Page 210 of Gift from the Source
Illusions.
The moment the thought crosses my mind, I watch one of them shove their hand straight through the chest of an enemy. He moves on to the next and then the next.
Replicas.
And they’re working.
The Mastery soldiers stagger back as the same face they see in every direction fools them long enough for us to move in.
“Push forward,” I bellow.
I charge through the opening I see, and I take no mercy.
My element shoots out of me in all directions. Necks snap, screams are silenced, and hearts fall at my feet. I open the earth and swallow as many as I can whole.
Every command has my mind finally slowing to the point I think clearly for the first time since this bloodbath started.
Breath in. Breath out.
My feet pound across the ground to join the small ring of Corentins getting in a formation on their own.
Not on their own. My brother is a fucking beast.
A crazed smile crosses my face as another Corentin cuts down men left and right. There’re no thoughts in his mind and the absent feel of his bond when I focus on him is the only two identifiable things for me to know this isn’t really my brother.
But damn, his replicas fight just as he does.
They’ve given us the first upper hand we’ve had since stepping onto this bloody field.
“Ry, on your left.”
He spins, impaling the guy on a sharp spear of wood just as I lift another off the ground by his neck. Dropping him like a sack of cement, my gaze bores into the eyes of a traitor.
“Once again Leader Tillman is getting the upper hand thanks to the Headmaster,” Claven sneers.
“You lost, Claven. It’s far past time that you accept that. It’s fucking pathetic. Die with some dignity today and admit it.”
His chest heaves just as mine does. My fingers relax at my sides as I wait him out. The hatred continues to brew in his eyes. The temptation to just snatch his mind apart and watch his heart fall out is strong.
I won’t, though.
If he wants to get up close and personal…
“Over my dead fucking body.”
Our elements explode between us as we cast them out just as strong and as fast.
The eruption of earth and fire has the need for vengeance burning through me. We’ve always been the closest matched. He always had the potential to do so fucking much for himself, this realm, everyone, but he chose this.
He betrayed us all.
Our stream of lava grows as we move in on one another. The second we’re close enough, I coat my hands in stone, and he covers his in fire.
His first jab sends heat flashing past my ear as I dodge it. I return the blow tenfold as I pound into his stomach repeatedly.
Each crack of his ribs sends satisfaction down my spine.
I take a hit to my side and grin smugly in his face as his fire sizzles out against my uniform. The pain spreading though sends another wave of anger through me.
