“Joining your cairn. You will lead them, as Austin leads his pack,” Ivy House said, and this time I didn’t understand how she knew what was going on. I wondered if there were more secrets she had yet to share, and if I’d have to figure them out the hard way.
Rufus and his mages waited on the other side of the field, staring up at the circling gargoyles with their hands as makeshift visors against the sun. He’d clearly won the battle against Maverick, something I’d missed because of mating.
When we walked toward them, they lowered their gazes. Even from the distance, their body language gave away their shock. They’d probably expected us to shift after the match began, like we had last time.
A voice boomed out from higher in the viewing area. Elliot’s.
“Greetings, all.” He stood in front of a chair, tucked behind a rock barrier, here in the flesh, just like the other day. His warding spell offered him safety—supposedly—and so did the distraction in front of us.
I hadn’t gone for him the other day because of the way the fight had ended. Because I hadn’t wanted to risk messing with his spell, knowing he could take a shot at me while I tried. Because I hadn’t wanted to make a fool of myself in front of the other mages if I failed.
But the time for self-doubt was over. I needed to take advantage of this bubble of amazingness. He might be able to get a shot off, but I’d spent the last month practicing how to defend my crew and work magic at the same time. I could handle it, knock that spell down, and go after him.
His tenure of rigging the game was over. His constant influence in my life was at an end.
It was time to say goodbye once and for all to Elliot Graves.
Twenty-Four
“A slight change to our contest of champions today,” Sebastian said, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach and the nervous sweats, made worse when Jessie flapped her wings in a gorgeous aura of color and rose into the sky. “It seems a freak accident has befallen our dear Chambers. His whole crew has been wiped out. We are not investigating because, frankly, I don’t care. So, in light of his inability to protect himself from whatever may have gotten to him…” Sebastian let a beat of silence linger. It would make them curious. The rumors that it had been Jessie were already spreading. It would only help her, and her not claiming it would add to her mysterious power. “We have our final competition today. While I ask that you please don’t kill each other, because networking after this competition might be in our—all of our—best interests, I will not penalize you for doing so. Accidents happen. Try not to—I repeat, try not to kill your opponents—but I will not penalize you if you do.”
Rufus didn’t seem to hear him, hands slack at his sides, staring up at Jessie…who was staring straight at Sebastian.
“You need to go.” Nessa shoved at him as he took his seat. “You need to leave. She’s not here for them. She’s here for you.”
“I know.” He shrugged her off, watching the female gargoyle hover in the sky. His gaze drifted further upward, to the swirling gargoyles staring down on them. “It’s exactly as Jala envisioned it.”
“Which means you don’t have long. Give up on this, Sebastian. I had no idea what you were getting yourself into. You were right, okay? The shifters, her— Oh holy hell.”
The great thunderbird rose into the sky. Thunder pealed, shaking the ground beneath them.
He braced his hands on his knees. The thunder died away. The shaking grew more pronounced.
“Oh no,” Nessa breathed, and it was obvious she recognized it too. The prophecy was upon them.
“We can’t run,” he said, holding on to his courage, remembering the days when he hadn’t been afraid of much of anything. Clearly that was only because mages weren’t scary. He’d been missing out on a large part of the magical world. If he lived through this, he’d remedy who held the power, and it wouldn’t be the corrupt organizations that had their fists wrapped around it now. “We can’t tell anyone to run. Those who survive will be our allies.”
“But—”
“We can’t run.” Sebastian took a steadying breath, Jessie still staring right at him.
The biggest gargoyle snapped his huge wings to the sides, the sound sending a shiver through Sebastian’s body. The great beast rose into the sky, and it struck Sebastian that he hadn’t ever been in a place to really appreciate their dexterity in flight. While the thunderbird was massive and powerful, these creatures turned on a dime and dove and attacked at a breakneck pace.
Jessie turned toward the opponent, who was just now starting to rapidly fire spells.
They were so outmatched that it wasn’t funny.
Jessie didn’t bother to fling the incoming spells away. Each member was equipped with a defensive spell, and the energy from the onslaught of spells soaked into the shield, seemingly spreading to her team, making them more powerful.
“That shouldn’t be possible.” Sebastian sat forward, the danger forgotten. “Is it the link she has? Is Ivy House acting as the go-between, transferring power?”
“The big alpha gets her power, right?” Nessa said.
Sebastian shook his head as Jessie lazily fired a spell down at Rufus. She was far away from him. If another mage had attempted a shot like that, it would have lost potency by the time it hit its target. But Rufus went flying through his band of young mages. If not for the distance, Jessie’s spell would’ve probably ended his life. Maybe that was why she was staying so far away.
“The protector magic is different, and it doesn’t look like he has it yet. Or knows he has it. He’s not using it, at any rate.”
The great polar bear rushed in and swiped at someone, but didn’t connect the way he had in the last battle.
“He’s taking it easy on them,” Nessa said, riveted, just like Sebastian was.
Jessie dove, and all four male gargoyles quickly dove with her, covering her on all sides.
“She’s not a great flyer,” Nessa whispered, biting her nails.
Jessie sent out a thick ribbon of a spell. Before it got to Rufus, it fractured into spears and slammed into each and every mage on the other team.
“Oh!” Nessa jerked back in her seat. “Did you see that?” The mountain rumbled under them, shaking now, like an earthquake. “Oh God, Sebastian. Crap. Go!”
“Not yet,” he said, heart in his throat, shaking all over. “It’s going to be okay. It’s going to work out.”
Because it had to. Because it was either that or it would be the end of him.
Jessie’s wings snapped open, stopping her up short. The largest gargoyle did the same before grabbing her around the middle and pumping his great wings, jetting into the sky.
The phoenix swooped down in bird form, sending a streak of fire into the air. She didn’t spray the enemy or catch their spells, like she’d done in the battle with Kinsella. She merely dripped on them.
It was plenty.
They screamed and ducked, diving away, clutching themselves and rolling on the ground.
The thunderbird swooped in next. A peal of thunder froze everyone before lightning zigzagged around him, catching people with its tiny filaments. But it was nothing compared to the defenses he’d shown in that initial fight with the gargoyles. He was holding back, too.