by Amy Braun
There was nothing I could say that would make the Mistrals stop killing the Stormkind. I knew that. They completely believed what they were doing was the right thing.
If I couldn’t get through to them, I had one more person to try with. While the Mistrals approached a new set of Stormkind, I turned and looked at Declan.
“We have to stop this,” I told him.
He blinked and looked at me. “Why?”
“The Stormkind are just acting on instinct,” I explained, hoping to make this conversation as quick and simple as I could. “They’re starved for a hundred years. You must have felt that pain. I have.”
He kept staring. “Yeah. I’ve felt it.” Declan pointed to his face. “How do you think I got like this?”
Any words I’d thought to speak died on my lips when I looked at him. Declan’s features were still familiar enough for me to recognize, but I took in the thinness of his body. The transparency of his skin and paleness of his hair. The unstable glow building around his irises.
“Have you ever fed like a Stormkind, Ava?”
I cowered into myself and shook my head. Declan didn’t blink.
“It’s an adrenaline rush like nothing you can imagine. It’s like swallowing a star. It burns through you, filling your body until you think you’re going to explode. When you absorb the last of it, your whole body becomes a pulse of light. You can feel it sinking into your very bones, making you stronger. Making you better.” Hunger filled his eyes, and I felt my confidence shrink. “It’s a drug. The longer you go without it, the more fucked up you become.”
I hesitated, realizing I wouldn’t get through to Declan, either. It wouldn’t be long before he became a Stormkind. His humanity was skin deep. Behind his flesh was something I was too terrified to think about.
It was the same thing hiding beside my bones, the monstrosity that would be unleashed if I ever gave in and devoured a life force.
Light sparked behind me. I jumped and spun around. Three more Stormkind had fallen prey to the crystal daggers, their skeletons shrinking and dissolving into the blades. I almost wished the Stormkind had been able to scream. Maybe then, the horror of this extermination would reach Declan, and make him think twice about what he wanted to become.
I looked at him again. “Declan, please, this is only going to make things worse. The Stormkind need to be dealt with by Guardians who respect them. They can’t be slaughtered like this.”
“Why the hell do you care?” he snapped. “The only reason you’re not in those cages is because Mortis’s plan worked with you.” He shook his head. “You have no idea how fucking lucky you are.”
I gawked. I was many things, but lucky had never been one of them.
“The person you were tethered to gave a shit about you. You didn’t have to struggle and beg to please him or make him see that you were worth something. This little experiment worked with you. It didn’t work for me, and now I’m being cast aside like I’m goddamn worthless.”
Declan’s hands suddenly clamped onto my arms. “Maybe I should just absorb you. Then I would have it all. I would be able to give Mortis the power he wants, and show him how loyal I am. I’ve earned that much. You’ve earned nothing.”
Declan’s eyes ignited like flares and fixated on my mouth. His head snapped down toward mine. I leaned away and raised my arms. I turned my head and slapped at his chest, trying to get him away. All I did was agitate him. He shoved me away and drew back his hand to slap me.
I moved first, kicking him hard between the legs.
Declan yelped and stumbled, nearly losing his balance. I scrambled to run, only to find myself face to face with Mortis. I skidded to a stop when I saw the sharp frown on his face, and the glowing dagger in his hands. Ferno and Turve stood behind him, each one gripping their dagger tight.
Beyond them were three more empty cages.
“What is the meaning of this?” Mortis demanded coldly, flicking his eyes between Declan and me.
“The fucking bitch doesn’t deserve to be here,” Declan hollered. “I fought for you. I killed for you.” His control dissolved, erasing into oblivion and replaced by something cold, lifeless, and dreadful. “All you’ve done is cast me down. Make it sound like I’m goddamn worthless.” Declan eyed the dagger in Mortis’s hand enough, and stabbed a finger at it. “Give me that. Make me into what she is. I’ve got the stomach for killing. She doesn’t. She’ll never do what you ask her to. She’ll never follow your orders.”
