The Aspect of Essence (The Aelfyn Archives, #1)

by Samantha Amstutz

Serenna’s body seized. She collapsed to the ground, dropping as boneless as a floating jelly tumbling in the sea. Her vision went black as her limbs and muscles contorted again in all the ways they shouldn’t. Clutching onto stubborn outrage through the flames of agony, Serenna clawed at her awareness, refusing to surrender to the darkness wrestling her into a nightmare of torment. She would not give Vesryn the satisfaction of fainting. She had no concept of how long the rending lasted. It took her significantly longer to sway to her feet the second time the prince’s magic subsided. Her throat burned with a whimper at the memory of the torrid pain while her lungs sucked in breaths as sharp as blades. I’m going mad already, she thought, violently shoving away an annoying voice buzzing in her head. Serenna’s eyes darted toward the other recruits, worried she’d taken too long to recover. More than a few lay sprawled out, incapacitated by the successive wave of power. Others sobbed their misery, and an alarming number of initiates were now throwing up. Why am I the only one standing? Realizing her body wasn’t broken and shredded like she thought it should be, Serenna’s contempt fossilized into a tangible force, crystalizing like ice inside of her. A rage blanketed Serenna’s mind, shrouding her thoughts. Her fury didn’t blind her completely. Rather, her wrath gave her a direction to aim her focus. Vesryn, she snarled. The prince was the one responsible for this feeling of helple...