Storm Princess 2: The Princess Must Strike

by Everly Frost

  Jasper sinks back into a sitting position, relief washing over him. “You had me worried there, Princess.”

  “I’m sorry.” My hands remain in the air, frozen, afraid to touch Baelen again. “I don’t know… what that was.”

  “Your heart’s broken,” Jasper says, far more simply than I expected.

  The Storm isn’t quite so forgiving. She observes me with a mix of concern and distrust. She was once a female gargoyle. All I know about her is what the Phoenix told me—that she gave her life for revenge: she turned herself into a storm and raged through elven country hundreds of years ago, killing our last king and almost wiping out the entire elven race. When the Elven Command tried and failed to steal my power after the simulation, I called the Storm to me without knowing what I was doing.

  Now, here she is: a silvery wraith-like creature with delicate features, large, drown-inside-me-chocolate eyes, long legs like I’ve never seen before, and a broken wing that I don’t want to ask her about.

  The most difficult part about her presence is that Jasper doesn’t know she’s there. He can’t see or hear her, which makes all of my conversations with her one-sided. She gets to talk and I have to listen, even if I don’t like what she’s saying.

  Her lips compress into a tight line. “You can’t do that again.”

  I don’t even know what that was.

  “You combined your power with his,” she says, as if she’s reading my mind—not hard given my questioning stare. “But if you connect like that again, you’ll not only hurt every living thing around you, you’ll also draw Baelen out too soon and he’ll die.”

  I jolt away from Baelen even further, using the bare minimum of contact to gently move his head off my lap and rest him against the Phoenix’s back instead. The Phoenix’s body is broad and long, but Baelen’s large frame takes up most of it. I find myself sitting almost on the bird’s tail. Once the Storm’s finished chastising me, I’ll have to apologize to the Phoenix for this new discomfort.

  The Storm’s face softens. “Don’t worry, you can’t combine your power by accident.”

  I scowl at her, since that’s exactly what I did.

  She sighs. “Yes, I know you didn’t mean to, but you deliberately sought him out just now, didn’t you? Well, don’t do that again and all will be fine.”

  I sigh. I don’t think Jasper will think it’s strange when I say, “I needed to hear his voice.”

  Jasper has already settled himself back onto the Phoenix. He acts as if nothing happened and I’m grateful for his unshakable calm attitude and his ability to bounce back—despite the fact that I could have killed him. “It’s okay, Princess.”

  He takes a moment before peering through the cloud cover beneath us. The Storm remains beside me, keeping pace with the Phoenix as if she wants to keep an eye on me now. I guess I don’t blame her. In fact, I’m reluctantly grateful. No Storm Princess has ever shared her power with another elf before like I have with Baelen. I’m walking new ground and the Storm is the only one who might be able to guide me.

  I’m glad for the change of subject when Jasper says, “We should reach the border soon.”

  The Phoenix’s voice sounds in my mind then, reminding me of soft wind chimes. We are approaching the Revenant Mountains behind Rath land. Beyond the mountains is the border between Erawind and Erador. Once we cross it, we will be in gargoyle country.

  A shiver races down my spine. The Phoenix flies much faster than any other creature so we’ve reached the border within a few hours. The first time I flew with the giant bird was during the trial that brought me to these very mountains. Nobody had ever flown with a Phoenix before. The firebird told me it was waiting for me to summon it because I was the storm. I’d thought that was because I could absorb the storm, but the Phoenix insisted it was because I was the Storm. I’m still not completely sure what that means.

  I say to Jasper, “The Phoenix says we’re almost at the Revenant Mountains.”

  “We need to be careful.” Jasper half-twists back to me. “The gargoyles recently started patrolling the air space right up to their side of the border.”

  “But the border has always been a neutral zone. Why are they patrolling it now?” It would certainly explain why the Elven Command had become paranoid about a gargoyle attack. They’d tried multiple times to attack the gargoyles who had started nesting on our side of the border, but Baelen had cautioned against a pre-emptive strike, telling the Command they didn’t have enough information to start a war.