“Her family–”
“That won’t matter,” his roar echoed through the crater. “She’s weak! Always been a fucking coward,” he cast me a gaze poisoned with contempt. “You just got lucky with her. You don’t need her. I’m stronger and better than her. You tell her to unleash all those powers at once, and it’ll goddamn kill her.”
A jolt of fear shuddered through me. I whirled and looked at Mortis. He stared blankly at Declan, then looked down at me.
“I fear the surprise has been spoiled, Wild One,” he stated.
“You… You want me to use all my powers? At the same time?”
Mortis nodded. “You have no concept of how much energy resides in you. How rigid your control is. You did not just absorb power, Ava. You absorbed tethers.”
I gaped, every question catching in my throat before I could speak it.
“What I placed inside you were the tethers of every variation of Stormkind. You reacted strongly to the one of your Guardian, but the others are there, dormant until you choose to wield them. It takes a toll on you, but the strength and distance at which you can send those storms is unparalleled. They will move across the globe, instigating a second Centennial.”
My mind throbbed at the insanity of his words. A second Centennial Storm? When barely a month had passed since the first one? The world wouldn’t be able to take it.
And neither would I.
“It won’t work,” I said. My voice was hoarse, even though I hadn’t been screaming. “I pass out when I use too much power. I start bleeding.”
No readable emotion passed through Mortis’s eyes. “Because you have not been absorbing life-force. Although your resistance is impressive, it is unwise in your condition. You must feed, or you will die before you have served your purpose.”
“I… I can’t!”
He reached out and clasped my elbow, digging his fingers into hidden nerves and sending fireworks of pain up my arm.
“You can, and you will.” He dipped his head, casting shadows over his face. “Why do you think I brought him here?”
My head whipped to Declan. He understood the implications as well as I did.
“Wait, what? You want me to be her appetizer? No, Fuck that! No!”
Faster than any of us could react, Declan raised his hands and shoved them forward. A massive gale force slammed into us, as strong and as sudden as a speeding train. My body was out of my control, forced down like a felled tree. Even the Mistrals had difficulty keeping their footing. Declan charged forward.
A wall of dirt kicked up in front of him, blocking his path. The wind pushing against my chest was lifted, but I didn’t give away my freedom yet. Until I figured it was a better idea to look helpless while I formed a plan of attack.
Ferno stomped ahead of me, holding up his hands and directing the dirt wall with one hand. The crumbling, dark curtain obscured Declan from view. Turve sprinted around to flank the crazed man.
Declan shouted, his war-cry carrying through the walls of the crater. The wall exploded outward, dirt flying in a thousand directions as he broke it down. Declan saw Turve aiming to sideswipe him. He ducked and caught the Guardian around the middle, tackling him into the ground. Turve struggled and punched Declan in the jaw. He took the blow like it was nothing. He didn’t care about the punches. He went straight for the dagger.
“No!” Mortis bellowed.
It was too late.
Ferno sprinted toward the fight, but Declan whipped up his hand. Wind curved and struck Fe
rno in the middle. He bent in half so sharply I thought his spine had snapped in two. Mortis gathered his own wind and shoved it toward Declan, but he only gripped Turve tighter.
He punched the Guardian in the face and ripped the dagger from his hands. He turned it until it was pointing at his heart. Without hesitation, he drove it through his chest.
Then Declan screamed.
He collapsed off of Turve, clutching his heart as the crystal blade pumped stolen energy into him. I wanted to scream, but I could scarcely breathe. I watched Declan writhe in agony on the ground, his fingers clawing at his chest and sweat beading down his face.
Turve rose to his feet and reached for the tempest-blades on his back. Ferno joined him, drawing one of his own swords over his shoulder.
“Wait!” Mortis yelled.
Both warriors looked at him.
“Let us observe what happens to him. He boasted that he could take it. Let us see if he can.”
Ferno and Turve hesitated, but faced Declan in compliance. They laid the tips of their swords against the earth, though their muscles didn’t relax. Mortis stalked past me, his footsteps cautious and curious.
