"This way!" Zyanya called over her shoulder, waving wildly at Nakoa. She had jumped across the stream and stood on her tiptoes on the other side. Her dark hair was pulled back behind her head and her trousers were already muddy, though they had been outside for only thirty minutes. 

Nakoa snaked his way through the trees and stepped hesitantly onto one of the bigger rocks jutting out of the cool water. The current was quick, as the runoff from the mountains had just begun to meltdown. 

"Hurry up," Zyanya huffed, crossing her arms. Nakoa stuck his tongue out at her as she scowled and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you're so slow." 

"Have some patience, princess," Nakoa teased as he jumped to the next rock. It wobbled a bit underneath him and his eyes went wide as he almost fell in, but managed to regain his balance just in time. Zyanya snorted and held out her hand to help him make the last jump.

When he was successfully on solid land once more, Zyanya tugged him after her as she ran, making him nearly fall on his face a second time. 

"Can we slow down?" He asked, exasperated, as Zyanya continued to drag him behind her. 

"No. You need to see this!" 

The two of them made it through the trees and into the clearing. They stood atop a hill, the valley below them stretching on for what looked like forever. The sun hung high overhead, painting the tall grass a shade of gold. The mountains in the distance looked bigger than life, bright blue with white snow covering them. 

"It's beautiful," Nakoa breathed, eyes roaming over the landscape. Zyanya was giddy with excitement beside him. 

"It's a perfect place to train!" She exclaimed, obviously no longer able to contain her excitement. "I know mother said we shouldn't mess around with our magic without a supervisor around, but I want to impress father the next time he sees me. I think they believe I'm becoming weak. But it's not like they really give me a lot of time to train, you know. They're always making me stay put in the library with boring old Mr. Anrold. He drones on for hours about the history of Tabia as if I haven't lived here my whole life..." she trailed off, realizing she had been rambling. 

"It's perfect." Nakoa agreed. Zyanya grinned, and without a moment's hesitation, took off sprinting down the hill. 

Nakoa waited a minute, still taking in the beauty of the spot his best friend had discovered, before taking off after her. 

"Okay, start with ice," Zyanya instructed, sitting on the grass. Her magic was a little harder to train with, being that she used it to control others, so they had opted that Nakoa should begin. Plus, Zyanya had confessed she rather liked watching Nakoa work with his magic. Ice was her favorite. 

Nakoa scrunched up his face in concentration and Zayana let out a small giggle. 

"I can't focus with you laughing at me," Nakoa said, a bit annoyed. Zyanya clapped her hands over her mouth and gave him a small nod. 

He began again, raising his hands above his head and drawing up that familiar, icy cold, feeling. He dragged the power-up from deep inside him, letting the chill run through his body, up to his legs, up to his spine, through his arms, to the tips of his fingers, and then-

White light shot up into the air, above his head. He quickly directed his hands to the trees behind Zayana, coating them in an icy frost. He let the power quickly drain back down his body, the cold feeling leaving as well. 

"Ice is my favorite," Zyanya said, smiling up at Nakoa, who now felt a little less energized than he had a few moments before. Despite his constant training with his power, he hadn't grown into it yet. Jayton promised he would eventually, but that it would take time. The power grew with him, and as he grew older his power would become stronger. 

"Can you try fire?" Zyanya asked as Nakoa plopped down next to her, spreading his legs out in front of him and leaning back on his hands. 

Nakoa shook his head. "I haven't even tried to use it yet. I know it's there, I can feel it, but I can't manage to bring it out. Ice and wind come easiest. Jayton says the fire is the hardest to control and the rarest element." 

"I wish I had something cool, like yours." 

"Controlling people isn't cool?" Nakoa asked, and Zyanya shrugged. 

"I guess I could make Lucy bring me cookies whenever." Lucy was Zyanya's handmaid, and one of Zyanya's closest friends. "But I would feel too guilty. Even in training, I always feel guilty using it." 

Nakoa was quiet, thinking. He then laid on his back, staring up the clouds which moved quickly in the blue sky. Covering up the sun only for a moment. 

Zyanya joined him on her back, breathing deeply. There was a beat of silence before she spoke. 

"Do you think it's a bad thing?" She asked. Her tone was hushed, concerned, in a way Nakoa rarely ever heard. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Like, do you think it's bad. A power that can only be used to destroy? Does that make me a bad person?" 

"No," Nakoa said, firmly. "You are not a bad person. And it can be used for good, if you're using it against those who want to hurt others. Like, you could make them stop." 

"By taking away their free-will, though." 

Nakoa turned his head to look at her. He opened his mouth to respond when he caught sight of something flashing in the distance. 

A flag, backed by red and gold.

The Winterboune Empire's sigil. 

Nakoa jumped to his feet quickly. Startled, Zayanya clambered up after him, clumsily, her eyes darting around their surroundings. She couldn't see them, couldn't hear them, but Nakoa could. He could practically smell them. 

"Zyanya, run." He said, his voice hurried and loud. "Go get help." 

"What? What's going on, Koda?" 

"Go, NOW!" He screamed, panicking. What could he do? He had to get her out of here. Had to. 

"What is going on?" 

"It's them. They found us." Zyanya's eyes widened with understanding. 

"You're coming with me." 

"GO!" Nakoa was screaming now, practically shoving her towards the hill they had just run down. 

"I can't just leave you here! They'll kill you!" 

"I'll try and buy us time. Go get help!" Zayana hesitated, then looked into the trees. It seems they had come close enough for her to hear. Her face paled. She knew she had to go. Nakoa could be a distraction, hold them off long enough for the army to have time to prepare themselves. 

Quickly, Zyanya wrapped her arms around Nakoa, squeezing him tight. Her eyes were bright, and Nakoa knew she was holding back tears. She didn't want to leave him. He didn't want her to leave him. He wanted her by his side. But she was the heir, and he was far more expendable than she was. 

Zyanya kissed his cheek in goodbye, then sprinted up the hill, faster than Nakoa had ever seen her run. He waited until he could no longer see her or hear her footsteps. 

With every passing second, the clattering of the Winterbourne army drew closer. He had no plan. How was he supposed to hold off an army of this size? 

Doing the only thing he could think of, he shot up flare after flare of bright white light into the sky, hoping to draw the army to him. 

It seemed to be working. He dug deeper, tapped into a separate well inside him, trying to reach that pit of fire that laid untouched, but there was nothing. 

Instead, he went with ice, shooting it at the ground, the trees, to make it slippery and harder to cross. 

The first row of soldiers appeared, swords and bows in hand. 

Without hesitation, Nakoa pointed his hands towards the soldier on the far left and shot off a blast of ice, right at the horse's legs. The horse tumbled over, landing right on top of the soldier. Nakoa could hear his spine splinter beneath the weight. 

"Take the kid to the back," the solider on the far right commanded.