“She wasn’t ready then.”
“And she wasn’t fucking ready when she started at the Academy, either,” Zeph retorted. “But I did the best I could with what I had to work with. She couldn’t even make a damn sandwich right when we started.”
I flinched at the way he said it, like my lack of dark magic skill made me somehow weak in his eyes.
“Maybe things would have been different had you been the one to take her that day instead of Shade,” Zeph continued.
“Oh, they absolutely would have. You’d all be dead right now. Instead, I’m stuck putting up with your arrogance on a daily basis—an arrogance you have not earned.”
“You say these things like you know what I can do,” Zeph replied, a lethal edge in his tone. “But how about you put that arrogance of yours to the test, hmm?”
“Happily,” Zakkai replied, a bolt of magic singeing the air.
Zeph responded in kind, causing the hairs along my arms to dance on end.
What’s happening? Shade demanded in my head.
But I was too consumed by the growing power in the room to reply. Danger, my instincts whispered to me. Protect.
I lifted my head to see Zakkai and Zeph engaged in an all out duel, their aggression mounting with each strike.
They refused to yield.
Refused to acknowledge the other as superior.
Because they were the same—both dominant and proud and powerful in their own ways. Zakkai had the edge as the Source Architect, but Zeph had spent his entire life training for a battle like this. He was a Guardian, one assigned to protect the incoming Midnight Fae King. And he demonstrated that now by unleashing all his power into Zakkai.
My eyes widened, realization striking me in the chest.
He had been going easy on me. Even when I thought he was giving me his all, he’d never fought me like this.
And for some reason, that angered me.
They were supposed to be training me to fight Constantine. He wouldn’t even consider lessening his blows. Yet Zeph had held back, afraid that I couldn’t handle him in his full force of power.
Which was precisely what Zakkai kept arguing, that Zeph needed to remove the emotional filter and test me. Really test me.
And I’d reacted like a brat today, telling them to stop. Just when we were on the cusp of unleashing my greatest power.
The chip on my shoulder… that inky spot that weighed me down… was my connection to the Dark Source.
I understood that on a level, but hadn’t accepted it. That’d been the reason for Zakkai’s pushing. He wanted me to allow the darkness out to play so we could realize my true potential.
We’d spent five weeks going through trivial spells, historical potentials, and studying scenarios meant to help me pass my trials.
But today was the first time I’d experienced the real power flourishing inside me—the one that would guarantee I excelled.
Zeph snarled as Zakkai hit him with a cerulean spark. Then he volleyed a green one back at him underlined in black.
I sat up, my eyes widening. They’re trying to kill each other.
There was no going easy here. No submitting. No acceptance.
They were part of the problem—the harsh point in my bonds. They didn’t trust each other. Nor did they like each other. And it was coming to a head now as they dueled in a way only alpha males could.
I had to stop them. To force them to see reason. If one of them was injured in this aggression, I’d never forgive myself, or them.
“Stop,” I told them.