Page 98 of Our Little Moments

His eyes widen at the urgency in my voice, but he doesn’t hesitate. With a quick motion of his hands, a shimmering oval of light takes shape in front of me, crackling faintly as it stabilizes.

I’m running before it fully forms, my thoughts nothing but a frantic blur.

Adrian. His sisters. The place that makes me feel like I’m finally home.

Please let me make it in time.

Chapter 40

Adrian

Shit.

I’ve never seen a storm this violent in my entire life.

The air is thick and the sky cracks open in violent bursts of lightning. The town’s buildings seem fragile with the state of the storm.

“Adrian! Stop it!” Isabella’s frantic voice breaks through it all.

But . . . I can’t.

I’m drenched, my clothes sticking to my skin. The rain is heavy and relentless. My powers feel so small in the face of this storm. I’ve managed to lessen the intensity of the storm over the last hour but I can’t stop it. Every time I think I’ve made progress, the storm intensifies again. I’m supposed to control storms. That’s my power.My responsibility.

But right now, I feel helpless. Powerless.

I’m supposed to be able to manipulate storms, dammit.My familyneedsme to be able to control them. To keep the harm and danger away.

I can’t.I can’t do it.

My pulse is racing and I’m starting to panic. I fight to ignore the sense of despair clinging to me, but everything in me wants to give up.

Jay stands beside me, his eyes narrowed, his arms outstretched as he struggles with the wind. He’s trying so hard to help and it makes the guilt so much more intense. He’s pushing against the gusts of intense wind, redirecting them and trying to lessen their intensity, but nothing works. The storm is too strong. His face, which is usually bright and full of laughter, is grim, exhaustion already starting to show in his shoulders, in the way his stance wavers.

We did manage to lessen the intensity, but Jay and I are drained. Physically and emotionally.

My hands are shaking. Every second this storm goes on feels like a reminder of how powerless I’ve become.

I can’t keep my emotions in check anymore. Tears are running down my cheek, along with the violent rain.

But, even with a blurry sight, I can still see sparkles of green starting to float around.

No. It can’t be.

I turn around to the forest where the train station is, hope thrumming in my veins.

Glowing green eyes meet mine across the forest as the storm starts to calm. Familiar butterflies come to life around her and my heart races with hope.We can do this. We can do this. We can do this.

I rush back to Jay’s side and we fight back to take control of the storm. Knowing Stella is here to help brings to life hope and the motivation to keep fighting.

And then, slowly, as all three of us use our magic together, the storm begins to fade, settling back into a manageable form. The winds die down, the rain softens, and the sky begins to clear.

Jay and I grin at each other, hope and triumph and relief all taking over.This is over. We did it.

I look up, breathing out a shaky breath, as the air around us stills.

“Finally!” Isabella’s voice is a shout of pure relief, and I don’t even flinch when she throws herself into my arms, nearly knocking me off my feet with the force of her hug.

But as her sobs break free, something shifts in me. As she clings to me, trembling, every ounce of triumph I’d felt fades away as my sister cries into my arms. Her distress seems even bigger than earlier.

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