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Kaia
E.Z. laid me on my side, applying pressure with the balled-up bed sheets against my back, below my left rib. They saturated immediately, and the air smelled of iron and vinegar. I swallowed an agonized scream at the pressure— not wanting E.Z. to hear my pain as well as feel it. Feeling E.Z.’s fear for me was the only indication that anything but rage fueled him, and I didn’t need to make it worse.
His shoulders expanded as he stood and turned towards the man who’d hurt me, stopping with his feet spread wide. He moved with intention— more controlled than his usual fluidity. Between E.Z.’s lethal grace, hard eyes, and the deadly look on his face, I had never seen a man look so terrifyingly beautiful. He was flushed and trembling with his fury.
It was impossible to identify the person sprawled on the ground, half inside our open door, half concealed in the dark hallway. Their face was in shadow, and they wore discreet dark clothes, though their broad shape and large boots implied male. The man rolled, pushing to his knees in the dark hall, turning to flee.
The muscles corded along E.Z.’s neck and arms as he raised his right hand towards the man. I felt his rage build. That fury became such a profound emotion it almost took away my pain. E.Z. squeezed his fist so tight it turned white, and immediately, the man started to gasp and sputter, reaching for his throat.
I could feel E.Z.’s satisfaction that he’d broken through the man’s shield like it wasn’t there. The man wasn’t a match against E.Z.’s power.
He also felt irritated about dealing with this sniveling weasel before tending to me. He wanted to kill him and struggled to hold himself back so he could interrogate the man. If this was E.Z. holding back, I couldn’t imagine him at full force.
“You stab her in her back and think to run? Like a coward?” E.Z. ground out through gritted teeth. His voice was low and threatening. “You hurt what’s mine and think to live?”
Fear shown in the man’s wide eyes, his hands scratching and clawing at the invisible grip on his neck as his face turned red, trying to draw in air. His lips formed pleas as he tried to beg from his knees, hands still struggling to relieve the pressure on his neck. No air passed his lips. No sounds came out. And no forgiveness was given. The Earth User stood no chance against E.Z.’s passion and power.
Within seconds, the man stopped struggling. E.Z. released him from his hold, and the man fell face-first onto the floor, a crunch sounding when his nose connected with the tile. The man released a strangled, gasping moan on impact but remained still.
Despite his rage, E.Z. had somehow maintained restraint and kept him alive. The man was unconscious and wouldn’t be healing himself anytime soon. That gave both E.Z. and me some solace.
With the flick of E.Z.’s wrist and a tweak of his fingers, the door to the bathroom flew open. In the next moment, the man was lifted with a cushion of Air Magic and dragged across the floor, keeping him away from me. E.Z. dropped him several times and slammed his head into the dresser before tossing him into the bathroom. The dropping and banging were almost definitely intentional. The doors to the bathroom and bedroom slammed closed, clicks sounding as both locks engaged.
E.Z.’s skill and power were unlike anything I had known an Air User could do. I had seen the guys train but must not have paid close enough attention to E.Z.— my focus had been elsewhere. Lifting a grown man without breaking a sweat was impressive. The speed and force used to slam his head into the dresser were also impressive.
His control alone was something I wouldn’t believe if I hadn’t witnessed it. Using Air to engage a lock would take extreme concentration and skill. It was intricate and required using your magic to see— a sought-after skill as a soldier. Only a few could see using Air with any level of precision. Hardly anyone could master the skill to the degree to which E.Z. handled his power. I had read many books on Air Usage, and they were all pretty clear on that.
That whole thing only took seconds but seemed to move so slowly. My heart was dully thumping, a slowing tune sounding in my ears. My whole world was shrinking to this one moment. My last moment.
E.Z. fell to his knees by my side, keeping pressure on my wound with one hand while the other snapped off Father’s tags, letting the feeling of my magic rush back into my chest.
“Kaia, I’m so sorry. You’re going to be okay. We’ll fix this.” He swallowed heavily. The tension lining his brow and strained smile belied his words. “You have the power to heal yourself.”
E.Z.’s hands flittered over me like he didn’t know where to check first. He trembled, his forearms coiled as he struggled to keep his touches light and seeking, the muscle in his jaw popping with the effort. He started with my pulse and temperature before running them over my face, arms, and hair, then anywhere he could reach, almost frantic in his movements. It was a stark contrast from the E.Z. from moments before.
I felt nothing but fire and pain. And E.Z.'s hands. I felt the cool caress of his palms. Felt the sweeping rush of crisp winter air followed by the warm summer breeze that often followed E.Z.’s touch. It helped soothe some of the heat blazing down my side and radiating through my back.
“Please, Kaia Perfect,” he begged in a broken whisper. “You need to heal yourself.”
The anguish in E.Z.’s eyes was killing me. Both of us knew I was dying, but neither would say it.
I focused on the magic inside my chest, willing it to do as he asked. When I had somehow used it before, it was without intent. I didn’t even know it was happening. It was impossible. I couldn’t use it intentionally in much better conditions.
Pretty quickly, I didn’t feel the pain anymore. Just tremors and bone-deep cold. Nothing else. My eyelids felt so heavy I could barely keep them open, and they kept falling closed. I knew my body was going into shock, protecting me from the worst of the pain. I wasn’t sure if I should feel relief in that— relief from the sheer agony of moments before. It meant I didn’t have a lot of time left.
“Kaia, no. Look at me. Do not shut those beautiful eyes. Stay with me.” E.Z. attempted a reassuring smile when my eyes fluttered to his, but he couldn’t hold it convincingly. His normally tanned complexion had gone pale. “Kaia, you have to stay awake,” he said, pausing when his voice cracked. His hand pushed into my hair at the back of my ear and tilted my face so he could press a kiss to my forehead before catching my eyes. “You need to use your Earth Magic. You need to heal yourself.”
I tried to listen. Tried to focus on E.Z.'s beautiful ocean eyes, now filled with tears on my behalf. I worried it would be the last time I ever saw them. That hurt more than the physical wound had. My beautiful E.Z.. The brightest light in every life he touches. The bringer of joy and smiles and jokes and laughter and love. I think I loved him.
My eyes burned and a tear slipped out, falling down my cheek. I may not have felt the physical pain anymore. But emotionally— it hurt.
“I’m sorry,” I slurred, my eyes blinking closed. “I’m so tired.”
He grabbed my hand and held it tight. “Kaia. You can’t sleep.” He squeezed when I didn’t respond.
I did not open my eyes. I couldn’t focus on much of anything. My senses were failing. My limbs felt heavy. My head spun, and it became harder to breathe.
“Help,” he screamed into the silent night. “Help!”
