I covered my head and dropped to the ground as chunks of marble and wood came crashing down, leaving a giant hole gaping in the ceiling. I dodged and weaved away from the falling debris until I slid under a large table, finding two trapped party-goers who were screaming frantically.
I looked up as Wyn clapped her hands; the wall behind Edmund and his men exploded, sending them all running in a panic. The room groaned at the loss of a supporting wall, the structure heaving as it was torn apart from the inside out. Wyn’s explosion separated the Trpaslíks from each other. Edmund seemed to have completely disappeared, leaving his minions to do his dirty work. With the Trpaslíks separated, Ilyan and his guard were free to pick them off, one by one. Wyn laughed before heading straight for her brother, Cail, her look of determination, terrifying.
She met up with him as he broke out from behind the rubble. She pushed her hands toward him, a magical pulse pushing him back down into the rubble he had just escaped from. Cail recovered quickly, jumping to his feet as he shot a fiery orb of energy her way. Wyn dodged it, but lost her footing. Without thinking, I sent wind to her and righted her before her brother could attack her again.
My actions caught the attention of three Trpaslíks who flung away the table I was hiding under, slamming it into an opposing wall. My head jerked up to see the three small men approaching me excitedly. I jumped to my feet, shooting three waves of fire toward my attackers. The burning orbs collided with them, sending them skidding against the floor. The fire burned their clothes and singed their flesh, but the weak, unfocused energy wasn’t able to do much more than that, and they quickly continued toward me. I didn’t wait for their attack; I exploded into the air and away from them, only to land clumsily in the middle of the floor, not having planned where I was going. I spun around wildly, hoping to get my bearings.
The whole ballroom was now madness and chaos. Explosions rocked the air. Wind and magic flew between fighting pairs, leaving paths of fire and destruction behind them. I watched as Talon swung his arms wide, a trail of fire spitting from his fingertips. Zilla wrapped electrical ropes around her opponents, causing them to fall to the ground, one by one. Ilyan then disappeared from one spot, only to appear across the room a moment later, hovering behind one of Edmund’s retreating allies. He placed his hand lightly on the Trpaslíks head, causing him to yell out in pain before dropping to the ground.
Another explosion rocked the building, sending more debris crashing down from overhead. Talon appeared behind me, grabbing me around the waist and sliding me across the floor just as a boulder-sized piece of the balcony crashed down where I had been standing. He shoved me behind him as he shot light and wind away from us.
“Get Ryland and get out of here!” Talon yelled as he sent a table skidding across the ground, the hard edge slamming into the back of one of Edmund’s men.
I took off toward where Ryland’s body still lay, crumpled from the impact.
“Ryland!” My voice broke as I called to him. I reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling it up to my face. His touch triggered my magic and I felt it surge into him. I could feel it move inside his body, instantly moving to intertwine with his power. His head turned toward me, the knot in my stomach releasing at the sight of his blue eyes.
“Jos,” he whispered my name, a smile trying desperately to form on his lips, “you came.”
“Yeah, Ry. I did. Now we have to get out of here. Come on, let’s go, just you and me.” I tugged on his arm, but he didn’t budge.
“What did you do to your hair, Jos? I always loved your hair.” His eyes were fading out on me, focusing on something far behind me.
“Ryland! Come on; we have to leave now!” I clutched onto him and brought a powerful gust of wind around us; I felt my magic fade as we lifted off the ground a few feet, only to crash back down to the floor. I tried again with the same result.
“Ryland, I need your help.” I was becoming desperate; he still didn’t respond to me. “Ryland! Please.”
“Do you want to go steal the car, Jos?” His voice slurred as it faded away, his eyes gently closing.
“Ryland, no, no. Ryland!” He didn’t move, and he didn’t react, he just lay there.
The prospect of losing him clicked something together in my brain. I was instantly consumed with panic-stricken desperation. I called his name over and over as I pushed him, prodded him and even slapped him across the face. He didn’t react to any of it. My movements became more desperate as the seconds clicked by in my mind.