Ari's POV

I flung out my hands and let my witchcraft. The air was humming, and the light was slightly bending around my fingers. I recalled all the strikes I had ever received, all the insults, all the occasions when I was too feeble to resist.

"Watch," I told her.

I threw myself forward, swinging my body and throwing out my palm. A sudden granite burst ran ahead and struck a rock, and dashed it into fragments.

Harriet gasped. "Mommy!"

That was an intended hit, I said. "Not wild. Not angry. Controlled."

I swung around and jerked my leg low, and swung around, leaving magic to cover my motion. The...