CHAPTER EIGHT
He’s poured all his power into a new shield surrounding the city. You must find another way to get through.
—Intercepted correspondence from Queen Galena intended for Sir Ronan Merik.
The too-familiar sensation of falling slammed into me as wind pummeled my body from every direction. I cast to Tiberius and was met with a panicked response. Two muffled reactions collided with my own from a great distance. Bayne and Aquila. My brain seemed to stop working as my body flailed against the wind.
The view of the overcast sky and the ominous lake somersaulted before my eyes. And that dark smudge… The lake was getting bigger. Closer.
Where are you?!
I’m blocked! She’s blocked me! I can’t get to you!Tiberius’s voice shook with rage.
He cast to me, and I was suddenly in his body, thrashing against a different kind of wind that locked him in place. A shield that she’d thrown up at the edge of the woods.
I tumbled through the air, the words registering too slowly and the water below rushing up too quickly. The Obscura reacted to my panic and bucked against the eight-pointed stars on my palms, but I couldn’t direct its power as we spun.
A woosh of warm, sickeningly sweet wind slammed into me, and my momentum was thrown upward. The jolt of the change in trajectory shoved my stomach into my throat, and I forced down the urge to vomit while falling upward.
I slammed to the ground, my face scratching against rock and pine needles as the wind pinned me into the ground. I tried to push up to my knees, and she sent another blast at my back, my face smacking into the stone. A gush of blood filled my nostrils.
The sweet scent vanished along with the force of wind at my back. The thunder of Ti’s hooves filled my ears as he pounded up to me, nudging my shoulder with his wide, velvety nose. I gingerly rolled to my back and stared at the misty sky.
Those two muffled sensations of concern and panic continued to knock at my consciousness. I sent back my own relief and ease to quell the anxiety stretching from miles away before promptly shutting down the mental connection. Bayne and Aquila had work to do. They didn’t need this distraction, and I could handle the queen.
Are you sure about that?
I put my hand on Ti’s soft muzzle, not deigning to reply. She definitelycouldkill me. With that strength… I’d never seen magic used this way. Isla was powerful with the lost arts, as were Bayne and Nerissa. Butthis…
“It seems we have quite a bit of work to do,” she sneered from several yards back. “Have you not mastered the basic arts? Any mage would have been able to throw up a shield of wind to at least slow their momentum.”
I tried not to bristle at the criticism. A red smear stretched across the cream fabric of my tunic as I brushed my arm against my nose.
“I’ve been training,” I growled, getting to my feet. “The basic arts have been challenging.”
Her eyes narrowed on me, considering.
“Then let us not waste time with them. We’ll focus on the Bellator powers. Though I’m surprised neither reacted to save you. That’s what happened when both manifested for the first time, yes?”
I gave a reluctant nod. The Obscura manifested when Cyril prepared to slice me open in his tower on Kayj. And the Transcindiel transformed Tiberius into my caeluma, giving him wings as we flew off the cliffs of Odessa, pursued by Saros’s soldiers.
“Curious. The Transcindiel… I suppose we don’t know its limits yet. One would think it could transform anything. Turn a floating log into a boat. Or even turn the water itself into a cloud of cotton, protecting you from the impact... Transform the air itself…” she mused.
A strange sensation of protectiveness swept over me as her eyes took on a glassy effect. Greed. Desire.She wanted this power.
“I guess that explains why you’ve made no progress with the ashen.”
The words hit like a ton of bricks. Guilt clawed at my chest. I glanced up, and her eyes held a cunning spark, waiting for my reaction. I relaxed my jaw, shoving down the emotions.
“The Obscura,” she continued. “You could have sent that after me as well. Destroy the source of the attack, and the attack would cease.” She uncrossed her arms and approached.
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” she said, sizing me up. “We’re going to explore the full potential of the Bellator powers.You may not like my methods, but by the end of this, you’ll have better mastery over the powers you’ve dared to claim.”
She turned and walked to the center of the clearing near the cliffs, motioning me to follow.
“Feet apart,” she instructed, turning and standing in a battle-ready stance in front of me. “Use the Bellator powers to defend yourself. I won’t kill you.” Her eyes were hard, determined, as she lifted her hands and sent a blast of wind, raising several small broken sticks up into the air. Her mouth twitched to the side, and she flicked her wrists, sending them flying toward me like airborne blades.
I was ready this time. I opened my palms to the projectiles and let the build-up of emotion swell in my chest, offering it to the Obscura. It greedily grabbed hold of it and burst through my palms, streaming toward the projectiles, swallowing them up and leaving trails of ash floating to the ground.