  “They’re trying to stop other gargoyles escaping.”

  “Escaping…” The gargoyle I encountered was sheltering his two newborn children, hiding them within elven borders. “The gargoyle on Scepter Peak told me that facing elves was safer than what was going on in his home country. What’s driving them out?”

  Jasper shakes his head. “We don’t know. Baelen was trying to find out.”

  “Well, whatever the reason, if there are air patrols, then the Phoenix won’t get as far as I hoped.”

  I worry at my lip, disappointment rushing through me. I’d hoped that the Phoenix could fly us at least part of the way to the springs in the heart of Mount Erador. “I think this means we have to land in the mountains and travel on foot.”

  Jasper gives me an apologetic shrug. “If it’s any consolation, Baelen hid supply packs in the mountain range in case he ever needed them. I know where to find them.”

  That raises my eyebrows. “Supply packs in the mountains?”

  Jasper glances away and then at Baelen. “He… planned for the possibility that you and he might need to disappear.”

  I contemplate Baelen’s still features. There’s so much I don’t know about his life during the seven years after I became the Storm Princess. After he finished military training, he’d disappeared for three whole years. I still have no idea where he went. Now there’s no way for me to ask him. After the Storm’s warning just now, I’m definitely not going to try speaking with him again.

  Jasper draws my attention. “I don’t know about you, but I could do with a change of clothes and some food.”

  “You’re right.” I scrub at my eyes. The fact that Baelen planned ahead is a good thing. Jasper and I have very few supplies and even our armor isn’t ideal for an overland trek. Jasper’s is beat up, but mine is pristine. It’s made from an inner suit spun from Elyria spider web and lined on the outside with Shimmer Beetle husks. The Elyria web is unbreakable and the husks are the hardest material in the land. It took my Storm Command seven years to gather enough web and husks to sew the suit for me. It may be the safest thing I could wear but it won’t guard against the freezing nighttime temperatures on the mountain. While sunny during the day, a layer of ice forms over the mountains at night.

  “If only I could have a bath too.” Baelen’s blood still stains my hands and armor. I need the reminder gone.

  Jasper keeps a straight face. “Sorry. Can’t help you with that. But there are water sources where you can wash up.”

  “Thank you. Can you show me where we should land?”

  He points. “We should head a little more south. There’s a concealed pass through the mountains that way. We can use it to cross the border—” He cuts off and spins. “Wait…”

  I hear it, too: the far-off beat of wings. Elves have very strong senses, but mine are especially honed to changes in air pressure because of my storm power. I kick myself that I wasn’t paying closer attention. I should have heard it sooner.

  The Phoenix gives a warning cry inside my mind. Princess! Gargoyles are flying in from the left. They’ll reach our position within minutes.

  I keep my voice down. “The Phoenix says it’s gargoyles.”

  Jasper’s surprise mirrors mine. “We haven’t crossed the border. They’re in our airspace.”

  I grit my teeth. “Has that ever happened before?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Okay, well… we’re higher up than they usually fly. We should
stay inside the clouds. Let them fly right under us. And if they don’t…”

  The Storm sails along beside me. “Be careful about using your storm power around Baelen. His heart is connected to yours and he will answer to the call of the storm.”

  That’s going to make things difficult, but I won’t risk Baelen’s safety. Or Jasper’s for that matter. This close to me, he could easily be hurt if I unleashed my lightning. I choose my words carefully, trying to answer her and speak to Jasper at the same time. “If they don’t fly by, I’ll be careful with my storm power. I don’t want to hurt you or Baelen by accident. There’s been enough danger of that kind already today.”

  He gives me a serious nod before bending to retrieve his weapons from the satchel draped beside Baelen. Multiple weapons disappear into belts and holders around his waist and chest, including two swords crisscrossing his back. I pull on my leather gloves, since it’s the only way to handle metal without igniting the storm. Then I strap on my weapons belt, balancing beside Baelen’s body while I give my weapons a final check.

  “I’m ready.”

  The Storm points left and down. “That’s good, because the female has found us.”

