Pel scoffed. “I don’t see how I’d ever have a chance when you could squash me with that shield.”
“You could kill me in my sleep,” Tor pointed out.
Pel looked at him with disgust.
“I’m not saying youwould,” Tor clarified, “I’m saying youcould. You’re offended that I’d suggest you’d sneak into my room and kill me when I was defenseless. I assure you, I’m equally offended that you’d suggest I’d ever wield that against someone who couldn’t fight back. Pel, I’m Extraordinary. One on one, almostno onecan fight back. I’ve had that drilled into my skull by my mother since I Manifested. I would never have put you in that shield if I were concerned I could accidentally harm you in it.”
Pel continued to stare at him for a very long moment, and then he said, voice very even, “I would think it would be a very effective weapon.”
“It’s meant to protect people,” Tor said flatly. “That’s it.”
Pel’s gaze continued to pierce him, and then he nodded his head, his shoulders softened a little.
But he said, “I hope she tortures you with the music lessons.”
Tor only laughed, hopelessly charmed.
Bavil returned from what had evidently been a very damp patrol, saying only that the raids were increasing in frequency, and Tor drafted him into the defense lessons. He seemed to be surprised but pleased that Larexa had agreed to learn. He left the physical blocking demonstrations to Pel, agreeing that he was best at it.
Tor watched Pel’s shoulders hunch. Tor was pretty sure that had been a straightforward compliment. But Pel muttered, “I must be good forsomething,” as he headed over to Larexa, and Tor realized that Pel had heard it as pointing out all the things hecouldn’tdo.
Bavil’s lips twisted, but he didn’t pursue the subject, and Tor made himself bite his tongue.
Tor erected one of his shields, and then he worked with Bavil on the best ways to bring it down from the outside, concentrating all Bavil’s Mantled magic on one location, just like he’d told Larexa.
“A poorly erected shield is going to splinter. Even a well-put-together one can collapse under the strain if it can’t be reinforced quickly enough. A well-matched shield will eventually be overcome as the creator uses too much magic to support it. In many cases, the shield will naturally fail, a fail-safe for the creator.”
Tor and Var had experimentedendlesslyon what could bring one another’s shields down.
“Otherwise, as I already discussed with your sister, there’s the regular warnings of magic overuse.”
Tor and Var had also experimented on how to keep their shields going no matter what was thrown at them. Their mother had yelled a lot the first time she’d found Var battering Tor’s pink-tinged shield. He’dtotallyagreed to the test, and he’d defended Var loudly. His mother had still been unimpressed.
Larexa looked extremely uncomfortable at the idea of trying to stab or hack at his shield with a weapon.
Tor winked at her. “I don’t mind your brothers showing off their lovely muscles.”
Pel scoffed, and Bavil laughed—but theydidboth attack his shield. Bavil’s blows were stronger, but Pel’s weren’t insignificant. Together, they definitely made more of an impact, a strain against his magic. It wasn’t pain, exactly, more like pressure against something that was outside of him but was generated from somewhere inside him. It was a hard feeling to describe.
Tor didn’t reinforce the shield as quickly as he usually would, letting them see where it eventually thinned and, finally, broke. The two of them ended up stumbling into the previously protected area as the shield collapsed under their onslaught.
Tor absorbed the backlash, and Larexa said, “Didn’t that hurt?”
Shaking his head, Tor said, “I’ve done it often enough that I’m used to it.”
When the shield broke, the magic escaped the confines he’d created. Some of it completely dissipated, but some of it snapped back into him, a rushing jolt sizzling through his veins. It was a disconcerting feeling, but one he’d experienced plenty over the years.
A couple days later, on the way to train with the guards, Pel asked, “Could you shield yourself like that and still fight?”
Tor admitted, “Var and I did when we were kids: erected shields around ourselves and then had our avatars fight one another. I suppose we could theoretically have had our avatars fight other people while we were protected by the shield, but I don’t know what situation that would feel appropriate in.”
Tor knew some of the rulers had done it during the war, but it felt even less right in peace time.
Even with Bavil back, Pel was still helping Larexa with physical blocking. His reflexes were the best, and he was very patient with his sister when they were in training mode. It was almost like they all forgot, sometimes, that they weren’t supposed to be getting along, which was exactly what Tor had been hoping for.
Larexa finally conceded that music was really not Tor’s strength, and he was happily able to abandon the lessons.
“Are you really that bad?” Pel wanted to know. “Or did you just work out how to make her give up?”
