Storm Born

by Amy Braun

  Again.

  I was totally spending some time in the desert after this.

  In the background, I watched Vitae inch closer, a silent hunter approaching her cornered prey. I waved my hands at her, telling her not to attack Piper. I could handle this. Piper couldn’t see me yet.

  Darting forward, I nudged Zephys away and grabbed Piper’s wrists–

  A wave crashed into my chest, nearly knocking me from my feet. Cold water flooded my veins, filling them like engorged tubes. It swelled in my lungs and slipped into my skull, making my brain feel like it was floating on a gently moving river.

  I gasped and pushed Piper away. I couldn’t be around her, or anyone else right now. I felt the hunger gnawing at my insides. The desire to devour anything tangible. I recognized this sensation. The way it consumed me when I tried to devour Hadrian, and when I nearly went for Piper.

  I closed my eyes and bent double, my stomach swimming with nausea. I wrapped a hand around my middle and groaned. The floor wasn’t supposed to be spinning, was it?

  When I opened my eyes, I could see Hadrian moving toward my side. I held out my hand to halt him.

  “I’m okay,” I mumbled. “Just stay back.”

  I don’t want to hurt you.

  Pain cramped my stomach and I winced.

  “Ava?”

  “One second, Piper.”

  Silence fell over the cell block, disrupted only by the sprinklers overhead. I couldn’t feel the energy in the air the way I could when I was inside, but I could feel the hot, inviting pulses of life from the people surrounding me. So much, so close, all I had to do was trick them, get them closer…

  Hadrian, get everyone to back up to the walls.

  “All of you, back up,” Hadrian growled.

  The heat became distant, stretching farther away. A portion of my mind roared in protest. I pinched my eyes shut and tried to block out the pain.

  I am here, Ava. Hadrian’s voice was a soothing balm to the ache in my head. No matter what happens or what we say, I will be here.

  Something like regret filled his voice. Was it for the things he’d said to me, the things I’d said to him, or was I indulging in another wishful fantasy?

  Doesn’t matter, I told myself. Block it out. Nobody can stop this but you.

  I concentrated on regulating my breathing, just as I had done in yoga with Piper or when James had an asthma attack and we couldn’t reach his inhaler yet. In, hold, out. In, hold, out. After a few seconds, the pain began to subside, and I could no longer feel the heat pulling me toward my best friend and the Guardians.

  The flow of water fizzled out, probably shut off by one of the Guardians. As soon as the water was gone, the ache in my belly started to ease. There was no aggression or elements I could misuse. The water on the floor was still there, but it was thin. I couldn’t do much with it, even if I wanted to.

  And even if I could, I didn’t want to think about the damage I could cause.

  I straightened up slowly, fighting the vertigo that sloshed through my head. Hadrian started toward me, then pulled back at the last minute. Things hadn’t diffused between us, and probably wouldn’t for a while. He didn’t seem to know if he should touch me. That shouldn’t have stung as much as it did.

  Piper didn’t have any such reservations. My best friend barreled into me, crushing me into her arms. She trembled and sobbed.

  “Oh my God, Ava, what happened to us?”

  I curled my arms around her back, for her comfort as much as mine. “Did Zephys explain it to you?”

  “Yeah,” she whimpered. “But I don’t understand it. How do we get rid of it?”

  “I don’t know. But you can trust these people. They’ll keep us safe. I know they will.”

  She whimpered again, then composed herself and let me go.

  My eyes slid in Hadrian’s direction, though I stopped them before they reached his face. I was still weak from the transfer when I’d touched Piper. I was glad I had been able to do it without going crazy and trying to eat her. Becoming a soul-sucking cannibal was a good way to ruin a friendship.

  “Ava,” Vitae’s voice finally cut through the silence. “Did you absorb your friend’s power?”

  I turned my head to the leader of the Precips. Her eyes were wide, her expression torn between awe and horror.

  “Um,” I started guiltily. “I think so. It wasn’t as strong, but… it felt the same.”

