Free Frost Prisms (The Broken Prism Book 5) by V. St. Clair Page B

loudly enough for the entire table to hear.
    Slamming his hands onto the table and standing up, Hayden barked, “The only thing I’ve seen you excel at is bullying people half your age. Can you even use your prisms, or do they just decorate your belt?”
    Kiresa drew a prism so quickly it was like he was waiting for Hayden to provoke him all this time. Face purpling with anger, he held it in front of his eye without bothering with the circlet and cast at Hayden, who didn’t even have time to identify the spell being used against him.
    Bracing for impact, he was shocked when Kiresa was thrown backwards, knocking over his chair and crashing to the floor in a tangled heap of limbs, while nothing of consequence happened to Hayden. The reason for his good fortune became apparent when he turned his head and saw Master Asher—who always had a prism equipped in his circlet—with the eyepiece pulled down in front of his left eye.
    Despite the unpleasantness of the situation, Hayden couldn’t help but ask, “Reflect?” of his mentor.
    “I thought he should get a taste of his own magic,” Asher answered back languidly, glaring at his counterpart, who was getting to his feet and looking furious. “You should learn to control your temper, Kiresa—or are you so unsure of yourself that you’ll allow a few harsh words from a teenager to unhinge you?”
    It was hard to say who hated the other more. The look Kiresa gave Master Asher was venomous enough to cause nightmares, but the latter didn’t look remotely bothered by it.
    A few of the others had stood up as well during the chaos, and Willow was now trying to get control of the situation by saying, “Let’s all sit back down. We don’t have time for petty squabbling amongst ourselves or else Aleric has already won.”
    Something about the Master of Wands was inherently soothing, and everyone followed his directions, even Kiresa. Hayden wished he knew how Master Willow managed that kind of power, but maybe it was just a gift.
    “He can’t hide behind your robes for much longer,” Kiresa said coldly to Asher. “If he isn’t prepared to risk his precious reputation for this, then we are wasting our time here.”
    Nettled, Hayden said, “I’m not afraid to risk myself for this, but stop acting like I’m your damn mascot.”
    “That’s exactly what you are,” Laurren interjected softly, resting his chin on his folded hands and leveling his gaze at Hayden. “You are the mascot for the fight against Aleric—something we didn’t have last time but sorely needed. People need something to rally behind, something to believe in, and you are ideally suited to the task.”
    Hayden frowned at that but said nothing, feeling the momentary surge of anger drain out of him. He felt tired and hollow in its wake.
    “Any news on Aleric’s whereabouts?” Master Willow turned back to Magdalene Trout as though there had been no interruption whatsoever.
    She frowned and drummed her fingers lightly on the table as she said, “Nothing helpful.” Hayden could tell that this was a considerable thorn in her side right now, as she rarely fidgeted. “Preliminary reports have him setting up at his old estate—well, legally it is Hayden’s estate at the moment.”
    “I doubt he’ll see that as an impediment,” Hayden interjected with a wry smile, and Magdalene tilted her head slightly in acknowledgement. “And here I just got control of the place,” he sighed. “I’ve only gotten to visit it once on my own since winning my suit against the Council, and now we’re going to have to search it for booby-traps all over again once he’s gone.”
    Several of the others lifted their eyebrows at the bold assumption that they would defeat the Dark Prism a second time and he would get his house back. Hayden was simply being optimistic because he didn’t think that anyone would appreciate pessimism at this point. There was no choice but to go forward, and openly casting doubt on his