“Saoirse!” Lyva’s childlike scream of panic breaks through my thin concentration.
I turn to look at her, fear clutching my heart. She stands in the water; her eyes filled with horror and her arm pointing straight at something behind me to my left. I follow the line of her finger in time to see the leader standing on the large rocks; something hits me in the head. The pain is instant and makes me stagger back. My left eye blurs. Something wet keeps dripping into it, forcing me to blink rapidly. The men pull back away from me. I wipe a hand across my eyes and look down.
Blood.
My flames grow stronger, more deadly. In a last bid to be free, I use all of my skill to force the ground around the leader’s feet to erupt into flames.
He has his bow aimed at my chest, and lets the arrow fly