  Vitae’s mouth closed firmly, but the shock in her eyes remained.

  “It is clear to me that your training must continue. Piper’s must begin. She must learn to control her gift, but Ava, you must learn your limits. Until we understand how you can draw and contain our gifts, you must know how far we can push them.”

  “Vitae–” Hadrian started.

  His leader held up her hand. “It is not negotiable, Hadrian. You have managed to rid us of two Mistral guards, but the three that remain are the most dangerous.”

  I glanced at my Guardian, and could practically see his molars grinding together. Nevertheless, he nodded briskly.

  “It is best that we take our rest now. I will begin first watch. Zephys, ensure the comfort of your charge. Hadrian, do the same for yours.”

  Zephys moved past me toward Piper. He reached for her arm, but she recoiled like he was a snake. Hurt crossed the Guardian’s eyes. I swear he even pouted a little. Piper glanced at me. I nodded once, a silent confirmation that she could trust him.

  Piper relaxed enough to let Zephys escort her out of the cell block. I would try to find her later and catch her up on everything.

  Swift movement passed behind me as my best friend disappeared down the hall. I spun around to see Hadrian confronting Vitae. He was taller than her by almost a foot, but she didn’t look weak or small when she gazed up at him.

  “I want to know everything,” he whispered, thinking I couldn’t hear him.

  Vitae didn’t blink. “Then do not ask me.”

  Casting me a final glance, Vitae nodded respectfully and walked down the opposite end of the hall, heading for the front door.

  Leaving me alone with Hadrian.

  The cell block didn’t seem so big anymore.

  He took a hesitant step toward me, confidence growing every time his foot touched solid ground. He stopped just a foot away, gazing down at me. I curled my arms around myself. It was a reaction that must have made me appear weak in his eyes, but I couldn’t control it. I was scared, not just of the things that were happening around me, the confusion and chaos.

  I was afraid of what I was starting to become.

  “Will you tell me what you and Vitae discussed?” he asked tightly.

  I wanted to. I really did. I wanted to tell him that I knew more about the Guardians, the coming extinction of the Stormkind, the exile of Mortis, and his part in Sonus’s murder. I wanted to tell him that I was capable of containing multiple powers within myself, and that I was terrified of what I could do with them.

  My heart slumped against my ribs. I sighed and shook my head. “Not now.”

  Hadrian didn’t push me. He moved closer, sliding his hand to my lower back and gently nudging me in the direction of one of the cells. I jumped away from his touch and quickly shuffled inside, flopping on the cot. Water from my soaked clothes instantly dampened the blanket. I sighed.

  “I will bring you new clothes and another blanket,” Hadrian said from above me. I closed my eyes and nodded. I hated being this tired.

  Fabric rustled. I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder. Hadrian was kneeling by my head, as close as he’d been in the infirmary. His eyes danced over my face, alight and concentrated on me.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, almost hesitant.

  “Yeah,” I snapped. “The monster is going to be fine in her cage.”

  Hadrian’s jaw tightened. “I did not mean to call you a monster.”

  “So all those accusations just slipped out?”

  “Your lack of control is not an accu
sation,” he attempted to reason. “It is the truth, and you will have to accept it.” A pained look crossed his face, and he quickly looked down. “But what I said about you being like the other Stormkind… That was a mistake, and I am truly, deeply sorry for it. I was not thinking. That is no excuse, but it is the truth.” His eyes lifted, finding me. “I do not know exactly what you are, Ava. You are unlike anyone I have ever known,” he told me softly. “I am sorry all of this has happened to you. If it is possible, I will return you to your family.”

  Heartache swelled in my chest at the thought of them. Not knowing where they were or if they were okay. If Dad was finding supplies or if Mom was offering her skills as a nurse. I didn’t know if James had gotten more inhalers or if his face was now on the Missing Boards, one of a million ghosts trapped in a photo on a wall.

  If they even saw me as their daughter after what I’d done in front of them. Knowing they probably would never want me back.

