Amari didn't know when she'd made the decision.
One moment, she'd been trying to protect her quiet, structured world—and the next, she was standing in her greenhouse, letting a stranger guide her hands through divine fire.
Nova stood behind her, his palms warm against her forearms as he adjusted the angle of her fingers.
"Don't hold your breath. Let it flow."
He murmured.
Aether, he called it.
The strange energy surged inside her veins, unfamiliar and thrilling, like the hum of a storm just beneath her skin. Amari shivered.
"I can feel it. It's… alive."
She whispered, eyes narrowed in concentration as the bud of the flower in front of her began to glow faintly.
Nova leaned in slightly.
"You're adapting quickly."
His breath grazed her ear.
Amari's heartbeat stuttered.
'Focus.'
She snapped at herself, forcing her attention back to the flower as light began to bloom from within the petals.
Then—softly, slowly—the flower opened.
