Page 370 of Elemental Becoming

Then it breaks free.

Threads of light twist into being, fine as silk and blinding in their purity. They weave around my arms, my chest, and my hands, each one a strand of Elemental power. Wind coils like silver mist, gathering strength as it circles. Fire sparks at my fingertips, golden and alive. Water streams through the air in translucent ribbons, while lines of earth-glow pulse faintly beneath my boots, sure and unyielding.

The Elements spiral around me, braiding into one another with a precision that feels almost sacred. The fog thrashes against its impending unraveling, but my power does not falter. It pours through me in a relentless current.

Panting with the effort, I raise my hand.

The wind answers.

It rises from every direction at once, gathering above us before plunging downward in a violent rush. The force tears across the battlefield, ripping through the fog and scattering the shadow magics in long, ragged tendrils.

For a single breath, the darkness fights to hold together.

Then the storm tears it apart.

The battlefield below is revealed.

What we see makes my stomach drop.

Fellborn swarm the southern edge of the keep, climbing the inner wall as clawed hands tear into stone. A second wave waits behind them, teeth bared and eyes glowing, shadow magics pulsing at their cores like living voids.

At the center of it all stands a figure clad in dark armor, motionless amid the chaos.

Watching.

The Commander.

Thane’s growl rolls through the bond.“There.”

My muscles ache from the effort of clearing the fog. Something warm runs from my nose, and when I glance down, I see red droplets splattered across my gloved hand. I wipe the blood away on my sleeve.

There is no time to think about or recover from the cost of what I just did—the warning comes through the dragons first. A sharp, collective cry tears through the sky and slams into the mind of every rider.

The dragons sense them before we can.

“Kethraki! Four dozen at least. Flying fast. Coming straight for the formation!”Calryx shouts.

I twist in my saddle, searching the sky ahead. Several other riders around me do the same. A few heartbeats later, I see them.

Dark shapes tear through the smoke and cloud, twistedwinged beasts moving with terrifying speed. Their forms are jagged and wrong, their jaws stretched too wide, their talons gleaming like obsidian.

Thane’s hand goes up, sharp and immediate.

Disband.

The formation breaks.

Like lightning splitting the sky, dragons veer into flanking positions, peeling away into strike clusters as instinct and training take over.

“Get ready, Virelya!”Calryx’s voice is taut, fire curling at the edges.

She banks hard, keeping tight to Xaroth’s flank as the black dragon climbs for elevation, flames building behind his teeth.

To Thane’s right, Garrick and Ruadhan drop into position. The orange dragon folds one wing and dives, scales flashing like molten copper in the light.

“Now we fight,”Calryx growls.

I tighten my grip on the saddle horn as Elemental wind dances at my fingertips, remnants of the magics still sparking across my skin.