  “Promises, promises,” I muttered, rolling onto my side and turning my back on him.

  Hadrian sighed. “I have had thousands of charges in my life. You are the first one who has ever talked back to me.”

  I fought the comeback pressing against my lips, if only because I swore I heard a smile in Hadrian’s voice. I didn’t want to see it. He might have apologized for calling me a monster and made a promise to try and return me to my family, but that didn’t mean he thought I was someone who could adapt to these powers.

  It certainly doesn’t mean that he trusts me.

  “I am trying,” he said, letting me know he’d read my thoughts, “but I am a Guardian. I am meant to–”

  I flipped over on my side to face him again. I propped myself on an elbow so I could be level with his indigo-azure gaze.

  “Don’t lie to me.”

  Hadrian’s jaw tensed, a conflict of the wounded look in his eyes. “I’m not–”

  “You don’t think I can handle myself. You think these powers will consume me.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Did I not listen to you when you advised me to draw the others back?”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re telling me you wouldn’t have done that anyway?”

  He didn’t reply. Smart man.

  “Don’t go inside my head anymore, Hadrian. I don’t want to know what you think of me.”

  I turned quickly, not wanting to see the expression on his face. The anger or hurt or whatever it would be. I closed my eyes, wishing I could fall asleep without him watching me.

  He stayed in the cell for a long time, as though he thought I would turn around and apologize the way he had to me. I didn’t. I had no reason to. His words about my lack of control echoed through me. Apologizing meant admitting I could have done terrible damage to people I cared about. I wasn’t ready to face that reality just yet. I had to believe that whatever I was now, I could overcome it. Or at least find a way to make peace with it.

  I wasn’t sure I could trust Hadrian to help me with that anymore.

  Finally, he stood up. I listened to the heavy stomp of his boots as he walked out of the cell.

  I closed my eyes to fight the tears burning in my eyes.

  Trusting Hadrian was proving to be one of the most dangerous things I had ever done.

  Chapter 11

  I wasn’t sure who would kill the other first– Piper or Zephys.

  “After seven tries,” he droned with his arms folded over his chest, “I would have assumed your aim would have improved. Is seven not the lucky number you humans favor?”

  Piper balled her fists. I could all but see the steam coming from her ears.

  “Sorry, old man, I don’t have your thousands of years of practice.”

  “Millennia,” he corrected. “And even when I was considered young, I exhibited more control than you have.”

  Piper scowled. I held my breath and waited for the inevitable slap.

  Only to watch my best friend huff, swing her braid over her shoulder, and aim at the target again.

  We were back in the prison yard in the dead of night. I’d protested, but according to the Guardians, it was safer to practice out here since storm clouds were harder to spot and neither one of us knew how to conjure lightning yet. Since Zephys’s power was based on rain and thunderstorms, Piper was supposed to have that ability, but as he repeatedly told her, it was something that came with immense practice and careful precision. He made it his mission to point out how little she had of both.

  We’d been standing in the cool night for almost two hours, using the backboard of the basketball nets as targets. While Piper was focusing on drawing rain-based energy from her tether with Zephys–when she wasn’t trying to murder him with glares and bitter comebacks– I was back to using my ice-based powers from Hadrian’s tether. I was curious to see what I could do with the powers I’d taken from Piper and Declan, but that seemed like a temptation too reckless to indulge in. As morbidly curious as I was to see what kind of limits Mortis had created me with, I wanted brain damage even less. Using too much power and pushing past my boundaries had given me a bloody nose and bleeding eardrums. I was lucky to be alive.

  “You are not focusing, Ava.”

  I blinked and turned my head to look at Hadrian. He was standing five feet away from me, his strong arms crossed over his muscular chest. I could see those muscles beneath the tight black shirt he wore. Hard muscles my fingers ached to trace–

  I shut down the thought and whirled around before he could see my blush. We were still angry and bitter with one another, and our tempers remained at a simmer. Though he’d kept his word and brought a blanket, towels, and fresh clothes to the cell while I was sleeping, he refused to speak to me casually.

