Emily glanced up at the tiny sun she’d created. The screen of darkness made it look like she was staring at it through a lens, but it was almost time to stop and get ready to leave.

  They had gathered what they could from the scorpion corpses, and Emily just hoped that whatever Fox cooked with them was good, because right now scorpion wasn’t the most appetizing meal.

  Emily swallowed as she took stock of her source. They had been here for an hour now and she could safely say she still had plenty of energy to spare. There was one problem though. While her source limits were still far off, the physical burden of channeling that much source through her bridge was beginning to become a pain.

  Nothing she couldn't ignore right now, but it was clear there was a limit to how much her body could naturally handle, even if it didn’t push her closer to exposure. The stinging in her neck accompanied by the trail of blood was plenty of reason to stop.

  That being said she could heal it if it got too bad but as of right now, there was no need.

  Alex and Dunham left to help dismantle the corpses while Ashe and Cupcake stayed.

  The woman was leaning on Cupcake reading her tome, but she had a foul look on her face and kept glancing up.

  Emily opened her eyes, sensing the woman’s gaze drilling into her back.

  “What’s up? Why do you look like I ate the last slice of cake?” she asked.

  Ashe swallowed and shook her head.

  “I noticed it in our fight against The Weeping the other day, but so much happened I forgot. Then I noticed it again in this fight, and now I’m kind of mad at you.”

  Emily briefly took her eyes off her spells to look at the woman.

  “Alright, could the jury tell me what I’m guilty of?” Emily asked.

  Ashe crossed her arms and looked away.

  “You don’t fight like a Mage is supposed to.”

  Emily almost giggled but quickly turned her full attention back to the spells as they began to tremble. When she had them under control, she spoke.

  “And why exactly is that? I thought what I did was pretty magical.”

  Ashe shook her head.

  “Acting like a Mage has nothing to do with casting spells. Well… not only that. No, what I’m referring to is the way you chose to fight as a Mage. Normally, a group gathers together to combine their spells and cast things beyond their normal capacity. For example, that storm cloud the Blood Mages used probably took all of them working together. The right response there would have been for us to form a group and defend our people.”

  Emily hummed dryly. They had been doing fine with the current situation, so why change things? It made sense that those trained in source would fight the enemy source users, but it had its downsides. Namely, Emily would be far less mobile if she had to work with people. But it did raise an interesting question.

  “So casting spells like that was not a Blood Mage thing? How come we’ve never cast a spell together?”

  Ashes face flushed with the barest hint of red.

  “The process is considered an intimate undertaking and I’m ashamed to say that I wasn’t ready for something like that.”

  Emily squinted at her.

  “But you are now?”

  Ashe shrugged her shoulders.

  “It seems like the most logical next step. We’re constantly being attacked by things, it wouldn't hurt to try working together.”

  Emily nodded and was about to answer when she felt her chest size and a warm sensation spreading throughout her blood. Frowning happily Emily glanced at Ashe.

  “Look, I appreciate the thought, but when it comes to combat, I like to be mobile. Plus you have to work out how to help your sister right now.”

  Ashe bit the inside of her cheek and clutched the open book to her chest.

  “I know, but at least promise me you think about it. We could do some amazing things if we worked together.”

  Emily nodded quickly but the pain was coming and she could feel her blood churning oddly in her veins. So much so that she was struggling to focus on the spells.

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m interested…” She panted out. “-but focus on what's important right now,”

  Ashe’s brows pinched together as she searched Emily’s face.

  “Are you okay? You look kind of pale.”

  Emily snorted.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “I’m fine, it's just I took in a fair amount of life force back there and I think I’ve hit a threshold.”

  Ashe looked around in worry.

  “What does that mean? Do you need to stop working the wards?”

  Sweat had broken out across EMily’s back and she nodded slowly.

  “It would be for the best”

  Ashe looked around and nodded.

  “Okay, it looks like everyone is finishing up, I’ll go tell Kael,” she said as she got up.

  Emily nodded and heard her footsteps rush off but she couldn't remain focused on them for long.

  The spell revolted against her as her concentration lapsed, and seeing as her power was the basis of her type of Blood magic, it began to waver in her grasp.

  Emily shut her eyes as a wave of nausea washed over her, and all at once her hold slipped.

  The wards, which had been humming with power until now, flickered out, and the blood fell, soaking into the sand almost immediately.

  Emily took deep breaths through her nose and trembled as countless pins and needles pickled her skin, she felt Cupcake get up from the sand.

  The Rime wolf sent her feeling of concern and Emily tried to tell she was okay before her connection to the beast closed off.

  Emily knew it would happen but it still felt isolating, so she sat down and crossed her legs. Moving through her mental exercises.

  Whenever her power evolved there was always a transition period where she was left defenseless. The last time had been downright pleasant, but this one was where it would start to get difficult.

  There was movement around her and she felt Cupcake's fur brushing up against her skin as the beast curled around her protectively.

  Emily felt grateful to the beast as she felt more grounded. Less than a minute later she heard the beast growling and then Alex's voice.

