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I stiffen but don’t stop walking Moveives me a notion of separation I’m still aware of my individual self, who I am, who I ho I hope to be If I stop, I’m afraid Drust will become me and I’ll lose myself to him completely

He presses further into ic He’s already deeper withintruths which nobody knows, my secret wishes and desires, my hopes, loves and fears And still he doesn’t stop He keeps going, working on the part ofhi

So flares within me I feel a bolt of lethal power shoot towards Drust I knoill kill hi from a place I can’t control, that I didn’t knoas there The bolt flies straight at Drust, increasing in power It’s going to kill him! It will blow him apart! It-

Suddenly, he isn’t there Contact has been broken He throws hi fro out in pain, but not the sort of pain that accompanies death

I cry out too and drop, head on fire, screaness, tearing at the ried- destroyed-Drust

Bright lights Stars Then a red haze When it clears, everyone’s around Drust and me Concerned for me, wary of the druid Ronan and Lorcan have hih he’s rolled up into a ball and isn’this oord’s edge, eyes flicking fro ht Bran is close by, anxiously chewing his lower lip

"I’ Fiachna away-my skin is more sensitive than it’s ever been His touch is painful

"What did he do?" Ronan asks, positioning the tip of his sword by Drust’s throat, ready to slice it open and end his life the second I give hirowls, unexpectedly co to the druid’s aid "Don’t harm him"

"I will if he’s hurt her!" Ronan snaps

"He didn’t," I gasp I want to lie down and rest, but I’m afraid they’ll kill Drust if I don’t speak up "We were working on a spell It rong He was trying to help me, not harm me"

The others look relieved, except Ronan, who looks annoyed at being denied his kill They sheathe their weapons Goll asks how long it will take for Drust to recover and e’ll be ready to continue I tell him I don’t know and ask them to leave us alone for a while When they’re out of earshot, I slide over next to Drust and whisper, "Can you hearpause, then a very shaky, "Aye"

"What happened?" I hiss

Drust rolls on to his side and stretches out slowly There are burn ly welts There are red lines etched across his teh flames had shot up froht," he croaks

"About what?"

"The source of your ers twitch and he winces It hurts but I lean forward and cast a healing spell on his hand As the worst of the redness cools away, Drust looks at ic exploded within you when you fought Lord Loss"

"I know I reached in and stole power from him"

Drust shakes his head "No That’s not the whole truth He gave it to you" I frown, not understanding "Lord Loss let you take froic towards you He reached within you and struck at the the flint of your spirit, for want of a better terical sparks and fanned them into life You’re powerful because he wants you to be-because he lit the flaic inside you"

My face whitens "You ic my spells that’s all because of him?"

"Aye"

"But why?" I cry "Why would a deive power to a human?"

"I don’t know," Drust says "But I do know this I thought you were my apprentice, but you’re not-you’re Lord Loss’s"

And the suspicion in his eyes cuts to my heart as if he’d stabbed me in the chest with a knife