Riley stood in the center of the training yard.
Every rogue watched. Waiting. Whispering.
The Solstice Queen was about to train.
"Focus," Grayson said beside her. "Feel the power inside you. Don't fight it. Let it flow."
Riley closed her eyes. Reached for that silver light she'd felt yesterday.
Nothing.
"It's not working," she said, frustrated.
"Because you're trying to control it." Scarlett stepped forward. "Solstice Queen power doesn't respond to control. It responds to conviction. To absolute certainty."
"I don't understand—"
"Command something. Anything. But mean it. Believe it with your whole being."
Riley looked at the assembled rogues. Fifty wolves watching her with doubt in their eyes.
She took a breath. "Kneel."
Nothing happened.
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
"
