Adonis smirked, a glint of mischief in his eye. “Just wait.”
And then, everything stopped. Every sensation vanished from her body, and all that was left was the urge to use her gifts. Not only that—it was as if her strength had tripled. She could more clearly feel the power locked within her. She knew at that moment that she could demolish entire cities if she wanted to, and it didn’t cause her excitement or glee. It scared her.
No one should have that type of power, it was too much, and it was building.
“You feel it, don't you?”
She did and it was overwhelming, pushing inside of her to the point she needed to let it free, to use her sorcery to drain some of it before she imploded.
Kamira crouched down, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around herself, hoping it would all just fade away, but it only grew stronger until she could no longer resist. The ground rumbled beneath her, and the purple waters began to bubble and swell as the air whistled in her ears, swirling through the small cavern like a tornado. Stalactites fell and shattered as they speared the rocky floor, sending shards of stone flying, only to be pulled into the wind storm and flung out like a spray of bullets, embedding themselves into the cave walls.
She screamed, unable to reign it all back in. The ceiling erupted in a river of fire as the flames in the sconces shot up, crawling their way along the roof like slithering snakes threatening to rain sparks down upon them.
Kamira cracked open an eye to see Adonis standing in front of her, black cape flapping like a rabid bird behind him, hands outstretched. His face contorted as he fought against her rogue sorcery with his own gifts. She watched as, slowly, the flames shrunk, slinking back into their sconces, and the wind died down to a whisper of a breeze. The pool of the strange liquid went back to its unmoving state and the rocks beneath their feet stilled.
The earthquake she had created was gone.
Adonis breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed her shoulders, hauling her back to her feet. “Shit, Kamira. I…that was…I had no idea you were that powerful.” His eyes were wide with wonder. “I didn’t know that would happen.”
Kamira pointed with shaking fingers to the violet spring. “W—what is that stuff?”
“I don’t know, but it augments our gifts. I’m so sorry, Kamira. I didn’t realize the extent of your sorcery.” He was looking at her as if he was seeing her for the first time.
Shouting echoed down the stairwell and Adonis jerked his head toward it. “We have to go.”
She barely heard him, not even registering when he grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around, hurrying her toward the stairwell. They ascended, Adonis practically pushing her the entire way up. He stopped her at the stop of the stairs and peeked his head out into the corridor. “There is no one. We need to leave before anyone sees us or where we have been.”
“Why?” Kamira asked, finally coming out of her stunned stupor.
“Because no one is allowed to go to the Spring. Only those who have ascended,” he whispered, grabbing her wrist and pulling her out into the arched stone hallway. A few robed figures sprinted past them, straight for the stairwell, and Adonis slowed, nodding politely. As soon as they disappeared into the entryway of the stairs, Adonis grabbed her hand and ran down the corridor, turning down multiple other hallways until Kamira was dizzy from the maze of this place.
“Where are we going?” she whispered, just as a loud scream came from a closed door beside her. It sounded like someone was in pain and she stopped, pulling her hand from Adonis’ grasp. “What was that?”
“Nothing,” he said, trying to grab her arm again, but she pulled away, inching closer to the door. Another cry of anguish emanated from within.
“Adonis, what are they doing in there? Are they torturing someone?”
There was a quick twitch of his eye, so slight she almost didn’t catch it before he said, “No, now let's go!”
A dark thought wormed its way into her thoughts. “Is it Jaario?”
His nostrils flared, and she could see his temper rising.
“It is, isn't it? What are they doing to him? We have to…” She reached for the door latch and Adonis grabbed her around the waist, yanking her off her feet, hauling her down the hallway.
“Let go!” she yelped, flailing and punching his arms that were wrapped tightly around her. When they were far enough away to no longer hear the yells of pain, he put her down and spun her around to look him directly in the eye.
“Kamira, you don’t know these men; you don’t know what they are capable of. Jaario will be alright, trust me. This isn’t the first time he has been here. They won’t kill him.”
“What?!” Kamira screeched. “How can you say that?! They won’t kill him, but they will torture him for how long? Just for another few minutes or just within an inch of his life? It doesn’t matter that they won’t kill him, Adonis. They aretorturinghim! How is that okay? I can’t let it…”
“Kamira!” he growled, shaking her by the shoulders slightly. “You have to listen to me. We need to leave. The Brothers will know someone powerful has been to the Spring. You practically destroyed the place. They will come looking for you, and they will do far worse than what they are doing to Jaario. Do you understand me?” His eyes were wide—frantic, even. She had never seen him like this before. He was scared. “We need to leave.”
“I…I…” She was overwhelmed, too in shock to understand what exactly he was saying. What did the Brothers want with a Sorcerer? And why were they torturing Jaario? “But Jaario.”
“Listen,” he said softly, placing a gentle hand on her cheek. “Once we get you out of here and to safety, I will come back for Jaario myself. I won’t let them do anymore harm to him. Okay?”
His eyes glistened. They reminded her of sapphires, always shining, sparkling in the fire light. “Okay,” she finally conceded.
