Page 20 of Where Lightning Strikes Twice (Fated Mates, Stubborn Hearts #2)
“How did you find me?” Kael asks after several minutes of silence.
“Energy tracking. Modified Haven’s Heart tech.” Each word requires effort. “Followed the lightning signature.”
His hand strokes my hair, surprisingly gentle for someone who could summon storms with a thought. “Viktor will believe I’m dead. The clan saw me fall.”
“What happened?”
Kael’s body tenses beneath me. “Challenge fight. Viktor… he had evidence of our meetings. Claimed I was corrupted by ground-dweller influence.”
Cold fear penetrates my exhaustion. “He knows about me?”
“He knows I’ve been meeting someone. Not who. Not what.” His voice drops lower. “He timed the challenge perfectly. The elders were already questioning my leadership due to food shortages. All he needed was proof of my… distraction.”
“And now he’s clan leader,” I whisper, the full implications hitting me. Viktor, with his hatred of ground-dwellers and fanatical belief in Storm Eagle superiority, now controls the most powerful aerial fighting force in the territories.
“He won’t stop with supply raids,” Kael confirms my unspoken fear. “He’ll push for full war with Haven’s Heart. He’s been advocating for it for years.”
I try to sit up, but my body refuses to cooperate. “We have to warn them.”
“We can barely move,” he points out, his hand continuing its gentle stroking of my hair. “And I doubt your people would listen to a Storm Eagle’s warning, especially one accompanied by a traitorous researcher.”
He’s right, of course. I’ve burned my bridges with Haven’s Heart. Even Marcus couldn’t protect me now that I’ve actively helped the enemy. But I can’t just lie here while Viktor prepares for war.
“How long until you can fly?” I ask.
Kael shifts slightly, testing his newly healed body. “Hours. Maybe a day. Whatever you did—” He stops, looking down at me with sudden understanding. “You used life force transfer. The old magic.”
I nod weakly. “Read about it in ancient texts. Didn’t exactly have time to perfect the technique.”
“It’s forbidden magic,” he says quietly. “Sacred. Only used between fully bonded mates in dire circumstances. The risks?—”
“Were acceptable,” I finish for him. “You were dying.”
His expression softens into something I’ve never seen before—a vulnerability that makes my heart ache. “You could have died.”
“Scientific curiosity,” I murmur. “Had to know if it would work.”
He makes a sound that might be a laugh, might be a sob. “Elena Ashford, you are the most infuriating, brilliant, reckless?—”
A distant sound interrupts him—the beating of wings. Many wings.
Kael stiffens, his arm tightening protectively around me. “Storm Eagle patrol,” he whispers. “Viktor’s scouts are coming to confirm my death.”
Panic surges through me, providing temporary strength. I struggle to sit up. “We need to hide.”
“No time.” He scans the canyon walls. “They’ll track my scent. And yours.”
Another sound joins the first—the mechanical whir of Haven’s Heart drones. My throat tightens. “They’re looking for me too.”
The terrible reality of our situation sinks in. Storm Eagles from above. Haven’s Heart forces from below. Both hunting us, both considering us traitors. And we’re too weak to run, too depleted to fight.
Kael manages to pull himself upright, dragging me with him. His legs shake with the effort of standing, but determination hardens his features. “We need to move. Find cover.”
I retrieve the regenerator and my pack, forcing my leaden limbs to cooperate. “The stream. If we follow it, the water might mask our scents.”
He nods, and together we stagger toward the small creek cutting through the canyon floor. Each step is agony, our bodies still recovering from the life force exchange. But the alternative—capture by either force—would mean certain death for at least one of us.
We’ve barely reached the water when the beating of wings grows louder. Five Storm Eagles appear at the canyon’s rim, circling slowly. At the same time, the buzz of drones intensifies from the eastern end of the canyon.
“They’re boxing us in,” Kael mutters, pulling me into the shadow of a large boulder by the stream’s edge.
I press against him, feeling the rapid beat of his heart. “What do we do?”
He looks down at me, conflict evident in his golden eyes. Then he makes a decision, squaring his shoulders despite the pain it clearly causes him. “We surrender.”
“What? No?—”
“Not both of us,” he clarifies. “You go to your people. I’ll let Viktor’s scouts find me.”
