Page 39 of Gift from the Source
“History your family stole and sullied,” he growls.
“History my family rewrote to protect you,” I shout, losing my cool.
Nervous shifts roll through the hallway like gentle waves as the two of us stare each other down. Our chests rise and fall in synchrony, both of us on the cusp of speaking out loud the secrets we keep.
“Make your choice,” he grits out.
“Fitting. A choice…” I breathe, calling my air element out to my hands, preparing. “I will always choose her.”
Little does he know theheris not solely my creator.
I chose Iris.
I chose Eryken.
I chose Tilly.
Chose but failed. I won’t fail this time.
I choose Aurora.
I choose Elementra.
I choose Willow.
I will always choose Willow. Above all others.
Power explodes around the room as the Mastery members release their elements and gifts at his command. I sling my hands from my pockets, freeing the raging gust of air I’d been building up. The first handfuls of attackers slam into the walls and glass panes of the cells with thundering cracks, but the second wave doesn’t hesitate to jump in.
Breathe. Stay vigilant.
Be agile. On your toes.
Repeatedly, Tilly’s commands ring in my ears while I spin with the fluid grace she beat into me. Me and Aurora. The boys, Willow. Those teachings have been passed down plenty and my heart thuds wildly as my mind zeroes in on her voice.
Spinning and dodging everything I can, my element whips in a frenzy around me. It lashes out with unforgiving currents that have bellows belting from throats moments before they’re sliced. It’s a gruesome display of my power that I never unleash, but this is my last stand.
Every whip of a vine that tears across my spine or a hit to the face from stone I didn’t see coming has me blinking away stars. No matter how much I want to hold in the anguished screams that want to flee me, I can’t. The never-ending onslaught is brutal and my body needs a way to release the pain.
I sway harshly as my legs struggle to hold me up and I barely lean out of the way of someone’s fireball. The scent of my singed hair fills my lungs, stealing away the ragged breaths I was trying to take.
When my knees hit the concrete floor with a bone-jarring thud, I know…my body is tiring even though my mind and heart aren’t.
Fuck, this is it.
I trace the room with my eyes just as fast as my air whips from my fingertips and the number of rebels continue to roll in.
Gathering what I have left in me as blood pours from the multiple wounds covering me, I send out my final command.
The sound of bones breaking, screaming, and glass shattering is drowned out by the war cry that spews from my chest. With my palms stretched out, my element booms out of me. The horde that was closing go flying in every direction, but there’s more waiting right behind them.
My arms are immediately encased in stone blocks that drag my body down faster than I was prepared for and my chest hits the ground so hard it knocks the breath out of me.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I swear all you can hear in the room is my desperate attempt to draw in ragged pants. It’s like all the other chaos that just ensued ceases to exist when my breathing mingles with the sound of footsteps.
I groan as the stone covering my arms is forcefully commanded to lift me up and the sudden movement causes bile to crawl up my throat.
“You could’ve been so much more,” the Summum-Master says, standing over me.
