Page 85 of Desolation
A gust of air surges from my Zedd’s hands,throwing Ash off balance and blowing him back a few feet. He quickly rights himself, appearing to laugh but there’s no humor in his eyes.
I stare intently at Ash, squinting lightly to make sure I’m seeing this correctly. The color of his eyes. Completely obsidian.So that hadn’t been a figment of my imagination last night.
“Serenity, do you see that?” I whisper, scared for it to be true.
“I do. We need to see more,” She nods and grimaces.
A blinding purple light flares, bright enough that I throw my hands up to shield my eyes. When I look back up, Zedd is on the ground.
In my peripheral, Serenity cocks her head. “So, he has the power of lightning.”That's her only reaction?I step forward to check on Zedd but she grips my elbow, halting my advance. “He’s wearing his leather. It protects them from magic when it strikes the material. Give him a moment.”
Hale grunts in agreement at my side. “He’s alright.”
Sure enough, Zedd is rolling over and pushing himself from the ground.
Ash better hope that he's wearing those leathers when I finally have power over all the elements.I'm going to fry his fucking ass.
Something in me wants to cheer for Zedd but I know it’ll fall on deaf ears so I resort to grabbing Hale and Serenity's hands in a death grip, squeezing hard enough to maybe break a few bones.
Ash waits for Zedd to gather himself, a smirk on his face and not a single fuck given, even as Zedd steadies himself and rushes him, ready to take a swing. A violent gust of air propels the force of his punch and I flinch, preparing for the blow to hit Ash's face. At the last moment, a deep purple barrier erects itself between them and Zedd's fist smashes into it. His mouth opens in an unheard scream as he tumbles back and falls. Despite the pain that's likely rendering his arm useless, he’s quick to his feet, cradling his fist to his chest.
In the typical bad guy move, Ash motions to Zedd to come at him, laughing and provoking him. Rage like I've never seen before crosses Zedd's face as he screams at him, spittle flying from his mouth.
I'm ready for this to end. I know if Zedd gets even one hit in, Ash's confidence will falter and maybe it'll knock some sense into him.
Serenity releases her hand from my grip, pacing closer to the dome and drawing Ash's attention with her movement. His head turns as he maintains eye contact with Serenity, giving Zedd an opening to rush towards his opponent. He throws a round kick at Ash, sending a swirling force of air with it. Every muscle in my body tenses as Ash's purple shield forms, but Zedd is quick to pull his attack before it can land and hurt him again. Some of the force of Zedd’s attack funnels back to him, sending the tips of his hair fluttering, as he stands defiant.
Ash smirks at Serenity and motions at her, just like he had to Zedd, taunting her to attack him.
Serenity shakes her head and points at Zedd, causing Ash to shrug his shoulders and focus on his intended target once more. His obsidian eyes glint in the light of the room as a sinister smile crosses his face. My heart leaps into my throat and I scream at Serenity to stop this, to fucking do something, when a bolt of pure black energy shoots towards Zedd, going straight through the wall of air he pushed to block it, causing him to crumple to the ground instantly.
"No!” I scream, running to the dome and beating it, even though Ash can’t hear me. "What the fuck is wrong with you!"
A flicker of remorse shows on his face before it dies.
Serenity seethes from my side, finally in agreement that he crossed a line. “Step back, Lana. I’ll handle this.”
Fire sweeps through my body like the previous night but this time, I recognize it and welcome it. Every nerve ending is alight with my power as it rushes into my hands and fingers, wanting to defend my mate from the threat it perceives. My rage at Ash intensifies. I don’t even recognize him anymore. Who is this man who smirksand takes pleasure from beating his brother down?
He needs to be dealt with and I’ll be the one to do it.
When I don’t move away from the dome, a ball of fire dancing in my hand, Serenity sighs. "Be careful, Lana. You still don't have complete control over your powers. I'm not constructing the dome this time so I’ll be able to step in immediately if he hurts you."
As the white dome falls before my eyes, I step onto the mat. I glance at Zedd and grit my teeth at the large gash extending from his forehead, through his eyebrow, over his eyelid and down to his cheek.Ash did that?My blood freezes over. He needs me.
Before I can decide between dealing with Ash or caring for my unconscious mate, Hale’s there, dragging Zedd away, and I brush off the worry for now, knowing he’s being cared for.
The twins are yelling at Ash but I tune them out, turning to Ash. Nothing but us exists. With every measured step, I advance towards him, ideas twisting and turning in my head.
It’s time to be the leader of this group.
It’s time to channel the powers Gaia trusted me with.
I let instinct guide me as I call my powers, a gust of wind surrounds me. I build an air dome around myself, calling fire simultaneously. The flames lick the waves of air, growing in size to protect me. Ash's smirk falters at the sight as I stalk towards him, that hesitation fueling the rage deep in my soul.That's right, buddy. You aren't the most powerful being here. Let's fucking go.
I smirk at him and gesture for him to come at me, imitating his earlier move. He snarls in response, clearly not enjoying the same treatment.
When he shoots the same black bolt of energy at me, I see it coming a mile away. I stay standing tall, unflinching as the air barrier around me turns teal and his bolt lands against it, sizzling as the shield devours it.
