VURALA WAS terrifying. Andorra had decided this to be true as soon as she stood with him in the basement of his shop. He was hulking in a way that made him tower over her, tower over everything. And there was something other about his eyes and the way they focused on her. It had taken Andorra a while to figure out what it was, but it was the fact that he didn't blink. Ever.

"No, not like that. It comes from within," Vurala was saying, moving his arms above his head. He was careful not to touch his horns, stretching his arms as high as he could reach them. "Follow my lead. Hands up, and breathe in. Slowly, until you can't anymore. And then, hold."

Andorra, feeling a little bit silly, followed along. She reached her hands above her head, stretching them up, and began to inhale.

"Okay, close your eyes. I want you to think about yourself as a faerie. You believe you are human too much. You are not human. You need to reach within yourself to find who you really are."

Andorra faltered. This whole digging within yourself was too complicated. What she wouldn't give to just know her powers immediately without any kind of deeper thinking.

But, he was right. Even if it was just a little bit. Andorra had opened her first gate this way. And she learned how to make herself glow by focusing on the light. And, she already knew that somewhere deep down, she had super strength, and the ability to pour hot sunlight into others, burning them from the inside out.

Now, she just had to control it. Get a handle on it.

"Wouldn't this be easier with a Summer fae?" Andorra was beginning to wonder if she should've just asked Eve to help her out.

"By all means, ask the help of your own," Vurala grunted. "Now, breathe in."

Andorra did as he asked. She breathed in and out, trying to elongate her pace, trying to focus on what was within. She felt the warmth on her skin, the warmth of the sun, and she wondered what else she could do. She tried to imagine it; what did she think a sun fae should be able to do if she were reading a fairytale?

Could she shoot sunbeams from her palms? Could she turn her glow into a blinding ball of light? Could she melt things with her eyes? Or, could she make summer fruit grow on a bush? Control the weather?

She picked the easiest one to go off of: turning herself into a blinding ball.

She focused on the warmth of her skin, like she had in the forest. She focused on the warmth, making it hotter, imagining it was brighter. She tried to picture herself as a lightbulb, remembering the feeling of staring at one a little too closely and having to blink away the black spots.

"Hey! Turn that down, would 'ya?"

Andorra opened her eyes, and she let out a gasp. She did it! She looked down at her blinding arms, and when she looked around the store, it was washed in that brilliant bright light.

Vulara was holding his arm up to shield his eyes. "You're burnin' me up!"

"Me too, Princess." Callum muttered, pulling himself into the shadows to block out the blinding light. Immediately, Andorra pulled back the rays of light until her skin was just glowing, like it had in the forest. A nice, warm hum.

"I can blind people?" Andorra was in awe. "That's kinda awesome."

And, she could use that power in a Cadmus game. Well, maybe. Now thinking of it, Andorra didn't see many people at Hornwell using their powers. Were they banned from Cadmus? Were they banned from Hornwell?

Andorra turned to Callum. "How come no one uses their powers at school?"

Callum shrugged. "We're used to having them. No need to turn our abilities into a pissing contest. Besides, I think it's obvious who would win."

"Ha ha." Andorra turned back to Vulara. "Okay, so what's next? I can blind people. Can I shoot sunbeams?" She held her palms out like she was going to test the idea, but Vulara jumped to put her hands down.

"Don't try that in here!"

She looked up at him, wide eyed. "Wait... are you saying I can shoot sunbeams?"

Vulara rubbed the back of his neck, then moved towards a stack of books on a shelf. "I wasn't going to introduce this book until a few weeks time, but maybe you should look at it now. This is an ancient training text from the Sun Clan, many many moons ago. Before The Great War."

Vulara pulled out a fat book, then he blew on the cover, disturbing the dust that collected there. When it brought it over to her, the leather cover had a large sun right in the middle, but no title or author.

Andorra reached for it carefully, weighing it in her hands. It was heavy enough that Andorra knew she wasn't going to stand and read. She moved to sit against the wall beside Callum, letting the book rest on her bent knees. She turned the pages until she reached the table of contents.

"Wow. This is... wow." Andorra flipped open to the introduction page, her eyes eating up the words greedily. "I can't believe this."

"The book stays with me. But while we train, you can look up a technique and we can practice. Safely, I might add." Vulara looked over to Callum. "You too, boy. You're welcome to join."

Callum quirked an eyebrow. "No, thanks. I know everything I need to know."

Vulara grumbled. "You're too pretentious for your own good."

Callum's face went red. He narrowed his eyes in anger. "Being confident is not being pretentious."

