“Unfortunately, we will need Oberi for this exercise,” Cassiel said, and he laughed.
I whistled to her. “Oberi! We’ve got work to do.”
She smacked her fins against the surface of the water a few times in protest.
“Oberi, get your ass out of the ocean right this second!” I yelled. “If you’re in there too long, the war will be over before you get out of the water.”
Oh, yeah? What are you going to do about it if I stay?Oberi challenged.
“I might’ve gotten you a special treat earlier, but I’m not sure I feel like giving it to you now,” I teased.
Hm. All right, but I want some belly rubs later,she grumbled.
She shifted into a husky and came out of the ocean. He shook his fur at me, getting me all wet.
I patted his head. “Good boy.”
Yes,master?he said snidely.
“We’re learning a new trick today.” I turned back to my grandfather. “So what’s this theory?”
“As an Elf, you know you can siphon energy from other supernaturals and take on their power,” he started. “You shifted into a dragon at the bank. I wonder if you could take Oberi’s powers.”
“Won’t that drain him?” I asked. “It’s one thing to take magic from an enemy, but another to take from our own side. I can’t leave Oberi helpless.”
“That’s what we’re here to find out,” Cassiel said. “The war is getting worse. There was recently a battle in Malovia between the fae and The Mission. We lost a lot of people and had to go on the retreat. More still, we lost ground in Malovia, and now that ground is outside of King Kazim’s control… which means it’s outside of ours. The capital city of Dolinska is still under our command, but we lost the outer villages.”
“Why haven’t I heard about this until now?” I pressed. I was a prince, and I needed to be informed.
“Because we have enough soldiers fighting this war. Your attention can’t be divided from getting those keys, especially when there’s not much you can do from here,” he stated. “We have many generals, but only one prince. Remember what we talked about when it came to prioritizing your attention?”
I nodded. I understood what he was getting at. My attention and effort was a limited resource, and we had to utilize it properly… even if that meant taking a few losses. “If Kazim’s no longer in control of certain parts of Malovia, that’s a hard hit for us to take. We already lost Kinpago and Octavia Falls. We can’t lose more ground than we already have. Otherwise, we’re going to be overwhelmed.”
“We may have lost the battle, but wewillwin this war,” Cassiel vowed. “To do that, we must think of things Doctor Taurus has not. Soon, you will be ready to lead our people. In order to defeat him, you must become the most powerful Emperor this world has ever seen. So let’s make you as powerful as possible.”
“Siphoning shifter magic from Oberi shouldn’t be hard,” I said with a shrug.
You think your Elf power is stronger than mutabeecha magic? Oberi challenged playfully.You’re on.
Oberi growled, but I quickly siphoned a bit of his magic, and he quieted instantly. I could feel the magic surging through ourconnection. It was easy. I couldn’t believe we hadn’t thought to try it before.
I guess youarestrong, Oberi admitted reluctantly.
I tried utilizing his shifter magic for my own, but nothing happened. The magic tingled throughout my body, then juststopped.
“It’s not working,” I noted.
“Let’s try it in a different form,” my grandfather suggested.
Oberi shifted into a Fire unicorn, and we tried again. This time, the connection was even weaker. I could hardly siphon her magic at all. She shifted into a phoenix, and then a narwhal, but the result was the same each time. I couldfeelher magic, but I couldn’t use it as my own.
“I can feel your Earth form strongest,” I said. “Maybe because it’s the weakest of them all.”
Who are you calling weak?Oberi demanded.You don’t want to be caught under these claws.
“Or perhaps you’re more connected to Oberi’s Earth form because it’s your own element, and not part of Ava’s,” my grandfather countered. “Why don’t we try Oberi’s Air form?”
My eyebrows shot up. Oberi’s Air formwashis strongest… but it was also my strongest element, and Ava had told me before she guessed this particular form was connected to my half of our soul bond. “It’s worth a shot.”
