Early in the morning, after her work out, Sienna sought out her grandfather and revealed her mental strength. After he processed the shock, he immediately assigned himself as her trainer, which she had been hoping for. He was at the same level as Elias. Under his guidance, she was certain that she would be striking ships out of the sky soon.

So there she was, sitting cross-legged on a polished stone high up on the cliff overlooking the sea. Her brow furrowed in concentration. Her grandfather stood behind her, with his arms folded.

"Again," he barked, his voice echoing through the wind. "Strike with thought, not with muscle. I don’t understand how you have mental strength but I am glad you do. Now you need to focus and sharpen it as quickly as possible. Right now, you are still no better than an ordinary human."

Sienna exhaled, narrowed her eyes, and focused. A rippled of invisible force shot forward, knocking over the smallest stone on a pile of rocks her grandfather had stacked. His assigned mission was for her to make the all the rocks explode at the same time. So far, she was not successful.

Her grandfather blinked. "By the ancestors....are you even trying?"

Sienna grinned sheepishly. "I am trying. I just didn’t think it took so much training to wield a thought like a weapon."

The old man rubbed his temples. "If it were easy, every beast man with mental strength would be doing it. Your focus is weaker than a cub’s tantrum. You need to understand the thought. To feel it. To command it. You need to be one with your mind."

Sienna tilted her head. "I made a perfume bottle explode yesterday night. It was so simple. Why is it hard now?"

"You got lucky." Grandpa Corven snorted, half amused, half exasperated. "Maybe we are rushing to see results. We should focus on small stones. How big was this perfume bottle?"

Sienna formed a small circle with with her hand. Her grandfather re-arranged the stone pile with his mental strength, moving them around like piece on a chess board. He looked slightly smug. Sienna couldn’t help thinking that he was showing off.

As they resumed training, Sienna noticed that he became quieter. When she turned around, she noticed his gaze drifting, his expression shadowed by memories. They must have been painful, because his expression was grim. She struck randomly, sending a ripple of thought energy that made all the small stones around them break. He didn’t even praise her.

"What’s wrong grandpa?" she asked, wiping sweat from her brow. "You look like you swallowed a lemon peel." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

He sighed, lowering himself onto the ground. "Nothing really...I am just thinking of your mental strength and how you can have it when you lack a beast gene. There’s something I never told you before, Sienna. Our family...we are not just from any random falcon lineage. We are descended from the Osmille family, the second ruling family of the beast continent. This was during the final years before we left the woods and cities like this were built. Our family ruled in a time when the beast gods walked among our kind every now and then, blessing those they found worthy. You come from a long lineage of falcon priests. I am wondering if that is why you are different from other humans."

Sienna blinked. Her mental strength had nothing to do with that, but....he had given her a good cover story. Sooner or later, people would notice and questions would rise. This mythical story would be much more believable than evolution of human genes. "Second ruling family? I have never heard about that."

"Because all old history was wiped out when the first beast city perished. All that was left were small notes by historians that claim we were annihilated." He said gravely. "But in truth, a few survived. They hid, changed names, lived quietly. Our family does not stand out because we were taught to hide. If you add our history and Paris’s actions, the royal family won’t look too kind on us. They might assume we are trying to resurrect a dead dynasty. You should reveal your mental strength to the queen, and say you saw the falcon god in your dream. It is is stupid, but people would rather believe in gods than other things." He sighed. "It looks our bloodline still carries secrets. Maybe you were destined to be a priestess."

Sienna’s eyes glimmered. "So, I am basically a princess. A hidden royal?"

Her grandfather laughed. "Child, you are practically the queen of the fox tribe. I think that is better than being the princess of a dead dynasty which nobody remembers."

She twisted her lips. "How sad. Were they the good guys or bad ones?"

"Good." He replied with a smile. "But, times were chaotic."

They continued practicing, Sienna breaking stones with her thoughts. She even tried to pull a fish from the sea with her mind, making her grandfather mutter under his breath, half proud, half horrified.

"Focus, girl! You are supposed to be learning how to attack and defend yourself, not catching breakfast."

Sienna shrugged. "Breakfast is practical."

The old man sighed. "I think you are the worst student I have ever had."

She giggled. "Grandpa, I am going to tell grandma what you said and watch while she yells at you for making me sad."

He winced.

She stretched her arms, "Besides, I think I am the only human student you have ever had. I am the only human in this kingdom with mental strength. Every small stone I lift is an accomplishment already. Historians should be writing about me. They should be fainting in my presence. The favorite human daughter of the beast gods, blessed for ages."

Her grandfather squinted , but his eyes twinkled. He wondered if her ego was big enough to fit in her hands. If she claimed to be the favorite daughter of one beast god, he would bite. But all of them!!! He loved his granddaughter, but that was a stretch. Also, if the historians in the royal palace heard her, they would roll their eyes. "If the king hears this, he will have an opinion surely. They say the king is the most loved beast man of the gods, blessed for ages. You certainly have more courage than Paris. You would make a shameless rebel."

Sienna’s gasp frightened the birds in the trees around them!