So, yes, Tor was maybe still interfering a bit, but he wasn’t going to make them talk or anything like that.
If they happened to decide to talk on their own,thatwould be different.
“We’ll focus on defense,” Tor promised. “This takes a fair bit of magic, and we might have to work up to it, but I think you’ll like it best.”
Pel’s face took on a resigned look. “I hate you,” he muttered as he moved to stand facing both of them.
“No, you don’t,” Tor said cheerfully. He turned to Larexa. “Let’s say that Pel is attacking me, and because I’m a nice person, I’m not attacking back, because I know that he’s wrong and is just too stubborn to admit it.”
“You are such an ass,” Pel swore, but Tor could see that he was trying not to laugh, and Tor grinned triumphantly.
“A nice ass who’s trying not to hurt you when you’re completely wrong.”
Pel took a swing at him, which Tor blocked easily.
“I can show you a few blocking techniques later, if you want,” Tor assured Larexa. Bavil or Pel could have done the same, though, and he wondered if there was a reason why they hadn’t. “Pel, are you even trying?”
The other man gritted his teeth and came after him much harder now, as though he’d actually been worried before that he was going to hurt Tor. It made an entirely inappropriate warmth spread through Tor.
Larexa was watching carefully, her big brown eyes wide, and she flinched every time a blow made contact. They were circling one another, Tor falling back and Pel pressing in and trying again.
“You can see that while he’s not hurting me, it isn’t actually doing me a lot of good simply to block him, right?”
“Right.” Larexa nodded, a furrow in her brow. “But you could be calling for help.”
“Absolutely,” Tor agreed. “You can’t block forever. If you’re up against magical blows, you’re going to tire even more quickly. But especially for the short-term, it could be just a few crucial seconds until someone comes to your aid, and this will buy you time. But if you need more time or need to disable someone, then you’re going to want to do something like this—”
And Tor pushed Pel back with a burst of magic, encasing him in the dome-like shield the man disliked so much. Pel made no move to get out, which at least showed that he’d learned his lesson. He didn’t look at all comfortable.
Tor had never thought about it in terms of being truly trapped before. Once he and Var had Manifested, they’d tried everything they could think of with their magic, and that included blocking one another in shields. But the thing was, Tor had a chance of breaking his way out. His magic could batter the shield from the inside in a way that no Illustrious or Unremarkable could manage.
Even if Pel attacked with his fists and his sword, Tor was strong enough to outlast him. That had to be a horrible feeling for Pel. And yet he’d agreed to help anyway.
Tor refocused with an effort, turning his attention back to the person he was supposed to be teaching. “Most people think of a shield as being an object between one person and another. They envision a physical shield with those limitations. But as you know, Extraordinary magic doesn’t need to be attached to them, nor does it have to Mantle an object at all.
“I’ve never wanted to make an avatar,” Larexa said hurriedly.
“You don’t have to,” Tor agreed easily.
He’d been the opposite. When he and Var had Manifested as Extraordinary at fourteen, the first thing they’d wanted to do was summon avatars and fight one another with them.
They hadn’t been able to do it right away, but they’d still caused far too much damage the first time they managed it, not truly appreciating just how powerful they were. Though they’d been attacking one another’s avatars, those glowing magical forms had been blasted into various parts of the castle—and Mother had made them work with the builders to fix the damage, giving them a blistering scolding that still stung faintly to this day.
The war hadn’t even been over for four years, and they’d finished most but not all of the rebuilding. Being the cause of more destruction wasnotacceptable, and they’d both felt properly ashamed.
It had been a good lesson on responsibility and consequences. They’d continued to battle for years, but they’d been a lot more careful about the location and the amount of magic they put behind their efforts. Learning to use their magic properly had helped a lot. Two years later, they’d started training with the guards, which had helped, too, but they’d continued their personal battles for fun—right up until their mother had died and Varex had taken the throne.
Varex had looked at him like he was a child the next time Tor had suggested a fight, as though it hadn’t been less than a year since they’d last done it. Tor understood that a lot had changed, but he’d thought… he’d thought some things might stay the same.
He’d been wrong. He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Avatars are often all people think of when they think Extraordinary. As you can see, there are other options. A shield like this could be enough to keep you safe without harming the other person.”
“What’s it like in there?” Larexa asked her brother.
“Annoying,” Pel answered promptly.
He was gazing a bit sourly at Tor, but there was a lightness in his eyes that told Tor he wasn’t really upset.
