Free Rise of Legends (The Kin of Kings Book 2) by B.T. Narro

water as dark as tar. She looked over her shoulder. The long southern wall of the Academy was finally out of sight. Unless Basen opened more portals, she wouldn’t go back. The thought saddened her. She let herself shed one tear before steeling her nerves.
    It would be daylight before she reached Kyrro City, but it wasn’t as if sanctuary awaited her there. She needed to sleep at least a few hours before encountering Tauwin’s men and possibly being mistaken for an enemy.
    Despite her vast skills, controlling sartious energy had always escaped her. Without it, fire was impossible. Fortunately, she could build her own.
    She ventured deeper into the forest, grabbing sticks and brush along the way. She told herself she would keep the fire lit just long enough to chase the shivers away while she rested for a bit. She had to keep moving because foolish men and women from the Academy might be looking for her now that they knew who she was.
    They only think they know. I’m the only one who really knows.
    The black night shrunk away as her fire came alive. She closed her eyes as she stepped close to the flames, the pleasure of warmth worth the pain.
    When her shivers were gone, she sat on a nearby rock and opened her mind to the wildlife around her. The sight and sound of her fire must’ve scared most creatures off, for there was but one she could sense.
    There was nothing in the forest that could overpower her, and she couldn’t think of a single animal she might encounter that she couldn’t eat, so she lured in the creature with a simple trick of psyche. The animal thought it sensed food in her direction, and it wasn’t smart enough to question the unbidden thought.
    She was delighted to find a plump hare emerge. It came around a pair of saplings that were too close to each other for both to ever become full trees, reminding her of the neighboring territories, Kyrro and Tenred, and their constant competition for resources. The sight of her frightened the hare, but she soothed it easily with psyche.
    Sanya patted her leg, attracting the creature to her hand. It scampered forward and climbed onto her lap. She broke its neck without delay.
    She sensed another then, this one possessing an abundance of confidence. It was smarter than the hare and just as hungry. She stood and faced its direction, glancing back and forth between the dead hare in her hand and the sound of rummaging through shrubs. She gave a sigh as she came to her decision. Ensuring she was safe so she could sleep was more important than a small meal.
    She whistled lightly as she twisted the BE of the hidden beast, beckoning it toward the light. As the bear emerged from the cloak of night, she took away its aggression. It made a curious grunt as drool caught around the fur of its jaw. The beast was enormous yet painfully hungry, too much so to sleep, most likely.
    She set the hare at her feet. “This is for you.”
    She shaped the beast’s energy to make it trust her as if she were its mother. It lumbered forward and tore apart the hare with its paws and teeth.
    Sanya put her hand on the bear’s side as it gnawed at the small bones. She only needed a few moments to make the beast love her. Animals like bears didn’t have the intellect to wonder why they would want to protect her, so the psychic spell she cast upon it could be permanent.
    She kicked dirt onto the fire until it was out. With the bear at her side, she walked the better part of a mile.
    Feeling that she was a safe enough distance into the forest, she put the tired bear to sleep and then cuddled up against him. If someone chanced upon them during the night, the sight of the bear would deter him.
    She wasn’t sure how long she slept before a chirping bird awoke her with its annoying and monotonous song. She sent out a wave of psyche as she brushed out her hand, and it flew away.
    Sanya decided to name her bear Muskie because of his overpowering scent, which was now all over her. Muskie was awake