“Isn’t he going to stop him?” I demanded, torn between Shade’s commentary and the action unfolding before me.
“Who? Zeph?” Ella asked, snorting. “Yeah, no. He’ll let this continue until Emelyn gives the signal, which should happen in about three, two, there it is.”
A cloud of red smoke puffed out around them, and Kols released the brick of magic. “Practice harder, Jyn,” he said, walking away.
“We’re next,” Ella informed me.
“Great.” I followed her into the ring and noted how several fae fell silent around us, their intrigue palpable.
Too bad for them this would be a short show.
“I have no idea what I’m doing, so go ahead and start,” I said, owning my inexperience.
Ella smirked. “Already am, princess.”
I almost asked what she meant, when I felt her energy swathing me in a cloak of immobility. The thought of being bound triggered me into action, that blue light within me igniting to life and easily cutting through her invisible ropes while also memorizing the magical feel of them.
Using the knowledge, I tried to weave my own spell to wrap around her and nearly smiled when her legs locked in place.
“Holy shit, you’re a fast learner,” she said, pulling out her wand. “Italaka.”
My spell dissolved.
I took out my wand as well, unsure of how that would help me, and waited for her next attack. Which came in the form of a water figment shaped like a lion. I jumped to the side as its jaws yawned wide, its teeth far too real. They reminded me of crystal fragments. Sharp, precise, and turning right for me.
A cerulean wave of power billowed out of me, destroying her fragment and sending Ella to the ground.
Zephyrus stepped in with one of those walls, except it went around me while he and Tray knelt to check on Ella. I stood frozen on display, unable to move, and confused as hell.
“Did I do it wrong?” I asked, but my words echoed around me in my makeshift prison. I pressed my palm to it and jolted at the zap. Then cocked my head as the energy signature seemed to unravel in my head, allowing me to absorb the knowledge just like I did with the binding spell.
Strange, I thought, even as I memorized the spell Zephyrus had woven and, more importantly, how to undo it.
Closing my eyes, I disentangled the threads, removing the enclosure and allowing me to hear the chaos erupting around me.
Questions and accusations flowed from every inch of the courtyard, followed by someone screaming, “Zephyrus! She’s escaping!”
He spun around to find me free of his cage and narrowed his green gaze. “You. Come with me. Now.”
I wasn’t given an option to comply, some sort of invisible noose tightening around my waist and yanking me forward.
Kolstov fell into step on my other side, his jaw tight. “Why didn’t you tell us you could do that, Aflora?”
“Do what?” I asked. “All I did was dismantle her water monster.”
“You attacked her with WarFire,” Kolstov snapped.
“What? I don’t even know what that is.”
“It’s the giant purple ball you just threw at my brother’s mate,” he returned through his teeth.
“Purple?” I blinked at him in confusion. “It was blue.”
“And again, I saw red,” Zephyrus added, opening a door to a nearby building and ushering us inside. “What role do you want? Peacekeeper or guard?”
“Peacekeeper,” Kolstov replied. “I’m the only one with the right bedside manner for it.” His focus fell to me. “Do exactly what Zeph tells you to do, or I’ll be left with no choice but to reprimand you publicly.”
He turned on his heel, leaving us just inside the archaic stone structure. I gaped after him, startled by both the threat and the plea in his gaze as he uttered it. “I don’t understand.”