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with it a sense of calm. She took a deep breath and looked
at them. Her cheek sung but she ignored it.
    They couldn’t see the wind, thank the Goddess, but they could
feel it which meant that she had to be careful, if it became too
strong they would sense it. They would know for certain it was
coming from her.
    They were rearing up as a group, their goal, she knew, was to
cause her bodily harm. She could almost hear the cackle of the wind
as it processed the thought. The boys would be no match for the
wind; she knew she couldn’t face this without help from her element
but using it was against the rules. It would cost her.
    The Corenthio Coven could come again and then what? She
couldn’t face them, Akina, the woman with the bright orange hair,
could manipulate her power with her deathly tendrils of white mist.
The lightning, Tabitha could be caged because she would try to
protect Cora, both her mother and Tabitha would fight to protect
her. Cora didn’t want them to have to face the Coven again. She saw
the foot come towards her and she was unable to avoid
it.
    She felt the hard strike through the wind that tried to
protect her. With only the little bit of power she’d allowed it, it
couldn’t do its job properly. She couldn’t risk the gallows. She
couldn’t risk giving them proof of what she was. The foot hit her
nose and she heard the crunch just as the warmth of her blood
flowed down her face.
    “ Leave her alone!”
    Jack’s shout registered through the buzz in her head and she
watched as he charged at the three boys, his fist already making
short work of one’s face. He turned and looked at her. Anger
rippled over his features when he saw the damage to her
face.
    Jack turned away from her but kept his body placed firmly as
her shield, and faced the two boys still standing. She knew that
Jack wouldn’t hold back his power. In a small way, she didn’t want
him to. She loved how he protected her, that he would do anything
to make sure she was safe.
    She couldn’t do anything to help him. Her legs were like
jelly, so she could only watch as Jack punched and kicked and
punched some more. He held the tall boy with bright green eyes and
long blonde hair up with one hand; the tips of the boy’s toes were
trying to grasp at the ground. Jack’s element helped keep the boy
levitated.
    As he did this, the small boy grabbed hold of Jack’s legs,
trying to knock him off balance. Holding the leader up by his neck,
who was now red faced and gasping for air; Jack concentrated on the
boy at his legs. He pulled his leg back and kicked the boy, sending
him flying across the floor. Jack had again pushed some of his
element into it. Jack turned his attention back to the boy
levitating next to him, he pulled his fist back and then watched as
a patch formed on the boy’s trousers. Seeing this, Jack let him
fall into a heap on the floor.
    “ Don’t go near her again, you hear me?” he sneered at the boy
on the floor.
    She felt Jack’s arm slide under her legs and was instantly
nestled against his warm body. Her head flopped onto his shoulder
as she pulled air through her mouth and could taste the sweet smell
of dirt that always seemed to cling to him. Her nose was blocked,
crusted with blood.
    “ You should have used your power,” he said gritting his teeth
with anger.
    “ I couldn’t, you know that. What would have happened if you
lost control of yours? You know the Coven will come and they don’t
hold back, Jack.”
    “ I don’t care, I would deal with them. Cora, have you seen your
face? Anyone that does this to your beautiful face deserves to be
dealt with.” He looked down at her. She saw the anger build up on
his face, his eyes flashed, his jaw popped.
    Her heart bumped as her head continuously replayed his voice
calling her beautiful over and over again. She loved hearing those
words leave his mouth, especially when they were aimed at her. Her
nose started to throb painfully bringing her out of her bubble