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Yeah, I really need to get off the ground.
“Elio!” I scream at the top of my lungs. I worry that it’s no use, that he can’t hear me over all the other sounds across the clearing, but he dives for the ground suddenly and lands beside me.
“Princess, what are you–”
“Take me up,” I demand, turning and holding my arms out to the side. “Get me near his face.”
I can tell he wants to argue, the pause and huff that follows confirming my suspicion, but luckily he doesn’t waste any more time. He wraps his arms around me and lifts us into the air with a hard flap of his wings. As we rise, I focus on channeling my energy, letting it curl into a tight ball in the middle of my chest and swell, growing the higher we rise.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Elio grumbles in my ear.
“Me too,” I say, but it’s not loud enough for him to hear.
The demon swats at us with a giant, clawed hand and Elio dives out of the way, pumping his wings hard to spiral us through the air until we’re eye level with the beast. We’re far enough away that he can’t hit us again, but I don’t trust my magic from this distance.
“Can you get us closer?” I ask, keeping a tight leash on the magic begging to be unleashed. It burns beneath my skin, making my hands shake, and it’s hard to breathe, but I manage to keep it held back.
I can’t risk letting it go too early. Or worse, missing my target.
“Do you have a fucking death wish, Princess?” Elio grinds out in my ear.
“No.” I roll my eyes toward the sky. “I just need to get closer. Please, trust me.”
He grumbles, but flaps his wings again. “It’s going to be quick, so be ready. I’m not risking getting hit.”
I nod. All I need is a couple of seconds.
Elio rushes faster than I’m expecting, swooping toward the creature’s face, and my magic peaks, aching in my chest. Air rushes past my face as the distance between us shrinks, the feet between us dwindling quickly, and when I can’t keep the magic restrained anymore, I finally set it free.
A blast of energy bigger than any I’ve ever seen explodes from me, an enormous ball of swirling blue light, and races straight for the monster’s face. It moves at the last second, but not fast enough to avoid the blast, and it hits the left side of its face with such force that it sends the demon reeling backward.
It stumbles, unable to catch its balance, and crashes to the ground with a boom so powerful it seems to shake the air around us. Elio whoops in my ear and I’m suddenly light-headed, the scenery spinning around me. I can only assume it’s from the amount of energy I dispelled at once. That, or I forgot to breathe throughout that entire feat.
I squeeze my eyes closed, fighting against the tendrils of unconsciousness tugging at me.
I can’t pass out.
Not now.
The monsters below rush the demon, all of them attacking at once, but it seems the regular-sized Malev demons have reappeared. With their giant overlord downed, they’ve rushed back from their breather, ready to fight again. They attack the monsters, attempting to draw them away from the fallen giant, and it’s chaos all over again.
Elio lands us away from the chaos, but the world tilts when he sets me down on the ground and my knees nearly give out.
Fuck.
I clearly need a few minutes to recuperate.
“Devyn,” Elio gasps, worriedly, grabbing me to keep me upright. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I assure him, waving a hand dismissively. “Go while you have a chance. I doubt that’ll keep him down for long.”
Elio’s worried gaze bounces between me and the fight, but he knows I’m right. “Fuck. Stay here. I’ll be back for you.”
I nod, still fighting to keep my balance but forcing an unbothered expression on my face for his benefit. He can’t risk being distracted. A second’s hesitation or distraction could have fatal consequences.
“I’m fine. Go.” I push him gently toward the fray and he races off, gliding through the air toward the fight.
As soon as he’s distracted, I sink to my knees, trying to catch my breath. Clearly, I don’t have an endless amount of magic in me, because that burst of energy took a lot out of me. I’m exhausted, tapped out. I could close my eyes and sleep for a solid week, but I know that’s not an option. This fight is far from over.