I waited until he was past me before I sat up. I turned around and gathered my feet, rising and backing away.
Declan’s screams gripped my heart, but I couldn’t help him. He’d done this to himself. Even if I could have done something, there was no way Mortis would let me get close to him now. If this insane experiment worked, Mortis would no longer have a use for me. If not… I would die when Mortis forced me to create another Centennial Storm.
This was my chance to escape. The only one I would ever get.
I was so focused on backing away, I didn’t know something was behind me until I bumped into it.
I jumped and opened my mouth to scream. A hand clapped over my mouth and silenced me. I pressed my lips together to bite him, then stopped when the tether vibrated to life.
Peace, Ava. You are safe now.
That was the biggest lie I’d ever heard, but I was so happy to hear Hadrian’s voice that I didn’t even care.
How did you find me? And what the hell took you so long?
Turve’s charge was here. She told us where to find you. We came as fast as we could with our injuries. Traveling with storm-sight was difficult, since we did not know which storms to follow. He tightened his grip around me. I am so sorry, Ava. You should never have been with them for longer than a minute.
I heard the regret in his voice, felt the weight of it in my mind, but I knew they’d played it smart. If they’d come in guns blazing, they could have died. There was nothing I wanted less.
Make it up to me now, I thought. Help me stop them.
I felt his hesitation. Promise me you will not use anything but the tether.
As if I would use anything that would kill me. I promise.
Hadrian released me and took my hand. I turned to see him, drinking in the sight of his pale face, midnight black hair, and luminous blue eyes. I wanted to hug him. Kiss him. Tell him that I was pretty sure I was in love with him.
But until I was out of here, all those things were on the back burner for now. We had to stop the Mistrals while they were distracted by Declan’s transformation. Or death. Whatever was causing him to scream so much.
Over Hadrian’s shoulder, I spotted Vitae, Zephys, and Piper sneaking down the hill into the crater. Piper smiled with relief when she saw me. Vitae looked at the captured Stormkind, an angry scowl twisting her lips when she saw the empty cages. She put her hand on Zephys’s shoulder and pointed to the cages that still contained Stormkind. He looked nervous, but nodded at whatever command she gave him,
Hadrian continued pulling me across the clearing. We were almost there when Declan’s screaming stopped.
Someone else started in his place.
Hadrian whirled around and pressed his back to my chest, shielding me from whatever was about to happen.
I peeked around him, watching Declan rise from the ground and pounce on Turve. Ferno shouted and rushed for his friend, but Mortis held him back. He watched as Declan smashed his head down onto Turve’s. He did nothing as Declan widened his jaw and absorbed his life force.
I don’t know why I still saw him as Declan. The jerk from my college football team was long gone. His clothes were shredded from his violent struggle, his skin had been replaced by a shimmering exterior of water over an illuminated skeleton. A skeleton that grew brighter and brighter the more power he absorbed from Turve. The Guardian kicked and thrashed uselessly. Then his motions stopped, the light between their mouths steadily fading.
Turve’s body became limp. Declan rose, no longer a human, but a complete Stormkind. His human skin was gone, replaced by a shuddering, clear texture. Through it, I could see the bright pulsing light of his skeleton, the essence of the lives he’d devoured to become a monster.
His blazing white eyes locked on us.
On me.
Mortis and Ferno turned and frowned. The pain on Ferno’s face was replaced by hate. Mortis looked annoyed at first.
Then he smiled.
“Hadrian,” he said in a slithering voice. “You have arrived just in time. I believe my latest specimen is still hungry.”
Mortis had barely finished speaking before the Stormkind that used to be Declan barreled past them and came straight for us.
Chapter 18
Hadrian moved like lightning. His turned his hands upward. Frost coated his hands and funneled out of his palms. A flurry of icy darts rocketed toward Declan. Mortis swatted his hand through the air, blasting the darts aside. Hadrian was already drawing his tempest-blades, and I was beside him gripping the tether I shared with him.
