Page 71 of House Ignis

My stomach dropped.

He shouldn't be able to do that.

Another surge.

Ice speared upward, grazing my side.

A whip of water cracked across my back, knocking the breath from my lungs. I hit the stone hard, magic flickering beneath my skin like a dying pulse.

Aether roared and collided with Styx, fangs sinking deep as fire poured over the creature in a blinding wave.

It shrieked.

It did not fall.

It coiled tighter.

Professor Aldara stepped forward, magic flaring around his hands.

“Zorian!” His voice thundered. “Release the channel immediately. That is beyond regulated draw!”

The wards around the arena shimmered violently now—the barrier glowing brighter, runes carved into the stone pulsing unevenly as they absorbed the strain. They held.

But barely.

I was still inside.

And Zorian didn't stop.

He lifted both hands.

The air went glacial.

Water condensed above me—sharp, suspended, crystalline.

Knives.

Too fast.

A tendril lashed from behind and wrapped around my throat.

It tightened instantly.

Cold pressure crushed my windpipe. My feet left the ground.

I choked, fingers clawing at liquid force that refused to disperse.

It wasn't just water.

It was pressure.

Compacted.

Forced.

Aether felt it. Panic ripped through our bond as he spun toward me and lunged.

Styx intercepted him mid-leap. The octopus slammed him into the arena floor hard enough to rattle the shield.