"Okay, you two. Enough. I want to try this healing power I have." Andorra stood up, looking at the book. "It says here I need to put my hands on an injury to feel it, and then I need to use the healing powers of the sun - whatever that is - to fix it. Who wants to be injured for science?"

Vulara took a step back. "I'll grab the sword. To cut up Prince Puck's little son."

Callum sneered. "I'm not cutting myself."

"Please? For me?" Andorra put her hand on Callum's arm. "It would be quick. And small! And basically painless. And learning how to heal people would be useful in the Northern Mountains, wouldn't it?"

What Andorra didn't dare say was that maybe, if she was injured by all of these attempts on her life, then maybe she could heal herself before she died.

Callum narrowed his eyes at her. "You're walking a thin line."

"I'm walking a perfectly fine line. This is a useful skill." Andorra grinned back, moving towards Vulara, who pulled out a small knife. He handed it to Callum. "I'll even let you make the cut."

"Oh, how generous." Callum rolled his eyes and then dragged the knife across his palm, cutting the skin carefully. The cut was pretty shallow, but Andorra got to work right away. She held Callum's palm with both hands, closing her eyes and trying to focus.

First, she tried to focus on Callum's pain, but she couldn't feel what he felt, so that was impossible. Then, she tried to imagine pouring her warmth and sunshine into the outside world, but all it managed to do was blind both Vulara and Callum again.

But the third time, when she pictured pouring her warmth and sunshine into the cut on his palm, she watched as the glow from her skin moved across his palm, stitching the skin up tightly. She watched as it grew smooth, like there had never been a cut in the first place. And then, she pulled her warmth back.

When she looked up into Callum's face, she expected to find his displeasure at having to cut himself. But, it was a smile he wore, like he too was surprised at the fact that it had worked.

"Wow," Andorra breathed. "I can't believe I just did that."

"I can," Callum whispered back. "You're like, the most powerful-"

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Princess, let's test it on you as well. Could be useful if you ever need to heal yourself. Would you like the knife next?"

Andorra broke away from Callum, looking at Vulara sheepishly. She couldn't believe she had forgotten how he'd been standing there. "Yeah," she agreed, grabbing for the knife. "I'll try it on myself."

She drew the knife to her palm, hesitating before she cut herself. She reminded herself that this was for the sake of her powers, for science. She closed her eyes, took a steadying breath, then pushed the point of the knife into her palm.

It stung immediately. When Andorra pulled away the knife, blood rushed to the surface, spilling out across her palm. She dropped the knife to the ground on impulse, her other hand grasping onto her wrist as if it would stop the bite of pain.

"Okay, now focus on healing it." Vulara watched with intense eyes, wanting to see the magic for himself. If he wants a magic show, he'll get one then. Andorra focused on the pain in her palm and she pictured her warmth flooding into the cut, healing it.

The moment her skin began to glow, the cut began to heal itself immediately. There was an intense itching feeling on her palm as it healed, and then as soon as it came, it went. She flexed her hand, moving her fingers, testing it out. Sure enough, it had healed.

"That's so cool!" Andorra smiled up at Vulara. "And it's all thanks to you that I can do this! Thank you. Like, a million times over. Thank you!"

Andorra couldn't quite believe it. All this time, she had this insane power to heal herself. And she'd never known. And then, it hit her: as a child, she'd never been sick.

Had she been healing herself, unknowingly, all this time?

Vulara grunted his response. "You still have a long way to go, Princess. No ruler of Anlithamy has ever been this far behind on their powers."

There was a hint of anger in his voice, maybe even disgust. It wasn't surprising to Andorra, not anymore, but it did make her feel sad. Sad that she would never be the Princess Anlithamy wanted. She was the Princess they were getting, but was not a favorable choice.

It was painful, knowing that they wanted Anders. She was just an obstacle they had to go around in order to put a crown on his head. When she swallowed, the lump seemed to get stuck in her throat.

"Most rulers are also not forced to be raised out of Anlithamy, either." Callum's voice had grown hard, and he took a step away from the wall. "If Cornomus thinks that the Princess is right for Anlithamy, then so should we."

Vulara rounded towards Callum, leaning over him as if Callum was no more than a field mouse in a cave. His cave. "Interesting, coming from Prince Puck's son. I could have sworn your father had a thought or two about our current Princess being unfit."

Callum tilted his head back, but didn't flinch away from Vulara, no matter how frightening the being was. Emphasis on being, Andorra remembered, as Sivelle had called him so. He wasn't just fae; he was something more.

Did Callum know? Andorra hoped he did.

"You'll soon find that I am not my father, nor do I hold the same beliefs." Callum took a step closer to Vulara, lifting his head even higher. "And you're quite wrong about my father. Vicious ruler he may be, but his thoughts on the Princess are favorable."

