These were the words of a madman.
"He is bringing balance back to Ahland. His vision for the future of his people is one where all would benefit, even those who oppose him. And it all starts with those monsters and their spawn who need to be brought back down to their knees."
Fire burned in her palms as he continued his hate speech, but her attention caught on one of the last things he said before she shut him out entirely.
"—just like he did with your precious General."
He kept shouting his prejudiced thoughts, his hateful insides tainting the air they breathed the longer he went on; Maude didn't hear another word of it as the ringing in her ears had built from an all-consuming wrath that held her within its grasp.
The man's eyes widened slightly, but he had no time to react before Maude stepped over the water, her airgaldercreating a shield that protected her from the rippling currents below, and put her hands on either side of his head. Before anyone could stop her, she reached for hergalder, the water that flowed in her blood just as surely as her fire cracked and burned there, and extended her will into the man's mind.
Her lessons with Dahlia rang through her mind absently as she dove into the hateful soul of the Flame Sergeant.
Those who could work with water could train to work with the water in the blood. Healers use this talent to locate illness, to heal traumas of the flesh.
But in her rage— the darker side of her soul— Maude took that healing power and turned it inward on the man. It wasn't until the bloody mixture of brain and spinal fluid began to leak from his ears that she knew she was successful. But she didn't care; she pushed further into his body, into his very being, and tore through all of his organs until blood ran freely through every opening.
When she was finished, she stepped back from the limp form, back to the safety of the stone floor. She didn't need to turn around to know that the faces she would see— the faces she loved— would all reflect the horror that had just played out. Maude didn't care; Helvig wasn't going to take anyone else from her or anyone else ever again.
The damp room grew chilly. She was freezing, her skin breaking out into ripples of goosebumps as the silence descended on her. Detached from her body, Maude watched as Herrick released the man from his shackles of foliage, his body splashing into the water before the current dragged him under.
Unable to find the controls to her body, Maude stood on the edge of the water, her eyes fixed on the spot he'd disappeared. On the outside, she must have looked like a statue— her body stiff, frozen. But inside, panic started to swell in tidal waves that threatened to pull her under. She was trying to control the onslaught of her anxiety,trying to compress it until it was a constant, annoying, but manageable buzzing in her chest. Her mind and body were trying to fight against an attack, trying to kick her into action against an unknown danger.
Except she was the attacker.Shewas the danger.
The room started to spin. She couldn't get enough oxygen into her lungs, into her head, to clear the remaining panic that spurred to life when Herrick was threatened. All she could see was how he had looked when they'd freed him. Then, how tormented he had been from what he'd gone through; it was slowly changing him every day she spent at his side.
"Maude, come back to me," a voice sounded from far away, as if someone was screaming the words at her from three rooms over.
She felt her body turn, but fear shot through her when she realizedshewas not the one in control anymore. Something else was. When the voice came again, it was closer.
"You have to let go of yourgalder, or you'll burn out!"
Let go? But how?
The deep rumbling of the words leaving someone's chest vibrated against her back. She tried to move her arms, tried to fight off this new assailant, but found herself bound. Maude thrashed against her restraints until gold flashed in front of her eyes, consuming her as the color grew until it surrounded her in a soft glow.
Everything stilled— the wind that had been ripping at her ceased, the heat in her veins becoming steam. Soft pressure on her lips was the last thing she remembered before nerve-splitting pain wracked her body, her limbs shaking with exhaustion going out from under her as the darkness swallowed her.
Terror.
Soul shaking terror. That was the only way Herrick could describe what he felt as Maude imploded after she killed the prisoner.
She stepped back onto the stone as he released the dead man from his restraints with the snap of his fingers. Of all the things Herrick expected Maude to do, turning his brain into nothing but blood and fluid with just hergalderwasn't one of them. He didn't even know that could be done. The act was brutal and so callous that it shocked him. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he realized that he had done just as bad, if not worse, things to the sergeant. And for once, he understood why Maude could be as harsh as she was sometimes.
But now, something was building in the air that did not belong to any of them— even Maude.
She didn't turn to face them. All she would see was stunned silence. Dahlia and Hakon were pale, but Bryn only pressed her lips together into a thin line, worry etched into her features.
He called out Maude's name, but hiseldrdidn't respond—only remained still as death with her back to them. Then the wind picked up, swirling around them all faster and faster until the only sound Herrick could hear was his racing heart. He tried to reach for her, tried to claw his way over to her, but the wind was too strong. Golden flames sparked from the turmoil Maude had to be feeling, hergalderstill firmly gripped in her control.
Herrick and the rest of them ducked low to the ground to avoid the wild flames that spun with the whirlwind she created, the licks of fire that would shoot out from the violent winds of the twister, feeding the fire to sweltering levels. Behind him, Dahlia and Hakon shot up shield after shield of water to slow the burning cyclone that was starting to enclose them all, the radius growing smaller and smaller with each pounding beat of his heart.
Bryn tried to reach Maude but was picked up by a strong gust of wind and thrown backward. Hakon, thankfully, had seen her go flying and reached out to grab her by her waist and pull her into his hold. Herrick kept pushing once he knew Maude's sister would be okay, his strength at its lowest after his night with the soldier.
"Maude, come back to me!" Herrick shouted.
Slowly, she turned to the sound of his voice. Herrick sucked in a breath. Her eyes were pitch black, the white around her shocking green irises swallowed up by therage that was eating her alive. There was a flicker of fear in her face before it smoothed out again. The wind picked up, her flames growing impossibly larger.
