Elder Merrick tilted his head up, saying loudly from where he was helping King Zeller’s grinning ass up. “It’s mine.” His head cocked. “Why?”
King Collins blinked, and then jumped straight into the air, pumping a fist. “Yes, another spirit secret bites the dust.” My lips managed to pinch the barest bit as he waggled his finger at me, explaining, “She can scent not just the cologne, but,” his hands rubbed together greedily, ““a forest before a rainfall” scent.” He chuckled, brows bouncing. “An obviously abbreviated way to scent a Shifter, but spirit Elemental style.” He raised his hand to me. “Come on, Prodigy. Give me some.”
I high fived him, rolling my eyes. “I’m hungry.”
“And…I do believe she’s coming down,” Elder Farrar murmured, brushing a hair off my forehead that had fallen from my ponytail. “Did using that much—what had to be—inexperienced power make you need nourishment?”
I was coming down, blindingly fast, and I griped, “Dammit, I’m hungry.” My stomach growled. Loudly. “Hear that?” I pointed at my flat belly. “It’s saying, feed me now.”
King Zeller was placed directly next to me, and he threw an arm over my shoulder, knocking his head into mine, leaving it there. “This is good. Not as good as the protection. But, this is damn…joyful.”
“Glad to hear it.” I barely kept from falling over with his weight as everyone stared down at us. One hand bracing on the bench, I pointed a finger at my King. “I. Want. Food.” My finger swung to Elder Merrick, and I glared at him. “And I hate you.”
Elder Merrick sighed heavily, appearing relieved. “She’s back.” He tipped his head grandly, sneering, “And I hate you too.”
King Zeller chuckled quietly, and murmured, “Now, now…let’s all be friends, shall we? And besides, hate is such a relative term. So closely related to love.”
Queen Ruckler stood with her arms crossed. “If she does that shit to me while I face her, I’ll rip her damn head off.” She leaned forward, smacking King Zeller’s cheek lightly, her tone lightening. “Snap out of it.”
My stomach growled again. “Food.”
“She’s down to one worded comments,” Queen Cooper muttered, nudging King Collins. “You should probably feed her before she just starts gnawing on the closest arm.”
I growled a bit.
“Now, no words.” Another nudge. “Let’s get her some food before she goes savage.”
Munching down a protein bar someone had in their bag, I licked my fingers as I moved onto the mat, facing off with Elder Venclaire next. Again, I moved to the far end of the mat, eyeing him warily. He chuckled evilly, his eyes glowing a bit before he called loudly, “I’m going to taste that delicious blood of yours again, my friend.”
I flipped him off. After I licked my finger. Hunger barely subsided.
I had learned three things. One: with their power being stronger, I couldn’t just face off against them that way. Two: Surprise was really my only variable option since I didn’t have speed or strength on my side. Three: I really didn’t want to be bitten again.
So, when Queen Ruckler started her countdown, I waited patiently, just opening my Core.
It was over way too quickly, and suddenly Elder Venclaire blurred, disappearing entirely as he came at me. As soon as I felt his power start to touch me, I flew into the cosmos, feeling his hands grip me from behind, and called, “Temple, give me access.”
Suddenly, I was standing on the shoreline in front of the massive Temple, sunset glittering majestically on the white walls. The spot of true power for a spirit Elemental. I waved once at the Guardians, then threw my arms out wide, my head back, and opened myself to the heavens. Stars shone down onto me, crashing through my being like lightning strikes, such beauty with so much such force it took my breath away, making me shudder at the rightness of it, my Core expanding, filling to overfilling, my body utterly transfused with galaxies power. Then, I floated into the cosmos, whispering, “Back from whence I came.”
Suddenly, I was inside the training room, Elder Venclaire walking away from where I had been, shaking his head, muttering, “Where the hell did she—?”
He stilled.
I struck.
Glowing so brilliantly those on the stands eyes instantly glowed to protect their peepers as I threw my hands out, stars fire, directly from the source, exploding from my palms in booming fury. The ground and air shook, knocking Elder Venclaire off balance when he tried to blur. And, it was too late for him. He bellowed, his back arching as flames blew around him in a flurry, fiery pain I radiated through my will, not a killing blow, but enough to incapacitate him when he wasn’t looking. As he dropped to his knees, I moved forward, changing the flames to whips, one around his throat, the other around his ankles, gripping the fiery tethers tightly until his scream choked off as he went limp.
I went into my secret storage chest, deep within the cosmos, even as I gently laid him flat, then dissolving the whips as I pounced on his back, a diamond dagger materializing in my hand. I swiftly nicked his throat as he groaned under me. Yanking his head up, so he could see me from dazed eyes, I dabbed the end of the blade against my tongue, his blood in my mouth, murmuring, “Now, who tasted whom, my friend?”
He hissed, long fangs bared…right before I slammed my glowing fist against the side of his face, his eyes closing. “Nighty-night.” I put my knife back into my treasure trove, then pushed up off him, and stopped my glowing, peering to the silent onlookers. “I do believe that counts as a take-down this time, and not a tie, right?” When I got a few slow, wide-eyed nods, I nodded once curtly, and then pointed to a bag where I had gotten my previous goodie from. “Think there’s another protein bar in there?”
Chapter Twelve
As luck…or Hell…would have it, my last opponent of the morning was Elder Merrick.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead, more than drained now from the use of such powerful magic, not having used it regularly. It was taking a damn toll on my body, even after I ate three more protein bars I had managed to dig from within that lovely bag, which I had found out was Elder Farrar’s, his lips having twitched a bit, but saying no more. So far, the Prodigies had only managed to win two out of the eleven matches, Brann winning one, mine the other. And now, I was the last of the day, moving onto the mats, bouncing on my feet a bit to gain some energy, seriously wishing this would have happened earlier when I wasn’t so damn pathetically weak because I really wanted to kick his ass.