Page 14 of When Storms Ruin

My eyes were on my feet again as I nodded softly. Nik didn’t give me a chance to change my mind, he grabbed the back of my knees and scooped me up into his arms.

“Hold on to my neck,” he ordered, not meeting my eyes.

His breath fanned across my face and the faint scent of coffee and cinnamon sent a searing hot flash down to my core. I bit my lip hard, hard enough to draw blood, as I delicately wrapped my arms around him. I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt his skin, hot against mine due to the ripped collar of his shirt.

“Tighter,” he instructed, clearing his throat.

I gripped tight, and we were off, Liss jogging ahead of us with her sword in hand, Puck following on our heels with Tess in his arms. We were moving much faster now, and Nik barely broke a sweat as we jogged through the forest and over fallen tree branches with the weight of me in his arms. I had to remind myself the weight was much less than it had been a few months ago.

Before he had betrayed me.

Tears stung the back of my eyes, threatening to fall. I swallowed them back down, closing my eyes tight once more. I would not cry in his arms.I would not.

I hoped we would reach Prins soon, as in, within the next ten minutes, because I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take. I could feel every breath Nik took as his ribcage expanded beneath me, his arms gripping tightly around me. I wanted nothing more than to bury my face in his neck, and I cursed myself for even thinking it.

I watched Tess over Nik’s shoulder and the sympathy in her eyes was clear. I gripped tighter, digging my nails into Nik’s shoulder. His breath came shorter, but he said nothing. He simply kept running close on Liss’ heels as we sped through the forest.

As we ran, I could sense the surrounding atmosphere changing. I heard the faint chirping of birds and the rush of water in the distance. I hadn’t realized it, but the forest in Akra had been completely devoid of wildlife. Utterly silent. The trees were greener here, lusher and more vibrant. Even the landscape had been oppressed in Akra. We must have crossed over into Prins at some point.

A small black shadow shot out of the brush and joined Nik, running at his feet. It was a black cat with a sparkling green emerald hanging from its collar.

It was Saanvi.

She meowed once before shooting forwards and joining Liss, running ahead of her. She must be leading the way to the encampment where we would find the resistance.

After a few more minutes of running, I could finally see stone buildings through the trees and hear the bustling of carriages on the cobblestone streets. I let out a sigh of relief. We weren’t safe yet, but at least we were back in familiar territory.

As we reached the edge of the forest, we slowed to a walk and Nik set me back on my feet, clearing his throat and averting his eyes. He adjusted the collar of his shirt and joined Liss and Saanvi without saying a word.

I waited for Puck and Tess to join us and then we continued on, walking down the cobblestone streets as if we hadn’t barely escaped Donika and her prison in Akra. We kept our eyes glued down to avoid any curious gazes, and we walked briskly.

We passed The Giddy Griddle and I could almost hear Tess’ mouth watering at the smell of simmering sausages and buttery pancakes. It had been months since we had eaten anything of substance, not counting the strange grey stew and stale bread they would bring us when they were feeling generous. We turned towards the charm shop we had visited once, climbing the steep hill to the more secluded part of town.

As we made our way back down the hill on the opposite side, we turned sharply right into a dense formation of buildings built so closely together it only left narrow alleyways between them. This part of the city could only be traveled on foot.

I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting, surely not a welcome sign that said,The Resistance,but what we found wascertainly not it. We squeezed through an alleyway narrow enough that we could only pass single file before finding Saanvi stopped and laying her hand against the stone wall. She unveiled a hidden door set into the wall with a whispered spell. The door opened inward, and we all shuffled inside. We were met with a blast of warmth from a fireplace situated right inside the entrance to the strange, hidden building.

The room we entered was narrow and filled with people, a bar top running the length of the left wall with stools filled with Shades of all kinds. But this wasn’t a bar…it was well hidden, and spell protected.

This was a safe house.

The room fell silent with only hushed whispers and chairs scraping against the hardwood floor filling the silence. All eyes turned towards me as the bartender slung a white dish towel across his shoulder and approached. His blue eyes quickly flitted towards Liss before meeting mine, and without hesitation he knelt before me. He bowed his head before lifting his chin and meeting my gaze once more.

“Our true queen has returned.”

The stranger kneeling before me set off a chain reaction across the room. Witches dropped from their bar stools to kneel on the floor before me. A crowd formed around me, witches on their knees with their heads bent. Tess came up behind me, squeezing my arm, a smile in her gaze. Tears stung the back of my eyes, but I blinked them away.

I had no idea there were witches in Istmere who knew who I was beforeIeven did. That Osiris had a daughter, the true heir to the throne.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” the stranger spoke, reaching out to clasp my hand in his. His eyes were a soft blue with faint wrinkle lines creasing his skin, his hair a salt and pepper grey. “My name is Isaac. We have been waiting for you for a long time, Diana.”

“How do you know who I am?” My voice sounded small in my own ears.

Isaac stood and the rest of the room followed, all eyes still glued on us.

“We all know who you are.” Isaac smiled down at me, his eyes traveling over our group. “The resistance has been waiting for the daughter of Osiris to come forward for over a decade. We always knew you were out there, and that your time would come.”

I could sense a familiar energy emanating from Isaac, one I recognized from my own magic.

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