Chapter 792

The entire ground shakes as the first bomb hits before our line of troops and explodes. It's far - far away from me - but still, the way the earth trembles beneath my feet makes me moan.

Jackson is there immediately, keeping my hand held tight in his but wrapping his arm around me, using it to press me protectively back into his chest. "We need to get out of here!" he barks, glaring hard at Roger, who nods to him.

"No!" I shout, even as two more bombs hit and shake the world. Because I can hear it - I can hear the screams of my allies, my people. "We're not going fucking anywhere -"

"Ariel!" Rafe shouts out, frowning at me.

But I ignore him - ignore them all - and instead snap my head up to the hurricane of flame, the gyre before me. Because it is mine, no matter how heavy it is. And I control it.

I open my mouth then in a snarl that turns into a roar as I shoot my hand up, hurling out all of my power, all of my magic and my energy towards the flames, lifting them high into the air and letting them stretch wide and flat. I scream at the weight of it against my soul, the pull on my magic and on Jackson's. Behind me, I feel him tremble too.

And then I take that fire and push it all upwards with a mighty heave that has me tilting forward against Jackson's arm, my breath gasping as the fire shoots up towards the skies and the Atalaxian planes flying there.

The sight is...unbelievable. In fact, I wouldn't believe it would real - would stand gaping in the way that my uncle and my brother are if I didn't feel it coming from me.

The entire sky turns orange and red and white and blue at the center as the wide flat expanse of fire grows and them continues to roar upwards into the sky, burning everything with it as it goes - hundreds of planes, maybe thousands, all at once. And the fire that they produce as they burn - I capture it all, and hold it together.

And then I turn, my teeth gritted, and focus on the lines before us.

Lines of Atalaxians that move steadily for us now, eating up the ground beneath them as they charge for our lines.

But I'm ready. I'm waiting. And I'm pissed as hell.

The fire spreading across the sky condenses into one line of white-hot fire that comes slamming to the ground before us - far enough away not to scorch any moon valley troops, but not so far that we don't feel its heat as it hits us as a wave.

"Ariel!" Jackson shouts, holding me tight, looking down at me with worry in his eyes. "It's too fucking much!"

But I just snarl and push, push again, forcing that fire forward towards Atalaxia in a mighty rolling bonfire that can't be sotpped.noveldrama

My breath heaves hot in my lungs, because I want them all to burn, to reduce to ash, to - "She's overheating!" Jackson barks out, pulling me tight against him. "Rafe, we've got to -"

"Ariel!" Rafe shouts. Roger looks at me with wide eyes, speaking quickly into his headset as Rafe reaches for me. But when my brother's hand touches my skin he gasps and pulls it back.

I feel it then, when my brother stumbles away, how hot my skin is - how my blood feels ready to boil - And then my magic sputters. Not because I doubt it but because -

Jackson -

He pulls away, dropping my hand.

"Jacks!" I gasp, tripping forward as I spin to look at him, as my line of fire fades just yards in front of the encroaching Atalaxian foe.

"You're going to burn out, Ariel!" he shouts at me, reaching his hand out, seeking for me to understand. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"They're going to kill everyone!" I

moan, sweeping a hand out at the forces that are now beyond the line! was trying to hold. I groan, and try again my fire sweeping out. The mark on my finger - my connection to Jackson - it pulses -

But it's not enough -

—

I cry out in agony, putting my hands in my hair, tears springing to my eyes. "What did you do!?" I moan, watching them come. "I had them - I had them!"

But even as the tears start to streak down my cheeks, they puff away into steam.

"We've got to get her cooled down," Jackson shouts, terrified, turning to Rafe as he realizes that I'm a lost cause. "She's just a girl - her body is mortal, even if her power is not –“

"Fuck," Rafe breathes, trembling, reaching for me. "We need - we fucking need Tony -"

"Cora sent me with the next best thing," Roger snarls, and from the corner of my eye I see him pull something from a pocket - a syringe.

But I can't concentrate on that - instead, I just wail, watching in horror as the Atalaxian forces fly forward and the Moon Valley troops roll out to meet them.