Page 13 of When Storms Ruin

I had been thinking about what I would do if I ever got out of the Stormvault, and I already knew the answer deep in my bones. Once I was introduced to this world of magic and to Istmere, there was no turning back.

Liss glanced back and met my eyes, recognizing the resolve there. She nodded once before moving faster towards whatever our destination was, Tess and I struggling to keep up. Tess gave my shoulder a tight squeeze in reassurance. She would fight this battle with me, no matter the outcome. We had to stop Donika and save the innocent witches she was killing. We needed to free Istmere from the tyrant who had ruled with a heavy hand this past decade, valuing nothing but herself and her own magic.

I was the daughter of the last King of Istmere. Donika murdered him, making me the rightful heir to the throne. I would stop at nothing to see her demise.

My breathing came sharp, and my legs stung as I pushed on with Nik at my heels. I knew he could easily keep up with Liss, but he stayed back to ensure I kept up with the punishing pace she had set.

“Where are we going, exactly?” I asked, my breath coming in short puffs.

“Prins. There is a resistance growing there, with healthy numbers. Saanvi sent word of their location and where to meet them,” Nik replied.

How far away was Prins from Akra? When I had traveled here initially I had been knocked out for most of the journey and couldn’t remember. I prayed it wasn’t far, and that Donika’s Nightshade soldiers lost our trail.

With a pang, I realized I hadn’t felt my magic once since escaping the Stormvault, and I was too weak to try to pull on it now. Would it come back on its own? A trickle of dread spilled down my throat as I thought about the torture Donika had put us through, the poisons she had made us drink.

Could she have given me something to erase my magic? Or steal it?

Movement in the brush to my right caught my attention and before I could call out in warning Nik had moved forwards, pushing my body behind his as he unsheathed the sword from his scabbard. A memory surged forth, and I realized it was the same sword he had used when we had trained in the meadow in the mortal realm.

With a shock, I realized that had beenmonthsago. I swallowed hard as we stopped. Tess and I were motionless, pressed between Nik and Puck. Liss closed her eyes and her lips moved with a hushed incantation. Was she trying to hide us from them?

The eerie silence of the forest was broken by a ball of grey fur breaking through the tree line, jaws snapping as it aimed right for Nik’s throat. He had been ready, parrying quickly and throwing the large grey wolf to the ground. A guttural growl escaped him as he slashed his sword downward, the grey wolf jumping out of the way barely in time to avoid losing a limb.

Nik’s shadows slithered out around him, casting the forest in darkness. Through the shadows I could make out Puck unsheathing his Katana as another wolf emerged from the woods, its murky brown fur standing on edge. It peeled its lips back in a fierce snarl as it surged forth.

I didn’t have the energy to fight, but I grabbed a dagger sticking out of the top of Nik’s pack so that I was at least armed. The brush behind us was rustling, and I turned to find Liss locked in battle with a black panther, its sleek coat glistening in the light of dawn. The sun had started to rise and cast a soft pink glow across the battle. My eyes bounced back and forth, covering Tess with my dagger held tightly in my grip should another soldier break into the clearing.

Nik’s sword was swiped from his hand with a clatter and a grunt as it went soaring into the woods. The grey wolf had him pinned to the ground, snapping its teeth at his face mere inches away. In the blink of an eye Nik was pushing against the neck of the wolf with his very mortal, very human hands, and then suddenly they were no longer human at all. Nik transformed into a sleek black wolf, rolling out from under the grey with speed and grace. He leaped out of the way as Puck swept his Katana in an arc, slicing through the rough fur and flesh of the grey wolf.

It let out a curdled yelp as it fell to the ground, panting and whimpering. Nik lunged forwards to finish it off, grabbing its throat with his immense jaws and giving it one quick snap. Puck had finished off the brown wolf and he joined Liss, quickly dispatching the panther. Realizing it was outnumbered, it retreated into the woods.

“Don’t let him get away! He will bring our location straight to the other soldiers!” Puck called out.

The panther was fast, but Nik was faster. He caught up to the panther in merely a few short strides as he knocked it to the ground, Puck running close on their heels. Before Puckcould reach them I heard a strangled cry, and a spray of blood coated the surrounding trees. Nik had used his teeth to tear its throat out.

I turned to Tess, squeezing her arm to make sure she was ok. She met my eyes and nodded. Puck jogged back towards us, his brow covered in sweat and his unruly mess of curls matted to his forehead.

“The others will be close behind, we’ve got to move,” he said, grabbing his fallen pack and strapping it onto his back.

Nik joined us with his fallen sword back in his hand. His cheek was stained with fresh blood and his shirt was ripped at the collar. He sheathed the sword and grabbed his pack.

“Ready for battle, firecracker?” The ghost of a smile crossed his lips for the second time since we had entered the forest as he nodded towards the dagger still held within my grasp.

The nickname felt like a knife to my heart. Instead of replying with a witty quip I swallowed hard, casting my eyes aside. I looked anywhere but at him.

“I know you aren’t going to like this…” he started, trying to meet my gaze.

“Then don’t say it,” I snapped, glaring at him.

“But we need to move faster than you and Tess are able,” he continued on anyway, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. He was still winded from the scuffle with the Nightshade soldiers. “I need to carry you. I can move twice as fast, even with you in my arms.”

“Out of the question,” I replied through gritted teeth.

I would have to set a better pace, I would need to push myself harder. I couldn’t let him carry me. I couldn’t. I hadn’trealized I was shaking my head back and forth furiously until my gaze met his.

“Diana, we need to. We need to get away from the soldiers, out of their domain,” Tess said as she moved towards me, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

As I met her eyes, I could see the pain in them, that she knew how much this cost me. That under any other circumstance she would stand by my side and insist, but that we were running out of time. We couldn’t afford to be thrown back into the Stormvault again. Donika would never let us leave with our lives a second time.

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