Thick grey clouds rolled across the sky, clashing together and dragging cold winds beneath them. This time, the rain was welcome. It poured in buckets around us, and I instantly used the tether to turn the raindrops into sharp pieces of hail.
Declan didn’t seem to notice the hail, any more than he noticed the dagger still embedded in his chest. His only goal was rushing Hadrian. My Guardian pointed both blades at the new Stormkind, drawing him to a halt. I watched Hadrian’s back, seeing Mortis and Ferno running toward his sides. I slashed my hand through the air and pelted hail down on Mortis. I couldn’t do anything about Ferno, but Hadrian must have seen him because he didn’t stand in one place to be cut down.
He shoved one of the tempest-blades into Declan’s chest, just above the dagger. The Stormkind halted and fell back. I didn’t know if he was still alive or not. Hadrian ducked under the sweep of Ferno’s swords, drawing his last blade up and blocking it. He hammered a kick into Ferno’s kidneys and twisted to punch him in the face.
Mortis shouted and my eyes cut to him. The hail ricocheted away from him, spinning wildly as he pushed it back. He raced toward Declan. I lifted my hands and pushed an icy wind toward him. He glared in my direction and threw his hand upward. Thick mud splashed in my direction until a torrent of rain pounded it back into the earth.
Vitae was suddenly at my side, slinging rain into Mortis’s face and holding him back. She spared a glance at me.
“Take care of the Stormkind,” she ordered.
“How? The dagger gave him extra power, and both Mortis and Ferno have spare ones.”
Vitae frowned, clearly unhappy about that extra information. “Hadrian’s sword will kill it.”
That was all she told me before she took off to meet Mortis in combat. Both leaders gave up on their powers and went straight for their swords. They met in a clash of rain and steel, moving too fast for me to comprehend.
Piper rushed to my side, her dark hair slicking the side of her face. Her eyes widened at the sight of Declan, who was beginning to sit up despite the two blades in his chest.
“Is that…”
“It was Declan,” I told her. “It isn’t him anymore.” I would have to remember that if I was supposed to kill him. Willing that thought away until I needed it, I looked at my best fr
iend. “He has more than one power now. We have to stop him.”
Piper understood my meaning the moment she looked into my eyes. She didn’t try to talk me out of it or offer me another option. All she did was nod, and assure me she was by my side.
I glanced at Zephys to make sure he was all right. He was standing in front of one of the cages, holding his swords on top of one another and touching the blades barring a dust-Stormkind in. In a flash of light, he, the cage, and the Stormkind vanished.
I had no idea where he was taking them, but as long as it was somewhere far away, I didn’t care.
Piper grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the fight. As we raced to Declan, who was now on his feet, I glanced at the sword battles on either side of the crater.
Vitae whirled her tempest-blades with ruthless force, using one to block a strike aimed for her legs while the other hacked down for Mortis’s neck. It didn’t look like either had taken a strike yet, but it would happen sooner rather than later.
On my other side, Hadrian was gaining power over Ferno. He kicked him in the stomach and waited for the rushed attack. When it came, Hadrian turned on his heel and let both blades slide past him. He swung his elbow, the hard joint crashing into Ferno’s face and knocking him on his ass.
“Get the dagger!” I shouted at Hadrian.
I don’t know if he heard me– I hoped he did– because Declan raised his watery palms and blasted wind at us. I used the tether to draw up an icy wall that protected us from the initial blast. Piper whirled her body around the side of the wall, snapping her arm down at a sharp angle. Light exploded across the sky, a bolt of lightning slicing through the night and into the spot where Declan was standing. After the blinding flash, I swiveled around to see if he was still standing–
Declan’s shivering, transparent body slammed into the ice wall, carrying the force of a cyclone. The wall instantly shattered and threw both Piper and me into the mud. I wiped it from my eyes and looked for my friend. The second I found her was the same second Declan leaped onto her.