𝔅𝔢𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔓𝔞𝔦𝔫

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔉𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔶-𝔰𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫

𝔗𝔬𝔪'𝔰 𝔭𝔬𝔳

"This is ridiculous," Kritana complains as she drops the weights in her hands to the ground. They land with a loud thud because of the marble flooring, but she doesn't flinch. Instead, she turns her body toward me and crosses her arms over her chest. "I need to be learning to control my magic, not learning how to lift a dumbbell over my head."

"We are not going over this again. You need to get in shape, and that's the end of it," I tell her. I'm not interested in arguing about something that has already been settled.

"What I need is to learn how to control it," she argues, walking over to me. "What good is getting in shape if I get hit with a spell that I can't deflect? What good will having upper body strength do me if I cannot strike someone down with my magic?" The look in her eyes is serious, and it makes my eyes narrow.

I was previously under the assumption that she just did not want to do physical activity because she did not like it, but by the look in her eyes, that's not the reason she is so against it.

"I need to learn how to control this, Tom. That's why I came to you," she says, and the tone of her voice assures me of my assumption that there is more to her wanting to spend her time training with magic than just laziness.

Though she does need to learn to train with magic, she still needs to train with physical activity.

"We'll split our time. We will spend the first half with physical training and the second training you to handle your magic," I tell her, and she visibly relaxes.

"Thank you," she says.

"Don't thank me," I tell her. "I am not doing this because you want me to. I'm doing it because you made a valid point."

The look in her eyes falters for a moment, but when she blinks, it's as if nothing changed. And what did change was so subtle that I can't pinpoint exactly what it was, so I ignore it.

"Let's start with your astral projection," I tell her. She has astral projected about two dozen times now, but every time required my assistance. Though she can astral project without my assistance in high-stress situations, I do not want that to be the only time she is able to.

She nods her head. "Are you going to create an illusion?"

I shake my head. "Creating an illusion to scare you will only work so many times, and it's already clear that you can astral project when you're scared or when your emotions are heightened. I want to work on your astral projection when you are calm."

"Like we did the other night?" she questions, and I nod.

Her gaze flickers. "I don't know if that will work."