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Time slowed and stretched. Perhaps I had lost too much blood, or it was survival instincts kicking in. I estimated the distance between us. It would perhaps take them five seconds to cover fifty feet.
There was no recourse. No further alternative.
I snapped my wrists in opposite directions, throwing a line of fire ten feet apart. The dead leaves on the forest floor rose in flames, and I drew a line on the ground, connecting the two points.
A wall of fire rose in front of us, fueled in multi-colors by the soldiers at my back. Trees swayed, the moving leaves feeding oxygen to the greedy flame. Without glancing back, I knew Olympia was manipulating the large buttresses. Her arcane powers sent shockwaves beneath our feet.
Almanera’s Alphas were left without a fraction of a second to react. They plowed through the thick wall of scorching flames, clutching at their face and hair as flames seared their bodies.
Tears poured from my eyes, stinging the cuts on my face. My arms shook with the strain of keeping the flames alive, and the sizzling energy in my stomach began to wane.
The flames from my right wrist sputtered tellingly, but I forced myself to push, push, and push again.
Any and all thought leached from my brain. I moved on pure instinct, letting muscle memory take over each laser-sharp swipe of flames, searing necks and spearing through chests.
My vision began to flicker, a grayish haze creeping into the corners. The stream of fire weakened with each passing blink, and I heard my name being called as though from a distance.
Olympia.
My bones rattled as the ground shook with unrelenting fervor, warning of an oncoming attack. The air vibrated with the familiar scent of Olympia’s magic.
I had the forethought to step back, although my weakened knees almost buckled as I did.
Razor sharp stalagmites burst forth from the forest floor, flaying each borderland Alpha as they fought the flames that plagued them.
The assault was unexpected. Almanera’s mouth gaped open in shock as his lifeless body lay in the air, speared through with earth magic. His hands cupped the exit wound, his grip weakening until he surrendered to death.
As the flames waned, power leached out of me, entwined with the blood that pooled at my feet.
I pitched headfirst into the dirt, consciousness leaving my body with one final gust of air.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Olympia
The trembling wouldn’t cease.
My body shook and shuddered as I attempted to recover from the overexertion.
Bile rose in my throat, threatening to spill forth the churning juices in my empty stomach.
I choked on air that was thick with fire sorcerer energy—vibrating with the after-effects of the battle. I raised a hand to my chest, slapping it roughly against my sternum, but oxygen still wouldn’t flow freely.
I couldn’t look at them… The lives I had taken out of necessity. They lay in various states of contortion, speared through by the deathly sharp tips of hardened soil.
The blood, the entrails, the whispers of their agony… It was too much.
It was kill or be killed.
Even the knowledge of the truth couldn’t fortify my conscience.
I knelt in the ashes of singed leaves, staring down at my darkened palms. Patches of soil clung to my skin, reflecting dully under the setting sun. In my weakened state, the patches seemed like smudges of dark blood, making my chest constrict further.
Like my ancestors before, I had always sworn to use my powers for good. Earth enchantment was a peaceful power to wield—a blessing from the Earth Goddess herself. It was never meant to harm others. A hopeless wail filled my chest, trapped in the finite confines.
A dull thud broke the hazy spiral of panic and self-pity. I glanced up to find Zoei in the dirt, unmoving.
A sob welled and broke free of my lips.
