Page 95 of Rising

We jumped to our feet, fire slamming into the shield before he pulled back, channeling the water from the river instead, forcing it to stay to the right at his side. He was careful to keep it in control, his entire body trembling. The water dropped overhead, and I threw my flames again, the water fizzling into steam, screams erupting as it baked their skin. We were cooking them from the inside out.

The shield broke.

Rocks, pieces of concrete, anything that was willing to answer the call of my magic rose into the air.

I grinned. “Duck.”

He dove to the ground just in time for fragments to fly past his head and land where the shield was no longer protected. The crunch of human bones and cries for help filled the air. Jogging over to him, I grabbed his ringless hands and yanked him up.

“When we get to the river, I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”

“I’ll take care of the rest,” he said, knowing where my mind was headed.

We backed up at the water’s edge, a scream releasing from the depths of my chest. Orange, and white flame emerged from the palms of my hands, encasing the nearest buildings. Finley rose to her feet, blood gushing from her head, her mouth slack before dashing up the hill towards the city now roaring with flame.

“Let’s go.” Alexiares tugged, his body heavy as we entered the water. The river was still until we were halfway across. The water rushed, my ears and nose filling with reddish orange water, the fire ahead making it glow.

No, I realized,not fire, blood.

“Alexiares!” I screamed, kicking my feet to move behind his unmoving body.

I grabbed his cheeks, trying to stay afloat as I shook him. His body remained limp, red seeping from near his chest, though I couldn’t be sure through the darkness of his shirt.

Securing him to my chest, I kicked onto my back, the desire to make sure he was okay, alive, pushing me to the shore. My friends were nowhere in sight.Good.

Flames licked at the shoreline we left behind screams echoing in the distance. I grimaced, swallowing hard before lifting his shirt. Scars flecked the tattoos on his stomach and chest, a story of his life before we’d met. I searched, eyes falling on the small hole in his chest. He’d been shot. I lifted his shoulder. There was an exit wound, at least.

My body swayed, memories of Jax threatening to take over. Holes in chests weren’t good, people didn’t survive those kinds of injuries.

Alone. I would always be alone.

“Fuck, fuck, no.” I scrambled, pressing my fingers to his neck. He still had a pulse, but it was weak. I removed my shirt, thankful it was too large, stretching just enough, as I tied it awkwardly around his broad chest to stop the bleeding.

We needed to go. I couldn’t linger without risk of them attempting to cross, better yet using the bridge to catch us on the rear. Adrenaline pumped through me. I hoisted him up to his knees, squatting down to latch my arms between his legs and draping him over my shoulders. He was heavy, but I was strong. And I could do anything for thirty seconds.

I made it past a few buildings on the street closest to the river before a door popped open, my friends jogging over to help. Reina was nearly out of magic. Her fingers brushed over his chest just enough to stop the bleeding before Seth tossed him over his back, taking on the weight and insisting we hustle.

At mile ten we stopped to take a break. Seth needed to catch his breath. Alexiares came to, adamant about being able to walk and settling on getting support from me and Seth.

Low on magic, and with only a few weapons with limited ammo, stopping in Foley logistically was the best choice. We hadn’t seen anyone chasing us, making the decision easy enough. Alexiares had made clear that just because we couldn’t see them, didn’t mean nobody was.

It was an eerie enough warning to raise caution, but none of us were in any shape to continue and he had started to fade in and out of consciousness. Likely still bleeding on the inside without Reina being able to do a clean job.

But as we settled into our makeshift camp in Foley, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we had just traded one danger for another.

Amaia

Sitting on the floor, leaning against the side table, my eyes closed from exhaustion. The couch ruffled, shaking the floor gently as Alexiares stirred. He rolled over, flashing me a grin. He winced as I pressed my finger into the recently healed wound and he yelped, muscles still sore.

“You idiot,” I scolded, “I thought you were dead! Shot? And you seriously said nothing, just started swimming across ariverlike it was nothing. Oh yeah, leave me with the floating dead body to drag out, real team player of you.”

Seth, Reina, and Moe were arguing in the kitchen, voices raised over trivial things. Two of the three hadn’t said more than a few words to me in the hours that had passed. Their anger still tangible about the choice I’d taken from them at the river.

He chuckled, wiping his face and taking in my expression.

“What’s funny? I want to laugh too.” I asked defensively, arms crossing over my chest.

“You. This. Me here. Everything.”

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