The blaze faltered – but didn’t die. It rose – fiercer and more ferocious than before.
“That should’ve worked!” Jax shouted.
Kara squinted through the smoke. In the same breath she saw it. A shimmer clinging to the edges of the flames. “Wait,” she shouted through the chaos. “It’s enchanted. There’s magic woven around the fire itself!”
Sebastian cursed, crimson magic sparking at his hands.
“We can’t just keep looking at it,” Gregor yelled. He ran forward, amber magic erupting from his hands. Beams tore free of the debris, suspended for a second in mid-air before he hauled them aside – clearing a path to the villagers trapped behind their shimmering shields.
“We have to outsmart it,” Oryen commanded. “Jax, Morra, weaken the flames, one section at a time, the rest of us move together – prioritise the rescues.”
They nodded their assent and sprinted forward to Gregor’s side, allowing him to lead the way. Morra and Jax worked together seamlessly, like they’d trained for this specifically, earth and water, beating back the flames. Sebastian helped Gregor, kicking burning timber away like it weighed nothing, throwing ones that had not yet fully caught. Red and amber ribbons of magic shimmered together in perfect sync.
Unity.
“Sienna, Kara,” Oryen called, voice clipped. “As soon as it’s clear, we hit that shield – grab one each.” He pointed to the nearest cluster of villagers. “Then we move to the next.”
Kara nodded, crouched low at the edge of a wall of smoke, her breath shallow. Her heart thundered in her chest as she readied herself. Running into an inferno was not her idea of a good time.
“Now! MOVE!” Jax shouted.
They ran.
A crashing wall of water surged ahead, held up by Jax, with Morra making earth crawl up its edges like fingers trying to catch the blaze. The path it cleared wouldn’t last long. Oryen reached the shield first. Fatàn hadn’t made these ones impenetrable – it shimmered to allow him through. He pulled a woman free as Sienna and Kara grabbed the other two. They sprinted back, the villagers stumbling smoke-streaked between them, as the shield dissolved into flames.
What exactly did the Council tell them to convince them to do this?
A booming voice called out over the arena, “Ten minutes remaining.”
They didn’t stop. Jax launched another water wall ahead of them, and Morra laid earth beneath their feet to trample down the spreading flames. Sebastian and Gregor ran with them, towards the next cluster of villagers.
They moved as one.
Five villagers saved.
It was fast. Efficient.
Behind her, someone fell, coughing and wheezing – Oryen. His mask had slipped mid-run. Kara placed a hand on his chest and her emerald pulsed through his ribs, knitting the fragile lining of his lungs and throat as she pushed clean oxygen through him – the feeling echoing in her own chest.
He gasped and drew a ragged breath in. “Thanks.”
But there was no time to talk. Morra and Jax had reached the west side of the village, every street a furnace, their magic working in concert to delay the flames. “There’s more over here, but the entrance has collapsed,” Morra shouted urgently. “We need you!”
Sebastian and Gregor ran to her side, fighting to clear debris out of the way. Sebastian’s strength was evident – his entire outline flaring crimson as he hauled rubble aside.
“Five minutes remaining,” the voice called.
Kara heard a scream from inside the building – high, terrified. The whole roof was about to collapse and who knew if these shields would withstand the enchanted fire. She didn’t wait. She darted forward, under Sebastian’s arm, slipping through the small gap he’d made in the rubble.
“Kara, don’t–” he shouted after her, but she was already inside.
The air was thick with smoke. Kara lit her palms with emerald, healing her lungs as fast as smoke damaged them. She couldn’t do it forever – but it gave her time. She dropped to her knees and crawled towards the sound of voices.
It was quicker. Safer.
But the heat was already unbearable; sweat dripping down her face. Mercifully, only seconds later, dark ruby burst through the smoke, the hum of Fatàn magic filling the air. Two villagers were huddled inside it, eyeing the burning beams above them with terror. They clearly hadn’t realised this would seem so real. Kara could feel their regret, the shock and fear radiating off them.
With a rush of gratitude, she saw tendrils of blue and yellow threading past her, bringing water and earth in their wake.
