Page 64 of Two Who Live On

“Oh, no.” His smile resembled a demon more than a boy. “Guess I only landed half the dampener, which means you’re still capable of casting. I better be on my guard.”

He wasn’t wrong, despite his feigned fright. The cuffs required a complete circuit to properly drain and detain casting. But he’d done this intentionally, some sadistic desire to drag out every second of the ten minutes Jamie kept a close eye on. Jamie continued his cruel blows, light yet brutal punches to knock Tara off balance. I stepped forward, shrugging away the judgment of other staff members.

“I’ve got this. I just need a second to think.Make a plan. If I can’t hold out, then what’s the point of working so hard to prove I belong here?”

I waited. Tara’s composure changed, and she believed she’d handle this, win this. As much as it pained me, I wanted to give her this chance. Strike after strike, I buried the desire to intervene.

Her intangibility came close to breaking the cuff, but Jamie snatched the cuff, twisting her wrist…

SNAP.

I flinched.

“You’re not so tough, are you?” Jamie’s smug smirk filled my every thought. His arrogance burned almost as brightly as the pain radiating off Tara.

I moved closer, nearly losing my balance in the delirium of so much hatred and agony.

Tara’s eyes rolled back, and she unleashed all her magics simultaneously. She didn’t need to cast her roots in tandem with her branches, but she had no idea which might release her from the cuff dampening her casting, so she unveiled every magic she had access to.

“I will not be anyone’s punching bag.” Tara screamed, and black shadows whipped furiously, ripping the arena flooring apart and knocking away two of Jamie’s team members. “Not. Ever. Again.”

Erratically unleashing her magic, Tara shattered and sealed whirlpool portals by whipping them with black shadows before they vanished from the restraint of the cuff. The broken water evaporated, rising high above the arena and forming into icicles. I scanned the proctors, eyeing Chanelle in particular. This wasn’t her branch or anyone else’s. And no amount of telekinesis could shift the temperature. Jamie, perhaps? No, Jamie’s branch was too vested in manipulating the molecules of moisture for instant travel, not controlling them at a whim. Was this Tara? How?

“Bitchthinks that’llstop me.” A huge tidal wave gushed across the arena floor. Splashes of tiny whirlpools knocked Tara’s magic in every other direction of the auxiliary gym, possibly all around the academy, while throwing her body into currents of water and crashing against stone flooring. Jamie flew above his casting, weaving between Tara’s magic, including the icicles raining down and splattering the raging whirlpool with shadows and seals.

“Enough of this.” I flew toward Tara, preparing to free her from the water threatening to drown her on stage.

Jamie was a moment away from colliding with her, telekinesis channeled in his fist and a furious strike at the ready.

Tara was too lost in the delirium of releasing magic to resist the dampening as she continued attempting to phase out of the cuff.

Chanelle unleashed a coiled whip of lightning, matching my pace, along with every single proctor all prepared to interject with their branches at the ready.

Caleb leapt between us and punched Jamie in the jaw. The crack of bone made Caleb recoil, sending an uneasy shudder up my spine as I linked to his mind out of pure shock. Caleb’s telekinesis didn’t falter, though, and he knocked his own teammate out of the arena, sending him crashing into the stadium wall with a much louder burst than he’d anticipated.

“It’s okay. It had to be done,” Caleb thought, descending next to Tara as the whirlpool of Jamie’s creation disappeared. He hesitated, taking a deep gulp as Tara’s magic continued whipping about, doubting whether deserved to win this competition.

Every instructor’s magic halted mid-strike and fell back as Tara’s magic vanished, and she collapsed onto the arena. Caleb hadn’t caught her but immediately went to her side, checking on his friend as he tried to remove the cuff. I knelt next to him, unlocking the cuff with a key every proctor for the semi-finals had.

“What a showing!” Chanelle shouted into the microphone, stirring the crowd with glee and phony praise like this had gone according to plan. They hesitated—while our host had charm, it took longer to warm up the audience than a guild witch—but eventually, they applauded the victorious Team One.

Caleb alone remained standing.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

I went to the infirmary, searching for Tara. Several awaited students sat tending for their injuries, from minor bruising to slight concussions all the way to small lacerations. Katherine lay on a hospital bed, her arm stretched across a stationed table as the school nurse stitched a cut along her forearm.

She avoided watching the magical stitches weave into her skin, sewing it together. The pain was nonexistent thanks to the numbing rejuvenation our academy nurse possessed, but Katherine had convinced herself the pain would shoot through her body if she so much as glanced. She wasn’t wrong. Pain was as much physical as it was psychological. I’d had more than my share of minds to poll on that front.

“I’m so sorry,” Carter said, wishing he could offer assistance. He’d asked to aid Katherine with vitality, but our nurse explained theoverlap of rejuvenation branches could cause complications, so he waited, pained and filled with guilt.

I worried his wide eyes and deep frown would become Carter’s default expression, washing away the carefree smile he had the first day at Gemini.

“It’s not a big deal,” Katherine said. “Won’t even scar.”

“Yeah, I get that. I just… I’m sorry we lost and…” Carter gulped. “I screwed everything up. Katherine got slashed; I couldn’t heal her. Couldn’t take down the other team.I can’t do anything right.”

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