  Which was fine. I didn’t want to talk to him anyway.

  Though I don’t know why I thought today would be different. That maybe he would man up and admit he was wrong.

  I could have laughed at that. When did a man ever admit he was wrong about something?

  “Ava.”

  I threw a glare over my shoulder. And saw Hadrian through a mist of snow. I glanced up at the light clouds drifting over the midnight sky. Snowflakes flitted lazily through the air, a complete contrast to Hadrian’s disgruntled demeanor.

  I shrugged at him. “Oops.”

  A muscle in his jaw twitched. I wondered if he were halfway between rolling his eyes, or crying out to the heavens that I was hopeless.

  Leaving him to whatever thoughts were coursing through his head, I gathered my focus. Now that snow was falling, I had something more tangible to draw on. The temperature out here was similar to the tether, so I was able to adjust what I sensed inside me to what I felt out here. I could feel the snow on my face, as gentle and sweet as a first kiss.

  Then I felt it, the tether uncurl from my heart and press lightly against the underside of my skin. It was creepy and weird, but I concentrated on that gentle pull, feeling it rise out of my body. My skin tingled at the cold sensation, though I knew the moment the tether was out of my body. I could feel it settle around me like an aura, ready and secure.

  I did it!

  I turned around, smiling at Hadrian, wondering if he’d sensed my thoughts.

  He stared at me without emotion, no indication that he knew what I’d done.

  Oh. Right. I’d told him to stay out of my head.

  “I brought the tether out,” I stated.

  He plastered a fake smile onto his face and inclined his head. “Excellent. Now use it to strike the target. Add in some of the energy from the air if you wish, but do not push yourself as you do so. The tether will need to return to your body before it is completely used.”

  Losing some of my enthusiasm, I turned and narrowed my eyes on the target standing twenty feet away from me. Then I unfocused my eyes to gaze at the snow. I found the tether hovering around me and concentrated hard, but the flakes wouldn’t move in the direction I wanted. I swiveled my wrist, but gravity did more work than I did.

  I re
ached out with my fingers, directing my attention to the way each flake felt against my skin the instant before it melted. I could feel the tether, but it wasn’t as strong as the power in vast expanse of air circling me. Maybe I would be able to use a little bit of that instead of the tether, get a feel for it and remember the feel so I could use it with the tether later. After all, I couldn’t weave them both together if I didn’t know what they both felt like, and this was as close as I had been to combining natural energy with the tether so far. I would just have to be careful.

  Besides, this was training, not a fight for my life.

  Ignoring the tension in Hadrian’s voice when he called my name again, I raised my hands and twisted them like I was forming a snowball. The energy in the air came alive. Snowflakes spun together and clumped into a ball the size of my palm. Since it was loose snow, I couldn’t hold it. But I did imagine it flying across the basketball court and hitting the backboard.

  The snowball careened forward and smacked into the board. Not the center like I’d been aiming for, but that didn’t keep the smile from my face. I turned on my heel and beamed at Hadrian. I didn’t feel the heat of his life force, which elated my spirits even more. I put my hands on my hips and cocked an eyebrow, a gesture that screamed, I told you so.

  He stared at me, then dropped his eyes and shook his head. Laughing a little, I turned and went back to creating the snowballs. I took pieces of natural energy as well as bits of the tether, being careful about how much I used. I made single snowballs, some big but most small, and aimed them at the basketball board. My aim was still off, but I wasn’t up for improving it yet. I chose to focus on the limits of energy I could take, and made multiple snowballs.

  I started with two. Then I moved onto three. Then four. Then six. Then ten. Then sixteen. Pretty soon I was hurtling dozens of snowballs at the board, making each one splat against the metal. I was always conscious of the tether and the natural energy around me, making sure I didn’t steal too much from either. I needed to make snowballs, not a blizzard. By the time I decided I was done, the basketball hoop was covered and surrounded in snow, as if a bucket had been dumped over its top. All that could be seen clearly now was the red hoop and the frayed netting.