Yully's eyes went to Rourk's body. She moved to the center of the monument and opened herself to the magics. She sensed her father and the Guardians he went to meet on the other side of the hill. There weren't many of them, but they were powerful. One source of energy was darker than a stormy sky while another was as bright as the sun. Puzzled, she concentrated on two more sources of magic. She thought one might be Jule, but the energies faded in and out too quickly to tell.
The sky began to dim, and she played with the magic, adrenaline speeding the power's flow through her. It acclimated to her and accepted her until it obeyed her thoughts before she thought them.
Her father was right. She would need much more power to counter his, and the Guardians could provide it. She wondered again what he was that he was so strong.
Identifying his magic, she avoided it and began to draw from the others. Something blocked the storm and sun sources she'd felt, but the others flowed to her freely. Yully let the power fill her and mix with the other energies, staving off panic that there was much more than she could ever control.
"Daughter." Her father's voice broke her concentration.
Yully opened her eyes and released the magic she'd pulled in. She was floating again, and she dropped to her feet. Dusk had fallen while she tested the magic and her ability to control it. The torches around the circle were lit. She faced her father, not expecting to see the small crowd of people on the other side of the monument. She recognized Damian, Darian, Jonny, the woman who accompanied Jonny, and several others. Her father stood near her in the center.
"Alive or dead, their energy will feed you, daughter," her father said. He gathered his power, and an orb of light formed in his hands.
"No, Father. Let me face them," she said.
"If you think to betray me, daughter, Jule dies," he warned for her ears only.
"Their energies are stronger when they're alive. You said we needed everything we could get," she replied. "Please, Papa. You've prepared me for this day."
His eyes lingered on her face for a moment, and then he held out his hand.
"Start with mine. Funnel it upward. Do it, now."
She took his hand and absorbed what she could of his power. It mingled with the magic of the monument, and she threw it upward, towards the sky. Light rippled through the clouds.