Page 109 of Unbound

"Stop worrying over me, angry human. Defend yourself."

He roars, slamming his claws down on a dog-like beast of water that explodes in a cloud of mist. He blasts away Titus and several other waters with a column of water that sends them flying back as if from an explosion.

Malakai's shark, which has grown quite a bit larger since Confluence Day, slices through the air and bites hard on Typhon's shoulder.

I grip Veeni, who is trying to overpower me and plunge a dagger into my chest as we battle our way back into the corner of the room. I feel other students working their way around Typhon to get closer.

There's no chance. Death is coming. It's only a question of when.

I clap both hands to Veeni's face. Instead of letting her energy pass into me, I actively try to pull it from her.

Water magic rushes out of her body into my hands, faster and faster as her eyes widen and her mouth hangs open in a silent scream. The power fills me, electric and cold, coursing through my veins like liquid ice. It rushes through me in a torrent, drowning out everything but the sensation of raw power.

Her dagger clatters to the stone beside her as she slumps, but I don't let go. I keep draining her, filling myself with magic, feeling the power leak from her body as it floods mine.

She finally wrenches free, but it's too late. I'm full of water magic, brimming with it, power crackling beneath my skin. Jira is back on her feet and rushing me with three other students. I throw my left hand out in a swiping motion. Almost without effort, a crescent of thick water rushes out, catching all of them in the stomach and sending them flying away.

I could sharpen the water. I feel the possibility—know with little more than a thought, my magic could slice through flesh instead of bruise. But even now, even here… I still don’t want to be like them. I want to be better.

“Get her!” Serena shouts, rushing toward me with a pair of daggers.

I gesture, blasting away a dog made of fire and a watery lizard with one hand and slick the ground beneath Serena’s feet with the other. Without missing a step, she floods the area with fire, turning the water to steam and keeps coming.

And then the scent of smoke reaches my nose.

Smoke?

I risk turning my head halfway and see the locked double doors are consumed by flame. A moment later, a blast of thick air blows them inward, shattering the doors into splinters of sparks and ash that knock away several more students.

Serena skids to a stop, turning to raise a wall of flames that incinerates debris before they can hit her.

Raith and Bastian stand in the doorway along with several other first-year fires.

"Stop," Bastian says, voice clear and full of authority, even in the middle of the chaos.

To my surprise, everything does stop. Well, almost everything. As soon as the students and elementals stop moving, Typhon casually lowers his head and bites Veeni's arm off.

My eyes go wide as I stare at the gushing blood and screaming girl. My stomach heaves, and I swallow hard against the rising nausea.

"Apologies,"Typhon says calmly through our tether."But I do not allow humans to trick or try to kill my angry human. We can say the arm was eaten during the heat of battle, if anyone asks."

Veeni falls to her knees clutching the wounded remains of her arm as Jira slides to her side and tries to help. The rest of the students only watch warily as their wounded elementals nurse wounds and limp back to their sides.

Raith strides into the center of the room as his fire panther stalks behind him. He comes right for me, eyes searching me from head to toe with an intensity that makes my skin heat. "Are you hurt?" he asks, voice rough with concern.

I shake my head, unable to look away from the fierce worry in his eyes. "I'm okay."

He holds my gaze a few more moments, and I can see just how worried he was. It's practically boiling off him. As the relief of seeing me unhurt settles in, though, I see rage slowly taking its place, his eyes darkening to near-black.

“Veeni… Jira… There’s no coming back from this.”

Jira lowers her eyes, as if ashamed. Veeni is too busy clutching the stump where her arm was, eyes still wide in shock. She’s whimpering softly.

“Andyou.Serena," Raith says, voice cold as the edge of a blade.

She straightens, eyes hard. "It looks like an even fight, now. Is this how we're going to do it, Raith Hollow? Should we just have it out right here? You, the legacy, and your loyal first-year fires against us?"

Raith says nothing, but he unsheathes his sword with a whisper of steel that sends a shiver down my spine. At his cue, the first-year fires behind him begin drawing weapons, too. Their fire elementals wink into view like blazing stars in the night sky, casting a wall of orange light over half of the room.

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