It wasinthis moment that my panic began to overcome me. I came to this market on a simplemission, andjust wanted to help one female. How did thatspiralout of control so quickly?
Was I truly about to fight two of my own people?
The moment the first male unsheathed one of his many blades and I felt Matea and Rayven stir, my racing mind cleared. I signaled subtly to the two shadow wielders to stand down.
Acrowdhad gatheredaround us at this point—all thefaewho had been at the market to shop today had come to watch whatever was happening. There were dozens of citizens, so I had to play thissafe.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t defend myself.
I tilted my head up slightly, just enough to see part of the blue skyfrom inbetween the clouds. Sliding my left hand into my cloak pocket, I tightly gripped the gloves Byn hadgiftedme.In a matter of seconds, I secured my connection with the moon stone I wanted.
Then, the sky began changing.
Often, I found it easier to shape the elements around me when I moved my body along with whatever I was wielding. It was a display of incredible power and control to be able to wield and connect with the world around you without moving.
And right now, I wanted to show that side of myself.
As I willed the clouds to darken and come together overhead, I worked on strengthening my connection to the weather. I imagined it as a cord between me and the sky above, the power thundering through my veins.
As the second male gasped at the shift in the sky, I took a step forward.
“Maybe,” I said with gentle malice, “I should teachyoua lesson instead.”
As my connection with the weather doubled,then tripled in strength, thewind picked up, stirring the dirt below our feet and whipping my cloak in the wind.
“You don’t scare me,crid,” the first male said just before he lunged, blade raised.
Instead of dodging, I bent my knees slightly, holding my position. I caught his wrist before he could get too close, then twisted swiftly, causing him to release the knife.
“Perhaps I should,” I said, and with that, the rain and hail began pelting us.
At that point, the majority of the crowd ran for cover, and merchants frantically packed up their goods soas tonot to ruin them.
I pushed the male back, releasing his wrist and putting distance between us. Though, it seemed instead of instilling fear in him,I’dsimplyangeredhim even more.
Itwasn’tuntil then that I noticed the second male had slipped behind me, and I was now stuck between the two of them.
“Oh, you’re going to regret that,” the first male spat.
“I really don’t think I will,” I responded flatly.
Still gripping my gloves in my pocket, I focused more energy into one of mysun stones, forcing a connection with more than one stone at once. With that sun stone, I could feel through the ground below as the male behind me began to charge.
With just enough of a warning from my earth wielding, I quickly manipulated some of the hail on the ground to wrap around the second male’s foot and ankle. He cursed as he found himself unable to take another step forward.
“You’re… a multi-wielder,” the first male breathed.
“And you’re a greedy, selfish bully of a male,” I said, matter-of-factly.
The effort it took tomaintainsolid connections to multiple different elements at once was beginning to get to me as my hands began to shake in my cloak pockets.
“I think we’re done here,” I said with a wink, hoping my faux confidence was enough to hide the exhaustion overcoming me. “Follow if you dare.”
Before the anger could return to the scarred male’s face, I did to him whatI’ddone to his lacky, freezing him to the ground below. At the very least,I’dget a head start in my escape.
Before he even had time to curse at me, I launched myself into the sky, dropping the connection I had on myearthwielding and replacing it with a swift bond to my airzirilium. I used that burst of energy to swoop down over a food cart, grabbing an arm-full of snacks and dried meats.
It would have to be enough.
