Tavin’s flame swirled to life much more quickly than it had before, hitting him with a wave of heat. It was just like that time in the woods, only earlier that day. Aleanna’s eyes went wide as Tavin felt the blood being drawn from the wound, seamlessly converted to far more fire than he had shown at their last meeting. It swirled around him in a half dozen burning streams. It felt easy. It felt right.

“You don’t have to do this!” he shouted. “We don’t have to ...