9
HARD LESSONS
“Again,” Lar shouted at Patha.
She snapped back, “No, I'm too tired.”
Indeed, she must have been trembling in exhaustion after the hours of fire she had been fighting. Lar had been blowing air on her least flame, trying to get it to erupt in her face, and any time she wasn't paying attention. The drills to craft a bird of flame, melt this stone, make the flame burn blue, made her frustrated. Then the frustration fed into Patha’s darker emotions. Lar shouted, criticized, nagged, and startled her randomly. Then, when she reacted poorly, he would bark at her for being weak.
He hated doing it, but there was a difference between being a teacher and a mate. Right now, the teacher in him must be cold and unfeeling, blowing on her sensitivities by being a cruel taskmaster. He h
