My stolen earth essence is nearly gone, my body aching from the impact. I reach for any magic I can find—a trickle of air from the breeze, a hint of water from the mist—but it's not enough. But I don’t have much left. Scraps of earth left and little more.

And Raith is locked in a fight with three students, trying to find an opening to get to me but being held back.

Around us, the battle has shifted. We're losing ground, our forces pushed back toward the treeline. Brunhild is bleeding from a gash on her arm, her crab elemental missing a claw. Beck is surrounded, fighting desperately to keep three attackers at bay.

Typhon continues to battle Malakai’s shark, along with Serena’s fire serpent and several other elementals at once. His blue scales gleam, wings unfurling, his form expanding beyond any elemental anyone has ever seen at Confluence.

Students stumble all around, eyes wide as they stare up in horror at Typhon. He’s putting on such a display that it’s impossible not to see him. Not to notice what he is. Malakai, Serena, and some of their people saw his dragon form on Confluence Day. But he was diminished then. He's twice as large now. His foreleg is as tall as Malakai from toe to shoulder. His long, elegant neck and head tower high above everything, dwarfing the battle as he stands nearly thirty feet high. His wings spread three times as wide, casting shadows over all of us.

Mireen uses the moment of distraction to create a wave that knocks down several enemies at once, slamming some so hard into trees that their tokens flash blue, locking them in stasis.

Smoke, steam, and mist churn around the battle until it's impossible to make out detail. I feel the air displace as Typhon streaks past, a smaller elemental clenched between his teeth as it leaks green essence.

Malakai steps forward, water sword raised. "You're done, Thorne." He's grinning, as if he's already certain of his victory, circling me. "I stasis you and your dragon is done. Easy."

"I'm coming," Typhon growls.

"I can handle this. Keep everyone safe."

To my surprise, Typhon obeys, continuing to dart through the maelstrom high overhead.

Malakai rushes in, swinging overhead. I dodge to the side, then send a trickle of heat straight into his water blade. Steam hisses from it in a rush, blinding him for a moment, but he recovers before I can land a strike. He uses his free hand to blast my chest with water, knocking me aside and nearly catching me in the neck with his sword a split second later.

We fight viciously for several seconds that stretch like ages. Dodge. Block. Parry. Feint. Counterattack.

I use everything I've learned from Raith and some of my own improvisation and it still doesn't feel like enough. Malakai is bigger than me. Stronger. He's almost as good as Raith.

I'm losing ground, falling back with every blocked strike as my limbs grow heavier by the minute.