“They’ll kill you,” I protest.
“And your people will imprison you at best, execute you at worst.” His hand cups my cheek. “At least this way, one of us has a chance to expose Viktor’s plans.”
I shake my head, refusing to accept his logic. “I’m not leaving you.”
“Elena—”
The choice is taken from us as a Storm Eagle lands at the canyon’s edge, shifting immediately into human form.
Even from this distance, I recognize Viktor’s broad-shouldered silhouette.
At the same moment, a Haven’s Heart transport vehicle appears at the eastern entrance to the canyon, soldiers deploying in tactical formation.
Trapped. We’re completely trapped.
Kael pulls me closer, his lips brushing my ear. “Whatever happens, remember what we discovered. The genetic truth about Storm Eagles, about their need for diversity. It could save both our peoples.”
For a heartbeat, his closeness makes the entire world narrow to the heat of his body and the soft brush of his mouth near my ear.
The scent of ozone and male and the rough scrape of his stubble sends a shiver down my spine, urging me to turn and press my lips to his.
My body sways toward him of its own accord, need pooling low in my belly despite the danger surrounding us.
I force myself to breathe, to remember that this isn’t the place or time.
The rustling of leaves and distant footfalls snap me back to the reality of the trap closing in on us, and I wrench my focus back to the imminent threat.
Before I can respond, four more soldiers emerge from the undergrowth barely twenty yards away—Haven’s Heart special forces, moving with silent precision. They haven’t spotted us yet, but it’s only a matter of seconds.
From above, Viktor signals to his scouts, who dive into the canyon in eagle form. The noose is tightening.
“I love you,” I whisper, the words surprising me even as they leave my mouth. It’s the first time I’ve said them, the first time I’ve even fully acknowledged the emotion to myself.
Kael’s eyes widen, then soften. “And I you, Elena Ashford. Since the moment our eyes met.”
The Haven’s Heart soldiers spot us. Weapons take aim. Orders are shouted.
Simultaneously, Storm Eagle scouts land nearby, shifting into aggressive fighting stances.
Two worlds converge on us, enemies united only in their desire to separate us.
In this moment, with both our lives hanging in the balance, I realize a fundamental truth: what Kael and I represent—unity between sky and earth, cooperation instead of domination—threatens the foundations of both societies.
Kael straightens to his full height, placing himself slightly in front of me in a protective stance. Even weakened, he projects the authority of a clan leader. “Viktor!” he calls out, his voice carrying up to the canyon rim. “I challenge your right to leadership!”
Viktor’s laugh echoes through the canyon. “A dead man cannot challenge, Stormwright. And you are already dead to the clan.”
The Haven’s Heart commander steps forward, weapon trained on Kael. “Dr.Ashford, step away from the shifter.”
I remain firmly at Kael’s side. “Commander Reed, there’s something you need to know about the Storm Eagles?—”
“Step away now, Doctor. That’s an order.”
Kael and I exchange glances. No choices left. No time for explanations or negotiations.
The Storm Eagle scouts close in from one side, Haven’s Heart soldiers from the other.
In our final moments of freedom, Kael takes my hand. Our fingers intertwine, and I feel a pulse of energy pass between us—the echo of our life force exchange, the promise of what our complete bond might have been.
“Take them,” Viktor commands from above.
“Secure the traitor,” Reed orders simultaneously.
They fall upon us like wolves, separating us with brutal efficiency. Kael roars in fury as three Storm Eagles drag him away, his weakened body unable to resist despite his rage. I struggle against the soldiers who grip my arms, but my strength is still depleted from healing Kael.
Our eyes lock one last time across the growing distance between us. In that moment, I make him a silent promise: This isn’t over. What we’ve discovered, what we’ve become to each other—it’s bigger than clan politics or Haven’s Heart security protocols.
The soldiers force me toward their transport vehicle. The Storm Eagles drag Kael in the opposite direction, toward the canyon wall where they can launch into flight. Our hands, reaching toward each other, are the last points of contact before they pull us apart completely.
As they push me into the transport, I catch a final glimpse of Kael being forced into eagle form for the journey back to the aerie. His golden feathers catch the sunlight, brilliant even in defeat.
Then the transport doors slam shut, and all I can see is darkness.