Casimir took a deep breath, calling on his astral abilities. Ignoring the nausea, he prepared to use the magic he loathed. They would all die buried under this rubble if he didn’t act swiftly. A soft glow arose from his skin and Ava’s eyes grew wide in the starlight. He lowered himself onto his left elbow, the rocks shifting on top of him, then lifted his right arm and pushed through his fingertips.
Pieces of debris began to rise, but it wasn’t enough. He needed both hands to complete this.
“On three, I need you to roll to your left and cover your face. Can you do that with your leg?”
Ava nodded, her green eyes filled with tears.
“One,” he said through gritted teeth. “Two.” His right hand trembled. “Three.”
With a swift motion and a cry of pain, Ava rolled. He twisted his body, throwing both hands out and pushing all of his magic through his palms.
He caught the rocks midair with a bellow, before they buried the two of them further. Pushing with his magic, he created an opening large enough for them to escape.
“Crawl out over here. Quickly!”
Ava dragged herself out, whimpering between gasping breaths. He followed, emerging from the dark rubble before releasing the rocks and letting them fall again.
Ava leaned against a stable wall, away from the now decimated room, grimacing and panting. Beads of sweat drippeddown her pallid complexion. Her hands trembled. “Don’t worry about me. Get them out.”
Casimir rose and manipulated the gravity where he had heard Raine’s voice, raising the rocks into the air. Maeryn climbed out first, pulling Raine behind her with a grunt. The rock crashed to the ground as he released his magic once more.
Raine stood, limping forward and leaning on Maeryn for support, his arm around her shoulders as she stabilized him with her own around his waist.
The two of them collapsed into a heap next to Ava.
“I think Andras left,” Casimir said. The room they’d been in was completely destroyed. Two walls and the window gone, along with most of the ceiling.
“I think my leg’s broken,” Ava moaned.
Casimir ignored his own pain as he knelt beside her. A piece of bone protruded from her shin, through her pants, and her leg was covered in blood.
“Of course it’s broken, little frog,” Raine said through his own pain. “That’s your fucking bone.”
“Can you two walk?” Casimir asked, as he stroked Ava’s tear-streaked face.
“I think my ankle’s broken,” Raine said.
“I’ll help you, captain,” Maeryn said.
Raine smirked. “See? I’m growing on you aren’t I?”
She gave him a flat look.
“Where else is everyone injured?”
“I believe I only have some bruises,” Maeryn said. “Thanks to your captain who threw himself over me.”
Casimir glanced at his friend. He was unable to take his eyes off Maeryn, watching her with concern.
“Raine? Anything other than your ankle?”
“A rib or two, I think. What about you?”
“A couple of broken ribs.”
“We need to talk about what just happened,” Raine said. “With Andras and Deidamia.”
“Let’s get to the healers and then we will. It sounds like the battle is over. I’m sorry to ask you to do this, love, but can you portal us back to the healer’s tent in the camp?”
