The Fire Fae gaped at me but only allowed his shock to settle for a moment before he crouched and drew his magic into himself, building a blazing tornado that sizzled against the mass of water and burned his pants—pants that should have been fire resistant. Yet it left his bare torso alone, suggesting his ultimate control of the raging energy.
Titus wasn’t a royal, but his magic had Claire’s passion infused into him, making him far more powerful than I would have given him credit for. He looked like the ancient god Vulcan, erupting molten lava that billowed from his feet in a wave of its own that rivaled my oceans, making my seahorses neigh in dismay before steaming into nothingness.
“That all you got, little king?” Titus taunted, twisting my nickname for Claire against me. I wasn’t the Water King yet, and if I was defeated in the arena by a Fire Fae, I’d never hear the end of it from my father.
But it would make for a better show.
And it just might give Mortus, and anyone else watching, the false opinion that my link to Claire had somehow weakened me.
Hmm.
Perhaps we needed to use this duel to our advantage and paint some false perceptions.
I grinned as his lava crept toward me. The soft red glow made the air turn bloody and gave Titus a terrifying appearance. By the gleam in his emerald eyes, he blamed me for putting Claire in danger.
Maybe I blamed myself.
Still, I had to make this look good. To ensure that everyone believed Titus had earned this win.
I changed up my attack, twisting my body to create a current that swept against Titus’s lava and forced it to harden. He grunted from the blow as fine whips of water lashed against his bare chest, leaving trails of bright blood in their wake. He took the punishment, growling as flames erupted and threatened to consume him in his rage.
That’s it. Lose control. See how that works out for you.
Titus should have sidestepped my onslaught and let me wear myself out. The strain was already pounding in my skull, my reserves threatening to admit they were empty, but that wasn’t Titus’s style. He rushed at me head-on and barreled through the thickest part of my waves, expending his energy as he billowed fire to evaporate a path directly at me.
His fist, a ball of flames, aimed straight at my face.
I dodged his punch and allowed his momentum to slam him into the wall of water at my back, making him buckle and lose his balance.
I pinned Titus to the soaked, sandy pit. His heat glazed the surface with raw energy until it melted smooth, and he clawed against it, my waters rushing in, targeting his flames and making his fingers slip against the fresh glass. “You better make this look good, Titus.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” I released him, only to be surprised as he shut off his flames completely. Without heat for my waters to target, the resulting wave crashed over both of us, causing me to lose my balance.
Titus moved fast—too fast—and swept my legs out from under me, sending me to the ground.
I raised a hand to send my waters crashing into him, but did so half-heartedly. Oh, to the audience, it would look like I tried, his armor of fire sizzling against my element. And that was all that mattered.
He rushed in, hard and fast, and his fist connected with my jaw, leaving a sharp crack to ring through the arena.
A hush settled over the crowd, stunned.
The king had been struck.
The unfamiliar pain that jolted through my body made me feel alive. No one ever got close enough to strike me, much less do any real damage—no one except my brother.
I twisted and sent one last rope of water at Titus, flinging him away from me, but it was more for show than anything else.
Mortus’s obsidian eyes gleamed from the audience, exactly as I desired. If the pompous prick thought he could find my weakness by watching me fight Titus, then he was in for a disappointment.
My only weakness was my greatest strength, and she was far away, saving my brother from darkness.
Exos, I hope Claire is in your arms now and you’re safely on your way back to us.
Without my spirit, I couldn’t sense him, but I sensed Claire. Her healthy glow caused me to smile, which probably resembled a grimace to the crowd.
I wiped the back of my hand over my mouth, and it came back bloody.