Hands and fists it was, then.
I caught the first Sylph around the waist in a tackle that took us both to the ground. Our fall knocked the wind out of him, if his gaping, flapping mouth was any indication. “You stay there. This is not your fight.” I pointed at him as I scrambled up and ran for the next Sylph closest to me, a woman who stood a few inches taller than me. She spun as I approached, her hands raised and lines of power lighting her pale skin up as she lifted me from the ground.
From her left side, Peta crept along the ground. “Put her down, or I’ll turn you into a kitty toy, air bag.”
The Sylph startled and her hands lowered. “Samara is the lowest of the low. Her blood is as far from royal as one can get without being a half-breed. She cannot rule.”
I closed the distance between us. “I completely understand.”
She smiled at me and I slammed my fist into her jaw, dropping her where she stood. “I understand you are as small-minded as the rest of the elementals.”
Shazer was right; all of them were assholes.
Cactus took out two of the other Sylphs. Normally I knew it wouldn’t be so easy, except we weren’t facing Enders. We were facing everyday Sylphs. Which begged the question, why weren’t the Enders defending Samara?
I turned to see them standing in a circle around Aria, protecting their dying queen.
A triumphant yell brought my head around. Samara stood over Stasha. The queen’s daughter still lived, her chest rose and fell, but her face was a wreck of blood and bits of bone. The shuffle of feet on rock turned me the other way and I swallowed hard. “Cactus, I think we’re in trouble.”
Peta crept toward me. “What in the world would make you think that, Dirt Girl?”
I grimaced. “Just a guess.”
The Enders pulled their weapons as they approached Samara. I stood, putting myself between them. If it was the last thing I did, I would defend her. She was royalty, no matter what the other Sylphs thought.
“Enough,” Samara said, her voice raised and full of threat. I held my ground, but the other Enders kept coming.
“Not good.” Peta’s tail lashed from side to side.
There was a moment where I thought the inevitable was going to slide by.
The Enders leapt as a unit, and I braced for the impact. But it came from a direction I did not expect. A wickedly cold wind snapped down off the remaining peaks and slammed into all of us. The Enders were tossed through the air and Cactus, Peta, and I were hammered into the ground. My cheek hit so hard the skin split and the warmth of my blood shocked the icy cold of my skin. I clung to the rocks as the temperature dropped and my breath misted around my face. Peta somehow managed to get beside me, scraping along the rocks until her fur tickled my face. Her eyes were squinted shut against the blasting wind. I wrapped a hand over her back and buried my face into her thick coat.
Minutes ticked by. I know, I counted each one. If I didn’t do something, I was going to freeze in spite of Peta’s efforts to keep me warm. Which meant Cactus was in even more trouble.
I rolled with difficulty so I could see behind me. Samara stood with her head thrown back, her short hair rippling in the wind. The lines of power wrapped around her arms, legs and torso, more than I’d ever seen before on another elemental.
Cactus was only a foot away from me. I held my hand out to him, pulling him close. The only person we were missing was my father. Peta picked up on my thoughts, yelling into the wind to me. “He’s by the old queen.”
As far as I knew, there was only one thing I could do. No one else seemed inclined to try and talk sense into Samara. Angling myself, I faced Samara while still lying on my back. I took a breath and stood, letting the wind catch me and throw me toward her. The speed of the wind slammed me into her so hard we went tumbling through the air three times ass over head before we hit the ground and the wind fell.
Her eyes were glazed and her lips were blue. “Destroyer.”
“Yes.” I slid off her and sat up in a crouch. “Sorry about that.”
She blinked a few times before she put a hand to her head. “I can’t let you go without doing something. They will think me weak.”
“Do what you must,” I said, pushing myself to my feet. “Only let me get my father home.”