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“Florian, can’t you help reinforce the car, at least until we get to Monica’s place?”

He shook his head briskly “No can do I need to be in contact with the earth to be of any use, or at least have plants close by It’s why I said to pull over”

I shook my head back “Not an option at this point”

“And I agree But I’h the windshield, and I round, and somehow survive? Then I can probably help”

“Excellent optimism,” Quilliam said, without a trace of sarcasm in his voice “But let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that”

He stood up again, clutching the shredded re with the flickering red of his shielding spell as he poked half his body out of the car again

“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled If Leonora came at him with another fireball, the inside of the car would probably end up mostly protected, but I couldn’t say the same for the top We’d end up with half of Quilliam’s body, the exposed bits seared to a nice, crispy char “Get your stupid ass back inside the car before she blasts you to hell”

“Cal considering hoas clearly panicking just lance to throw hi skyward, ai his hand at clouds I couldn’t see Then, in the softest voice, as of charcoals slithering through a brazier, Quilliaain

“Ignis”

The tre that an actual, live dragon had descended from the clouds to douse us in a shower of fla out of the palm of Quill’s hand I could have been whiplashed with how quickly htening, frankly awe-inspiring sight of Quilliaers

A little voice in the back of my head told me to never, ever tell him that I had, at any point in history, found hias as Ifocus or flinching, not even when a huge, blackened luround and rolled off the road some feet away from the car

“What the – holy fuck Was that Leonora?”

Quillia hiness I could have punched his teeth in right there, but he’d just saved our asses twice in one night

Don’t say thank you, I thought to ive him the satisfaction

“That was so fucking aweso and shaking the back of Quilliam’s seat