Chapter 23 Izzy
IZZY
I took Lhorine aside.
“Elves can enhance themselves, make themselves stronger and tougher, but… can they do it to others?”
She cocked her head, then nodded. “Yes, but not all elves. I can’t, but you probably could.”
That’s what I’d hoped to hear. “Then that’s what I want to train on tomorrow,” I told her. If I could enhance Myel, he’d have a better chance of winning his fight.
She nodded.
I probably should start training this evening, but I was still exhausted and could use a night’s sleep.
We ate a simple meal together at the compound, and once again, despite my win earlier today, the mood was somber. Grandma Oli said she’d not return with us to Rook’s room. She was no longer playing the role of Tala and probably shouldn’t be seen on campus.
After dinner, I spoke to Tala in private. She could go back to her life, if she wanted. Though she was warned Saldrea might be out to get her. With that in mind, I asked her if she wanted to stay at the training compound for a while.
“Would I be in the way?” she asked, voice small. “You’ve got so much going on, you’re… so important now… and I… I’m…”
I hugged her tightly.
She was trying to distance herself from me, for my benefit, and I wouldn’t let her. “I need you, please stay,” I whispered. “You’re the only friend I have.”
“You have… so many people to help you.” I caught the hitch in her voice, the hesitation. I must have been getting better at reading people because I could hear loud and clear what she hadn’t said: you have all those guys.
“You’re my only female friend… around my age.” I added that last bit thinking of Olinara and Lhorine. Zora was older too, just not the hundreds of years that my grandmother or mentor were. “I don’t want to lose you.”
Tala relaxed in my arms. She didn’t want to leave. She was scared, and I didn’t blame her. Saldrea was a psychopath.
“Thank you,” she whispered, hugging me back.
“We’ll make a trip and get some of your things tomorrow… or soon. Just… stay put for now and train with me when I’m working with my grandmother.”
She smiled. “I’d like that, thank you.”
I, however, wouldn’t be staying here. I had to keep up appearances at school or Saldrea would get suspicious of my absence and might come looking for me. And the last thing I wanted was for her to find this place.
Myel took Vyns, Koar, and me back to Rook’s room for the evening. This time Vyns let Myel sleep with me. I thanked him, loving the soothing feeling of my Goth shifter so close. Despite my many fears and worries, there were no tears when I fell asleep that night.
Morning came all too soon. I’d slept more than eight hours, but I still felt tired the next day. I’d been pushing myself too hard… and it wasn’t going to stop.
I debated whether I should go to Magic 101 that morning. I didn’t want to. Saldrea would be there and I wanted to avoid her. But I needed to be seen by her and others on campus, even if all my other time would be taken up with training at the compound. So, I went.
Perhaps Saldrea would let something slip about Myel?
Myel returned to the shifter barracks, as much as I wanted him to hide away for a few days. He said he couldn’t. One missed training session and he’d be in a lot of trouble. Vyns said he’d watch over the shifter, for which I thanked him profusely with a very deep and passionate kiss.
So, Myel left with Vyns, while Koar came with me to class, never far from my side. I took a seat at the back and waited, having gotten to the room early. When Saldrea arrived, she made a beeline straight for me, a giant grin on her face.
Yeah, this didn’t bode well.
“I feel like we got off on the wrong foot,” she said, all mock-apologetic. “As a peace offering, I’d love for you to come with me to the punitive deathmatch on Sulnari. It’s one of this world’s rare delights, you’ll love watching the fight.”
Oh yeah… she knew. She was behind Myel’s summons no doubt.
“Although…” she drew out the word as if reconsidering, “I hear the shifter they’ve chosen for this one is rather weak.
I sure hope he doesn’t die. That would be such a shame, wouldn’t it?
” The beatific smile and pleasant turn of her head told me everything I needed to know.
She was enjoying this. “Would you like to join me?”
“Oh… I’ll be there,” I said with my own false pleasantness. “And I have a sneaking suspicion that shifter, whoever they are, is going to be a lot stronger than you think.”
