Page 380 of Elemental Becoming

The second bolt curves toward me.

I reach with both hands, call the wind, and unleash a blast of pressure that knocks it off course. The lightning spirals into a ruined tower below, detonating in a shower of stone and debris.

We dive again, deeper this time and closer to the ground.

Xaroth roars and unleashes a stream of fire that tears through the last dense wall of Fellborn, reducing them to ash and scattering the survivors in panic. Calryx spins through the air, her tail slamming into a cluster and sending bodies tumbling. I follow with a concentrated blast of wind that clears the landing zone, flattening anything still standing.

By the end of the third pass, the path is clear.

Smoke rises from scorched earth. Fallen Fellborn crumble into ash. The air still crackles with traces of the Commander’s magics.

At the far end of the battlefield, he waits. His pale face is turned skyward, his flawless features unreadable.

He sees us. And we see him.

“Now!”Thane says through the bond.

His voice is low and absolute.

Xaroth hits the ground hard, claws digging into stone as his wings snap open in a display of pure dominance. Thane is out of the saddle almost before the dragon stops moving. His sword is already drawn, flames running down the blade as he charges forward with relentless purpose.

Calryx lands beside them, her claws gouging deep furrows into the earth. Power still rolls off her in waves. I remain mounted for the moment.

Raising my hands, I call on wind, fire, and pressure. Elemental magics surges from my core and crashes outward in a wave of force. The last Fellborn foolish enough to remain near their master are hurled backward, their bodies slamming into the ground beneath the weight of the blast.

“Amara! With me!” Thane’s voice cuts through the smoke.

I launch myself from Calryx’s saddle. Wind still dances around me as I hit the scorched earth, my boots skidding through ash and soot. Magics gather at my fingertips before I even regain my footing.

I run toward Thane, the ground hot beneath me and the scent of smoke and blood thick in the air. By the time I reach his side, my breathing has steadied and the power inside me is coiled tight, ready.

Exactly where I am meant to be.

Ahead of us, the Commander stands like a monolith. His white hair moves in a wind that touches nothing else, his eyes fixed on us with unnerving intensity.

But he is not alone.

Two dozen Fellborn still surround him, forming the last lineof defense. Their movements are jerky yet controlled, every motion guided by the Commander’s will.

He doesn’t have the luxury of focusing entirely on us. He’s holding the battlefield together, commanding shadows, directing waves of Fellborn, and channeling his magics across every front. It’s the only reason he hasn’t unleashed his full power against us.

But that window is closing.

“Remember our formation pair training,”Thane says through the bond, his presence settling beside mine like fire and steel.

His eyes sweep the battlefield ahead. Flames run along the edge of his blade in quiet, pulsing waves.

“Always,”I answer.

There is no hesitation.

Only trust.

Then the Fellborn charge.

Thane steps forward, his blade carving a wide arc of fire through the air. Two Fellborn fall before they ever reach him.

I shift left and unleash a burst of wind that sends three more stumbling off balance. Before they can recover, I drive my blade through the nearest one, wrench it free, and summon a spear of hardened water that punches through the next.