glanced toward the troll, which was now obscured in a giant steam cloud.
Elias put his hands on the ground and joined his magic with Tara’s. There was another roar from within the steam. Then the troll appeared out of the cloud, its face a mask of fury, half melted where it had been burned by Professor Warren and the fire elementalists’ combined powers. It was coming straight for Tara, hammer raised.
She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed every ounce of power she could muster into the ground, trying her best to soften it. She winced, waiting for the ice hammer to smash down on the back of her head. At least it will be quick. She imagined her body squished by the giant hammerhead.
The troll roared. She turned her head and cracked one eye open. She saw the troll, now thigh deep in the mud she’d created, struggling to free itself.
“Don’t let up,” said Elias.
Tara continued to force the dense earth away from the troll. It began sinking. It was now waist deep in a quagmire of soupy dirt. “More fire! More water!” roared Elias. Two streams of flame and one jet of water met each other in the center of the beast’s great head. The result was nothing short of catastrophic. The troll’s head made a deafening popping sound and erupted in a shower of rock and ice, flying in all directions. Tara threw herself down and covered her face with her arms. Even through her heavy clothing, the projectiles caused her to wince in pain. A moment later, there was silence. She looked up again and saw a giant, headless stone torso resting in the dirt.
“Whoop!” Tara jumped up and threw a fist in the air. “Take that, you icy bastard.” She went quiet when she saw the others staring at her.
“Is she always like that?” asked Lawson, who put his arm around Cara.
“No, just after battles,” replied Elias.
“You know what?” said Tara. “I don’t even care. That was my first real battle that I, you know, actually helped out in. I’m celebrating.” She let out another whoop of triumph.
“Okay, calm down, troll-slayer. You’re bleeding.” Elias took his sleeve and pushed it against her forehead.
“I’m bleeding and I don’t care, cause I just killed a mountain troll,” she sang. She knew the adrenaline coursing through her veins probably dulled any pain sensations she might be feeling, and that she’d probably be all kinds of sore later, but Tara wasn’t concerned. She just helped kill a freaking troll.
“We can celebrate later,” said Professor Warren as she opened a portal. “Let’s get back to the academy and lick our wounds. I think this lake will be good for some time now. Good work, Tara, but don’t let it go to your head.”
Gabby forced her mind to be still. She ignored the voices in her head that screamed at her. You’re not good enough to be soul bonded, especially with someone like Liam. One day he will realize it was a mistake, just like your parents did. She clenched her jaw and focused on what Josie had told her. And prayed it was the truth. Gabby closed her eyes and pictured Liam standing there in front of her. She felt his foreign magic in her skin and the tug at her heart. When she looked for the origin of that tug, she could see a gold strand connecting her heart to Liam’s. Her first instinct was to grab it and rip it out like a splinter embedded under her fingernail. But if she did that, Liam would die. He was already teetering on the brink. But he’d used his last bit of strength to push his power into her, merging them, bonding them.
She should totally be angry about that, right? Or maybe not. Hell, she didn’t know what to feel. So, instead of letting herself explore her feelings, she shook her head and focused on the task at hand—keeping Liam alive while they were on top of the damn volcano.
Gabby pushed her magic into him and imagined her fire like a protective coating, encasing everything inside and outside of him so that it would repel the outside heat source.
“Damn, that feels good.” Liam’s voice, a weak whisper, reached her ears. Somehow, he’d gathered the strength to scoot closer while her eyes were closed. She opened them now and saw that his face was practically tucked into her neck, his mouth right beside her ear.