Free Feudlings In Smoke (Fate On Fire Short Story) by Wendy Knight

situation not been so dire, would have been highly amusing in her odd, dislocated voice. She threw her hands out and wards bloomed to life between them and the Edrens. Between them and the Carules, as well. She locked everyone out.
    Except the Prodigy and his Guard.
    Both of whom were frozen, staring in confusion at the wards. Perhaps they didn't use wards where they came from. Or maybe they just weren't thrilled with their odds now that they didn't have everyone on the field attacking their enemies.
    Will leapt forward, burning another lirik, ready to push it at the Guard, and Ari was there, between them again. Protecting him. In his way. Again.
    He bellowed, a wordless, frustrated noise, before he yelled at her. “Work with me, will ya?”
    She jerked toward him, as if dumbfounded that he could possibly not want her right in front of him. She nodded and they turned just as another spell shot past her and into Will's shoulder. He started to fall, but as he did Ari's hand shot out, catching his wrist and he spun, burning a spell as he did, and threw it at the Prodigy as he came around.
    It missed him, but hit the Guard. The big form went down hard and didn't move. The Prodigy raced to his side, turning his back on Ari and Will both. Ari grabbed his distraction and used it, burning a lirik and shoving forward. At the last possible second, the Prodigy threw himself backward and the lirik flew harmlessly over his head, smashing into the invisible wards beyond him, raining to the ground in a shower of sparks.
    Beyond the walls, the rest of the battle had fallen silent as each side, too exhausted to continue, watched in fascinated horror as the most powerful sorcerers ever to walk the earth fought with everything they had to kill each other and end a centuries-long war.
    The Prodigy didn't have time to get up before Ari was attacking again, but he shoved a spell at her from the ground. She danced easily out of the way, already burning her next spell. Will joined her, burning spells that worked with Ari's, weaving around the Prodigy, tightening like ropes of flames, ensnaring him, trapping him. Ari had only to throw one lirik and the entire war would be over. The Prodigy would die by her hand, and the prophecy would be fulfilled.
    She burned it into the air, more slowly than before, as if she was relishing this last spell. It seared the air in front of her, and she pushed it, watching as it closed the distance between them. The Prodigy struggled, the flames flexing around him, almost shattering, but they held. His hands were literally tied. He could not fight back.
    And then a portal bloomed to life behind the Prodigy, and several figures—Council Members, if Will had to guess, swarmed through. A saldepement burned in front of the Guard, who had somehow managed to sit up without Ari or Will noticing. The Carules surrounded the Prodigy. One of them screamed as Ari's lirik hit him instead of his Prodigy, and he burst into flames, like a human inferno. His screaming seemed to jolt the rest of them into action, and they fought back, throwing spells as they dragged their Prodigy through the portal.
    Their spells fell like sand, useless against Ari's anger.
    Ari screamed like a demon and threw herself at the doorway, but it was gone before she got there.
    Will reached for his phone, found it covered in his blood. He hadn't realized how badly he was wounded until now. He hit send, fought to stay focused as he counted down, and burned a saldepement of his own. The doorway shimmered to life and Dani stood on the other side, pale, shaking, terrified, but there, always there.
    “Ari!” he yelled and she turned, and even grey and faceless she seemed lost and confused. “Come on!”
    She jogged after him as he stumbled through the doorway to safety.
    The healers were waiting. “Heal her first,” he groaned as he collapsed on the steps outside his house. He dropped his head into his hands and fought to stay conscious. All of a sudden, he