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“Telum!”
With the golem pulling itself out of the pit, it’s left in a vulnerable position. Eliya’s magic slams into it, and it’s unable to defend itself from the blow.
Her spell pierces the golem’s crystalline heart, defeating it. Its remains crumble onto the ground. The crowd cheers, and Eliya murmursterminir. Her remaining clone disappears, and she is left alone at the center of the arena.
The applause is the loudest I’ve heard today—even more deafening than when Archmage Gidston announced my name. Eliya defeated the construct faster than the rest of us, thanks to her genius strategy. She deserves all the cheers which the crowd shower her with.
Eliya teleports back up into the audience and strides over to me. “Told you I wouldn’t need any luck.”
“You were amazing!”
She returns to her place beside me and flicks her crimson waves over her shoulder. After the fight with the golem, her hair is even wilder than usual. “I know,” she replies with a wink. “I always am.”
We have little time to discuss her outstanding performance. Archmage Gidston teleports to the center of the arena. Several magi are already working down there, swiftly mending the ditch that Eliya created and tidying away the golem’s remains. Archmage Gidston waits until they have finished before addressing us all.
“Fourteen of our adepts have successfully completed the first round of the Trial of Magic, but they must face two more in order to prove they possess the skill required of the magi.
“We now move to the second round of this trial. Our remaining adepts will each battle four lesser elementals. To emerge victorious, they must carefully select their spells against each opponent and fluently wield all four of the elements.
“The first adept will now take their place inside the arena—Reyna Ashbourne!”
At the Archmage’s command, I teleport down to where she stands. This time, she offers me no words of encouragement before returning to the platform which overlooks the arena. Behind her sits my father on his stone throne. He clasps his crystalline staff as he stares down at me. I don’t meet his magenta eyes for long, and I soon turn my attention to the steel gates behind me.
“Let the second round commence!”
The gates open.
Blinding lights dart out. There are four colors in total: red, white, green, and blue.
As they rush forth, the spirits manifest into physical forms. The red light becomes a blazing salamander, the white light becomes a gigantic hawk, the green light becomes an elk formed from gnarled vines, and the blue light becomes a stallion with a mane of streaming kelp. Water ripples beneath its hooves.
The four elementals charge at me. The hawk swiftly takes the lead, thanks to its enormous wingspan.
I weave aether into fire magic and unleash the conjured flames upon it. “Ignira!”
The resulting fireball isn’t my most ferocious, but I lack the time to make it so. I can’t afford to spend too long on one enemy, or else the other three will overpower me.
My spell is enough to stop the hawk from swooping toward me and leaves it dazed. The flames feed on the air magic comprising its body. I don’t stop to examine how much damage I inflict. The water stallion is already upon me.
It rears. A wave crashes forth, sweeping high over me and threatening to drown me.
“Tera’muriz!” I shout.
Just as the water reaches me, I wrap the ground around myself and form an earthen shield. The water slams into the rock, and I hear it churning beyond the safety of my barrier.
The wave falls silent. I shatter my shield. “Tera’quatir!”
The rock explodes, hurling out in all directions. It slams into the water stallion, forcing it back several paces. A large chunk also collides with the salamander which was gaining on me, gaining me a few extra moments from its sizzling flames.
When I glance back, I see the elk charging forth. Its hooves slam into the ground. Thunder rings out. The ground shatters. A bolt pierces through the center of the arena.
I fall to the right of the crack. My knees strike the ground first. My gaze briefly drifts over to the chasm. It plummets into the earth, hundreds of feet deep.
Before I can leap up, the hawk swoops at me. Its translucent wings beat back and forth, generating a terrifying force. A howling gale rushes forth, tearing through all the air in its path.
“Ignir’muriz!”
Flames ignite around me, and they stop the violent wind from ripping me apart. The fiery wall roars, feeding off the air magic. It grows in size until it snuffs out the gale.
