“How do I set it free to fight?”
Frustration darkened his features. “You are asking the wrong question. It is not something you wield, Braxton. It is something youfeel.”
Something I feel…
I searched for the feeling of magic inside me. Once I reached it, I pulled from it again, trying to create another sphere. Pain tore through my insides instantly, the power fighting against me at every turn.
“I can’t do it,” I groaned, shaking the ache out of my arms.
“Because you are using your mind!” he shouted back, clearly exasperated. “Stop thinking!”
The next second, he disappeared only to reappear about twenty feet away from me. Extending both arms, ropes of light burst from his palms, whirling in the air as they shot towards me, dangerously fast. The memory of his rope wrapping around Evanna’s neck flashed in my mind and something reacted.
A burst of golden power surged from my palms in response, disintegrating his ropes on contact, and leaving only a rain of sparks between us.
Panting from the rush the blast left in me, I stepped back.
“Your magical essence takes over you because it recognizes the danger you are in, and you do not know what to do with it,” Raithian explained, still standing across from me. “You did not will it to fight back. Nevertheless, it did… for you. Let go of what holds you back, Braxton.”
Swallowing, I glanced at my hands. He was right. Each and every time my magic had appeared, it was an instinct that took over me. It fought back because it needed to protect me.
“Let go of the evil inside you…”the Truth Teller’s voice suddenly filtered into my mind, bouncing through my consciousness over and over.
“Do you honestly believe my evil is flourishing inside you?”his question returned.
Yes!the little voice screamed in my mind.
My eyes lifted towards him, clarity finally reaching me. The Warlock King was the evil in me. The fear that I would be just like him and turn against my people because he was my grandfather held me back, literally. I had to let go of that. I had to let go of everything…
I was nothing like him.
I was my mother’s son… The Last Prince of Caelisium.
His left hand lifted the next instant, and a spear of green energy swirled towards me, materializing into an extremely sharp, iron blade as it neared.
“Master your power!”the Truth Teller’s voice commanded.
A swirl of electrifying energy burst from my core, rushing to my arm, and making my skin tingle in its path. Following its lead, I thrust my hand forwards, wanting to freeze his attack. When the tip of the blade touched my palm, a blast of frigid power shot from my hand and onto it, stopping it mid-air. The freezing force rushed over it within seconds, capturing it inch by inch until the iron spear exploded it into a million shards.
Panting from the exertion of power, I lifted my hand to my face to find it had turned to solid, transparent ice… It soon melted back into my skin.
“Ice?’ the Warlock questioned, transporting closer to me. “This is getting interesting…” A wicked look transformed his face and he spun on his heel, both of his arms sweeping the air.
A thousand daggers flew towards me, but a new burst of unstoppable energy coursed through me in response, reaching my arms. The first batch was blown out of the way with a swing of my left arm, the blades splashing into the water. The blow from my other arm sent the second bunch straight into one of the trees, one more set of daggers coming so fast that I couldn’t even think.
Don’t think… Feel!
Rolling onto the ground, the whooshing sound reached me as the third wave of knives flew over me, impaling the sand a few feet away. Magic freely flowed through me when I jumped to my feet, and without missing a beat, I crossed my arms over my chest, breaking the hold towards Raithian.
An explosion of power left me, too fast to be stopped. It crashed against Raithian’s chest, blasting him backwards, but he flipped in the air, landing into a perfect crouch while wildly grinning. His staff reappeared in his grasp when he stood, and he began to twirl it until it blurred in front of my eyes.
Nothing good would come of that.
The instant he shoved it forwards, a blazing ball of fire the size of a freaking car shot straight towards me.
Heart thundering, I jumped out of its way, faster than I had ever jumped, stepping onto the tree, and propelling myself higher. Formidable magic surged through my legs, and a step of light appeared mid-air, meeting my boot before the next one emerged, taking me even higher.
Holy shit, that was it. That was the feeling!
