Queen of Storms

by C. N. Crawford

  Cora yawned and shifted in bed, then sat up, blinking. “How’s Wren?” she asked, her voice croaky from all the yelling she’d done today.

  Wren. It was always about Wren. He really didn’t give a rotten fig for the girl, but Cora did. And for whatever reason, Cora had become important to him, so….

  Melkarth swirled the whiskey in his hand, then took another sip. “She seems well enough to travel now. But she will have to leave here soon. Discreetly. The Reaper simply escaped and disappeared.”

  She blew out a long breath. “You’re covering for me.”

  “Apparently, we need each other. The Reaper was my responsibility. The deaths she caused, the damage she inflicted—the blame falls on my shoulders, and my shoulders alone. Fortunately for us, the Grand Master is terrified of me. I suspect I will have to atone, pretend like I care about Taru and the rest of this pompous piety.”

  “And what about Oren?”

  “Oren? The Reaper killed him.” He smiled coyly. “Obviously.” He was dreading what she would answer when he asked the next question. “You do understand that you will have to stay here with me, yes? I can protect you from Taru’s power. I can keep you safe.”

  She cocked her head. “Yes, that’s fine for now. But what about Wren?”

  Bloody Wren. “She is an outlaw. The Institute will never allow her in.”

  Cora fell silent, a line forming between her eyebrows that told him she was internally already coming up with a plan to defy him. “Right. Sure.” She hugged her knees to her chest.

  She’d given in way too easily. She really was a terrible liar.

  Melkarth sighed. “We both know that we’re bound together. You can stop my curse, and I can stop yours. It seems to me we have two choices. We can live on the run forever, hunted by assassins—or we can stay here pretending to care about Taru. You will live in luxury, and as a knight, you will develop your powers far beyond your wildest dreams.”

  “Assuming I win the trials.”

  “You will.”

  “Or I could go home with Wren and go back to my life owning a little shop in London….” Something in her tone made it clear to him that she didn’t want to.

  “Plagued by assassins and under the thrall of Taru,” Melkarth added. “Forced to wreck ships if I decide I don’t like living in the human world. Which I won’t. Can you imagine me living in a flat?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’ll stay here for now. I just want a better room.”

  He flashed her a sly smile. “Next to mine, of course. I’ll have the fortress rearrange it.”

  She drummed her fingertips on her chin, a beautiful gesture. “I’m liking the idea of powers beyond my wildest dreams. Wren can mind the shop. Living in a castle for a while isn’t the worst thing in the world.”

  At her confirmation that she’d stay here with him, his magic strained for her, and he could already see her reacting to it, her cheeks flushing. He could hear the racing of her heart, could see her pupils dilate. Her magic, too, brushed over his skin, soft as sea spray. The scales on the back of his hands glowed blue.

  “Good….” Melkarth trailed off, still wearing that sly grin.

  If it had been anyone else, he’d have hated their bond, this tether between them that tied them together. In fact, with anyone else on earth, he’d likely choose a curse from Taru over bondage like this. But insane as it was, he liked being bound to Cora. He relished the idea of keeping her safe.

  She drew him to her like a … well, like a siren lured ships. But she wouldn’t destroy him. He hadn’t realized it before, but until he met her, he’d been a drowning man, and it was as if she’d thrown him a rope.

  I sank deeper into my burbling bath, then soaped up my arms and my neck. Steam rose in delicate tendrils around me, and the sound of rain lulled me into a sense of calm. I could hear the wind picking up outside, but I ignored it. I was safe in here, within these walls.

  In the past few days, things had improved dramatically in my world. Suddenly, I’d been granted a room fit for Letha. Silk sheets, enormous windows that gave a view of the storms. My own bath with glowing crystals casting golden light over gilded mirrors and flowering honeysuckle vines; a glass roof to watch the rain and light shows.

  Sure, I still had a few more trials coming up—but now I was sure I’d win them. And as long as I stayed near Melkarth, I could at least help make sure no one would be executed.

  I traced a whirlpool in the water, a tiny bubbly tempest in my bath.

  Last night, it had begun again—the siren song. Taru was furious. But this time, Melkarth hadn’t even let me get out the door. He’d severed that silver tether within moments, and then I’d fallen asleep in his arms.

  I felt a sharp stab of guilt at all the lives I’d taken with my siren curse—dozens of ships wrecked against the rocks. But Melkarth insisted it wasn’t my fault. I hadn’t been in control any more than Wren had. And it was true.

  When I’d first met Melkarth, he’d scared the shit out of me. Now? I felt safer with him than anywhere else. And with my own powers increasing here, I could be a force of nature indeed—but one in control. A force of good.

