Flashback ( PDFDrive )

“I didn’t command it,” Tam argued. “I just said I felt something
cold.”
“I’m not talking about the echoes. I’m talking about what you did to
spare your friends after they were exposed. Commanding those
shadows.”
“Technically I didn’t command them,” Tam corrected. “I wrapped
them in shadowvapor and commanded that.”
“Yes, but the shadowflux still allowed itself to be contained,” Lady
Zillah insisted. “It respects you. Sees you as an equal.”
Elwin snorted. “You make it sound like it’s alive.”
“In a way, it is. Just as fire hungers and wind breathes and water
roars and earth waits. I’ve never been near quintessence, but I hear it
pulses. And shadowflux dreams—hovering high above, waiting for
something to capture its interest.”
Tam glanced at Sophie. “Like I said. She’s intense.”
“It’s hard not to be intense when discussing elemental energy,”
Lady Zillah told him. “Your sister understands. So do Gusters. And
Pyrokinetics.”
Linh trailed her fingers through the air, creating swirls of mist.
“But Tam doesn’t feel a steady pull the way I do—or do you?” she
asked her brother.
Tam shook his head.
“You have water around you constantly,” Lady Zillah reminded
Linh. “Shadowflux is distant. It has to be called for and convinced that
it wants to respond—and even then, it’s always ready to rebel. I can
teach you the basic commands,” she told Tam. “The rest will be up to
you. Training will be tricky, since it resists me, but I’m sure we can
figure it out.”