Page 91
Story: When Storms Collide
My hand on her shoulder, I gave her a gentle squeeze as she wiped away the tear.
“I knew I would find you two here.” It was Zion’s voice that rang out from behind us.
I turned, his body silhouetted with the rising sun behind him so that I had to cover my eyes in order to see him.
“How are you… dry?” I called out, assessing the state of him.
Mere moments ago there had been two raging storms here, and Annelise and I were completely soaked through. I was due for a long, hot shower.
Zion grinned down at us from the hill of rubble he stood on. “I stood out of striking distance of the storm until you two were finished.”
He raised a brow at me as he assessed Annelise, the grime and blood caked on her.
“You got a hit in on her?” he asked, suspicion lacing his tone.
“I did,” I said proudly.
Annelise appeared equally proud as she nodded. “She did. She is a natural with the magic. She did well choosing a strong binding partner.”
“Does that factor into the equation? How strong the binding partner is?” I asked.
“Most certainly.” She nodded. “If you bind to someone who can’t share the magic, your ability to control will only weaken. Nikolai is a strong Shade in his own right. Though, with how much magic you have used today, you might find him a little tired.”
“Zion doesn’t look tired,” I pointed out.
Annelise crossed her arms over her chest. “He has more practice with the give and take of storm magic. This was your first time truly using your power and pulling on that energy. Nikolai will never have sensed anything like that before. We should train daily, maybe even multiple times a day so that you both can become accustomed to the effects of the magic.”
“I agree.” I nodded. “I need Nik to be one hundred percent when we storm The Stone City.”
Annelise placed her hand against my back reassuringly. “He will be.”
“I didn’t only come to check on your training,” Zion said from atop the rubble. “Tess has found something that you both might find of interest.”
We exchanged a glance that felt as if I was gazing in a mirror, and we both laughed as we trudged through the mud and followed Zion back to the cottage underground.
Before I joined Tess and Puck in the library, I desperately needed a hot shower. I was covered from head to toe in dirt and grime and I needed to scrub myself clean before I let anyone see me. I returned to my own room to shower, hoping Nik was still getting some rest. I drew myself a bath, scrubbed my skin raw, and washed all the grime from my tangled hair.
By the time I had emerged from the bathroom I was an entirely new person. Not only was I now squeaky clean, but I was a bound Stormshade withcontrolof her magic. A renewed sense of hope simmered in my chest, despite what I had seen at The Stone Palace last night.
I slipped into the library, my hair still wet and braided down my back leaving a wet mark against my shirt. I found Tess and Puck standing, leaning over Annelise who sat at the table. She had the Kotova grimoire beside another book, her gaze traveling back and forth between the two texts. Nik stood across from them with Zion, his arms crossed over his chest.
I gave him a soft smile as I joined them, peering over Annelise’s shoulder to see what it was they were gazing at.
“What is it?” I asked.
My gaze met Nik’s across the table.
“Tess found the meaning of Donika’s wolf sigil.”
My head snappedtowards Tess—eyes wide.
“Youwhat?”
She held her hand out as if to stop me. “I didn’t find the meaning itself, I only found the symbol in this book.” She pointed to the one Annelise was referencing. “I don’t read this language, so I needed someone to translate using the Kotova grimoire as a reference. Not to mention the Kotova grimoire won’t as much as let me glance at it, let alone touch it.”
I raised an eyebrow at the back of Annelise’s head. “You can read this ancient language?”
She nodded, saying nothing.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91 (Reading here)
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128