AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ZAP!
I was flying.
Arms and legs extended upward as a clear sky shone above me.
Pain ricocheted through me as something followed me from the soil.
I landed on the ground so hard that I couldn’t breathe.
“Ilara!” the prince yelled.
My head lolled. My sight blurred. Everything went black.
* * *
“Ilara!”Hands gripped my shoulders as anxiety filled the male’s voice. It sounded as though he called out from far away, as though the male was underwater. “Ilara!”
My entire body was convulsing. Vibrating. No, that wasn’t right. The male was shaking me as he tried to rouse me.
I opened my eyes to see the crown prince bending over me, his eyes blazing as intense fear lined his expression. His hands gripped my shoulders as power ratcheted off him, radiating around him in an aura so strong that I flinched.
I blinked as an aching pain in my gut made me wince. Groaning, I tried to sit up. “What happened?”
“Don’t move.” His hands traveled rapidly over me as he felt for injuries, but there was no blood. No broken bones. Not even bruises as far as I could tell. Just...pain.
I brought a hand to my forehead. Hair flew around my head as a slight throb twisted my stomach. “Norivun, what happened?”
His face twisted in worry. “I don’t know. You were feeling the soil, using your affinity, and you said something about it being strange, and then—”
I hissed as pain slid through my gut, strengthening with every second that passed.
“Ilara?” His voice grew quiet, his hands gentled. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Nothing? Everything? But I’m okay. I think.” But I didn’t know for sure. Whatever I’d just felt in the soil had done something to me. It was internal if the roiling in my stomach was any indication.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to sit up more. “Let’s go back to the castle.”
The aura off Prince Norivun throbbed even more. “Yes, I want Murl to check you over.”
Before I could respond, the prince’s arms were around me, and he was gently lifting me as he stood. Around us, his four guards had their backs to us. They’d formed a protective circle, as though guarding us from any unseen attacks.
My ring of fire that had been encasing us was gone.
I froze. “When did my fire stop?”
“When you flew from the ground onto your back.” Norivun tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. Tightness lined his expression. Even his wings had closed around me, as though every fiber of his body had gone into hyper-protective mode.
I nibbled my lip and felt for my magic. Pain accompanied that attempt, but my magic still swirled in my gut. It was still there, but it didn’t rise readily.
“My magic is...” I shook my head. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
Norivun’s eyes shuttered. “We’re going back to the castle. Now.”
* * *
The prince mistphased us back,insisting that I conserve my strength. I didn’t argue. Whatever had resisted my affinity in the Isalee field had left a lasting scar. My magic felt drained and weak. It’d already been low since I’d used so much during test two, but I hadn’t realized that searching that field for life would have such a detrimental effect.
We reappeared just outside of the healing infirmary, the prince’s guards only seconds behind us.
