Page 105 of When Storms Ruin

I tear slid down my cheek as Tess stirred next to me. I wiped it away with the back of my sleeve and stifled a sob as it rose in my throat.

Even if Annelisehadwanted to wait for Istmere to be safe again, she had to have known that I was the key. Alastir, the seer, knew as much. The amount of magic I had was prophesied, and she would have known exactly who they weretalking about when they heard only a powerful Stormshade witch with too much magic could end this war.

She could see how much I was struggling with controlling my magic and chasing down empty leads about the Kotova grimoire. She could have confessed atanypoint. That she, too, was a powerful Stormshade, and that the grimoire had once been hers before it was mine.

Things felt clearer now, knowing the truth. The way she had looked at me when she had come to the Stormvault. The way she had been protective over me and adamant about my healing when my storm had turned on me.

But she wasn’t onlymymother…she was Donika’s, too.

And Donika hadn’t had the strength to kill her.

Somehow, my mother had made it out alive.

Tess stirred again, and I shuffled slightly to encourage her to wake. She wiped sleep from her eyes as she stretched, letting out a groan.

“What time is it?” she asked, throwing an arm across my stomach.

“I’ve got no idea,” I replied, my eyes trained on the ceiling.

“Has Nik been back?” she asked, searching my face.

We hadn’t even gotten to have the mandatory best friend breakdown after I’d had sex for the first time. I had been thrust right back into more betrayal and lies. A humorless laugh escaped me at the thought. I could see on Tess’ face that she could tell something had changed between us, but I hadn’t been able to talk to her about it yet.

“I don’t know, I just woke up,” I replied, turning to face her.

I rest my head on the silk pillowcase as another tear escaped, staining it with a wet droplet.

“I know you might not want to hear this, but it could be good news,” she offered with a shrug.

I pinned her with a glare that had her laughing, grasping my hand in hers. “Nobody knows Donika like your mother. Nobody. And now you can bind your magic and we can finally move against Donika. Plus, we have had some trouble deciphering some of the spells in the Kotova grimoire. She will know them.”

“That’s all true,” I replied, my lips thin. “So why didn’t she tell me earlier?”

“I don’t know, Diana. She must have her reasons. Maybe she was afraid of how you would react. Or that too much had passed for there to ever be a future between you two.”

I shook my head, another tear slipping free. “I would have welcomed her back if she hadn’t kept it from me.”

“Would you have?” Tess asked with a raised brow. “I’ve known you for a long time and…it might not be one of your best qualities, but you internalizeeverything.You hold everything inside and let it fester until it turns to anger and hate. You are the worst grudge holder I know.”

“I forgave Nik,” I pointed out as I wiped away the tears. “And he betrayed me.”

“He did, but he hadn’t meant to,” Tess mused. Her head snapped back towards me, her mouth open. “What do you mean you forgave him?”

She gave me a gentle nudge that had a soft laugh escaping my lips. “I forgavehim for everything.”

She raised her brow at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Tess never failed to put a smile on my face.

“You naughty little witch! We will have to unpack that later,” she told me as she moved to sit up.

I joined her, my chest sore from all the crying I had done in the past twenty-four hours. I nodded in agreement. “Yes, later. First, we need to bind my magic.”

“Agreed. That is our number one priority. Are you ready to see her again?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Not at all, but I don’t have a choice. I need her blood for the spell, and her magic. The sooner I bind my magic, the better.”

“Who will you bind to?” she asked, throwing the blankets off to stand. “You know I would bind to you in a heartbeat, but I don’t know if I am a strong enough witch to tether your magic.”

I had thought about that, too. “I was planning to ask Nik.”

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