Page 106 of My Wild Horse King

When he starts attacking me with gusts of wind, buffeting me from the right and the left, I’m really torqued off. I was having the first nice moment I’ve had since they found me back in New York City, and he had to barge in and ruin it?

He wraps me around on both sides with air, lifts me into the air, and then drops me.

Before I can slam into the ground, two pillars of earth swirl up to brace underneath my feet, and I lift both hands, directing two more at the jerk.

Theyalmostreach his face when he flings both hands out and sends them flying away. He’s smiling like it’s all some big joke when he says, “Is that all you’ve got, Ariel?”

“At least I’m not obsessed with little girl cartoons.” I’ve never wanted to punch anyone so badly in my life.

“That’s because youarea little cartoon girl.” Grigoriy comes at me himself this time, a knife in each hand. “Cry for me, Snow White.”

I stop fuming, because he seems to be trying to kill mefor real. I drop back into my combat training, which wasnotfocused on weapons, and I match him, blow for blow. When his blades nearly slip past my guard, I fling dirt up to block, blowing it into his face afterward.

“Whoa,” Aleks says. “He used both.”

“Shut up,” Grigoriy hisses.

But it’s too late. I realized that Grigoriy was being that annoying on purpose. He’s baiting me. “What’s going on?”

“You overthink things.” Grigoriy’s bouncing back and forth from one foot to the other. “But when you get out of your own way, like when you see a tractor coming for your girlfriend. . .”

“You aren’t a total dolt,” Aleksandr says.

This time, they both come at me at the same time.

Two hours later, Grigoriy has had to heal a broken arm, a dislocated shoulder, and a gash on my face, but I’m actually using both wind and earth together moderately well. I’m not sure they’d agree with my assessment, but it feels like monumental progress to me.

It almost makes up for the fact that they’re trying to end my life.

“If it takes you longer to recover each time,” Aleksandr says, “then when you absorb another power, we won’t have much time to work with it.”

“Before Leonid finds us, you mean?” I ask.

“I think he should try to use all three of the remaining ones at once,” Grigoriy says. “We can drive him around while he sleeps. That’ll keep Leonid from finding us.”

“I’m not sure,” Aleks says. “It’s a big risk. What if pushing him that hard kills him?”

“That’s your fear?” I ask. “That they might kill me?”

“It’s my fear too.” Katerina’s watching from the back porch. They all are, pretty much.

“Do you not have jobs?” I glare at Amanda Saddler, her husband Tom, and the Archer/Brooks crew. They’re all just staring at me.

“It could be worse,” Abby says. “We haven’t told Ethan or Izzy, but if we did, they’d come over to watch too, for sure.”

“Who?” I blink.

“My oldest two kids,” she elaborates. “And I haven’t told Amanda or her kids, either.”

“Amanda’s right there.” I point.

“I’m Grandma Mandy,” she says. “Trust me, the real Amanda is a lot to handle.” She must be talking about Emery’s mother, but coming from Amanda Saddler, saying someone is a lot to handle has meaning. She’s already a plucky old broad.

“If she finds out what we’ve been hiding, Emery’s going tokillme,” Whitney says. “You have no idea.”

“I just can’t believe you don’t have better things to do,” I say.

“Better things than watching three superheroes beat on each other?” Gabe’s grin is so contagious that I feel my irritation melting away.

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