Page 316 of House Ignis

The familiar pain flared in my gut, a sharp, white-hot spike of agony that coincided perfectly with the magical warp.

Impact.

We slammed onto solid, unyielding earth. My boots didn't sink into sand or skid on obsidian; they hit packed dirt and ancient, gnarled roots. I didn't even have the chance to look around before I collapsed to my knees, my hands flying to the ground to steady myself.

I doubled over, my chest heaving as I gagged, my vision swimming with spots of green and brown.

“Easy, firecracker. I've got you.” Asher’s voice was right there. I felt his cool, calloused hand sweep the blood-matted strands of my braid away from my face, his fingers firm as he held my hair back.

I retched again, my throat raw and burning, coughing up nothing but bile and the metallic tang of the lizard’s blood that had managed to get into my mouth.

"Gods," I gasped, spitting onto the dirt, my eyes watering. "Every... godsdamn... time."

Asher didn't let go. He stayed crouched beside me, his other hand splayed across my back, his shadows forming a protective, shimmering dome around us that blocked out the rest of the world.

Through the bond, his worry was a jagged edge, but he kept his voice light, trying to anchor me.

"You’re just not built for travel ," he murmured, his thumb grazing the nape of my neck. "Remind me to get you a carriage next time we decide to conquer the elements."

I took a shuddering breath, the scent of damp pine and rich soil finally clearing the stench of fish and sulfur from my nose. I wiped my mouth with the back of a blood-stained hand and looked up.

We were in the Earth Realm.

Massive, towering trees with trunks as wide as houses reached toward a canopy so thick it blotted out the sky.

Giant ferns brushed against my shoulders, and the air was heavy, humid, and humming with the sound of insects the size of birds.

"You okay to stand?" Asher asked, his eyes searching mine for any sign that the flare was getting worse.

"I'm fine," I lied, my voice a raspy ghost of itself. I forced myself up, leaning heavily on him for a heartbeat before finding my balance. "Let's just finish this."

Above us, the dome flickered. Only thirty teams left.

The forest began to groan, the massive roots beneath our feet shifting like sleeping giants waking up.

The Earth Realm didn't use fire or water to kill—it used the very ground you stood on.

"Aether, Zya—to the canopy," Asher commanded. "Something is moving in the brush."

The Earth Realm didn't just shift; it breathed.

Giant moss-covered trolls erupted from the loam, their skin like weathered bark.

We slayed them in a frantic blur of shadow and flame, their thick, sap-like blood mingling with the lizard gore already crusting on my skin.

But as the timer began its final descent, the heavy foliage parted.

Standing in a clearing of massive ferns were Jeremy and his partner, Sienna Draven.

She was striking—long black hair pulled into a high, severe ponytail, her skin fair and smooth.

Her blue eyes sparkled with a calculated coldness as she toyed with a glowing crystal necklace. Inside, a tiny, sleek otter paddled in magical stasis. Zaria, Sienna’s cousin, had once declared it the cutest thing she'd ever seen.

Sienna’s smile, however, was pure malice. My eyes snapped to Jeremy. He looked wrecked—shame written in the tight line of his jaw, though he looked at Asher with a lethal, defensive edge. The last time they had been in the same space, Asher had nearly ended him.

"Good to meet you, Princess," Sienna purred, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. I heard quite a lot about you last year.”

My eyebrows furrowed. Last year? My magic flared, white sparks dancing across my knuckles.