Kael didn’t let himself freeze.

  The second monster was already lunging at Aiko—its claws raised, silent as shadow, inches from her exposed back.

  He forced himself to move.

  His gaze snapped to the airdisks still hovering in front of him. Too many. He dismissed one with a thought, leaving two to stall the first monster—and cast a new one. Then strained, just enough to conjure a fourth.

  Four in total. Sharper. He could feel it—his control had improved. The affinity ran smoother through him now, carving through the air like it belonged to him.

  And it all happened at once.

  The first monster crashed into the two remaining disks. Its charge staggered, body jerking mid-glide. Its head snapped backwards—

  Aiko’s blade met it mid-motion. Her swing came down in a clean arc, slicing straight through the thick neck with a hiss of lightning and steel.

  The body collapsed to the side, headless.

  But the second creature’s claws were already falling—until they slammed into something invisible.

  Kael’s airdisks.

  The blow shattered them, but not before breaking the monster’s rhythm, its glide turning into an awkward stumble.

  “BEHIND YOU!” Kael shouted.

  Aiko didn’t question it.

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  Her momentum hadn’t even finished carrying her from the first strike when she spun on instinct. Her blade came up in a blur, catching the incoming claws just before they tore through her side.

  The sound rang out like metal screaming.

  Her whole body lurched as the blow drove down with unnatural force. The green hue of Arcane energy glowed along the creature’s claws, pressing hard enough to nearly wrench the blade from her grip.

  But she held.

  Gritting her teeth, she twisted her arms and forced the attack aside, the edge of her sword skating down the claws in a shower of sparks. The two of them separated by inches, Aiko’s boots skidding back against the stone floor.

  The second monster pressed forward—relentless.

  Kael followed along the edge, trying to find an opening. But they moved too fast—Aiko parried and dodged, the creature’s reach sweeping wide in the tight corridor. Every time Kael prepared to cast, the window closed.

  Too close. Too fast.

  He couldn’t risk hitting her.

  And then everything changed.

  For a heartbeat, Aiko’s body lit with a faint, flickering hue—lightning-blue, subtle and sharp. Her muscles coiled like drawn wire, and in the span of that single moment, she blurred sideways—so fast it didn’t look like a step, but a shift.

  The monster’s claws missed her entirely.

  And her blade carved across the space it had just occupied.

  One clean, horizontal slash.

  The monster didn’t even react—its body kept moving forward a step, like it hadn’t realized it had already been cut.

  Then its head slipped free.

  It hit the ground with a muted thud, and the rest of the body followed a second later.

  Aiko stumbled.

  Steam curled faintly from her arms and shoulders—soft wisps rising in the dim corridor, like her body had burned through something it wasn’t meant to use lightly.

  Kael rushed toward her, heart pounding with equal parts concern and awe.

  “What did you do?!” he asked, eyes wide. “That was—that was amazing! You moved so fast—”

  Aiko didn’t answer right away. She just stood there, breathing heavily, eyes locked on the fallen monster.