Elaine did not hesitate.

  The instant the Frostfang revealed itself, her hands rose and light gathered between her palms, radiant and dense. Her voice rang out, steady despite the fear tightening her chest.

  “Creo Lux Scutum Sanctum.”

  Golden light exploded outward, forming a dome around them, smooth and shimmering like polished glass. The frost-bitten field was bathed in warmth as the holy barrier sealed shut, cutting them off from the world beyond.

  Alaric felt it immediately, Light magic.

  He recognized the structure of the spell even without having ever cast one himself. Creo Lux… create light. This wasn’t basic magic. This was the kind granted only to those blessed by the gods and bound to the Church.

  Hold… just a little longer. Please… let this hold, Elaine prayed silently, pushing mana into the barrier as the Frostfang advanced.

  The beast struck.

  Its claw slammed into the shield, and the impact sent a shock through the dome, ripples racing across the golden surface. Frost crawled along the point of contact, biting into the light itself. The barrier held, but cracks like thin veins appeared where the claw had landed.

  The wolves circled outside, snarling, snapping at the shield, but their attacks barely disturbed it. The Frostfang alone was the problem. Each strike from its frost-coated claws carried an effect that gnawed directly at the barrier’s structure.

  Alaric’s breath caught.

  So this is a B-rank…

  Another strike.

  The barrier groaned, light dimming for a split second before stabilizing again. Elaine’s shoulders trembled as she reinforced it, sweat beading on her brow.

  Then it happened.

  A sharp crack split the air.

  One of the wolves lunged at a point where the barrier had thinned, its body slipping through the breach before the light could seal it shut.

  It went straight for Rin.

  She froze.

  Vegetables slipped from her grasp, scattering across the frost-stiff grass. Her eyes were wide, locked onto the wolf’s bared fangs as it lunged.

  Alaric moved before fear could take him.

  “Confirma!”

  The word ignited something inside him. Mana surged and transformed into aura, wrapping his body. His muscles tightened, senses sharpening violently. The world slowed, every motion stretching into a millisecond.

  He grabbed Rin by the collar and yanked her backward with everything he had, tearing her out of the wolf’s path just as its jaws snapped shut where her throat had been.

  At the same time, Kellan stepped in front of Elaine, gripping a length of firewood with white knuckles. He didn’t attack. He stood there, terrified but resolute, making sure nothing could reach her and break her concentration.

  The wolf skidded past, missing its target, then twisted and charged again.

  Alaric vaulted sideways, forcing distance between them. That moment… that space… gave him time to think.

  His perception, boosted by Confirma, caught every detail.

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  The angle of the wolf’s charge.

  The tension in its legs.

  Mana flowed.

  “Creo Aqua.”

  The ground beneath the charging wolf flash-froze, a slick sheet of ice forming instantly. The beast’s claws failed to hold on to it. It slipped, momentum carrying it forward uncontrollably.

  Now.

  Alaric gathered heat, compressing it violently into a single point.

  “Creo Ignis.”

  He didn’t shape it slowly. He didn’t hesitate.

  The explosion detonated point-blank at the wolf’s face. Fire and pressure burst outward. The creature let out a sharp, broken cry and collapsed, body twitching once before going still.

  Silence.

  Alaric stood there, chest heaving.

  His first kill.

  There was no triumph in it. Only shock.

  The barrier screamed.

  A massive blow struck it from the outside, far heavier than before. Cracks spread rapidly, light fracturing as the Frostfang itself drove its claw through the weakened section.

  The dome shattered.

  Alaric saw Kellan’s eyes widen.

  He knew.

  One hit. That was all it would take.

  Before thought could stop him, Alaric lunged.

  He slammed into Kellan, shoving him hard out of the Frostfang’s path. There was no time to dodge for himself.

  Pain tore through his back.

  Cold and burning at once. A crushing force pierced into him, and the world spun violently as he hit the ground. Warmth spilled across his side. His vision dimmed.

  Not again…

  Darkness swallowed him.

  And then… the voice.

  “You failed again,” it whispered, echoing through the void. “You couldn’t protect them. Just like before when you let mother and father die.”

  Alaric felt the same crushing fear as in his dreams. The same helplessness. The same certainty of death.

  “No…” he thought desperately. “I moved… I tried…”

  The darkness pressed closer. Images flickered, Blood and Screams. Power slipping through his fingers.

  The figure appeared. It looked like him.

  The same face. The same eyes. Twisted by contempt.

  “You struggle,” it said calmly. “And yet, you still fall short.”

  Alaric clenched his teeth, shaking. “I didn’t run.”

  The figure paused.

  Then, slowly, its expression changed.

  “Hm,” it murmured, amused. “It seems… lady luck favors you this time.”

  The darkness shattered.

  Alaric gasped.

  He shot upright, pain flaring through his body before restraints of bandages stopped him. The smell of herbs and antiseptic filled his nose.

  He was in a bed.

  “Sister… Elaine?” he croaked.

  She was slumped beside him, asleep in a chair, hands still faintly glowing with residual light. Her face was pale, exhausted beyond words.

  “He’s awake!”

  Mira’s voice cracked as she shouted. Footsteps rushed in. Kellan and Rin were there, both bandaged but alive.

  Alive.

  Kellan exhaled slowly. “The Frostfang was being chased by the knights. That’s why it came this way. After you went down… five of them arrived. They killed the remaining wolves and drove it off. It was badly injured.”

  Alaric closed his eyes.

  Elaine had healed him all night. That was why he was alive.

  Later, Father Corwin visited him, relief plain on his face. Only after Alaric was stable did he speak again.

  “There is a knight waiting,” he said gently. “He wishes to meet you.”

  In the office, a man in clean, well-kept armor stood waiting.

  “Warren,” he introduced himself, eyes sharp as they fell on Alaric. “I heard a child killed a wolf.”

  He shook his head slightly. “A D-rank, based on size and age… but still. No seven-year-old should manage that.”

  Alaric explained. The ice. The fire. The strengthening.

  Warren listened silently.

  Clearly impressed beyond his belief he said at last. “That was courage. And calm thinking under death.”

  He turned to Father Corwin. “You should send a letter to the regional church office in Larethin to Recommend him for a trial at the Royal Knight Academy.”

  Alaric’s pulse spiked.

  Royal Knight Academy… That was more than power. That was a path toward influence, toward shaping the world he had been thrust into. Toward revenge if he needed it.

  As he lay back later, staring at his bandaged hands, the forest beyond the window loomed dark and silent.

  He had faced death.

  And something inside him had answered.