Inhale Courage, Exhale Fear

Meanwhile, the battle raged on around them, chaos and magic filling the air. Kellam's heart pounded in his chest as he watched his son work, a fierce determination in his eyes that he'd never seen before. He held onto the shield with all his might, praying to any god that would listen that they would make it out of this alive.

But why? You’re usually so good at the walking away part. The words were out of his lips before he could even think. The voices in his head tumbling to the surface, the boy could never listen, no, wouldn’t listen. He wasn’t sure why he even bothered, what was the point in any of it. Kellam shook his head, closed his eyes, tried to block everything out. He felt a rage welling up inside of him, anger, jealousy, blame. It felt a bit like getting blown over by a dragon, and all this was happening while he was doing his best to keep the shield up.

The shield faltered for a moment and another spell got through and grazed Kellam, but he quickly got the shield back up. It was hard fighting the Eth and fighting his demons, fighting the conflicting feelings of wanting his son to be safe but also wanting to yell at him. He shook his head, clearly tired.