Not lowering her arms, Aella met my gaze. “Did you know we can combine our power?”
I must’ve looked confused. “How?”
“Summon the air, then grab my hand.” Her ebony skin glistened with sweat, her tight braids hung at her side, slightly frayed. “Orion and I were testing this out before he—” My friend swallowed before holding out her palm outstretched toward me. “We had just discovered it. Hadn’t found the right time since the attack to bring it up.”
I nodded in understanding. “What better time than now?” Thegriffin screamed, snatching my attention back to it. Flames caught a dry patch on its rear where the poison hadn’t yet set in.
Summoning my element, I welcomed the protection it wanted to offer before clasping my palm into Aella’s.
“I’m going to direct my element to my hand, and you do the same. Let them intertwine, then we’ll suffocate the beast together.” Aella gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before turning to face the beast once more.
My element rushed through my being, calming me before I guided it to my palm.
“Now, guide it to my hand,” Aella instructed.
I did as she said, encouraging my element to link with Aella’s.
Our elements grew acquainted with one another. They were the same, but the way they served us was unique to our souls’ essence. I realized that even though we shared the power of air, it still felt new and undiscovered when introduced to each other’s element.
My element was tentative, curious yet cautious as it ever so slowly drew closer to Aella’s, reminding me of a timid cat as it approached another of its kind.
As we waited, Aella and I watched as the griffin continued to swipe its monstrous avian talons at surrounding Elementals. I gasped as it landed true, puncturing all four into the torso of a fire-wielder just within its reach. My heart twisted at the sight of the talons protruding from the back of his shirt. Crimson blood mixed with obsidian poison blended together to seep from the wounds while the griffin lifted him from the ground and slung his body through the wall of fire and into the forest.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “We have to stop this.”
Aella stood crestfallen. “That was Iggy. Or Ignis. He and his wife just found out they were going to have a baby before the Hollow’s attack.” Her eyes closed, then snapped back open with a rage burning as hot as the fire surrounding us. Her upper lip curled, and her jaw clenched as she fixed her glare on the Endarkened creature that rapidly gainedthe upper hand.
My element channeled down my arm, wanting to attack the creature, but its trepidation towards Aella’s magic had it faltering. “Come on,” I grumbled to myself between gritted teeth. I willed it to work with Aella, but it refused.
Another shriek resounded through the forest, just as I watched the claws skate across Kodiak’s hulking chest. Aella squeezed my hand, taking a step toward Kodiak.
With my heart in my throat, I snatched her back. “We can’t help him unless we stop the griffin.” I fought back the urge to panic and forgo this attempt at power-sharing. My magic clearly wouldn’t cooperate with Aella’s. Kodiak needed to be pulled from the center of the chaos.
Kodiak writhed on the ground, raw screams of pain scraping from his throat.
The griffin turned its attention on Void, who worked to create a pit to trap the griffin in once its wings were removed. As the ground shook and began to crumble, the creature, screeching, dove for Void, reaching its claws for his throat while he summoned broken branches as spears.
Paralyzed in horror, I squeezed Aella’s hand as Void’s inevitable demise raced toward him faster than any of us could stop. We were all going to die here by this mythical being that none of us were equipped to combat. I would have failed my people.
This time, I tried to pull away from Aella, to do something to save Void, but like I had with her, she snatched me back, not pulling her stare away from the griffin who closed in on our friend.
In the moment of distraction from my desperation, my element flared to life harder than before, surging to intertwine with Aella’s.
At the same time, we both gasped as our elements twisted and coiled around the other’s magic. The strength of our power grew. I felt her element as she undoubtedly felt mine. Aella’s magic was by no means as strong as mine, but it was far from weak. Her hand latched tighter onto mine, squeezing until my bones hurt.
The strength of our power amplified, growing and growing untilI could hardly breathe. Both of our hair floated above our shoulders, and I had to focus to keep my feet grounded. With a surge, our elements twined together, propelling from us in the form of a living rope, aiming directly for the griffin.
Our elements spun around one another to create an air tunnel that shoved itself into the maw of the Arcadian beast, forcing its way down its throat and finding its lungs. As if our elements had minds of their own, they compacted themselves into a tight ball, compressing until the pressure could no longer hold.
The strength of our magic compressed tighter within the griffin’s lungs. It dawned on me that when it exploded, the beast would shatter into bits, and that meant that the inky poison would go flying everywhere, taking its final act of vengeance on us. “Shield!” I ordered anyone who could hear me. “Air shields around the griffin! Now!”
The griffin’s wings faltered, unable to keep it above the ground. Its beady black eyes strained as it released a silent scream for its final battle cry. The ground quaked as the griffin’s enormous body collided with the earth, causing Aella and me to stumble, but refusing to release our grip on one another’s hands.
The griffin thrashed its talons and paws violently, kicking in desperation as it fought to breathe. Aella and I didn’t relent, urging our dwindling magic to finish the job.
My eyes burned and vision blurred from the sweat, but I maintained my focus to keep not only the beast’s lungs, but the rest of its chest cavity expanding.
“Shields are up!” Aella shouted to me. “Multiple ones. They should withstand the poison.”
