Hayley’s POV

The days blurred together in a haze of training and discovery as I delved deeper into how to use the new skills that were now within my reach. Elara, my mother taught me everything with the patience and insight of a teacher mixed with compassion, without guidance through each step.

The mornings see us well before first light, the world swathed in silent shadow-pale of dawn. The forest was my place to feel connected with the elements and discover how much power still lived in me.

“Life is in the breath of this mother we have been given to." Elara said one day, her voice voracious as a...