Chapter 57 #2
A lethal grin pins my lips. “I do love to play… and win,” I purr right back as shadows cloak our entire Chivalry, and Kissa joins my side.
My powers seep out, clotting the clouds to veil her Chimera. Kissa bounds off, blinking into an exact replica of Calais soaring next to me. Kissa-as-Calais sends us a wink.
The dragon below me rumbles.
“I am one of a kind,” Calais growls.
I laugh. “You still are. Don’t worry; Scáil won’t be running off with her.” In response, Calais rolls, sending me spiraling to hold my grip. “Okay, I deserved that.” I smile as the shadows retreat.
“Let the games begin!” Professor Reska’s voice howls on the wind. She slings the Golden Pearl high into the air. Wings burst from the sides as it whizzes about.
The fastest riders from every Wing dodge and dive for it, erupting a cacophony of roars and snappy maws. But they’re no match for S?las. He and Scáil blot out of the shadows, snatching the orb with a sly wink.
I bite my bottom lip, concealing my blooming smile. That’s my handsomely smug mate.
S?las unfurls out of a cloud of shadows below me. “Miss me?”
“Hardly.” I smirk, the bond in my chest beaming at his proximity.
He tosses the Pearl to me, and I quickly tuck it under my arm. Calais shreds through the sky, wings beating furiously towards our target.
“Several attacks incoming,” Vex signals.
My lashes drift shut, power rippling out, undulating around each ensign colliding into my sphere of chaos. I meet their advances with crackling lightning and hailing ice daggers, just close enough to injure without risking deadly blows.
A ball of fire sends Calais dipping into a coordinated trap of vines curling up her legs. Before they have a chance to cinch down, Cinder’s amber flames lick up, nothing but ash left flitting in the gust of her wings.
Seeing the almost-success of a coordinated effort spurs the other Wings to work in tandem to take us down.
The smell of singed hair clots my nostrils as I duck, narrowly missing a volley of blue flames as Calais spins, and S?las sends out a shadow shield to block both versions of Calais’ wings from a blast of wing-freezing ice.
The world whirls around me as I grit my teeth, fighting the Persuasive clawing at my mind while manipulation magic yanks at the Golden Pearl my arm flexes around.
Patience fraying, I unshackle my Chaos Magic. Devouring power rips out of me, greedily feasting on the slew of magical attacks slung at me. Nothing makes it through my aura of destruction.
Until one particularly brave ensign appears behind me out of a water portal. I spell the Golden Pearl to lock into Calais’ riding spikes as I bound to my feet.
“Seraph, way to not tell me Visci can portal. Why are you always using S?las’ Shadowwalking?” I grit out, turning to face my new opponent.
“C’mon, it’s way more badass appearing out of the shadows. Plus, it’s not worth the power sink. Push that sneaky bitch to use her magic, and she’ll tire out fast,” Seraph responds.
A petite female slinks towards me, whipping navy curls framing a round face of deep brown. Her eyes flare dark blue, giving her away as a Visci, as if the water portal hadn’t already. My blows need to focus on making her bend her body like water, draining her magic reserves.
Lightning arcs out, reinforcing my shield of Chaos Magic to prevent any attacks from distracting me, leaving all my focus for the tricky-as-fuck opponent before me.
The air cries, cleaving along the blades of my slinging daggers, testing her skills. Her body warps, bending into liquid, contorting into hollow spaces as my blades zip through without a drop of blood marring their edges. Fuck. She’s good.
“Unleash your wild darkness, Luxsula,” S?las beckons, stirring my darkness from her slumber, unfurling ravenous chaos to course through my veins, steeling my nerves.
As the Visci solidifies once more, a maniacal smile crooks up, twisting her face, which I return, sinking into the well of darkness I reserve for fighting.
My head snaps to the side, a rush of air nipping at my cheek from the dagger slicing by.
I leap up, dodging two more aimed for my legs, instead clinking off of Calais’ scales.
Chaos lashes out around my arm, obliterating her next blade as I knock it away, barely in time to see another one heading straight for my abdomen.
My spine snaps back, bending into a back handspring, narrowly missing my guts being skewered.
Not wasting another second, I lunge for her, ripping my short swords from my back. Each strike is met with a clang of her own blade or the cool whoosh of air as she melts her body away from my piercing blow.
Back and forward, we dance, weaving between Calais’ lightning-rod spikes, each of us equally trained. Our chests heave in short pants of exhaustion. My nostrils flaring on the metal tang from the few nicks that mar our forearms.
