Storm Chaser (Storms of Blackwood Book 3)

by Elle Middaugh

  Criss jogged over to a sobbing woman carrying a little girl. The child had been badly burned by the look of her raw flesh, and I couldn't even tell if she was breathing. I'd never seen Criss look so pained. He splayed his hands out, closed his hazel eyes, and I watched him say "heal." As if responding to the pure agony of his soul, the power poured out of him and doused the little girl in golden magic. Seconds later, she was on two feet and running from the flames alongside her mother.

  It was absolutely inspiring.

  After that, he found another citizen in need and repeated the process. His magic didn't always seem to come easily, but he never gave up.

  Smiling, I turned to the nearest blazing building and held out my arms. I normally had to speak the word "fire" in order to make the magic work, and when I was finished, I usually just clenched my fists to cut off the flow. This though... this was entirely different. The fire wasn't coming from me, so I couldn't make it stop, but maybe I could suck it into me somehow and still get rid of it?

  "Stop," I ordered the flames.

  They seemed to laugh at my weakness as they danced atop the rooftops.

  Annoyed and seriously feeling the pressure, I solidified my resolve. "Stop!" I commanded once more.

  This time the flames dimmed down and flickered.

  Glad I finally have your attention, you little bastards.

  "I said, stop!" The last time I shouted it was the most authoritative of all, and soon the fire smoldered out, leaving behind nothing but the charred skeleton of the building and a thin line of wispy smoke.

  Yes! I totally considered that a win.

  "Nice job, Sailor!" Ben cheered. "Ash and I can't use our powers against the fire, so we're going to go help people evacuate. Be careful and stay safe."

  "You too," I said, feeling my heart splinter as they ran off into a wall of smoke.

  They're demigods. They'll be fine. They're immortal. The bond will keep us alive.

  Dan funneled in another wave of seawater, dousing the shop beside mine, and jarred me back into action. Jogging further up the street, I found the next burning building and got to work.

  It went on like this for hours. Long after the sun had set, leaving the night sky to glow an ominous orange. Long after many quick dips in the freezing cold sea to cool my burning desire. Long after I'd used so much power that I was sure I'd simply shrivel up and die.

  And then finally, it was done. The fire was out, we'd saved as many civilians as we could, the sky was mostly smoke-free, and the sun was just cresting the horizon. It had taken us the entire night, and we were all completely exhausted.

  We trudged up the chateau steps, slow as molasses, talking quietly as we went.

  "How are you feeling?" I asked Criss as we brought up the rear.

  He ran a hand over his buzzed head then dragged it down his face. "I feel dead. Is this what death feels like?"

  Rob chuckled darkly and glanced over his shoulder at us. "Death is peaceful. This chaos is life at its finest."

  Cal looked back at us too. "So, you were able to figure out your healing powers, then?"

  Criss nodded. "I think so. Every time I healed someone, I got a bit more tired. By the time I'd mended ten or fifteen people, I was so bleary-eyed I fell asleep in the middle of the street. A few times, I got dragged off to the edge of the woods because people thought I'd passed out from smoke inhalation."

  "So, exhaustion is your price?" I asked, pausing midstep to catch my breath. Seriously, fuck these stairs. "And sleep is how you recoup?"

  He nodded. "Seems that way. I didn't have to sleep very long though. Just a quick ten-minute nap was enough. I guess my new natural healing abilities kicked in while I slept and refilled my power stores automatically."

  "That's awesome," I said with a proud smile. Since he was being so humble, it made it easy for me to feel pride and appreciation on his behalf.

  Apparently, I wasn't the only one.

  "Thank you, Criss," Dan said from the very front of our line. His voice was hoarse and raw and emotional. He then glanced from Cal to Rob with a blank expression. "If either of you still think he's not worthy of being in the group, you can go fuck yourselves."

  Cal blinked, and Rob's mouth fell open, but Dan just turned around and kept on walking. Pretty sure mine and everyone else's mouths were hanging open too.

  Dan and Rob were best friends; they never spoke to each other like that.

