Page 15 of When Storms Ruin

“Are you—” I started, my gaze meeting his, my breath caught in my throat.

“A Stormshade? Yes. Not many here are, but there are a few of us that lingered in Istmere after the war. Constantly moving to avoid Donika’s watchful eye. This isn’t all of us, this is only one safe house of many. The resistance has healthy numbers. I think you will be pleased. We have a council that leads us in your stead. Liss and I are only two of the members who have done work in your name in your absence. We strive to bring freedom to the Shades in Istmere, to end the oppressive rule of the Black Heart.”

My mouth fell open, so many questions at the tip of my tongue. I had vowed to take back what was mine, to burn Donika’s empire to the ground, but I hadn’t realized there wereso manyShades ready to fight with me. So many people whose lives would be in my hands.

Isaac was a Stormshade, the first one I had ever met. I knew there had to be others like me out there, but I never imagined one standing here before me. I had unanswered questionsabout my magic, but Liss interrupted before I could begin to ask them.

“Diana needs her rest. We have had a long journey from Akra. She will need to build her strength before we can discuss any strategy. Donika was not kind to her in the Stormvault,” Liss said as she parted the crowd, nodding for us to follow.

Isaac nodded with a soft smile, allowing us to pass. As we walked towards the back of the room, all eyes remained trained on us, whispers following our trail. There, in the back of the long room, we found a narrow staircase that led upwards towards a second level. This wasn’t any sort of establishment I had ever seen before. It appeared to have once been a house that had been modified to suit the needs of the resistance.

The first floor had a bar top with seating, but it also had a kitchen with a long island covered in beakers and vials of colorful liquids and potions. The windows were covered in cobwebs, cream candles melting onto the windowsills. Feathers, crystals, and ink pots were scattered across a number of surfaces about the room.

We followed the staircase upwards, the long hallway branching off in two directions. The doors were old and worn, painted a chambray blue, the paint chipping off from years of use. Despite its odd setup, it was warm and inviting. Liss led us into a large room with a fireplace and couches. It was set up as a common room, with doorways branching off to separate bedrooms and washrooms around the main space.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Liss said as she moved towards the door. “I will have fresh clothes and food brought up for you.”

She slipped through the door and disappeared down the hallway, leaving Tess and me alone with Puck and Nik for the first time.

The sight of the chaise lounge pushed in front of the fireplace made my head feel very, very heavy. I had known I had been tired, but now that we had time to rest, the fatigue settled deep into my bones. I imagined Tess felt the same. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do first…bathe, sleep, or eat. Those things were such a luxury to us now, ones we hadn’t been able to indulge in for quite some time.

“How long?” I asked, my voice a husky whisper.

“How long, what?” Puck asked, throwing himself down on the leather couch and propping his feet up on the ottoman.

“How long were we in the Stormvault? What month is it?” I asked, turning towards Nik.

He held my gaze but said nothing. An awkward silence fell, and I wasn’t going to be the first one to break it. I had asked a question, and I expected an answer. Puck swallowed hard, glancing once at Nikolai before answering.

“It’s the end of April…”

I bit my lip hard to stop the tears that threatened to fall, blinking rapidly. I tilted my head to swallow them back.

Three months.

We had been locked in the Stormvault for three months. What was my mom thinking? That I had simplydisappeared? I would need to get to her as soon as possible, to explain everything that had happened. Once she knew I was safe,knew what had happened, I needed to confront her about the secrets she had been keeping. I needed to ask her about my true lineage, and if she had known all this time.

But not like this. I couldn’t let her see me like this.

“I’m going to wash up,” I announced, moving towards one of the bedrooms with an adjacent washroom and slamming the door behind me.

I sat at the edge of the claw-foot tub and, now that I was alone, released the tears I had been holding back all day. I stifled my sobs with the back of my hand, the tears running down my cheeks to soak through my dirt-stained shirt.

I was strong and unbreakable…but I was human. The events of the past few months came rushing back, threatening to consume me in a swell of emotion. I was unbelievably thankful to be safe, but I was also unbelievably angry that Nik had put me in this position in the first place.

I ran the hot water and filled the bathroom with steam as I shirked out of my dirty clothes, kicking them aside. I never wanted to see them again. I wiped the tears from my cheeks, grabbing a washcloth and soap from the shelf and slowly lowering myself into the tub.

The sensation of hot water against my skin was the most incredibly decadent thing I had ever experienced. I took the washcloth in my hand and gently scrubbed my filthy skin as the tears continued to fall. I desperately wanted to see my mother again, but with that realization came the fact that the other realm wasn’t my home anymore. I felt as if I was grieving my old life and my time in the Stormvault all at once. My emotions were all over the place, and I was utterlyexhausted.

It wasn’t long before the bathwater turned brown with dirt and blood, and I had to drain the tub only to refill it again. I washed my hair and scrubbed my skin clean, but I still didn’t feel any better. I didn’t think I would until Donika was dealt with. As soon as I was well enough to travel, I needed to return to the other realm to handle things with my mother and retrieve the grimoire. I needed to know what was in that book of shadows that Donika was willing to kill me in order to get.

I wanted to wash away all the anger, all the sadness and betrayal, but all I accomplished was scrubbing my skin until it was pink and raw. There was no dirt under my fingernails for the first time in months, and I emerged from the bath smelling of vanilla and lavender.

I wrapped myself in a fresh bath robe, a pang running through me at the memory of the last time I had put on a robe. We had been at Eight Bells, and Nik had his hands all over me. His mouth. I bit back a scream of frustration as I stared at my reflection in the cracked mirror.

My once brilliant blue eyes were dull and sunken, surrounded by dark purple bags. My cheeks were hollow. I had lost the natural roundness of my face. My auburn hair was dull and lifeless despite it being freshly washed. I gripped the sink with both hands and hung my head, biting my lip to distract myself from the emotions twisting inside of me.

Would I ever feel normal again? Would I ever quench these emotions running rampant through my mind? I dreaded returning to the common room in a robe, but I also refused totouch the dirt-stained clothes I had worn in the Stormvault ever again.

---