" A strange illusion,” I murmured shakily.
“Not an illusion,” said Amar. His voice was brittle. “Didn’t I promise you the power of a thousand kings?” He crossed the marble floor that had once been an ocean. Water glistened on his feet and a gray fish flopped helplessly in a corner.
He stood in front of me, his eyes hectic and alive. Even through my fury, I couldn’t look away from him.
“You and I are the ground and ceiling of our empire,” he said, his voice harsh and desperate, pleading and ruthless at once. “You and I can carve lines into the universe and claim all that we want. We need only share between ourselves. Don’t you see?”
“All I see is your power,” I said. “None of my own. All I see are my words and expectations thrown up against whatever it is that you choose to tell me--”
“--whatever I can tell you,” finished Amar. “And as for your power, I was hoping you would ask that. It’s time to practice.”
“Leave me alone,” I hissed.
“Your duties in Akaran will pay no heed to the whims of its empress.”
I bared my teeth at Amar and he returned it with a half-grin.
“From now on, whatever concentration you use is yours alone. It is your power. Not mine.”
“How would I know?”
“You’ll feel it in your bones. Like blood singing to marrow.”
I slid off the bed and when my feet hit the floor, something silvery trilled through my body, like light had seeped in and was rediscovering me. It was like being full for the first time. Like being weighed and made whole.
“Power needs balance,” said Amar. “Our game today, as our reign, is simply a matter of reaction. What can we do when chaos is flung into our face? "

― Roshani Chokshi , The Star-Touched Queen (The Star-Touched Queen, #1)