  "I'm going to go talk to him," I muttered, and fighting against the burn in my legs and lungs, I jogged to catch up. "Hey," I puffed as we crested the top of the stone staircase.

  Dan reached out and took my hand, threading our fingers tightly. "Hey."

  There was nothing truly consoling I could say. I knew he blamed himself for what happened. I knew there was nothing we could do to change any of it. So I told him the thing I thought he needed to hear most.

  "I love you."

  He glanced over at me with misty eyes and forced a smile. "I love you too, Lexi. You did amazing back there with the fire. I'm so proud to call you my wife."

  His words touched me, and yet I started to understand more of where he was coming from, because I didn't feel like a heroine. I felt like a failure. Like I should have done so much more, somehow.

  "I'm so sorry, Dan," I whispered through the tears puddling in my eyes. "I wish we could have saved them all. I wish this had never happened."

  He nodded. "Me too, baby girl. Me too. But there's no changing the past. All we can do now is plan our next move."

  Which I'm sure involved some heavy retaliation. I could feel his need for vengeance burning in the air. I didn't want to minimalize that need, but I didn't want to feed that particular beast either, so I stayed silent, offering him my love and support by simply standing beside him.

  Edden met us at the door. "Your Highnesses, thank the gods you're all right."

  Dan patted Edden's shoulder. "It's not us you need to worry about. How's your family?"

  "They're okay, Highness. They were able to escape before the fires got too high."

  "Thank the gods," Dan replied with genuine relief. "Go. Take the day off. Be with them."

  Edden bowed deeply. "Thank you, Your Highness. Before I leave though..." He reached into his suit pocket and handed over some envelopes. "A few letters arrived this morning. They bear seals from Rubio, Werewood, and Valinor."

  Dan's pale green eyes lit up. "Thank you, Edden."

  As the servant left and the rest of the guys caught up, Dan led us all upstairs into his living room lounge. We made ourselves comfortable on the couches and sofas while he took a seat at the ornament desk in the back corner. He opened a letter and began reading silently to himself.

  Nerves crept up my spine and swirled in my chest. I wanted so badly for him to read the note aloud, but I didn't dare push him—not when he was already so broken and upset.

  Eventually, he heaved a sigh of relief. "Rubio will back us on the water—and only on the water—for a price."

  "They didn't accept our offer on the finished metals?" Cal asked, standing up anxiously.

  Dan shook his head. "No, they did. But it wasn't enough. They want Emory Isle as well, the last island in the chain on our side of the boarder."

  Cal pursed his lips. "Do you think the Storm King will give it up?"

  Dan shrugged. "I don't give a fuck. I'm going to give it up in exchange for some godsdamned help."

  My brows furrowed. I supposed, to a prince, the idea of handing off an island seemed as simple as signing a piece of paper. But for the people? They were about to lose their homes.

  "If you do that," I said, boldly speaking up, "then you need to offer aid to the citizens who are forced to relocate. Help them find jobs on the mainland and new homes."

  Dan nodded slowly, mulling over my suggestion. Okay, fine, my demand.

  "All right," he said. "We'll do it. Would you like to be in charge of the project?"

  I'd never been "in charge" of anything, but if anyone knew
how to help the people, then it was one of their own. I might be a princess now, but I'd never forget my humble beginnings as a peasant.

  "Yes," I said with a nod. "I'll lead the relocation project myself."

  Dan smiled. "Excellent."

  He then ripped open the second letter and read it to himself.

  "Same for Valinor," he said in a sigh. "They'll send reinforcements under a few circumstances. One, their soldiers won't ever be near or ever come into contact with any Rubians. Apparently, Akiko rubbed Veda wrong back in Blackwood. Two, any items they acquire during their stay in Blackwood will become their permanent property. I wonder if they're hoping to amass some jewels? And three, they still want Alexis to help with the volcanic issues they've been having."

  I was suddenly very nervous. The relocation project seemed like a small but important thing. This would be an enormous undertaking, and I would almost certainly fail. I hated the thought of agreeing to something I couldn't come through on.

