She was back in the Walking Forest.
Death was all around her, moving and swaying in perfect synchronicity. A well-trained army moving in for the kill. Alex’s arm was slung around her, his heat bleeding into her. He was steady as she faltered, lending her strength.
It comforted her to know that he was strong. He was alive.
Allyra was jolted back into the present by a voice in her ear.
“I see it.”
“Are we nearly out?” Allyra whispered back. She thought she could see the light through the silver trees. She remembered vaguely that she shouldn’t lunge for it though her mind failed to grasp how she knew.
“Out of what?”
“The forest,” she replied, confused.
A laugh barked into her ear. “What forest? I can’t remember the last time I saw a tree.”
Allyra looked around her and realized he was right.
There were no trees, no sign of the deadly Walking Forest. She wasn’t in the Between.
Her mind fumbled for something to hold on to. She turned and looked at the person standing next to her. She blinked, trying to clear snow from her eyes. The face looking back at her was familiar, as were the dark indigo eyes. “Jason?”
His face was pale, and there was a bluish hue around his lips, showing that he was far from immune to the intense cold. White snowflakes dusted the dark eyelashes around the indigo eyes as they bored deeper into her. “Allyra?”
She fought to remember where she was.
The Five Finals.
Jason.
They were so close to finishing.
She nodded. “Sorry. Mind wandering,” she replied hoarsely.
Jason didn’t look convinced. “I’m going to ask you some questions as a sanity check. How old are you? When is your birthday?”
She swatted at him halfheartedly.
His lips lifted in a half-smile. “The less you answer, the more I’m convinced that you’ve finally lost your mind.”
She ignored him. The Wellsprings of the Oceanic College were visible now, and all they had to do to complete the Fourth Final was Evanesce from the Oceanic College to the Elemental College.
Evanesce.
She wasn’t sure she had the strength.
She knew she didn’t have the strength.
As if reading her mind, Jason tightened his grip on her hand. “I can do it. I’ll Evanesce us back. Just hold on to me.”
His words offered her strength. But it was what he didn’t say that truly warmed her. He was going to Evanesce them both. He believed and trusted his knowledge of her—enough to break her down and build her anew.
With his left hand holding onto her tightly, Jason reached out with his right. He dipped it into the Fire burning in the Inferno Wellspring, and the flames slowly reached out, climbing up his arm and down his shoulder until it covered his whole body. And through his hand, the flickering flame flowed like liquid lava over her hand and through her body. Soon she was consumed by the Fire, its warmth comforting, its energy offering her strength.
The Fire burned brighter. Soon she was nothing more than flame and heat and passion. The familiar siren’s call caressed her mind, screaming for her to burn, to scorch like wildfire, to let go.
For a moment she wanted to answer its call, to give in and let go. To allow the Fire to burn away her pain. But she resisted and fought to remember what it was she was fighting for.
Alex.
Her father.
Emma.
Pierre.
Chi.
She found her way back as Jason rebuilt her body from flame and fire. He knew her as surely as she knew herself. Air flooded back into her lungs, bubbling and forcing her to break down into a gurgling cough. But the roar of the crowd cheering their return consumed the sound of it. Like a single voice, they screamed her name and Jason’s in a perfect drumbeat rhythm.
She looked up and saw Marcus stepping up and shaking Jason’s hand, looking more animated than she’d ever seen him before. Marcus continued to congratulate his protégé, pulling Jason into a hug. Without Jason to steady her, Allyra wobbled and started to stumble.
Jason lunged toward her, but High Master Perez was quicker. The Oceanic High Master caught her, strong despite her small stature.
“Call the medical team,” High Master Perez called out.
The last thing Allyra saw was the blur of the crowd behind Jason as he hovered over her, worry marring his handsome face. She faded into the darkness, content with the knowledge that they’d completed the Fourth Final and she was a step closer to achieving her goal.
Chapter 33 – Jamie
Jamie tore down the corridor toward the medical wing of the Elemental College. He skidded around another corner, the rubber soles of his shoes squeaking on the tiled floor. Nearly coming to grief by colliding with a nurse carrying a tray loaded with a variety of medical paraphernalia, Jamie made a valiant effort at leaping to the side and just managed to avoid crashing into the nurse, colliding with the wall instead.
The nurse turned and gave him a hard look, apparently unimpressed by his efforts. Her severe, schoolmistress look was enough to make him feel instantly chastised and no more than ten years old. He threw out an obligatory apology before taking off again toward a pair of pale wooden doors at the end of the corridor.
The doors opened toward him just as he closed in on them, and this time, there was no avoiding the collision. He just had enough time to turn his head to protect his face before crashing into the person coming through the doors. The collision was hard enough to knock
