Page 373 of Elemental Becoming

“What?”

I glance toward him just in time to see Xaroth roll hard through the air. Dragon and rider move as one, banking between two diving Kethraki before unleashing twin streams of fire. The creatures vanish in a blaze of gold and black ash.

“The Commander is keeping us occupied,”I say, urgency sharpening my words.“He’s using the Kethraki as a distraction.”

Understanding flashes through the bond before I finish the thought.

“Yes.”

Xaroth tears through another Kethraki, scattering burning fragments across the sky.

“He knows the dragons are the greatest threat to the assault,”Thane says, hurling a volley of fire into the approaching swarm.

My stomach drops.

Every moment we spend fighting here is another moment the forces below are left to face the Fellborn alone.

“I have a plan.”

Across the sky, Thane’s head snaps in my direction before his attention is dragged back to the battle unfolding around him.

“Amara, what are you going to do?”

But I don’t answer because I am already gathering my magics.

Calryx senses it immediately.

“I am with you,”she says softly through the bond.“You can do this.”

I turn inward just like Valen taught me.

All those hours. All that repetition. The meditative stillness he drilled into me until it became muscle memory.

Find the breath. Feel the stillness beneath the chaos.

The chaos around me falls away. The rush of wings, the roar of fire, and the screeching of Kethraki fade into the background until all that remains is my breath.

I focus inward.

I find my center.

I find the stillness beneath the chaos.

Then I reach.

Not outward.

Down.

Into the living current that exists between Calryx and me.

I don’t seize it.

I open myself to it.

The magics answer immediately, flowing from her into me through the bond we share. Warm. Endless. Ancient. Fire and wind and breath woven together into something greater than either of us alone.

Power gathers within me, settling through every part of my body. Wind gathering. Water shifting. Fire glowing low, like embers waiting for the right moment to ignite.