“We’re approaching the field. Act fast, or I’m spinning you both off of me and winning this game myself,” Calais grumbles.
I spare a glance to take note of our position. We’re getting close to the field. Too close. Son of a bitch.
I need to end this.
My darkness scrapes along my veins, lashing my insides in its plea for boundless release. I can’t strike her with lightning without risking her life and forfeiting our win. I just need to slow her down.
Frost prickles out from my boots. Creeping and crawling along Calias’ scales as I distract the Visci with a volley of sword strikes. Her eyes go wide, watching my exhale billow a white puff in the frigid shift. Ice races up her legs as I coat Calais and myself in starlight to keep us from freezing.
I plunge the temperature further and further; snow hardens to hail, pummeling us in its onslaught. The Visci backpedals, ice splintering in her attempt to flee, but her movements are too sluggish, her flesh taking on a blue hue as blood retreats to her core.
A serpentine smile coils on my lips as I revel in the pure horror frosted across her features. I summon a cloud of purple and indigo stardust, beckoning it to twist and swirl around her.
Hope this fucking works.
Her wriggling ceases, too cold to move from my icy grasp. I imagine the courtyard of Gildorea, shooting her a knowing wink as she vanishes before my eyes into the stardust.
I pray to the Celestials that she ends up where I want her. I’ve only used my ability to portal once. If I fail and hurt her—or even worse, lose her—we’ll lose the game, and I’ll be facing expulsion.
“Celestials, you’re more of a show-off than the shadow prick!” Kissa snarls but fails to hide her amused undertone.
“This shadow prick needs you two to focus. We’re almost at the field,” S?las tsks.
I return them both a wicked grin as I slide into my seat and prepare for descent, placing the Golden Pearl back under my arm for quick maneuvers. I drag down the clouds with us, providing as much cover as I can for as long as possible.
Then, five illusions of Calais appear around us, spurring several grumbling huffs of annoyance from my dragon. I give her ego a sardonic pat.
“Insufferable.”
My chuckle falls silent as the battle ensuing below me bleeds into view.
A dome of green light erupts from Gearin’s palm, a runic protection shield covering him, Kivi, and Orion. The latter is deeply focused on maintaining the illusion of multiple replicas of Calais around me.
The skies above them blaze in amber and orange fire, Cinder and his black phoenix single-handedly controlling the air from Wings trying to halt our Ground Unit’s advance.
On the battlefield, Flint lands a devastating side hook, knocking out a Pyro casting for Cinder.
He smashes through a stone wall blocking my Zenith’s path like it’s glass.
A sword slashes down on Flint’s shoulder, fracturing as it ricochets off his marble skin.
Leaving the ensign distracted as Eko appears out of his spectral form to knock him unconscious before shifting back into the ether.
Flint’s advance is met with a wall of vines, expanding to encircle my Zenith. Juniper races ahead but won’t get there in time. Fenwick casts a wall of plasma to scorch the twisting roots.
“Wait!” Vex’s shrill command freezes Fenwick. “Ugh, those brats are waiting in ambush on the other side. They’re using the fog to hide their movements. My Battlesense is leaning to them trying to take out sweet baby Flint first.”
Atlas relays orders. “Let Flint be bound, keeping them occupied while Seraph catches up. Highin, set him free while Juniper controls the crowd, creating a straight path towards the tower. Then, Juniper, you need to find the other Naturalist and use your hypnosis flowers to stun them, taking them out of play so they can’t reverse your magic. ”
Golden plasma waves over the wall, leaving nothing but ash in Fenwick’s wake.
A group of ensigns leaps out of the smoke.
Vines whip out, coiling around Flint’s wrists and knees, crumpling him to the ground.
The brunette female with buzzed sides from my third trial prowls out of the fog while a male lassos his neck in a chokehold.
I use my Rune Tech ring to warn my team. “The female approaching Flint is a Persuasive. Don’t let her get her hands on him!”
Highin hovers on his wings above our Zenith, dodging attacks while nocking five arrows in quick succession.
The first arrow lands at the toe of the Persuasive, her scream piercing the air.
The rest of the arrows perfectly slice through Flint’s bindings while Eko’s spectral blades tear through the vines that snap up to replace them.
Meanwhile, Seraph sneaks in, bashing the hilt of her war axe over the male restraining Flint. Rays of light whip out from Fenwick, holding back the attackers from advancing as the entire ground before Rayea’s Fortress starts to shift.