  Melkarth was right. What would I do with all that power at my fingertips? I could keep Wren safe, and our shop. Assassins would leave us alone. I’d have powerful defenses against Taru’s demons should the Storm God ever seek vengeance.

  Or maybe—just maybe—I could stay here in this castle and slowly change the culture. Peacekeepers, not assassins.

  I ran my fingertips over the water’s surface, frothing the bubbles. I was a goddess of my own domain. The bubble bath world, one in which I reigned as a benign—

  “Cora.” A deep, purring voice interrupted my thoughts.

  I felt my cheeks turn red, even though he couldn’t hear my thoughts. I turned around in the bubbles. “What is it with you people and barging in on baths and showers?”

  “Do you hear that?” he asked.

  I frowned, and it took me a moment before I heard the sound of the wind whistling outside the fortress. It was louder than usual.

  Taru was hungry. Goosebumps rose over my skin. He’d be back for me again tonight.

  “I do. But the Storm God won’t get what he wants.” With the storm raging outside, I felt slightly wild … the siren in me stirring. Just as I had before, I rose from the bath, suds dripping down my body and steam coiling from my hot skin.

  Melkarth’s gray eyes narrowed at the sight of me.

  I felt a smile curling my lips as I walked past him, carefully stepping over the glass. I crossed into my room, then turned my head to find him still staring at me in awe.

  I dried off slowly, and in front of him. Then, when I was done, I pulled a soft dress over my head, inching it down over my hips.

  Melkarth crossed to me, and my pulse began to race, skin heating. He grabbed me by the hand and pulled me closer to him, then leaned down to skim his lips over my neck. Wild heat rippled through my body. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and to pull him down onto the bed with me, but I couldn’t just yet.

  He pressed his lips against me in a searing kiss, his hand stroking down my back, and I melted into his powerful body. Then, he pulled away from me, searching my eyes. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t stray too far from me, if Taru is stirring.”

  I hooked my leg around his, enjoying his heat, his embrace. “I’m going to join you in a few minutes. There’s just something I have to do first.”

  “You and your secrets.” He kissed me again, more slowly this time, then pulled away from me and slipped off to his room.

  When he’d left, I surveyed my new space—a room with many doors. One connected to the hall, one to my luxurious bathroom. One to Melkarth’s room, and one to Ree’s.

  I crossed to Ree’s door and pulled it open.

  Ree and Wren sat on an enormous four-poster bed, digging into a spread of Chinese takeout and beer.

  Tall, peaked ceilings arched high above us. Ree had very much outd
one herself when she’d asked the fortress to create this room. The Institute was always changing, shifting according to the whims of those who could bond with it. And while I didn’t have that power yet, the ancient spirits of the Institute had already filled Ree in. And what’s more, they’d shown her the way in and out of its walls.

  “What took you so long?” asked Wren.

  “The spring rolls are getting cold,” Ree added.

  I shook my head. “I can’t stay. Taru wants more souls, so I have to stick near Melkarth.”

  Wren nodded. “The super-hot dragon shifter. Must be terrible.” She licked sweet-and-sour sauce off her thumb. “He still doesn’t know I’m here, right?”

  I plucked a spring roll off the spread and bit into it, savoring the taste. “He hasn’t said that he knows you’re here. Ree did a very good job of hiding your room with the help of the spirits. I think you can both stay here as long as you want, hidden in these walls. Melkarth has a way of knowing things, but I’m not sure he’d really mind.”

  “Tomorrow night?” asked Wren.

  I nodded. “Tomorrow night we hang out.”

  I finished off my spring roll, feeling that tug again—Taru trying to call me to the shores. The tether was growing a little stronger. And along with it, a more enticing pull—one that lured me closer to Melkarth.

  I hurried back through the door to my room, then on to Melkarth’s. He sat in a black chair, drink in hand, looking for all the world like a louche dragon king in a throne. His shirt was unbuttoned a little, hair a bit rumpled. In his room at night, he looked more unguarded than usual.

  I hurried toward him, body heating, and I slid into his lap. My dress rode up as I straddled him and wrapped my legs around him. He growled low, body growing taut, and gripped hard to my waist like he never wanted to let me go. I arched my neck, and he ran his lips over my throat, tongue swirling.

  And that was all that it took for the tether to Taru to disappear.

  I tilted my head down again to look into Melkarth’s gray eyes, then pressed my hand against his cheek. We both had our secrets, but secrets or not, the truth was clear to me now. We would both protect each other no matter what.

  And combined, that made us powerful enough to take on the Gods.

  If you want to read more about Cora, she appears later in the Shadow Fae series, fighting with another Institute:

  If you want to read Katerina's latest academy book, check out Wings of Light:

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