A pull came next. A slow, deliberate tug at the edge of her magic.
Zaicha.
Finley’s breath hitched, and she held a hand to her throat. I didn’t think. I just reached for her, shoving my magic through our bond. Smoke roared to life around us, red threading the familiar gray, but I was careful to keep it away from Alastor and Javier.
“Stay with me, Finley,” I said, voice rough.
I could feel Zaicha’s power like claws scraping at the edges of Finley’s magic.
Hand shaking, she locked her fingers around mine. “She’s testing us.”
I anchored us both, wrapping my magic around hers until it burned through my veins to my blistering skin. The tent pulsed with Zaicha’s presence, souring the scent to ash. Eyes wide, Willow watched us, keeping her binding with Alastor open despite the invisible threat we fought.
Hoshiko’s roar split above us, a sound so deep it shook the earth at our feet. The air vibrated with it, the canvas of the tent snapping.
Zaicha’s pull wrenched once more, hard enough to steal the breath from my lungs. Our bond grew taut before Zaicha’s power fell away. With nothing to harness it at, my smoke magic broke free in a violent rush, its power spiraling outward. Before it could touch anyone, Hoshiko contained the blast. The ensuing silence rang in my ears.
Finley slumped against me, the fight gone from her limbs. I pulled her to me, holding her close, feeling the frantic thud of her heart through our bond.
“What—did the orb’s wielder attack?” Willow asked, her words as shaky as my breath.
“Yes.” I gritted my teeth.
“We fended her off,” Finley whispered, her breath hot against my neck. “We fended her off, Brenton.”
I brushed a strand of damp hair from her face. “We’ll continue fending her off until we destroy her.”
Finley’s hand fisted around my shirt, her magic still trembling beneath her skin.
But then the cold deepened.
Finley stiffened in my arms, a cry tearing from her throat as the bond flared hot enough to sear.
“Brenton,” she gasped.
The pull came again, but this time, Zaicha lunged. Her magic slammed into our bond in a brutal wave. Not prying, butstriking. Trying to overwhelm the connection through force. The tether screamed under the strain, vibrating violently between us.
Finley cried out, and her knees buckled as Zaicha’s power clawed deeper, searching for a fracture.
I roared and slammed everything I had into our bond. Not just magic or power but presence. Smoke tore free around us, wild and furious, red streaking through the gray as the bond blared bright.
Before the surge could lash outward, Hoshiko caught it. His power folded around the blast, crushing it and containing the violence before it could touch anyone.
Zaicha pressed harder.
The air split like glass cracking. Pain lanced through my chest as if her hands were wrapped around the bond itself, squeezing and testing for weakness. Finley screamed, clutching at me, and for one terrifying beat, I felt the faintest give and feared we might break.
But Zaicha faltered, and the pressure wavered. Her magic stalled against the bond, exhaustion bleeding through the attack. I felt it; the strain and the cost of shoving so hard.
She struck once more. A final, savage shove. The bond flared white-hot but held.
Zaicha’s presence recoiled, ripping away with a shriek that bled through my ears. The cold evaporated, and warm air rushed in, leaving only ringing silence behind.
Finley sagged against me, trembling but intact. And somewhere, I felt Zaicha retreat.
I breathed in a steady stream, willing my pulse to ease.
We were safe for now.
