”

  As usual, Khairu did little in the way of explaining things. She didn’t have the patience for it. It was one of the things that annoyed Lucian most about her. She expected her students to understand lessons immediately. For most of his questions, she just told Lucian to look them up in the library.

  Emma gasped, breaking Lucian from his thoughts. Her spear was now glowing, shining with a brilliance that had nothing to do with the weak sunlight.

  She’d done it again, with seemingly little effort. Electricity streamed from her hand and up the spear’s length. That stream was weak, but there was no doubt. It was Dynamistic Magic.

  “That’s it, Emma!” Khairu said. “Imagine your Focus, imagine it expanding, fill it with the Aspect. See the spear in your mind’s eye. Feel your ether flowing into it.”

  That was when Emma’s hand ignited in a wreath of electricity. It sizzled outward, dancing along the length of the spear. Her eyes went wide as she watched the display of power.

  “Hold the stream,” Khairu said, her face taking on intensity. “Now, the sequence I taught you!”

  Emma spun, the spear snapping with unleashed energy. Lucian took a few steps back. The electricity was collecting at the spearpoint, the flows joining in a single ball of energy. The weapon gave off an eerie whir as Emma went through the forms, dancing with that spear almost as adroitly as Khairu. It was strangely beautiful, and Lucian found himself mesmerized.

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  “Let it flow!” Khairu said. “Good!”

  Emma’s eyes focused as she moved. Step forward, crack. Spin, cut, static. Emma’s features were stoic with concentration as if she were walking a tightrope over a pit of spikes. Lightning flowed through the flashing graphene weapon, as more and more energy gathered at the tip. Emma’s hair began to rise as if it too were infused with energy.

  “Yes!” Khairu exclaimed. “You’ve got it! Keep the stream flowing. It’s open fully now. Keep it going until your ether is depleted. Hold on, and do not overdraw! Remember the Path of Balance.”

  Emma nodded, never breaking stride. Lucian watched as Emma went through the same sequence two more times. With each movement, less magic emanated from her hand, while the orb of light at the spearpoint pulsed more weakly. The final streams raced toward the point. With a final crackle, Emma whipped the shockspear, pointing it north toward the ocean.

  A fork of lightning shot outward. It was hard to say, but it was at least a good ten meters long, and its flash was blindingly brilliant. It was over almost as soon as it had begun.

  There was no doubt now. Emma had broken her block and had begun her first major step on her path to becoming an Academy Mage.

  When the energy dissipated, Emma’s shoulders sagged, her chest heaving with exertion. Her eyes were dumbfounded and disbelieving.

  “Excellent,” Khairu said. “I wanted to see it for myself. There is so much more to learn, but now your true journey has begun.”

  Emma seemed deaf to the praise. She only looked at her spear, incredulous. “I feel . . . empty. I can reach for my Focus, but there’s nothing there. No power.”

  “That’s the point,” Khairu said. “Judging from the length of that lightning, you had quite the ether buildup. How are you feeling?”

  She shook her head. “Empty. But . . . in a good way. I feel much lighter.”

  Emma collapsed her spear and pocketed it in her robe.

  There was a moment’s pause as Khairu’s attention shifted to Lucian. Her eyes no longer held praise. To Lucian, they seemed to hold only judgment.

  “Lucian? Your turn.”

  Lucian looked at his spear doubtfully. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

  “You must believe you can. You, too, have ethereal buildup. Let it go!”

  He all but suppressed a sigh. He made himself nod and gripped the spear tightly. He recalled his Focus once again, for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. He tried to feed it his nervousness and doubt, to clear the way for magic to flow.

  “You can do it, Lucian,” Emma encouraged.

  Lucian pushed everything from his mind until only his Focus remained. Thoughts ran by in a stream, but Lucian did not attach himself to them. Why was it that when he was trying to concentrate, thoughts came rushing in? He held that meditative stance until there was a curious tickling in the fibers of his muscles. Goosebumps covered his arms. Was that magic, the Manifold shifting the Shadow Realm, or was it only the cold breeze?

  The goosebumps faded, and that hint of potential dissipated. It slipped like sand through the cracks of his consciousness.

  Lucian opened his eyes to see Khairu watching him. He tried not to think of that intense stare as accusatory. Emma’s expression was a disappointed mask. She didn’t even bother to hide it. It was as if she believed it would happen for him today, too.

  Of course, nothing was ever that simple.

  He let the spear fall to his side. “Not today.”

  Khairu nodded as if she’d expected that. “Lucian, you can dedicate tomorrow’s meditation to your block. You can report to me what you’ve learned the next day. Until you dismantle your block, you will continue to fail.”

  Lucian wanted to thank her for the “encouragement.” But that would not be wise. He instead forced himself to nod at the harsh lesson. Remembering his talk with Emma, he couldn’t let pride get in the way. “I will do my best.”

  “Not only that. You must listen to instructions. Your skepticism of our methods has not gone unnoticed.” Was it Lucian’s imagination, or was that a slight smirk tugging at her lips? “Pray that it escapes the notice of the Transcends.” She glared at him a moment longer before relenting. “Both of you, clean up. Dinner is in less than an hour.”

  As he and Emma parted ways, Lucian breathed a stream of curses. It seemed the only stream he was capable of right now.

  He would show her. He would train until he got it right, until he was the one leaving everyone behind.