Talan smiled at me, but it was sad and I hated the pity I saw on his face. He didn't address the point I was making at all. "Your mind has been tangled with more than once, Lark. I will give you a false memory right now, one that I believe you will be able to fight easily so you begin to understand."
I didn't like the sound of this. "Are you even going to tell me how to disprove the false memory?"
"Of course." He stepped closer until we were almost nose to nose, bent and kissed me on the lips.
I blinked up at him, but he was ten feet away from me. "Why the hell did you kiss me?"
"I didn't," he said. "But you believe I did. You need to find the connection to your skin, to your muscles and your body memory. That is the key to making the memory in your head real or not real. What does your body feel?"
I wasn't sure I understood, but I thought about how my body felt when Ash kissed me, the pressure of his mouth, the taste of his skin, the way my heart picked up … the memory of Talan kissing me held none of that … and as I tried to find the physical memory of his mouth on mine, the memory faded until it was no longer in my head.
"Good, you're a fast learner, as I'd thought you would be." Talan nodded. "But that was an easy one. Because the reality is I put no weight into that false memory. I let it be a simple kiss with no emotion, no sensation at all. But do you understand better how to dissect your memories now?"
"All well and good," I said, "but just how do I know which memories have been tampered with? I could spend years going through my memories! And again, are there not better things you could be training me?"
"You will have memories tucked away and hidden that you have no knowledge of," Raven added.
I turned to him. "What?"
He shrugged. Obviously, Talan was allowing us some movement now, small bits. "There are memories that can be completely hidden. Just wiped clean as if you slept through them. Basically, if you don't know what you are looking for, you would never find them in your subconscious at all."
"Worm shit," I breathed out.
Talan flipped his hand through the rushing water, splashing us both. "I am the teacher, Raven. Let's make sure she can pull apart the obvious lies before she goes hunting for the rest."
Raven glared at him, and I just watched the two face off. Then Raven bowed his head. "You're right, Talan."
Talan nodded and flicked his hand at Raven. A curl of pink flowed over Raven, releasing his bonds completely. I couldn't help my eyes from bugging out.
"You're letting him connect to his elements?"
Talan nodded. "He won't fight me, unlike you. I trust him." Talan paused. "You are eager, Raven. That is your only downfall." He turned from my brother.
I looked at Raven, his head bowed, and knew he was going to do something when I saw the twitch in his cheek. He didn't even lift his hand, but with Talan's back to us, the Spirit Walker never saw it coming.
Fire sprang up around Talan, a wall of heat so large it filled the room from floor to ceiling, forcing him to the far side.
Would it be enough?
I could fling up my own hand to protect my face, the hold on my body gone. Apparently, fire was a weakness for Talan. And I was grateful for it because his distraction stole away his hold on me, and my connection to my own powers flooded through me.
Raven grabbed my other hand and pulled. "We have to go now!"
"Peta!"
She was there in a flash and before I could process that Raven was rescuing me, we were running full tilt through the tunnels, down and down, the rock growing more and more slick with each step and the light growing dimmer. "Raven, are you sure you can get us out?"
"Absolutely. I just need us to get out of the main section." But there was a hesitation in his voice that made me wonder.
"Why?"
"Talan blocked the ability to Ride Spirit directly out of his home, same as the elemental families."
I kept my mouth shut after that.
"Peta, stick close," Raven said. "When we hit the stable, I can take all three of us because you are connected to Lark through your familiar bond, but not the horse."
My heart sank as we rounded a final corner and I saw Shazer dozing with his head hanging over a stall door. His wings fluttered in his sleep, shivering as he dreamed whatever it was a Pegasus would dream. Maybe he dreamed of his past. "We can't leave him," I said.
Shazer's head never even came up.
"He's under a heavy sleep spell, so you can't ride him out anyway," Raven said.
I didn't even think about what I was doing. I just ran forward and put my hands on Shazer's neck. Whatever the connection between him and me, it was strong. Carefully, I felt along the edges of his mind and found the spell holding him under its thrall. The same way I'd pulled apart my own false memory of Talan's kiss, I used my muscle memory of Shazer being awake, sassy, and vibrant to shatter the sleep spell. He came to with a snort, his head jerking up so fast, he hit the top of the stall door.