“That’s enough, Emelyn,” Zeph bit out, oblivious to the sensations swirling around me. “You’re excused for—”
An explosion rocked the ground, sending us all to our knees. Another boom shook the surface, causing shouts to sound throughout the yard. Zeph yanked me to him, his stance protective, his gaze sharp as he glanced around seeking the source.
Ravens screamed through the air, followed by a cloud of smoke as the burning thwomps around campus unleashed fire into the sky.
And then came the gargoyles, their screeches reminding me of nails against a sharp stone.
I pressed my palms to my ears as Zeph pushed me flat onto the ground, his larger body covering mine.
Shrieks, heat, and a flutter of wind whipped through the Academy. “What’s happening?” I shouted at Zeph.
“The Academy is protecting itself,” he shouted back.
My eyes widened. “It does that?” But my words were lost to the new wave of chaos swimming around us. The hisses on the wind sent chills down my spine.
Snake vines, I realized, horrified. Those things didn’t like me on a good day. This wouldn’t go over well.
Zeph’s grip tightened around me, his warmth bleeding into me, wrapping me in a cocoon of safety. Literally.
I blinked, realizing his magic poured out of him in a defensive shield, covering not just me but all the students in the field. I peeked around him to find Kols at the other end, his own power connecting to Zeph’s to bolster him in his effort in protecting the entire class from the debris and insanity flying overhead.
It rippled around us like a tornado, reminding me of an Air Fae activity gone bad.
More of that familiar power buzzed through me, then fled, as if kissing my soul goodbye on its way out. The sirens above grew louder, the slithering snake creatures heading right for me. I cringed, waiting for their impact, only they slid over Zeph’s shield and took off into the wind to chase some menacing figment.
My blood ran cold, my heart stopping in my chest. The creatures had sensed the dark energy running through me.
What would happen when Zeph lifted his protection? Would the Academy attack me with the same brutal force?
I shivered and felt Zeph’s lips ghost across my temple, the touch brief but there. “I’ve got you,” he vowed, the words meant for my ears alone.
How would I explain to him what I felt? Had it even been real?
He slowly started to sit up, his palm against my breastbone keeping me down on the ground as he glanced around. After several moments of searching, his touch eased, and he moved his hand to my shoulder to pull me upward.
“It’s done,” he said gruffly, the words carrying across the now silent field.
“The source is calm,” Kols replied, his statement clear despite the distance.
No one uttered a sound, everyone gaping at the rocks and ash littering the grounds.
Then someone screamed in the distance, causing Zeph to jump to his feet.
“Go,” Shade said, appearing beside me. The statement must have been meant for Zeph, because he took off at a sprint, Kols hot on his tail, along with several other students.
Cries pelted the air, all coming from the same direction. Shade practically yanked me to my feet, his palm finding my lower back as he guided me through the wreckage toward the commotion rising ahead. It didn’t take long for us to find the cause.
The Death Blood Education Building had been reduced to a pile of rubble, the once proud spire a cascade of obsidian rocks without any structure.
And above the destruction was a single word written in red flames, the smoke spiraling up into the sky in lethal ropes that resembled chains.
It was a word I knew well.
Because I’d sung it many times before, as had my mother.
“Alqisian,” I whispered.
“Yes,” Shade replied just as softly. “Do you know what it means?”