As the Blue Sky lurched and swayed, Ryan grabbed onto the railing. Fia tightened their grip on his hand, their small fingers digging into his skin.
They took a deep breath. "I'll – I'll need to close my eyes to concentrate."
"That's okay," Ryan said. "I'll make sure nothing happens to you."
Maybe it was a stupid thing to say when he was just a human without powers. But he meant every word.
And Fia didn't protest either. Instead, they smiled again before their eyelids slid shut.
At that moment, the Blue Sky almost rolled onto its side. Yelping, Ryan clamped down hard on the railing while Fia swung below him. His arm strained from the effort of holding up both of them, but it didn't take long before the craft flipped back upright.
Sour vomit climbed up Ryan's throat; he sucked in his cheeks, trying his damnedest to hold it down. Okay, these definitely weren't ideal spellcasting conditions. But beggars couldn't be choosers, and he didn't have half as difficult a job as Fia.
Somewhere behind him, scarlet light blazed like an alarm. He felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck, then an earsplitting crackle, before lightning flashed so bright it almost blinded him. Darian must be attacking Hellebore with her powers.
Somehow, his wild laughter rose above the rumbling thunder and crashing waves. "You little ants got a death wish or what? If you wanna join that idiot Vera so badly, be my guest!"
A distant anger pounded in Ryan's chest. Just when he thought Hellebore couldn't get any worse, this was what how he treated the soldier who'd sacrificed himself for his sake?
But Ryan didn't have time to worry about it. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and reached for his Levia.
To his relief, the green light surged bright and strong. As he gathered it, dozens of diagrams flickered through his mind until he found the one he needed.
Even as chaos raged around him, he saw every diagram as clearly as if he was reading its grimoire in the Crowley study. All thanks to years of training, memorizing them every day since he'd learned how to write.
Including this one, the most powerful elemental spell he knew. Somehow, tracing its intricate details helped calm down his racing heartbeat.
All the while, he felt Fia's Levia swelling across the contract like the tide rolling in. So vast he might get lost in it if he let his focus slip.
But he wouldn't. This time, he wasn't just going to sit back and watch while Fia put in all the effort. Clenching his teeth, he infused more Levia into the diagram in his mind.
Sweated beaded his forehead, and his heart slammed against his ribcage like it wanted to escape. The Levia rushed through his veins, so much it made him dizzy, yet he couldn't help but think this still wasn't enough. Maybe if it was one of Theo's fancy spells....
What the hell was he thinking? He didn't need any stupid gimmicks, not when he was the heir of the Crowleys.
By now, the Levia vibrated in his bones. Unable to contain it any longer, he let it all out. The world behind his shut eyelids flooded green as the diagram spread beneath him and Fia.
But only for a moment. The next thing he knew, his Levia gave a violent wrench and the world dissolved around him. Instead of aboard the Blue Sky, he found himself floating above an ocean as smooth as glass, spreading endlessly in every direction.
He didn't have a body, and he couldn't see Fia anywhere, but it didn't matter. He could feel them – in the salty spray caressing his face, the rich deep blue of the ocean below.
Amazing. Even though he was Fia's wizard, he'd never experienced their Levia like this. He almost wanted to wander around this ocean forever, but of course he didn't have the time for that. And beautiful as it might be, he didn't miss how every droplet of water thrummed with purpose.
So Ryan reached for his own Levia, letting the green light spill across the ocean. It seemed so much fainter in comparison, and for the first time he felt a stir of doubt. Would his power really make a difference?
But then some dim part of him – the part still aware of his own body – felt Fia's fingers press tight around his own. Trying to reassure him.
Right. He could do this. Instead of trying to flood the whole ocean, he decided to concentrate on the spot right below him. Pour as much of his Levia into it as he could....
And it seemed to be working. A faint green glow appeared in the water, dim at first but growing brighter like reflected moonlight. As it spread, the water began to stir around it – ripping gently, then swirling faster and faster until it became a full-blown whirlpool.
Even then, he wasn't prepared when a column of swirling water erupted from the center of the whirlpool. As it jetted toward the sky, green light pulsed inside its core like a heartbeat.
Fia was pouring all their Levia into this column, so Ryan had to do his part too. He concentrated on that core of light, trying to make it brighter. His entire body ached and his breaths came rough and ragged, but he didn't stop.
As their combined Levia shot through the sky, the ocean below suddenly disappeared. For a heartbeat, they soared through an empty void. Then a wall of toxic green light roared in front in front of them.
Its power battered them like a burning wind, driving them backward. And it wouldn't stop coming. Every instinct in Ryan's body screamed at him to run away before it destroyed them for good.
He wasn't the only one. For the first time, Fia's Levia faltered. Droplets flicked from the column of water as it began to lose its shape.
No! Gathering all his courage, Ryan poured more of his Levia into the elemental spell. Don't give up, Fia. I'm here with you.
He didn't know if he was putting these words into thoughts, let alone if they were reaching Fia. But it must be having some kind of effect, because their Levia became a little steadier. The column still rippled, but no longer seemed in danger of falling apart.
Now or never. Taking a deep breath, Ryan squeezed Fia's hand. Together, the two of them blasted their Levia toward the wall of corrupted light.
The instant they struck, Ryan's world dissolved into a storm of noxious green. The power sliced at his soul like hundreds of knives, threatening to shred it into pieces. Beneath the onslaught, he could only flutter back and forth like a bird caught in a tornado.
It was wiping his mind blank – he could barely remember who he was, what he was doing. All he felt was the pain. Not just his own, but Fia's too. Stinging and bitter, striking in wave after unrelenting wave.
Just when he thought he couldn't take another second of this, something gentle and cool flickered deep inside his soul. A droplet of water in a bonfire, but he felt it with every ounce of his being.
Fia was doing their best, trying to reassure him with what little Levia they could spare. No way could Ryan let them down.
He reached through the searing light, the blazing pain. Toward the power buried somewhere deep inside him.
It was barely a spark, a candle flame sputtering in the wind. But it was enough. Their power, that jet of glowing water, came back into focus. Though smaller and weaker than before, it kept pushing at the wall of corrupted Levia. Throwing itself headlong, trying to find the smallest of weaknesses....
And it was having an effect. Though the corrupted Levia burned with all its might, it couldn't stop their combined power. Inch by inch, they carved their way through.
Every time Fia's Levia began to waver, Ryan pumped more of his power into it. Trying to shore up the places where it flickered. Some dim part of him couldn't believe he still had any left to give.
The wall strained beneath them, crackling with sparks. As a ferocious roar flooded Ryan's senses, he and Fia tore through their way through.
Just like that, the painful pressure of the corrupted Levia loosened its grip. It still prickled at the edge of Ryan's mind like hot needles, but now he could ignore it more easily.
Thanks to the new Levia that poured over him. Soft and gentle, it reminded him of Fia's but rippled in all shades of the rainbow like mother-of-pearl. As he adjusted, he made out the gigantic shape looming before him, coiled into knots and restrained by ropes of corrupted Levia. But even beneath their harsh glow, that gentle Levia pulsed from every inch of the being's body.
Awe stole Ryan's breath.
They'd done it. They'd reached Samakah.