The moment his fist cut through the air, I sidestepped with ease—he was all muscle and no precision, so he stumbled forward, off balance.
I grabbed his arm, twisted, and slammed my fist into his nose. The crunch was delicious, blood spraying across my knuckles. He howled, clutching his face, but I didn’t wait for him to recover. A sharp kick to his side sent him sprawling to the ground, hard.
Then it hit me.
Agonising pain exploded in my skull and rippled down my spine, stealing the breath from my lungs. I staggered, biting down on a cry as every nerve lit up. Now he was using his magic.
I missed this.
A somewhat worthy fight.
Pain was nothing new to me; I dealt with it every single damned day. Gritting my teeth, I forced my body forward and wrapped my hand around his throat. His other friend with messy red hair made a move, but my wind hit him and he flew back, knocking the girls over in the process.
I focused on his magic that was spreading through my body like a virus. It slithered through my body and burned through my nerves. My power surged up from within me—more than I had ever used before. It slammed into his magic, wrapping around it like a vice and snapping.
Just like that, the burning stopped and the pain vanished. I stood breathing hard as his eyes widened, then he began clawing at me to let go. I let go, and he fell to the floor, coughing.
Dark tendrils of illusion magic poured out of the girl on the floor. She had dark hair and dark skin, her gaze locked on me with a smirk like she was going to win.
The pain hit me like phantom claws, dragging down my skin, and I staggered as the pain sank in, not as brutal as the blonde-haired prick, but enough to make my knees buckle. A high-pitched ringing screamed in my ears, making my skull throb.
Through the haze, I could see the other girl reaching for something in her jacket.
Steel flashed.
They were going to use that on the girl with curls.
Oh, hell fucking no.
I snarled, shoving her magic back, and the illusion shattered like glass, the magic dispersing before it could do any damage. I surged forward, gripping the one with the knife by the wrist before she could use it.
She was an elemental witch, but could only control water. Too fucking bad for her.
I looked at the knife and back at her. “What were you going to do with this?”
She tried to pull her arm back, but I gripped her face in my other hand. The other girl was passed out, too weak after whatever I did.
I had no clue how it happened, but it did, and I’m thankful. They deserve everything they get.
“Nothing.” She snapped.
I raised a brow and pulled her forward so her face was closer to mine. “So, you just carry knives for fun?” My voice was low, laced with venom. “No, I think you were going to use it on her, weren’t you?”
Her eyes darted to the curly-haired girl who stood looking at us, her eyes terrified.
I squeezed her wrist harder, enough to make her whimper, the blade trembling in her grip. My own rage flared hot in my chest because I knew exactly what she wanted to do with it.
I leaned towards her ear. “Tell me—how does it feel, knowing I could end you just as easily?”
Her knife clattered to the floor as she sucked in a breath. I pulled back, letting her face go and grabbing the knife, slowly inspecting it. She was still, just watching, seeing if I would actually stab her.
She would deserve it, and there are plenty of places I could do it that won't kill her.
Everything in me was screaming at me to do it.
I pulled back, letting her go but taking the knife with me. I didn’t kill innocents, unless she tried to kill me, then it was fair game.
I stepped towards the girl whom I had just saved, looking at the others, who were slowly waking up.
