"No…" he muttered under his breath, blocking her strike with a burst of fire. He wasn't going to watch that happen again.
Lightning and flame clashed violently, the sound like thunder exploding right above their heads. Adeline grit her teeth, her energy blade pressing against his fire-forged sword, neither one giving in.
"You're holding back!" she accused, her voice sharp. "You think I can't do this, but I'll prove it to you!"
Aaron's jaw tightened. He had seen what happened to reckless fighters. He wasn't about to lose his sister to her own stubbornness.
Aaron's teeth clenched as sparks cracked against his blade. He could feel his patience fraying, every strike of Adeline's lightning too raw, too reckless, too similar to the ghost of that boy he once watched run into death. He had no choice. If she wanted to prove herself, he would strip away the comfort of rules and see if she could stand against the world as it really was.