  So much for hiding in the clouds.

  A young gargoyle shoots upward through the mist, her arms outstretched, her wings pinned close to her sides as if she’s just swept them down in one massive beat to ascend into the clouds.

  She shrieks in surprise and slams to a halt so she doesn’t collide with Jasper.

  “Whoa!” he exclaims, instinctively throwing his arms out in a protective gesture.

  I brace for her to attack us, but after a quick assessment, I can tell that the female doesn’t carry any weapons. In fact, her arms are scratched, her face is tear-stained, and her legs are dirty. She looks seriously frightened. At the same time, the Phoenix lurches away from the newcomer, pausing long enough for the girl to take one look at Jasper and dive into his arms.

  She cries, “Help me!”

  He freezes, shock shooting across every plane of his chiseled face.

  She clings to him like a cat that just jumped out of a lake. “I beg you. Help me, please!”

  A female gargoyle asking a male elf for help?

  I'm as shocked as Jasper. I have a fleeting vision of a perfect button nose, rosebud mouth, and fear-filled emerald eyes before the girl buries her head against his chest. She wraps her arms around his waist and hides herself beneath her wings, becoming a silvery bundle next to him. It's not much of a camouflage, especially because she’s shaking like a slender piece of filigree in a gale force wind.

  Look to your left, Princess, the Phoenix’s normally calm lilt is filled with warning as it beats its wings once more, picks up speed, and resumes its former pace. They’re here.

  At the same time, Jasper cries, “We have company!”

  Large grey forms cut through the clouds around us—fifteen of them flying in from our left. They’re approaching so fast that their flight patterns shred the mist, forming wind tunnels up from the clear blue below us.

  At their head is a male with light grey patterns rippling through his dark wings, his warrior features cut from stone. His wingspan is massive and he carries more weapons about his body than Jasper, even strapped across his bare chest and massive thighs. His jaw is square and his eyes are a dazzling sapphire. He’d be gorgeous if it wasn’t for the cruel sneer cutting across his face.

  He and the other gargoyles surround the Phoenix. Three of them speed directly up in front of it, forcing it to pull up sharply. Their wings push backward to stop their own forward momentum, but their wing daggers are ready to be used as weapons. In response, the Phoenix curves and lengthens its wings, forced to coast.

  As the wash of air from all the flying creatures pulses at me, billowing my auburn braid in the wind, the lead male shouts to the others. “It’s elves! And… a Phoenix.”

  He backpedals a little away from my fiery friend, gesturing his companions to back up also.

  Yep, I have a Phoenix. And right now that Phoenix looks angry enough about being penned in to start breathing fire at these heavily-armed morons. If I were the Phoenix’s only passenger, I have no doubt it would ignite its flames. My ability to absorb and wield the storm means the Phoenix’s fire doesn’t hurt me. But it would definitely hurt Jasper and the female gargoyle.

  Ignoring the danger, the intruders’ wings beat slowly as they take up a holding formation around us, locking us in. Meanwhile, the lead male’s gaze rakes over all of us and finally pauses on Baelen.

  His eyes narrow. “I see you carry your dead.”

  Really? That’s the first thing he’s going to say to me?

  Anger rises fast inside me, but I push it down as Jasper wraps both his arms around the cowering female, sending a clear message to the newcomers that we don’t intend to give her back to them.

  The Storm floats behind me, quiet, observant. She promised me that if I ever need her to rage, she will, but again, with Jasper and the girl in the firing line, the Storm’s wrath has to be a last resort.

  I may not be terribly tall or threatening in appearance but I raise my voice to the sharpness of a whip. “You’re in elven airspace. Explain yourselves.”

  The leader sucks in a breath, throwing a brief assessing glance at his surroundings—and then back to us dressed in our warrior’s armor. It’s clear from the quickly hidden concern flashing across his features that he didn’t realize he’d crossed the border. And he certainly didn’t expect to be caught by a couple of warrior elves in the process. No doubt he was so intent on capturing his prey that he wasn’t watching where he was going. It doesn’t look like he’s about to admit his mistake though…

  “I am General Cassian of the King’s army.” He points at the female curled up against Jasper like a caterpillar. “That female is a fugitive from our law. We have a right to recover her.”

