An instant later, a knot of earth slammed into Altan, lifting him off his feet, and hurling him at the far wall of the kitchen.

Vasil’s desperate cry of shock and dismay echoed against the appliances.

Altan grappled with his own element, pulling and pushing at the air to stabilize himself. There was just enough room to change his trajectory so that he flew through the doorway to the living room. He threw his will against the momentum from the burst of earth, twisting and tumbling from the sudden deceleration. He halted, hovering sideways in the air above the coffee table.

Vasil scrambled from the kitchen to the living room doorway and stared at Altan, his face pale. “Hospodi.” He slid to his knees while still clutching the door frame. “You’re alive.”