"That doesn't make sense. I wanted the power. I needed it."
"Your fear," she said, her voice as steady as the mountain. "Your guilt. Your anger at the woman you love for her own strength. All of it created a barrier. Power like yours requires a cold, crystalline balance. Emotional chaos creates a cage. You cannot access what you truly are if you are afraid of the cost."
She moved to a flat rock near the water's edge and sat, gesturing for me to join her. I hesitated, the urgency of the battle screaming in my ears, but I realized I was trapped. I couldn't leave this place without help. I waded through the cokd water and sat beside her, the pool still lapping at my waist.
"What do you know about your power?" she asked.
"It's ice magic," I said, reciting the history I had been told. "It's the blessing of Aenithra's bloodline. I am the descendant of the first King who made a pact with the Frostmother."