If I could train up my ability to enhance others, I’d make sure Myel was strong enough to beat whoever he might be fighting. I didn’t even want to consider the alternate option of trying to break the mate bond.
Hana gasped.
I blinked as the sylph whispered something desperately into Saldrea’s ear.
Wait… no…
Had she just read my thoughts?
Fuck!
She had.
I could see it in Saldrea’s expression of shock, then sheer bliss. She knew about me being bonded to Myel.
Fucking, fuckity, FUCK!
I had to warn Myel.
Saldrea turned to her ladies. “Have that bat shifter arrested and taken into custody this instant!”
Golana took off running.
Neyalim took out her phone and quickly dialed someone.
I took out my phone to text Vyns and warn him, assuming Myel would already be in training, but Saldrea saw me. I expected her to grab my phone, take it from me, so I was completely unprepared when stone spiked up from the marble desktop and skewered my phone, shattering the magical glass.
Saldrea grinned so wide, it didn’t look natural, creepy as fuck. Then she laughed as she turned away and found a seat.
Fuck!
I rose… but there was no way I’d get across campus any faster than a dwarf with enhanced speed.
“I could fly you,” Koar offered.
Would that be quicker? It might work. I nodded and we ran. But a wall of stone erupted up to block the door. From somewhere behind me came Saldrea’s voice.
“Oops, did I do that?” Then laughter.
I used my own earth magic to push the stone back down into the floor, but we lost precious seconds as I did. Once we were out of the room, in the open, Koar didn’t take the time to disrobe, ripping through his clothes as he became a dragon.
Despite the burning urgency to help Myel, I stood there stunned for an instant, marveling at the massive dragon.
A dragon I was about to ride. So many of my teen-girl fantasies were coming true in this strange world.
I shook myself out of my stupor and climbed onto Koar’s back.
He bent his front leg and lowered that shoulder to make getting up easier.
Then I held on desperately to the many spikes along his back, seated between two larger ones, as he took off and flew with all haste across campus.
I held on for dear life as wind whipped around me, threatening to tear me off Koar’s back. The campus blurred below us.
But despite our speed and direct route… we were too late.
As we neared the shifter barracks, descending, I saw Golana leap inhumanly high, over the walls surrounding the training yard. She’d get to Myel first.
Vyns, perched on the same wall Golana had vaulted over, was taken by surprise. By the time he realized what was happening and flew down into the yard, Golana already had a hold on Myel and other shifters were coming out of the barracks to take him into custody.
For a heartbeat, I considered fighting them all. I could take Golana, and with Koar and Vyns on my side, the shifters wouldn’t be too much trouble. But even as I thought it, Koar’s head swiveled and I followed his gaze. Three dragons swooped in.
Could Koar take on three dragons?
Could Vyns take all the shifters in the yard?
Fuck!
We’d been out maneuvered.
Still, I hopped off Koar’s back as we landed and went to Myel, even if Golana and a crowd of shifters kept me from getting close.
“I’ll find a way to help you!” I shouted as he was dragged away.
Golana laughed, then she punched Myel in the stomach so hard he doubled over and coughed out blood. I screamed, but that was exactly the reaction the sadistic dwarf had wanted, laughing even more.
I shouted my fury, and with no other outlet, turned to a wall and punched it. I expected pain, broken knuckles… what I got was a one-foot-wide hole in the five-foot-thick stone wall. And my fist wasn’t even bloody.
Vyns and Koar joined me. Vyns had loaned Koar his shirt to help cover the dragon who’d returned to human form, naked.
“We’ll figure this out,” Vyns said, but panic filled his voice.
“Blazing Skies!” Koar swore. “I’ll take them all on if you command it.”
“No…” I said through clenched teeth. That wouldn’t help, not now.
“We’ve lost this fight. We need to talk to the others.
I don’t know if there is a way to get to Myel, but if there is, we need to help him.
He’s hurt and probably in for more of a beating.
I need to get stronger, and we need to make sure he survives, that’s our only priority now. ”
Just like that, everything had gone to shit.
Again.