Seven flexed her fingers, black veins pulsing beneath pale skin. The ground where she stood turned ashen, spreading outward in a slow circle of death.
Elena thrust both hands forward. Stone spikes erupted from the frozen earth, racing toward Seven with bone-crushing force. The decay master stepped sideways, her movements fluid despite the corruption coursing through her veins. Where the spikes passed, they crumbled to dust before reaching their target.
"Too slow," Seven taunted, raising her palm toward Elena.
Elysia reacted instantly, compressed air slamming into Seven's extended arm and knocking it aside. The wave of decay energy shot harmlessly into empty space, withering a patch of snow into black sludge.
"Watch her hands!" Elysia shouted.
Elena pulled a wall of earth between them and Seven, buying precious seconds. "I know what I'm doing!"
"Clearly not, or we wouldn't be in this mess!"