  I lift an eyebrow in a scathing gesture, but inside I’m worried. If he’s telling the truth about who he is, then he’s very high up in the gargoyle command. I don’t know much about their military structure, but a General can’t be that many rungs below the top.

  I bury my concern as I say, “There are many of you and one of her. She must be a fearsome creature to warrant that many pursuers.”

  Cassian’s expression remains deadpan. “She stole from our King.”

  I study the girl. From the brief glance before she hid herself against Jasper, I know she’s not carrying anything at all—her clothing is too thin to conceal an object beneath it. “I see nothing of value. What do you claim she’s stolen?”

  The sneer returns to his lips. “Her body.”

  Her… what? Oh, that’s not good. One glance at Jasper tells me he’s grinning. The last time I saw that look on his face, he stared down a whole arena full of males who had ill intentions toward me and my body. I swallow my rage at the gargoyle’s arrogance.

  There’s no way we’re letting these gargoyles fly by.

  2

  Jasper deftly repositions the clinging girl so she’s attached to his side closest to me, freeing up his arms. He rests his fingers against his thigh, still grinning like a wild wolf. He hasn’t reached for his swords yet and I know that’s smart. There’s still a chance we can convince the males to leave without a fight.

  “Well now,” he says. “She seems pretty attached to me. I’d say she’s staying right where she is.”

  General Cassian leans in, snarling through his teeth. “I am not accustomed to being defied! You will hand her over to me, elf!”

  “While you’re in elven airspace? I’m pretty sure you want to move along and let this one go.”

  For a moment, I think that argument is going to work. Cassian takes stock of the terrain moving below us and the other gargoyles fan out a little, removing themselves just a tad, but then I realize… they’re moving into position.

  Cassian shoves his face right up in Jasper’s. “She is the King’s property and you will give her to
me. Now!”

  Jasper’s gaze flicks to mine for the briefest moment. He tried. There’s no getting through to this male.

  “Yeah…” The grin drops away from Jasper’s chiseled features, turning his eyes cold and hard. “I don’t think so.”

  He tilts his head to the right, moments before Cassian’s wing dagger slices the air right next to him. The female shrieks but Jasper’s left hand snaps up fast, seizes the wing dagger, and shoves it backward, throwing the gargoyle off balance.

  “Insolent!” Cassian roars, regaining his flight, but it gives Jasper enough time to draw both his swords, deflecting attacks from the two gargoyles launching at his back before spinning back to Cassian. The swiftness of Jasper’s movements dislodges the female. She falls backward with a cry, clutching the Phoenix’s feathers as she scoots away from the fighting males and their flashing swords. I have no fear about Jasper’s ability to deflect the three males, but I won’t let him fight this battle alone.

  I close the short distance between me and the girl as I draw my weapons. “Stay beside me! But don’t touch me!” I don’t want to hurt her if I need to harness my lightning.

  Her eyes are wide as mossy pools as she stares up at me, squinting as the sunlight glints across her terrified face. “Elyria!”

  The spider web in my armor must be catching the light. I don’t have time to explain it to her. Dagger in one hand, sword in the other, I spin back and forth, deflecting attacks from all sides.

  Luckily, the gargoyle’s wings are so wide that only three of them can attack me at one time: one at my front, one at my back, and one at the Phoenix’s tail. Also by luck, they think Baelen’s dead, so they don’t bother with him. At least for now, he’s safe. Unless one of them slips and impales him while fighting me… I shudder, but stay focused, blocking the downward swing of a sword while kicking back into the stomach of the gargoyle behind me.

  The fight is brutal but fast. My armor repels their weapons, making me bolder than I would otherwise be, even though I’ll suffer the impact bruises later. The Phoenix maintains its steady soar to keep us balanced but descends from cloud cover so we have visibility in every direction.