Free Dominion 4 - Ascendance by Lissa Kasey

pissing me off. “So you’re not attracted to Gabe?”
    He looked uncomfortable. Damn. The jealousy roared to life in me again, rising up like a monster of the deep. I wanted to break Sam’s nose, maybe a limb or two. Instead I gripped the table to keep from lunging at him.
    He sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Huh?”
“You can create a protection bubble, right?” he asked.
    I snorted. “Of course.” That was a Spell Casting 101 basic. The protection bubble kept magic from leaking out and harming others while in heavy use, but couldn’t stop major damage like earthquakes or floods. They also couldn’t be used anyplace that water disrupted the flow. Thankfully this little park appeared to be dry.
Sam motioned to the open area between the benches and the tree line. “Let’s do it, then.”
    It took me about half a second to realize he meant he was going to fight me. Of course, he said he felt my emotions, but he didn’t wait for me. Sam leapt, picking me up like a doll and tossing me away from the table. I used the training Kelly had been giving me and turned the fall into a roll, but it still knocked the wind out of me. Sam landed on me just as I was stopping. “Create the bubble and let’s play.” His knee dug into my back. “I’m tired of everyone thinking you’re better than me. I’m sick of feeling you’re always an inch away from attackingme. Now is your chance. Do it!”
    The lunge of his fangs toward my neck had me up and moving. I cast the spell with little thought, giving us enough space to move, while I kicked him in the back of the head with my heel. He paused but didn’t stop, so I awkwardly slammed the palm of my hand into one ear. He howled and rolled away.
    I jumped to my feet, letting myself flex and prepare for the fight. The few weeks sparring and training with Kelly had given me some defense knowledge, but I knew if it came down to hand-to-hand combat, I’d lose.
    Sam moved back until he hit the wall of the spell that trapped us in together and protected the rest of the world from our battle. “Good space,” he said. He launched himself at me again, speed blinding, but not as fast as Gabe.
    I dodged left, throwing myself out of the way. “What’s the point of this, Sam? I beat you up, you beat me up. Who really wins?” That had always been the reason I never started it. No matter how much I wanted to choke him sometimes, nothing would change. But the way he moved meant he took it seriously. Would he kill me? For some reason I didn’t think so, and I had no intention of killing him, but he could probably hurt me pretty bad.
“Fight back, damn you!” He flew across the grass at me.
    I put my hands to the earth and in a half second a dirt wall flew up between us. He slammed into it but moved around it too fast for me to counter. His fist found my face before I could react, snapping my head back, and I toppled to the ground. The pain stung briefly. Since he was already coming at me again, I didn’t have time to be shocked. I pretended to be more hurt, lying in wait, and when he lunged at me, I kicked upward with both feet, smashing into his torso and making him fly backward. He landed with a grunt but didn’t stay down long.
    He moved like a ninja on an assassination mission to save his country, flipping back upright, shaking it off, and heading my way again.
    The ground could give me strength, but it couldn’t give me skill. Sam knew how to fight. I was just learning. I staggered to my feet, feeling the warm trickle of blood on my face. He circled me, waiting; for what, I didn’t know. I pulled strength from the earth, let it pour the power into me to make a shield of invisible magic. When Sam struck, the force rebounded him back, slashing through him like a lightning bolt. Before becoming Pillar, I would have never had this kind of control. Now it was as easy as breathing.
    This time it took him a little longer to shake it off, and he bled too. I released some of