“I can never make up for the deaths I caused, but I will never follow your orders again.”

“Not even with your bonded’s head on the line?”

The air in the hallway shimmered with the amount of magic that filled the space. The men and women behind the Imperator were putting on a show, and Ezo might be worried if it weren’t for Kammon at his side.

Ezo had seen Kammon’s indifference. He’d seen him in the harsh reality of battle. He had never seen the pure, icy anger that seeped from him now. Ember shrieked on his shoulder, and Ezo had to check his impulse to cover his ears at the sound of it echoing in the hallways.

“Watch what you say, Zera,” Kammon said softly. “If you think what I did on the battlefield is anything compared to what I would do to protect him-”

“Are we back to threats again, Kammon?”

“I warned you before. Now I’ll make a promise. Let us go, and we’ll forget this ever happened. Try to hurt Ezo though, and I’ll bring the whole damn building down around your head.”

“Kammon, listen to yourself,” one of the War-Sworn stepped forward, and there was a familiarity to the way he looked at Kammon. “You’re going to tear down the University?” he asked. “You used to believe that the greater good was more important than one man’s wishes. We took our oaths and followed orders because no man should hold this kind of power alone.”

It took a second, but Ezo recognized the voice from earlier. He was the one that wanted nothing to do with Kammon’s forced servitude.

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“Andres, the words of a schoolboy have no place here,” Kammon corrected. “We followed orders of men puffed up on the power we handed to them. What gave them the right to tell us to kill where they wanted? Who gave them the right to decide life and death from the safety of these halls?”

“You aren’t the man I served with. He understood.”

“The man you served with committed atrocities,” Kammon spat back at him.

“Understand our position, Kammon. Elementalists serve the people, and we direct it as best we can to ensure the country is well protected. If we can’t control where your power is directed, who will?”

“I’m not a child who needs you to lead me by the hand. I know damn well enough who needs help and who doesn’t.”

“If we can’t control where you use your power, Kammon, there is only one other option.”

“What is that?”

“If we can’t control you, then we need to make sure no one does. If you won’t return to service, we will be forced to keep you here until you do.”

“You mean to keep me in captivity?” Kammon asked, ridicule ripe in his voice.

“Yes, we will.”

“Try it.” The words spilled from Ezo’s lips before he realized he was speaking. Ember took off from his shoulder and disappeared, but he knew she was waiting for the right time and place to reappear.

The War-Sworn and elementalists with the Imperator had already pulled what magic they could to them, and this time Ezo did the same. Power rippled out around them, and he felt Kammon’s hand settle lightly against the nape of his neck.

They didn’t need physical touch to join their magic any longer, but that moment grounded him.

He felt something building behind them, but he didn’t bother looking back at the vortex thrown at them. It dissipated before it could reach them, a small motion of Kammon’s hand to show he’d done the deed himself.

A pipe burst from the wall before them, water spilling into the hall, and as it spread onto the floor someone stirred air into it, creating a maelstrom.

“We didn’t want this, Kammon,” Zera said.

“Neither did we,” Kammon answered.

Ezo smiled, though, as he took the water from their grasp and redirected it. “I don’t know, Kammon,” he said. “I’m kinda looking forward to it now.”