"It has been many moons since I saw Prince Puck last. But was he not primed and ready to become king of Anlithamy himself? You're saying that he had grown a heart?"

"I'm saying he believes in the choices of Cornomus, and so should you."

Vulara tipped his head back to laugh. "Cornomus and I go way back. You're a mere child to my existence. A child playing Princess is a mistake Cornomus has made." Vulara looked towards Andorra. "Apologies, but you will not find support from me. I will train you, as per our deal, but do not feel that I am your friend."

Andorra would think no such thing. At least, not anymore. She smiled at Vulara, hoping it was bright. Cheerful. Like his words didn't burrow in her chest and strike a place that would hurt. "You'll come around to it. I'm not worried."

But she was worried.

"And even if you don't, you don't really have a choice." Callum moved to stand by Andorra, holding a protective stance. "How about we go back to school now. You've learned some new things, and training can end until tomorrow."

"You're a fool if you think someone will not murder you, Princess, before the cornination. I may be bound to train you, but many are not." Vulara crossed his arms, standing in the doorway, trapping them in.

"Many already have." Andorra shrugged. "I'm aware of the fact that a lot of you don't like me or want me on the throne. I may be young, but I'm not blind to that."

It was clear by Callum's stance that the being in the doorway made him on edge, but Andorra couldn't show fear. Wouldn't. She made herself saunter up to Vulara and pat him on the arm. "I'm pleased we have an understanding. I'll see you tomorrow to continue this. And here's something to think about: you're the one who is training me. You can help me be as powerful as you think the future Queen should be. I may be weak now, but I don't have to stay weak."

She slipped under Vulara's arm and towards the stairs. "Thank you for today. Sivelle was right about you." And with that, Andorra climbed the steps towards the main shop, leaving Callum behind. She hoped he would follow her lead without putting up a fight with Vulara, but with Callum, there was no telling.

When she reached the top, there was a customer in the shop, touching the different items. When he turned to look at Andorra, his eyes narrowed. She ignored the look he shot her as she moved out of the store and into the alleyway. Once there, she leaned against the building wall, waiting for Callum to join her.

She knew as soon as she got back to her room, she would begin to practice her new moves. Her blinding light, her sunbeams, her healing.

If only she'd had that information earlier. Then she could have healed her concussion all on her own, and she wouldn't have been such a damsel in distress.

When Callum left the shop, he was grumbling. "I can't believe he said those things back there."

"I can. People say that stuff to me all the time." If Andorra let those kinds of words bother her again, it would set her back weeks. Months. She couldn't afford that.

"But they shouldn't. You're going to be their Queen."

Andorra shrugged. "You said it to me. Even your dad said it to me. It's whatever. Let's go back home."

Callum shook his head, clearly upset by this. "I shouldn't have. It wasn't right. I didn't even know what I was saying."

Andorra grinned up at Callum. "Win was right. Your girlfriend is amazing. Does she do that often? Tell you what's gonna happen, or who will be friends with who? It's kinda dope."

Callum stared at Andorra for a long moment, like he wasn't quite ready to give up what Vulara had said, but he took the subject change without putting up a fight. "Win is amazing. I thank Cornomus for pairing us up every single day. I don't know what would have happened to me if I'd never met Win. She's... she's everything to me. Everything."

And, Andorra could see that. When Win had announced that they were soulmates, Andorra had a hard time believing, or even understanding. But this version of Callum, the way he spoke about her, the way he never wanted Win to be in danger, Andorra understood now. Callum was incredibly open about how much he cared about his girlfriend. His soulmate.

"You're so lucky. I hope... I hope I have that one day. Someone who loves me like you clearly love Win. But with Anders as my future husband, I'm not quite sure I'll ever find mine."

"Anders isn't your soulmate, Princess. And when you finally find yours, I'll be right there by your side to murder him if he messes up."

Andorra let out a loud, surprised laugh. "You'll murder him? My soulmate? But what if I'm like, super in love?"

"Let me fix what I said: I'll be there to make sure he treats you right. So that I'll never have to murder him."

Andorra hit Callum's arm playfully. "You're forgetting Callum that pretty soon, you won't be my guard anymore. I'll be getting a whole wave of new ones, remember? But if you want to beat them up as my friend? Feel free."

Callum's face grew a little darker at that, but he didn't say anything. He just grabbed Andorra's arm to pull them away from the shop. "Let's get back to school."

Andorra wasn't going to fight that idea. She was still itching to practice her new powers. But she smiled secretly, knowing that Callum was her friend. And she had never, not once, believed that it would actually happen. That Callum, Prince Puck's son, would be on her side.