Chapter One
~ Kimber ~
S’Kir
Island of the Unseen Gods
Blood.
A thousand tiny droplets flew from my face.
I had no idea I could bleed like that.
My back slammed against the wall, taking most of the impact of the spell.
I swiped at my nose and found a fist full of blood where the power of Master Dorian’s spell crashed into me.
The hit to the wall would bruise me, badly.
Master Argo chuckled. “He’s going easy on her.”
Master Bebbenel nodded and folded his arms. “He is. It’s ridiculous. She’s the Breaker of the Spine, and she can’t hold off a simple spell.”
From my new vantage point on the ground, I whipped around, throwing a blast of power at their ankles and knocking their feet out from under them.
Master Dorian and Master Tymon let out a loud laugh as Master Argo and Master Bebbenel landed on their asses.
I climbed to my feet.
“Heisgoing easy on you,” Mistress Lunella whispered, wiping the blood from my face with a soft, wet cloth. “Watch yourself. Dorian always plays to win, even in training and practice.”
“Thank you, Mistress Lunella,” I answered.
“You need training. I’ll help you with that.” Mistress Lunella smirked. “After we visit the spa to get your poor battered body some relief. I can’t stop the ass whoopin’ that Dorian is set on handing you. And for all the love, stop calling me ‘mistress.’”
My eyes grew wide. I didn’t know what statement to process first. “What? He only hit me with—”
My thoughts were hacked before they could form. A lasso of power closed around my waist and yanked me back into the practice ring with no mercy.
“Come on, girl!” Master Dorian snapped at me. “Come on! Fight! Use your power!”
I answered him with a scream. “I told you I don’t have a lot!”
“Horseshit!”
Master Dorian flung another spell at me, and all I could do was duck. It flew past me, and Master Argo batted it away without a thought.
I whirled back, and the next spell landed on my shoulder and spun me around, throwing me off balance. I was falling.
Again.
Rolling with the momentum, I managed to tuck my head and end up in a crouched position but facing away from Master Dorian.
I heard the spell, and it struck me right in the back. Jerking me off the ground, it hurled me through the air at least ten feet.
This time, I hit the ground face first, hard.
All the air in my lungs whooshed out in a single breath.
