I nearly snarl at the sound of Bren's boots slamming against the surface of the ground as he runs to me. The last thing we need is a distraction to interrupt the smooth process of the Grounding bond. If the two powers realize they're being interfered with by another, they might lose all sense of control once I remove the titanium band from Renit's wrist.

Bren can't leave anything alone.

"Are you all right?" He asks.

Huffing down my anger, like swallowing a bitter pill, I nod. "I'm fine. Let's finish this." I clench down on my jaw and bring myself to a standing position on shaken knees. The wound in my shoulder stretches, and at the sight of it, Bren's eyes widen. But the sympathy doesn't last long as his next emotion, anger, is directed at Renit.

"The least you could do is go easy," he snaps at the witch of storm with disheveled hair and a deep frown. "Don't kill her."

Renit opens his mouth to speak, possibly words that will worsen our situation, but I extend a hand out in his direction to stop him. "Bren, this is a process, and it takes time. The last thing we need is for you to interrupt us every time we come out here." The silent threat hisses through my clenched teeth and when I plant my boots firmly onto the ground and clench my hands into fists, Bren looks me up and down.

If he doesn't leave now, I'll make him. My power will shove him back to the village and trap him underneath a dirt dome of his own. "Roux, you need to be careful. His power is stronger than yours and if—"

"Bren!" I interrupt, dragging my hands through my hair out of the need to grab onto something. I expose my palms to him and clap my hands together. "I understand that I need to be careful; that's why I'm carrying titanium bands. I'm not stupid, I can do this. But to ensure no one else is injured, and the power doesn't recognize yours as a threat, you need to leave."

He huffs through his nose and looks between the two of us. From the flame rising into his blue eyes like water freezing over on a cold night, I can tell what he has to say next will not be pleasant. "Only the weak have Outbursts." He spits onto the dirt in front of his boots.

Fisting grass into his hands and ripping the roots from the ground, Renit furrows his brows together. We exchange a confused glance; Outbursts can happen to anyone and that includes Bren. There's no time to explain this to him—the desperation to make himself appear like he's stronger than everyone is taking over. Time, time, time. Some say we have time, others say we don't. I find myself tugged in both directions.

"One more word and I rip your arm off and beat you with it, understand?" I threaten. I receive shocked glances from both witches in front of me. Partly, my power is speaking for me and the rest...well, I can't stand Bren's need to protect me around every corner.

We're involving ourselves in more than establishing a Grounding. This should'vebeen done months ago, back at the castle and underneath the close supervision of a specialist, but we don't have those resources here after everything that has happened. The Grounding doesn't begin to scratch the surface to what we will face—danger and all.

Bren will have to distance himself from the need to protect. I have a power I can use to my advantage; we have rebels that can fight until their dying breath; we have strength in numbers and in skill. We have enough to face that danger, but Bren still finds himself wanting to coddle me and ensure not a single scratch covers the surface of my skin. Things will have to change, and I need to make those adjustments now. Otherwise, he'll hold me back when it matters the most.

Bren's leather gloves groan as he tightens his hands into fists. "Fine." He turns on his heel to head back in Arego's direction. "Don't come crying to me when this doesn't work."

Renit is there a second later to examine the wound on my shoulder. A few faint pricks from his fingers and he quirks his mouth to the side—forever the examiner. "That'll take time to heal," he suggests.

"I don't care. Let's get this over with." I take his wrist in my hand and unlock the titanium band with the single key in the world that'll keep his power contained. If this falls into the wrong hands—if any key to a titanium band falls into the wrong hands—it could be a life sentence for the witch forced to wear it.

The banished prince is aware of when he shouldn't pry. He knows his limits, and he doesn't bother asking me whether I'd prefer to continue this another day. Again, the word time rings out in my head and he steps back without another word to distance himself from me. Unlike Bren, Renit listens to me and he's aware of what answers I'll already have to every question he asks. No sympathy, no coddling—exactly what I need. I'm tired of people thinking that if they touch me, I'll break like sugar glass.

The storm is summoned again. Wind stirs, cutting through the wound in my shoulder and the rain stings my skin. Before long, my hair is dripping at the ends and soaking into my tunic, chilling me to the bone with that furious wind looking to create a disaster out of anything and everything that moves.

Trying not to be amazed by the lightning that travels up Renit's skin and seemingly into his eyes, I wait with bated breath. The world slows, my power leaps for the need to control, and I wait for the right moment to strike.

The clouds form quicker this time and they swirl faster, seemingly trying to beat me in an impossible race to create one bit of destruction after the next. Lightning crackles and slams against the surface of the ground—so deep that my power yelps in answer. Smoke billows from the surface but that's nothing coming from Renit's mouth.

