A familiar sensation tickles at Kywen’s awareness. She can feel the prickle of intense but painless needle-point stings rising up through her feet. Her stomach twists in knots as she approaches the center of the arena, knowing it’s too late to change her mind. The wintry night air carries the noise of the crowd as the trees sway gently, moonlight spilling through the leaves and mottling each and every person into blurry oblivion. She peeks up at the rainbow gum before settling onto her knees. Another pulse of familiarity blooms in her chest. Feeling rushed and suddenly unsure of her decision, she quickly forges a binding and nearly falls over with the sheer force of power.

Her heart drops as she recognizes the sensation crawling across her skin. The flow of another person’s magic prickles into her consciousness, and her eyes go wide as she finds herself tethered to Sundeera once again, just like so many seasons ago. What in the spirits is she doing? Kywen looks around wildly, trying to pinpoint where Sundeera could be, but the intensity of the magic coursing through her veins creates a vibrating strobe effect behind her eyes. Shadows dance at the corners of her vision.

While she attempts to regain her composure, her palms start to itch, and the air around her swirls in fitful gusts that make her eyes water. In seconds, a soft white glow swirls from her shoulders down and around her arms. Once again, the tether begins to shift into a two-way path, but this time, the connection unfurls even faster as if some additional force propels it forward with greater strength. Old emotions start to bubble up, and the secret she accidentally discovered long ago and then buried in the back of her mind starts to swell with the sensation of being linked anew. Only then does a terrifying thought swim across her awareness. The Starfall Anklet.

Sundeera has no idea she found it, let alone that she’s wearing it. Her throat constricts, and the sound of blood rushes through her ears, dulling her senses further. Before she can fully recover her bearings, the air around her body grows thick, and the surrounding winds continue to churn, quickly separating into a small pair of twisting cyclones. The howling of the wind grows louder as the twin tornadoes rapidly increase in size, cutting deep lines through the dirt as they spit dust into the air and dance around her. A hush falls over the crowd.

Kywen feels her body start to lift into the air. Her sari whips and snaps in every direction as she rises higher, exposing the anklet as her legs extend out from underneath her. The white light now coils down her calves, mingling with the subdued twinkling of each green stone softly pulsing one after the other. Feeling the situation continue to spin away from her control, she struggles to maintain a stony expression of focus, hoping the dust clouds obscure the panic in her eyes.

Kywen tries to assure herself that Sundeera would only take such a risk for good reason, though she can’t help but notice the surprise and concern she feels along the tether. Obviously unaware of the raw power from the anklets multiple gems, Sundeera’s emotions crash into Kywen like waves on the shore. Despite the danger of their magic spinning out of control, the path she has committed them to must continue to play out or they risk the wrath of the counsel, so Kywen swallows the bile rising in her throat and attempts to get a sense of the direction Sundeera intends.

As she looks left and right, Kywen sees the cyclones whip through the sands of the fire pit and turn towards the pond as they spiral away from her. When they hit the water, glittering droplets spray into the air, sending showers of mist into the stands. Recovering from their initial shock, the crowd screams with delight, clapping and chanting her name. Remembering the favor she asked little Tam, she scoffs at how much she’s standing out now. The thought of Nadaa settles her nerves enough to take a few deep breaths and concentrate.

A sudden warmth lights in her chest, and as the fear dulls and her wits sharpen, Kywen throws her previously slack arms towards the cyclones. Ready to play along, she hopes Sundeera notices soon enough to prevent her from looking like a fool.

*****

Gritting her teeth with the effort required to maintain control of the winds she created, Sundeera’s heart pounds. She had nearly dropped her binding when she saw the powerful trinket glowing around Kywen’s ankle and had to reach out to Lyro to keep hold of her magic. Initially wanting to create a sturdy enough gale to raise Kywen slightly into the air, the additional source of power only intensified her Elemental magic, and within seconds, she couldn’t believe the spectacle she created. Grateful for the cover of darkness, she shivers slightly as another layer of sweat erupts from her pores. Mindful of the bystanders only a few feet away, she focuses on the compact movements the Inaru taught her to maximize speed and efficiency during spell casting. Without Lyro’s assistance, she can only imagine how bad things could be.

She can feel Kywen’s fear shrink, replaced by steady calm as she starts to pretend as if she is the one manipulating the air elements, and Sundeera realizes she is trying to communicate with her, attempting to show her where to direct the performance. Kywen slowly lifts one arm up, her fingers pointing up at the moons in an arc over her head, and Sundeera lifts her a few feet higher in response. Kywen gives a small shake of her head, and the muscles cord in Sundeera’s neck while she halts the ascent and waits for another signal.

As Kywen repositions her arms out toward the cyclones, closes her fists, and pulls them towards her body, Sundeera shifts the cyclones away from the water, pushing them nearer to Kywen. To this, Kywen nods almost imperceptibly, and they steadily create a successful method of communication.

Lyro’s voice rises in the back of her mind, accompanied again by a faint echo as he soothes her frayed nerves and lends her more of his strength. His voice is soft, but firm, “All three of us are in this now.”

*****

Gesturing slowly enough for Sundeera to follow, Kywen actually starts to enjoy the rush of directing the cyclones through the arena in a dazzling display of her nexum’s amplified power, unbeknownst to anyone but them. Her Flora magic is satisfying in its own right, but it doesn’t elicit this level of sheer exhilaration. As a real smile snakes across her face, another ripple of information from the tether slams into her awareness. Questions flutter through her mind as a pang of betrayal worms its way into her heart. Why wouldn’t she tell me? Before her emotions spiral out of control, she shoves them down to deal with later, reminding herself of their bond and the trust they share. She knows Sundeera wouldn’t keep something this important from her for no reason. Would she?

The break in her concentration reminds her just how far from the ground she is, and her belly twists in knots again. Refusing to look at the ground, she tilts her chin down and clenches her teeth, willing Sundeera to bring her back to the ground. Kywen gulps as she drops faster than expected, slowing just before she hits the ground. A rush of relief surges across the tether, and Kywen realizes just how unprepared Sundeera was to use her magic like this. A fresh wave of anger washes over her, and she can feel the tug of guilt come through the tether in response.

Feet touching the ground, she raises her arms to the sky, palms out and fingers splayed, and the cyclones follow suit, their rotation dwindling as they begin to dissipate into the air. She quickly releases her binding, and as the dust settles in the sudden lack of roaring winds, the crowd erupts into a fury of cheers and whistles. With one last look up toward the gum tree, Kywen bows and runs out of the arena, mouth dry and head pounding. Knowing that the Heir Watcher must have seen the Starfall Anklet, her thoughts center on finding Sundeera before things go further sideways. Without the distraction of her binding and the rush of magic clouding her awareness, she can feel the strong magnetic pull coming from the nearest set of stands and races off to get answers from her nexum.