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Kalen has been particularly antsy today, jittery and excitable. I am sure it is the buzz of Darius' magic that is causing it. Darius watches him as we walk, allowing me to sense his worry for Kalen. To ease Kalen’s emotions, I move to slip my hand in his as I catch up to him. The recruits are all waiting by the training grounds, nervously looking around, when I notice the hundreds of Phoenixes on the roof. I gulp, knowing my magic has brought these supposed mythical creatures here. Yet, Darius doesn’t seem to mind as they watch with their keen eyes.
The recruits take their places, but no one moves to train with me, and since Kalen isn’t allowed, I get to face Darius instead. He quirks an eyebrow at me.
“Challenge accepted then. Don't think I will go easy on you because you're a girl,” he chuckles. I smile at the challenge.
“And don't think I will go easy on you because you're my mate!” I banter back at him, making the crowd of recruits gasp loudly. They know we are mates, but this is the first time I have outwardly claimed them back. However, Darius doesn't seem mad at my words.
"We'll see then," he chuckles, moving into the circle.
For the most part, everyone works on fire magic, seeing as that is what most of those here obtain. Yet as Darius and I train, I find myself beginning to understand why he is so feared among the fae population. He has not only the stamina to keep up with my attacks, but also the ability to ward off those the men would hurl his away.
He doesn’t even break a sweat, though I am becoming drained of power and exhausted. My vision blurs as I dodge another of his fireballs. Our training has turned into a game of violent dodgeball and everyone joins in.
Yet I am relieved when Darius calls it quits because I am exhausted. Darius calls out for everyone to pack up. As the recruits move around beginning to pack up, they continue to fool around. Suddenly, a fireball races past me. Darius growls loudly, snatching it and hurling it back, making the man who tossed it scream when it catches his clothes alight.
“Aleera!” Darius calls, making me look back just in time to see a fireball coming straight toward me.
Ducking a blue ball of flames from one recruit, I shriek as another is hurled at my chest. I close my eyes, waiting for the impact as I toss my arms out, feeling my magic fizzle out as I try to block it.
I gasp, knowing I’m about to be burned, when I feel the heat blast around me. I open my eyes to see the fireball split in half and go around me; the whistling of the wind is loud as I realize that Darius used air magic to deflect it. His growl is thunderous.
“Ah, come on, Darius!” one of the recruits screams out, none of them wanting to quit their stupid game.
“No! We are done for the day. Pack up!” Darius orders, the energy around the field we stand on remains fully charged, making Darius curse.
“Half an hour more, and that's it. Aleera, off the field, you're exhausted,” Darius says. I won’t question him, I am exhausted and power drained. Yet suddenly, as I walk toward Kalen, my vision blurs, and my stomach cramps from a stitch in my side.
Abruptly, the field goes quiet, and I rub my eyes, trying to clear the sweat from them. Opening them, I see Kalen get to his feet. The look of pure horror on his face makes me confused when I see his gaze is behind me, I turn to see portals opening up everywhere on the field.
Stunned, I stop when one man suddenly screams out a word that usually the fae only whisper about, it's always been a bad omen to speak of them. “Power hunters!” while another screams that we are under attack.
Hundreds of portals open up, and I stop in my tracks when I see Darius turn to look at Kalen and I before wind rushes toward me, tossing me backwards as he lifts his hands.
I smack into something hard and hear the person grunt, only to realize I’ve hit Kalen. We tumble to the ground toward the portal Darius created for us, only for us to smash into the ground when his magic drops abruptly, making the portal close.
I shake myself, rolling off Kalen to see Darius fighting alongside his men as they try to stop them from getting to us. I get to my feet to go help them when Kalen rips me back. “You have no magic,” he roars, ripping on my arm and trying to pull us away from the fray.
“Kalen, get her out of here!” Darius screams, before being blasted with green magic and tossed into the castle's stonework. The brick words dent from the force, the old rock and brick walls crumbling. My eyes take in the scene as the recruits slowly get taken down. All of a sudden, I feel my infinity mark burn violently as Kalen calls for our mates.
Darius staggers but gets back up as Kalen screams in response to Darius being hit again while trying to protect one of his men.
“No!” I shout, as the figures in hooded cloaks stalk after Darius, the power hunters closing in around him drawn to his power. My mind reels, wondering about how they got past the wards. However, my scream makes the hooded power hunters stop and turn toward me. Kalen and I gasp in surprise as they throw their magic at us.
Kalen grunts tossing up a shield, deflecting their magic at the last second. I look to the rooftops, see the restless Phoenixes watching. Sticking my fingers in my mouth, I whistle, needing their attention. I need magic, and those phoenixes are full of it.
What I wasn't expecting was the moment I whistled, the beat of their wings filled the sky as if they were waiting for the command. They all took flight, circling the sky above. I ran toward Darius as they all started diving, helping out the men and going for those in the hooded cloaks.
Yet even with the phoenixes it’s not enough to take them all down when I feel the air expel from my lungs and my entire body becomes paralyzed, every muscle tensing and locking, my nerve endings burning like they’re on fire.
“Aleera!” Kalen screams, just as I see Ryze attack the hooded person who has me trapped in his magic. Suddenly, another of my phoenixes falls from the sky, hitting the ground near me, only to be pounced on by the hooded figures who slaughter him. His squawks fill the air, and I know the sound he made will forever haunt me. Mighty screeches ring down from the sky making me look up to see the Phoenixes diving to help, and I grit my teeth while Ryze tries to get the hooded figure to release me from his magic.
ChapterThirty-Three
The training field is utter chaos as all I can do is watch paralyzed under this hunter's spell without magic. My bird’s screeching squawks continue to rip my heart to shreds as they begin to fall, half of them torn to bits, when the man holding me under his spell is thrown into the castle wall. I collapse on the ground, only to look up at the bloodshed surrounding me. Carnage is all I see, blood tainting the ground and feathers raining down from the sky.
I blink, seeing Tobias is here, my eyes trying to track Tobias' blurring movement as he fights to get to Darius who is surrounded by around thirty hooded figures, all hurling magic at him while he tries to block them. The quantity and strength of his magic makes him the biggest target.
Turning my head, I see an enormous wolf coming straight toward me, all claws and sharp gleaming teeth, it launches itself directly at me. I close my eyes, waiting to be torn to shreds, when its fur brushes past my face as it jumps over the top of me; a feral snarl tearing from deep inside its chest.