  "I don't know how to control lava," I admitted. "I don't even know if it's possible."

  Dan chewed on his lips. "You didn't know how to stop external fire until last night either. Maybe it's something you could learn? Would you be willing to try and help them in exchange for some of their soldiers?"

  In other words, how far was I willing to go to protect my people? As a princess of Blackwood, I had the power to defend them and keep them safe... if I chose wisely.

  I took a deep breath and scrounged up my courage. "Tell the Valinorians that I can't possibly promise to fix such a problem, but that I'll try."

  "Thank you," Dan whispered on an exhale.

  I hadn't even realized he'd been holding his breath.

  He stared back down at the letter and tapped his fingers on the desk. "Keeping the Valinorians and Rubians separate won't be a problem since one will be on land and the other will be on the sea, but what about the permanent property clause?"

  "I'd think that'd very much depend on what they were planning on pocketing," Criss said. "Perhaps if we define what 'find' actually means as opposed to 'steal' or 'take' and then specify what items are non-negotiable, such as jewels or coins, then we might be able to agree."

  Cal nodded. "He's right. We can't just outright agree to that part. We can send them a counteroffer and see what they say."

  Dan glanced out the chateau window and bit his bottom lip. "Do we have enough time to barter the details like this? Or should we simply settle?"

  Ash studied him for a moment. "What if a Valinorian 'found' Alexis on the street? If you've already agreed to those exact terms, then she would technically be the property of Valinor."

  Dan sighed. "I see the problem."

  "So do I," I chipped in crossly. "I'm a godsdamned woman not a piece of property to be found or owned."

  "I love it when she gets fiery," Rob said, shooting me a devilish grin.

  Dan grinned too before reading the third letter and summarizing it.

  "Werewood will join the fight if they are provided with a constant supply of alcohol for the duration of the war—both for the soldiers they'll send to our aid as well as their citizens back home."

  "Holy shit, how many distilleries do they think we have?" Ben asked.

  Dan raised a brow. "Enough, I'm sure."

  "Have you ever seen a drunk werewolf?" Ben countered. "It takes a lot."

  "Nice word, lexicon," I teased him.

  Ben rolled his brown eyes playfully. "Fine. It takes a massive volume of fermented fluids to inebriate a wolf shifter."

  "Any shifter, really," Ash added, looking rather smug about his drinking skills. "You should have seen me at the beer pong competition."

  "The fuck is beer pong?" Rob asked.

  "Oh, bro," Ash replied excitedly, "as soon as this war is over and we get some free time, I'll show you how to play. You're going to love it."

  "Can we stay on topic, please?" Dan asked, sounding an awful lot like a grumpier Cal. "Are we able to meet these demands or not?"

  Ben stood and paced around the room. "Statistically, it's unlikely. But if we divert some of the non-warring civilians to the distilleries, then we could up our production substantially while still maintaining enough coin for the war efforts."

  Rob raised a brow. "So that's a yes?"

  Ben took a deep breath and glanced skyward. "Yes. Did they have any other stipulations?"

  "Yeah, one," Dan admitted, "but it's small. They wish to take credit for a major victory in the war. I think Prince Rafe wants to throw it in our dear father's face."

  Cal scoffed. "Done."

  My thoughts exactly. They could take credit for half the battles if it meant making the Storm King look like a fool.

  Dan finished scribbling out the reply letters then rubbed at his temples. "All right, now, battle strategies."

  "Hydratica has the entire sea covered in ships," Ben pointed out immediately. "There's little to no way of slipping between them, unless we hug the Rubian coast, which is now an option. I just wouldn't want to bring the battle to Rubio and wipe out our allies as soon as they joined the fight."

  "You underestimate them," Cal replied. "Rubians are lethal in battle."

  "Even still," Ben pressed, "they'd be outnumbered ten to one. Hydratica is huge; Rubio is a tiny chain of islands. The numbers don't lie, bro."

