Chapter 129

Briar’s POV

"Again," my mother’s spirit commanded, her translucent form hovering above the training chamber deep within the palace.

I gathered the water around me, trying to shape it into the complex pattern she’d demonstrated. The liquid responded to my will, rising in elegant spirals, but the moment I tried to solidify it into a weapon, it collapsed back into formless waves.

"You’re thinking too much," she said. "The ocean doesn’t think—it simply is. You need to become the water, not command it."

"I am the water," I muttered, frustration bleeding into my voice.

"Are you? Because right now, you’re a woman trying to control water. That’s different from being one with it."

We’d been at this for hours, and I was exhausted. My mates and children were resting in the palace apartments, but sleep felt like a luxury I couldn’t afford. Not with everything closing in around us.

"Let’s try