Instead, he charged forward through the fire, a beast uncaged.
Mira barely dodged, sliding across the ice as Kael's blade whooshed past her neck, close enough to cut a lock of her hair. She twisted midair and slammed her palm onto the ground. Boom! A fire circle ignited beneath Kael's feet, exploding upward.
"Arghhhh!!" Kael roared, lifted off the ground by the blast.
His body smashed into a tree, bark splintering. Blood trailed down his burned cheek. But as he dropped, he gripped the trunk and used the momentum to hurl himself at her again.
His blade came down, a violent arc meant to cleave her in two.
Mira caught it with a burning shield formed from her left arm, flames hardening into molten rock. Sparks flew. Her arm trembled. The blade cut halfway through before she screamed and forced Kael back with a fire burst from her foot.
He tumbled, landed hard, and spat blood.
"You burn well," she said, panting, "but not fast enough."
