Page 100 of These Fractured Bonds

Vanessa shrugged it off and pointed at the drawing she had made on the ground. Egheurs were herd animals, casting out juvenile males that threatened the alpha; a lone one in the wild was a small blessing, as a fully-grown male would have required a team double their size. The dirt drawing depicted the egheur in the center of four corner points. The plan was simple—boiling down to lassoing the animal to its knees. Then, it was a matter of individually presenting themselves and asking it for permission to mount it. Yareli pitied the egheur; she didn’t like the idea of domination, but it was necessary to win. And she wasn’t selfless enough to sacrifice her victory for the sake of an animal’s dignity.

Into positions, Vanessa ordered, and they dispersed to their assigned corner. Yareli was up front with Dre, who carried the magical lariat they were using. He was in charge of the initial lasso, and once it was hooked around the egheur’s neck, the lariat would separate into four individual ropes, landing at designated clock positions. The magic behind it confused Yareli, but she had nodded during his explanation as if magical rope was an everyday occurrence. Dre gave her a short nod and headed to his position.

She flexed her fingers, gathering magic at her palms and feet. She would need strength, and although she didn’t know the spell for it, magic was increasingly responsive to her desires. It would do as she requested as long as she controlled how much power she used to fuel it. Control was also becoming natural; it was a feeling, like knowing when exactly she had poured enough water into her cup without looking. It was curious, almost weird, how easy it was for her. She’d have to ask Augrys about it later.

Vanessa’s signal came through their minds:Now.

Drew threw the lariat. The juvenile egheur sensed something was wrong a moment too late, whipping its head to the side, butthe lariat had already landed around its neck. Yareli’s portion of the rope flew into her waiting hands; she bore down and pulled. For a moment, it was too easy, like they had already won, but then she jerked, stumbling forward a foot or two.

“Hold!” Vanessa’s voice ripped across the air, and Yareli dug her heels into the ground, gritting her teeth.

She still lost ground, the force of the egheur’s bucking threatening to send her flying in the air. She needed more strength. Yet, she knew even before she checked that she was already using all the magic available to her. Sweat dripped down her forehead, trickling down her face in rivulets. If she didn’t hold, they would fail, and she would lose the alliance offer, which was unacceptable.

She reached into her magic core’s fissure and yanked out more magic. A hot arrow of pain pierced through her, and she bit back a yelp.Pain she could deal with, she thought. What she couldn’t bear was the thought of Allyah’s arrogant smirk if she failed.

She pressed the magic down into her muscles, steeling it against the egheur’s resistance, and she stopped moving forward. After no further ground was lost, Vanessa signaled them to move backward.

“Easy going. One… two.”

Vanessa’s voice, breathless from the strain, served as a numbing agent to the duress Yareli’s body was under. She clung to Vanessa’s chant, her feet keeping in tune with the count. Her sense of self disappeared as she became an organism intent on breathing—in, out. Magic swirled in her vision, draining her core until it turned a murky brown. She saw before she felt it—the connection snapped; her core turned black, and her magic dried up. A cramp shot up from her abdomen, and she gasped as it reached her chest.

“Here, I got it.” Dre’s voice was like the clouds breaking and the sun peeking through, and she handed him the rope.

He nailed it into the ground, then frowned at her. Yareli was breathing hard, and she resisted curling up in pain. Dre put his hands up in front of her, moving them in a slow, rhythmic motion to help her regulate her breathing.

“There ya go,” he said when Yareli’s breath returned to normal. “You pushed yourself hard, didn’t ya? You don’t look like the strength type.”

She swallowed, shaking her head; the lie rolled off her tongue. “I’m short bursts of power.”

“A duelist. Vanessa’s one too.”

He gave her a once-over, noticing the way she hunched over her stomach. “Ya sure ya feeling okay?”

“It’s a cramp, don’t worry.” Technically, it wasn’t a lie; the discomfort was similar enough to her period cramps. This was nothing.

He eyed her for a moment longer, but when she didn’t pass out in front of him, he moved away and said, “Let’s go meet our egheur. Best not to keep it waiting.”

She shuffled behind him, using the opportunity to massage her abdomen. Pain radiated outward; the hot aches made her wince, but more worrying was the chill settling in her toes, crawling its way upwards. She didn’t release the strengthening spell, holding the dwindling magic in her muscles. Something told her if she did, she would stop moving. She straightened as they approached Vanessa and Erbert.

Vanessa patted her on the shoulder. Hair strands were plastered on her forehead. “I knew you had it in you!”

She smiled, replying, “I’m glad it worked.”

“Of course it did! Dre invented the lariat specifically for this!” Vanessa pointed a thumb at him, adding, “He created it during his school years. Brilliant, right?”

Yareli gawked at Dre, who adjusted his headband in embarrassment. “That’s amazing!”

“Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s say hello before it loses its patience and breaks free.”

“It can break free?” Yareli asked, startled.

“Of course it can. It doesn’t out of respect for our display of strength.”

“Interesting…” Yareli said, filing in line behind Vanessa and Dre and passing by Erbert, who caught her wrist. She flinched, wrenching her arm free of him.

“What?”

He watched her with an inscrutable look on his face, his boyish face still flushed from the exertion.