I push her to safety. “Go. Get back to the school. Don’t let them touch you again.”
She nods shakily and stumbles away.
I barely have time to breathe before somethingslamsinto my side.
An enthralled man barrels into me, his body warped by shadow, veins pulsing black beneath his skin. He swings with bone-breaking force. I duck under the blow, sweep his legs, and drive the shield down between us as he hits the ground.
He roars and unleashes his Gift point-blank.
The shield absorbs it and hurls it back into him in a violent surge.
His scream cuts off.
Then—
Silence.
His eyes snap open, wide and horrified. “Erm?” he whispers. “What happened—I couldn’t control— I waswatching myself—”
“I know,” I say, hauling him to his feet as another blast screams past us. “You’re free now. Run.”
He hesitates only a second before obeying.
I straighten, chest heaving, shield raised again as the next wave surges toward me.
My arms ache. My power thrums.
Ziek snaps into place at my right, thick leather gloves already pulled tight over his hands. There’s no hesitation in him—no pause to ask permission. He reaches into his pocket, scoops out a pinch of crackling lightning dust, and blows it straight into Ciara’s face.
The spark lashes out like a living thing.
Ciara cries out as the charge hits her, her body jolting violently. The black goo erupts from her ear in a wet, writhing spatter, slamming into the dirt and hissing as it burns itself out.
She staggers, and I manage to catch her just before she falls.
“Ciara,” I say urgently, gripping her shoulders. “Listen to me. You have to heal the others.”
At first, she doesn’t seem to hear me.
Her gaze drifts over the campus turned battlefield—the fallen strewn across torn earth, the wounded crying out, the living still fighting for breath. Her brow furrows, confusion knitting deep as if she’s trying to remember how she fits into this world at all.
“I…” Her voice trembles. “I was—”
“Not anymore,” I cut in gently. “You’re here. You’reyou.”
Something settles.
Her breathing steadies. Her eyes sharpen, focus snapping back into place like a blade sliding into its sheath.
She gives me a firm, unwavering nod.
Then the groundshudders.
Two enthralled burst from opposite sides, moving in perfect, predatory synchronisation. I don’t think—I react. I drive my palm toward the earth and release the new power coiled inside me.
Golden energy detonates outward in a tight, controlled ring.
The shockwave slams into them, knocking them off balance, scrambling the Siphon’s grip without breaking bone or flesh. They stumble, groaning, disoriented.