When he opens his eyes, that familiar, phantom form of his power is back. This time, the lightning strike he sends in my direction misses entirely when I duck out of the way with a twist and a second later, slam him back again. He's going to be sore tomorrow; my power does not waste any opportunities to break bones and ruin sore muscles.

He struggles underneath the weight of my power and I block his lightning blasts from the sky that threaten to take me down. Not today. Bren's protests ignited a fire underneath my skin and we will not go back to Arego defeated. If he thinks this will not work, we'll show him otherwise.

Outbursts are not for the weak, they're for those that have lost their way. Bren will face it someday, too, and I'll remind him of what he said. I'll remind him that Outbursts are for witches like him. Maybe then he'll realize that everyone, whether me or Renit, fights a battle that others can't see or understand until they're losing it themselves.

It's routine for me to throw a solid shield over my head so Renit's power doesn't strike me down. The lightning blasts attack the outside of the shield, each one stronger than the last, but I repair the damage done and get to work. Renit's silver eyes continue to glow with that lightning as a reminder that it's out there and in here, too.

My palms slam against his temples and quicker than I did last time, I force my Grounding abilities inside. My power eats away at his slowly—some sections are faster—but his storm is strong all the same. He doesn't balk, not as he thrashes and moans underneath the pressure of my power sinking into his bones.

Tossing his head back and forth, Renit's storm makes it more and more difficult to maintain a strong grip. "You're fine," I attempt to reassure.

The witch I know is lost underneath the strength of his storm taking over. Last time, there was a hint of recognition. This time, nothing. And it's my fault for pushing to ignite his storm faster; precisely why he's completely gone now. I'll just have to work harder.

Yanking out everything I have left, I use the power of ground to not only hold the prince where he needs to remain but to quell the rage in his blood. Little by little, I feel my power dribbling away like a leaking faucet. Soon, there will be nothing left and like on the battlefield, all I'll have left is a reserve that doesn't belong to me at all. It's Renit's power, not mine. The one actively trying to strike me down.

My head spins, my strength falters, but I keep going even as a tear slides down my cheek from the pressure in my skull. Through blurred vision, at a result of that pressure, I watch as Renit's power starts to subside. The lightning is weaker and he can't create a blast from his hand or the storm overhead in time to throw me off.

It's safe to remove the shield so I do, exposing myself to the warm sun overhead. The wind slows with one final push of my power, everything I have left, and the last cry of thunder wishes for a second chance on the cliffsides. But I won't grant it.

Renit's eyes fly open, searching the face in front of him, and it's not the storm I find staring back at me. The banished prince of Esaria watches me in awe as I slide off of him, taking the rest of my power with me, and wipe away the blood streaming from my nose.

"You did it," he breathes. He flexes his fists open and closed to test his strength.

I lean over in the grass and vomit up the contents of my stomach; stew from this morning, stew from lunch, stew from the day before. Everything—stew. That's all we have to eat, whether fish or beef and now I cannot think about eating that stew without wondering whether it'll resemble the vomit puddle sitting in the grass in front of me.

Renit places a hand on my back and pulls back the strands of my hair as I vomit again; my back arching. Stars fill my vision, but the next breath I take is the clearest I've had in a long time. Something tightens in my chest, like a rope connecting me to Renit, and it's then I know that we've mastered the Grounding bond. We've stopped his Outbursts.

"Test your power," I croak.

"Roux, this isn't the time. You need—"

"Test your power." There's nothing kind in my voice as I turn to him and gently shove him back in the direction he came. Renit stares at me quizzingly and silently, through the Grounding bond, he asks if I want to lie down and rest the ache in my bones. With a shake of my head and a fiery look in my eye that can't be mastered by just anyone, he listens to my silent demands and distances himself from me once more.

I clench onto the grass on my way up to stand. My knees wobble and my head spins but I clutch tight onto my sanity and wipe the spit away from my mouth. Renit opens the door to his storm and like light streaming from the night, the power erupts. It's not like the strength I've seen it at; this is a new wave of mastery that twists dark clouds into the sky—as haunting as I've witnessed.

The lightning is stronger—confident. Even the thunder sings with a newfound roar that rattles my chest. Renit is at the center of it all and basking in the freedom of a repaired power. The rain pours down from those clouds and I grin at him from our short distance apart; him conveying the same expression.

I don't know how I did it—if it was me all along or Renit helping me along the way. But we did it. The storm is created anew, and it bursts at the seams to be one of the most beautiful sights I'll come across. Renit's lightning twinkles across his skin but it doesn't travel up in that intimidating way through his veins. Instead, it crackles on the outside of his skin; over his forearms and casting dark shadows against his neck.

I don't fear that strength as he rushes at me, taking me in his arms to thank me for finally, after so many years, giving him the freedom he needs. We did it.

After so many months, we've finally established the Grounding bond.