  “Emily? What's going on?”

  Unable to open her eyes she eeked out a few words.

  “Just need some time to work this out. Guard me…”

  There was a pause and then Alex’s voice came again, closer this time.

  “I understand, but can you move? Dawn is coming, and we have at most another hour to get away from here.”

  Emily rode another wave of nausea as her blood fizzled in her veins. She heard Alex right in front of her, but she didn’t have the strength to respond.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” he whispered.

  Suddenly Emily felt Alex take hold of her arms and hoist her unmoved form over his shoulder.

  There was a yip and a growl followed by silence but straight after that he heard Alex shout.

  “I’ve got her, we can go” Then at a more reasonable level he said.

  “Ashe, take Mist and Dunham. I’m going to ride Cupcake. She wouldn’t let me take Emily otherwise.”

  Emily wanted to know what was going on around her but she was trying her best not to vomit as her chest cavity spasmed.

  Alex maneuvered her into the saddle, but she did nothing to help him. She heard the crack of reins and shouts coming from the convoy around her, but everything was getting harder to make out and more distant. Emily heard Ashe’s voice ask if she was alright, but she couldn’t even groan a response.

  As Emily’s senses faded she felt Alex climb into the saddle and hold her form up as they took off.

  The jostling didn’t make things any easier or less painful, but she refused to succumb to unconsciousness.

  All around them, Emily could hear the jingling of buckles and creaking leather. As hooves and wingbeats surrounded them. The fact that they left at a constant pace was a good sign because it meant that the venomtails had yet to return. Perhaps too hesitant to approach their group once more.

  The distant sounds of travel were all Emily had to hold onto as they moved for an unknown amount of time. Well, that and Alex at her back. If he was right it would be a while before they stopped for the day.

  Emily was using all her strength not to fall off Cupcake, and during this time, a haze of energy drifted past her. She couldn’t open her eyes to see it, but she could feel it passing over her skin like waves of body heat.

  Emily followed the energy back to Alex who sat behind her. Giving off the most intoxicating ‘scent’. All around her was the same thing, mounts and riders moving around her. Running for their lives as creatures churned beneath the surface. She could feel the way their life glowed in her senses. It was not unlike how she usually sensed life force, but this came to her far easier. So much so that it didn’t even require her attention to feel.

  Emily couldn’t help the grin that appeared. The last time her powers had opened up like this she’d seen a quantitive change in how she could use them. Granted it had taken almost a decade to reach it last time but there were so many benefits.

  The first was the negligible use of life force for blood creation. Things like flying became far more usable, so much so that she could potentially carry others and it wouldn’t break the bank.

  The next big thing was how it changed the way she took vitality into herself.

  Even with Emily’s title helping her, to fully gain the strength of another she needed to use her teeth. The change in her powers meant that she could now extend her draining capabilities beyond herself.

  As long as there was a direct link to her target she could drain them through that at full speed.

  It was very similar to what she’d done to those Blood Mages –and partly the reason she’d won. They had created a connection with her using their skills and she had simply reversed the flow. Now, as long as she could physically connect to a creature, she could create her own flow if she so wanted.

  Unfortunately, she was still unable to even move her limbs because of the nausea but if she could she would be jumping for joy at the moment.

  She almost wanted to tell them to turn back so she could go kill those nasty bugs, but on second thought she didn’t want anything to do with those soulless eyes ever again.

  Emily was lost in thought as she contemplated all techniques now open to her when she felt Cupcake slowing.

  Her chest had been calming and the pain had faded to an afterthought. Emily's whole body felt weak but she could tell she was already recovering. Her blood seemed to be done with its evolution but she was still weak. Emily could feel her connection to her power returning. At the same time, Cupcake’s connection opened up again, and she felt the beast's excitement and then confusion.

  They were lucky they had stopped for the day because the Rime wolf suddenly slowed and began to pant. The trip had been short to a beast like her, so there was no reason for her to suddenly plop down in the sand and shake them off. Alex cursed and had to yank Emily off with himself as the beast began to paw the ground and burrow into the cold sands.

  Alex frowned at the beast and when he looked down he noticed that Emily's eyes fluttered open.

  “Are you alright? What happened did you push your source too hard?” he asked.

  Emily glazed around to see people dismounting around her.

  “I’m all good,” she croaked as sensation began returning to her limbs.

  With a blank face, Alex looked out over the area as everyone began to sit down for the day.

  “I’ll put up a tent for you, let me just check in with Kael to make sure everything is good on his end.”

  Emily groaned and slowly righted herself. Aches had spread throughout her body from the process as she stretched her neck out.

  “Don’t worry, I just need a minute and I’ll be on my own two feet.”

  Alex furrowed his brow at Emily, but she was already looking around at everyone. She noticed Ashe and Dunham dismounting from Mist's back and a smile snuck its way onto her face.

  “Actually, on second thought could you call Dunham over here? I have the perfect man for the job.”

  Blood points: 524