“Let’s see if we can fix that.” He turns on his heel. “Fury Loop. Now.”
My stomach drops. The Fury Loop amplifies emotions. Whatever you’re feeling becomes a weapon or a weakness, magnified until you can’t hide from it. Not even the strongest magic users can resist its effects completely.
Evie’s shoulders straighten—apparently ignoring her far from favorable odds—and she follows Kieran up toward the fifth circle.
The rest of us trail behind like we’re watching a car crash in slow motion.
The Fury Loop is about sixty feet across, its burnt red rock making it look like a desert without sand. Cracks in the rocks show where students throughout the years have lost control. And the moment Kieran and Evie step inside, the air changes as the atmosphere becomes denser, charged with potential.
“First to yield or stay down loses.” Kieran shrugs off his jacket, revealing a fitted black shirt that shows off every inch of his perfectly lean muscle.
“What about?—”
Evie doesn’t get a chance to finish, because Kieran flows like water and strikes like lightning.
Evie barely dodges his first attack, stumbling back with a yelp.
“Sloppy.” He circles her, his eyes glinting in a ray of sunlight that peeks through the fog. “Stop thinking. You need toreact.”
His next attack brings him close enough that they’re almost chest to chest. But she spins away, which makes him blink, and thenhe’scaught off guard.
“Interesting,” he murmurs, and there’s something different in his voice now. Rougher.
Evie’s eyes flash. “Don’t mock me.”
“I’m not mocking.” He catches her wrist as she tries to strike, pulling her off balance. “I’m observing.”
“Let go,” she breathes.
“Make me.”
The challenge hangs heavy between them. Then Evie steps closer, using his grip as leverage to hook her leg behind his knee.
They both go down, but Kieran twists at the last second, taking the impact on his shoulder and rolling with her so she lands on top. For a moment, they’re frozen like that, staring at each other like they’ve just discovered something shocking.
“Yield,” Evie whispers, but it sounds more like a question than a demand.
Kieran’s hands come up to rest on her hips, steadying her. “No.”
In one fluid motion, he reverses their positions, flipping her onto her back with controlled force and holding her down.
“One,” he counts, his voice steady. “Two. Three.”
Evie bucks beneath him, trying to throw him off, but he’s got leverage and experience on his side.
“Four.”
Her hands come up to grab his wrist, but his free hand catches both of hers, pinning them above her head against the ground.
“Five.” His smile is sharper than ever. “You’ve lost.”
The moment he releases her, Evie gasps like she’s been underwater. Kieran stands in one smooth motion, not even breathing hard, while Evie stays on the ground for a moment longer, catching her breath.
His eyes are hard as he stares down at her. “The Fury Loop doesn’t care what you’re feeling,” he says. “Anger, fear, desire… all emotions are weaknesses if you can’t control them.”
He extends a hand to help her up, and after a moment’s hesitation, she takes it. Once she’s standing, he turns back to face the rest of the class.
“Lauren Mitchell,” he says. “You’re up. Smoke Spire.”
