“No, I just wanted to see Koar’s magnificent chest,” Grandma said with a grin.
Koar grunted, rolling his eyes.
“Give me your hand,” Grandma Oli instructed, and I did. Koar went to give her his large hand as well, but she shook her head. “No, I’m going to feel up your chest, now get over here, big boy.”
My turn to roll my eyes. My grandmother might be a wise and experienced woman, but sometimes she acted like a flirty girl. It was easy to forget she was over two-hundred-years-old.
Koar stepped in grudgingly, and she put a hand on his chest.
“Oh, yes, thank you,” Olinara said with a sigh and a silly grin. Then she blinked herself back to reality and walked me through the ritual.
Healing was closely related to both earth and water magic, so theoretically, this should be quite easy for me. Though, in this case, it wasn’t so much repairing an injury — which anyone could do — as it was restoring vital energy. And since that energy was a physical thing, not mental or spiritual, or emotional, it required two earth magic users. Inthis instance, Olinara acted as a conduit as Koar released his raw physical energy, and I received it. She told me to visualize taking part of Koar’s physical essence, suggesting I imagine taking his kidney, since that was something he could give away and not die. Koar envisioned the same thing, giving up the organ and letting me take it, a willing donor.
“Repeat after me,” Oli whispered to Koar. “My body to yours, my essence I give freely. Take what you need of me.”
He repeated the words while she instructed me to say: “Your body to mine, your essence I receive. I thank you for your gift of life.”
I repeated the phrase, imagining taking Koar’s kidney as Olinara concentrated between us.
It came slowly, sluggishly. I didn’t know whether this was how it was meant to be, or because there was a third party involved who possessed no earth magic. Still, it was like nothing I’d ever felt before: something akin to the best caffeine kick mixed with a massive sugar rush, butsomuch more. Muscles throughout my body tingled as my fatigue drained away.
Grandma grunted as she released us both. Then she swayed, and I had to catch her. Apparently, this took a lot out of her too.
Koar shrugged. “Doesn’t feel that bad to me.”
“You’ve got a lot of energy to give, this body doesn’t do you justice, you are a dragon after all,” Olinara said from my arms. Then she looked at me. “Better?”
“Lots, thanks.”
She nodded, then dismissed Koar. “Now… to teach you some water magic.”
“Are you in any condition to do that?” I asked, worried.
She laughed. “Oh, I’m just going to explain it. You’ll do all the work. Now… fill up the tub.”
Since we didn’t have a lot of time, Grandma taught me one thing, an attack. There’d be small fountains on the dominion pitch from which we could take water, and she walked me through how to take as much as I could handle and simply push it, like a wave, at someone. I was surprised how much I could handle. When I’d taken my water magic class earlier in the week, I hadn’t been able to do much. But now, gathering a ton of water seemed easy.
“It’s because your binding is gone,” Grandma explained. “It wasn’t just suppressing your looks, but your power as well. You’ll be far more capable now than you were then.”
And it was a good thing too. I’d need every advantage I could get going into this dominion match.
I trained in that one technique over and over, surprised at how much energy I had after that infusion from Koar. I felt like a million bucks, even after training for more than an hour.
We all ate a small, energy packed lunch Zora had prepared for us, then, as time drew near, the titans guarding our door knocked and told us to come out.
We were escorted to the dominion pitch, where Saldrea and her minions waited for us. Also, it seemed the entire school had turned out to see the match. The bleachers were full and some elf must have used earth magic to make more tiered seating. Those who couldn’t get a seat stood, crowding around the sides of the massive pitch.
Rook, Vyns, Grandma-as-Tala, and I marched onto the sandy surface, ready as we’d ever be.
Time to see if we could win this fight.
KOARTHANDRIS
Izzy was a beast!
I’d marveled at her training last night and this morning, how quickly and easily she’d picked things up. She didn’t think so, but that’s because she had no point of reference. Elves and dragons both had earth magic and were fairly strong in it, but the rest of us had mastered it over decades of practice, our long lives giving us plenty of time to learn how to harness our power. Yet in the span of a few hours, Izzy had mastered powers which some elves took years to learn.
If I’d needed any more proof that she was a royal, that had been it. The Anadendyra family had always been the best, the strongest, the quickest, the fastest at all things.
