Auren POV

The force hit me like a sudden shift in gravity and I felt it coming from Lorien.

Her magic wrapped around me, cold and powerful, and pride bloomed hard in my chest. She hadn’t even directed it at me, yet its strength rippled through the air like a living thing.

Lior and Rion collapsed to their knees as Lorien stared at them, eyes wide, her hand curling into a fist. The dark, smoke-shaped creatures she’d summoned twisted over their bodies, swallowing them whole.

“Stop!” ...