Blue Eyes spun. I rushed him, knocked him over and sprinted past.

In my mind, it was a great plan. If he hadn’t recovered so quickly, I would have made it out of the alley. Instead, he tripped me. I fell and rolled over in time to see Blue Eyes level his sword at my throat. I’d been here before.

“Submit.”

No other alternative at this point. He wasn’t going to kill me, but the overwhelming dread at being helpless and at his mercy made me wish he would. “All right.”

Pleased, Blue Eyes stepped back and offered a hand. “Stand,” he ordered as if commanding a pet. His sword remained pointed at the ground.

I ignored his help and summoned the energy to move. A high-pitched whistle sounded behind me before a wall of air slammed into us.

The force rolled me along the ground. Blue Eyes flew back and landed in the building’s rubble. I rubbed the grit from my eyes in time to see Kade running toward me.

He yanked me to my feet. “Let’s go,” he said.

“My vase.” I gestured to the package. It had been blown against the rubble pile. Probably broken, but I wanted it.

Kade huffed in annoyance. He sprinted over and grabbed it. Blue Eyes stirred. Kade hurried back and hustled me from the alley, only stopping when we reached the market.

I sank to the ground to catch my breath.

Kade knelt next to me. “Are you all right?”

“Dizzy.”

“You’re covered in blood.” He pulled at my clothing, searching for injuries.

I slapped his hand away. “Arms. Legs. No others.”

“Let’s get you to a healer. Come on, before your attacker finds us.”

“Why the hurry? Couldn’t you just—” I waved my hand “—blow him over again?”

He gave me a dry smile. “The air is calm today. Happy. It required a lot of effort to convince it to blow. I doubt I can do it again.”