I force myself up, lettingthe wind guide me through the pain. Jump. Land. Jump again. My ankle screams with each impact. One wrong step, one moment of hesitation, and I'm dead.
The chanting pulses in my blood as I race for the vanishing stone. Twenty steps left. A stumble sends me sprawling, the wind barely saving me. Ten steps. My bad ankle buckles—I catch myself on my hands as the wind shoves me forward. Five steps.
Loki is following my every move.
I hit the final platform hard, rolling away from the edge. My whole body trembles as I gasp for air, the void still calling behind me.
The wind screams a warning. I see Loki approaching, each step calculating, frost spreading in his wake.
The archway towers before us, ancient runes pulsing with soft-white light. Beyond it, a circular chamber stretches toward a ceiling lost in shadow. In its center, floating in a column of swirling air—the Zephyrite Stone writhes with trapped storms. Lightning crackles within its opal depths, storm clouds churning, frozen in time.
I push myself up, gritting my teeth against my throbbing ankle. The wind whips around me, almost protective now, while frost creeps across the floor from Loki's feet.
"Move," he snarls, shoving me forward.
We step into the chamber and the winds suddenly die. Complete stillness, heavy and wrong, descends like the air before a devastating storm. The stone's internal tempest casts wild shadows across the walls.
A deep voice echoes through the chamber—"To claim the storm's heart, first master its chaos."
The air shimmers, and four pillars materialize around us in a perfect circle. My breath catches—they're identical to the elemental pillars from the Valley of Ancients, but these pulse with living storms inside their crystalline walls.
Aquaria's column churns with a waterspout—a hurricane. Mortalis hosts dust devils and earthen windstorms that remind me of Oklahoma during tornado season. Pyrothos writhes with fire tornados that make Hell look like a cozy campfire. And Zephyria's contains what I'd generously call a breeze (seriously, I've had stronger wind from a desk fan).
Lightning arcs between themin a complex web of energy.
"The Trial of Storms," Loki paces around the room. "It's simple, really—connect the storms without crossing paths. Though..." his eyes narrow, "the voltage might sting a bit."
The stone pulses again, its internal storm matching the rhythms of the lightning web.
Watching.
Waiting.
Testing.
I reach for Zephyria's pillar first, figuring air should be the easiest to control. Wrong. Lightning slams through me, dropping me to my knees. Every nerve screams as electricity courses through my body. The pain is blinding, but not as blinding as the knowledge that every second I waste is another second Rhyland suffers.
"Oops!" Loki's laugh echoes off the walls. "Maybe try using that scientific brain of yours? If you have one under all that pretty hair."
My hands shake as I push myself up. The room spins, and my muscles spasm from the shock. I need to focus.
I try matching water with fire, thinking opposites might work. The lightning strike feels like being hit by a truck, sending me flying back. I slam into the ground, the taste of copper flooding my mouth. Smoke curls from my fingertips, clothes singed.
"Tick tock, little savior," Loki says with amusement. "Though I must say, watching you fail is rather entertaining."
"How about you get your fucking ass over here and try this shit yourself?" I snarl through bloody teeth.
"And miss watching you electrocute yourself?" Loki's laugh chills the air. "Darling, you're the most entertainment I've had in centuries."
Frustration burns in my throat. Or maybe that's just the electricity. Every failed attempt wastes precious time, but rushing will only kill me. And if I solve this, I will actually give Loki control of the element.
The stone pulses above, its storm matching my chaotic thoughts.
Think, damn it.Think.
I stagger to my feet again,muscles screaming in protest. Three more failed attempts leave me retching on my hands and knees, skin smoking. The room won't stop spinning. My heart stutters in my chest, its rhythm disrupted by too many shocks.
"Perhaps I overestimated you," Loki sighs theatrically. "Such a disappointment."
