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Sophia’s gauzy dress whipped around her and my hair stung my eyes, obscuring my vision.
    The coppery taste of blood blanketed my tongue as my teeth sunk into my bottom lip, biting back a scream of pain. My arm burned as if it had been plunged into a frozen river and I could no longer feel my fingers. Her touch stole the heat from my body, and my brain began to go numb.
    The wind suddenly died and I tossed my hair out of my eyes, immediately seeking Brent. He cupped his hands together, like he was holding a ball, collecting the elements for a stronger attack. He pointed one finger at Sophia and the flood of air hit her right in the chest. She lost her footing and took a steadying step to the side, releasing me. Warmth licked through me like a vapor of smoke and I cradled my arm to my chest, limping forward toward Brent.
    Brent lowered his hands to reach for me, and the storm immediately ceased. “Where did she go?”
    My outstretched fingers were inches from him when Sophia grabbed me from behind, seizing my hair and yanking it hard, ripping a fistful of strands from the scalp.
    “Ow!” I yelped when she jerked me back toward her.
    Several locks of hair that had torn loose floated to the floor, the dark strands reflecting glimmers of light in their fall. Brent’s eyes darkened, turning almost black as he tracked their descent. He raised his hands and the corridor was instantly in motion again. The windows and mirrors vibrated and the paintings banged against the walls. Sophia glared at Brent, her tawny eyes freezing over. She pulled me closer to her with another fierce tug on my hair. Her other hand slid around my waist and I was trapped in her iron embrace.
    “Tell him to stop,” she growled from between clenched teeth.
    “No.” I trembled all over, but I pushed away my fright, trying to awaken my inner Vovó, knowing she’d know what to do. “I can help you,” I finally managed.
    She laughed. “I’m not the one who needs help!” She pulled me closer, using me as a shield from Brent’s attack. Her cold breath spread across my face.
    Brent couldn’t see her, but with my neck twisted at such an unnatural angle, he could tell where she stood. He stretched out his fingers with a determined look and launched a bolt of air so forceful that Sophia and I both staggered back. Her grip loosened enough that I was able to break away, and fall to the floor. Sophia lunged at me but stopped suddenly in mid-air, like she had hit a wall. She hung there for a split second before being thrown backwards like a bungee jumper at the end of a cord. She jetted toward me again, but bounced off once more. She raged and snarled like a rabid dog as she came at me a third time. This time the wall wavered a bit and I felt a current of air blow in my face. Brent let out a strained grunt and his upraised arms shook as if he struggled with a heavy weight. Finally I understood what kept her away. Brent. He had created an air-shield around me.
    Sophia eyed Brent and I shivered; she had figured it out too. She inhaled deeply, like a vacuum stealing oxygen from the room.
    “Brent—” I started to warn, but I couldn’t finish. I coughed; my lungs burned from lack of air. Brent’s face turned red in his struggle to hold the force of his storm and breathe at the same time. Then Sophia’s inhalation stopped. She twisted her mouth in a cruel smile right before she exhaled an icy blast of air straight at Brent.
    He staggered as if fighting his way through a wind tunnel. His hair and clothes whipped behind him, and he stumbled backward, slamming against the wall with a groan. Held prisoner by her torrent of air, he struggled to raise his arms against the onslaught, trying to defend himself. He gasped against the air that forced its way down his throat and into his lungs.
    I pounded against the shield that separated me from Brent and Sophia, the air rippling against my palms, but Brent’s wall held firm.
    “Brent, let me help you!” I screamed,