  "Oh! I know!" Ash said, raising his hand in the air. "What if I turn into a bird and fly around shitting on our enemies, giving them all a severe case of Swamp Ass Fever?"

  Ben looked utterly horrified. "I can't believe you'd even suggest that." But still, he paused. "Though, it might actually work..."

  "What about the channel of Glite?" Criss asked.

  The guys contemplated his question for a moment, while I tried to imagine where such a channel might exist on a map. Fuck me for not paying more attention in history and geography.

  "No one's used the channel in years," Cal eventually said.

  Ben nodded. "Because it's become too shallow to navigate. Even tiny boats end up having to be carried by hand for half of the journey."

  "But it's the rainy season," Criss continued. "There might be just enough water for us to sneak in unnoticed and attack where they least expect it."

  "But if there's not, we'd be fucked," Rob contended. "Our ships would be way too heavy to carry."

  "You're all forgetting something," I said with a smile.

  Cal folded his hands behind his back. "And what's that?"

  I pointed to Dan. "Him. He's the Sea Prince, remember? As long as he can hold his breath, he can get our ships through the channel no matter how shallow the water is."

  Dan nodded as if surprised that the idea hadn't come to him sooner. "She's right. And that'll definitely give us the element of surprise that we need."

  He grabbed a scroll and unrolled a map, tracing the path we'd need to take.

  "If we used the channel of Glite, we could hit Hydratica here." He pointed to a port on the northern edge of the coast: Brineton. "Then we can slip right back through channel before they even know where we went."

  "But," Rob said, coming over to study the map, "while we're attacking, we need to have our people evacuating along here." He traced an invisible line from Ebony Chateau all the way down to Onyx Fortress. "Because I don't trust King Thane as far as I could throw him. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he sent his troops inland while we were still out toiling on the sea."

  "Then it's settled," Dan said, standing behind the desk. "We gather what's left of our sailors and soldiers and we counterattack as soon as possible. While we're gone, I'll send messengers to every town in King Thane's potential path. We'll evacuate as many cities as we can."

  "Send a message to Southern Blackwood too," Rob said with a dark expression. "Tell them I'll be returning soon. Tell them to prepare for war."

  Chapter 25

  We slept the rest of the day.

  After being up all night, draining our power wells putting out fires and rescuing citizens, I supp
osed it didn't really surprise me. We were dead tired, and we needed our rest if we hoped to be of any help to anyone in the near future.

  A knocking at the door was what finally woke me.

  My eyes popped open and drank in the darkness of the room—we were still in Dan's lounge. I’d fallen asleep on the floor, along with Ash and Ben, while Cal and Rob were strewn out across a couple couches. An empty loveseat waited where Dan had once been sleeping. Footsteps shuffled across the floor. A door creaked quietly, and a thin band of ever-growing light scurried across the floor.

  "General Madden," Dan said, his voice a bit groggy. "What news do you have?"

  I saw the General's shadow bow in the hallway light.

  "Just stopped by to update you on the status of the counterattack, Your Highness."

  "And?" Dan asked, crossing his arms nervously.

  "We're going to need at least one more day, Your Highness. Half of the men are wounded, and the other half are too exhausted to sail."

  Dan sighed and scrubbed a frustrated hand through his sandy brown hair.

  "Give us an extra day to recover and restock the food stores, Highness. After that, we'll attack with full force. I promise, we won't let you down."

  Something about the General's words wiped away Dan's disappointment immediately.

  "Of course, you won’t, Madden. I'm always impressed with you and our military." He sighed one last time before nodding with conviction. "All right. One more day. Then we'll wipe Brineton Port right off the godsdamned map."

  The next morning, I was the first to rise.

  I hadn't slept well after Dan's midnight meeting with the General, tossing and turning between nightmares and dreams, but I still felt a shit ton better than I had the day before. I stretched out any kinks I'd gotten from sleeping on the sandstone floor, and I walked out onto the balcony to bask in the early morning sunshine.

  We had one day. One day to relax, to recuperate, and to prepare for the journey ahead. How were we going to spend it?