Page 20 of When Storms Ruin

He rocked me back and forth as I cried, my tears soaking through his shirt. My breaths came in short, shuddering sobs as I let go of every emotion I had been holding in since escaping, every emotion I was trying to mask as anger. I would let these emotions go until I couldn’t cry anymore. I would let them fall from my eyes in fat wet droplets, and I would never look back.

Donika wasn’t only murdering Stormshades, she was murdering innocents. Shades who had done no wrong against her. Dark magic be damned, I would find a way to finish her dark rule once and for all.

This war would end in blood, but it wouldn’t be mine.

When I woke again, I was alone. The candles had burned out hours ago and left hardened pools of wax across the hardwood. There was a groggy memory of having broken down in front of Nik nagging at the back of my mind. Of letting him hold me as I broke down. He shouldn’t be the one I turned to when I needed to put the pieces back together, but I had.

I pulled the window shade open and could see that the sun was up, but I had no idea what day it was. The narrow alleyway beneath the safe house was empty, and I could see the main street from here.

From the outside, this building appeared to have no windows or doors. It was a powerful and impressive glamour that hid the safe house from those outside the resistance.

My stomach gave a low growl, and I pushed the tangled bedsheets aside to go find Tess. Isaac and Liss had made surewe were provided with everything we had need of. There was plenty of food, soaps for bathing, and fresh clothes.

I shimmied into a pair of jeans that were fitting better and better each day. Tess and I were already starting to fill out. It wouldn’t be long now before I could begin training with my magic and a dagger in earnest.

When I glanced in the mirror, I could see the roundness of my face returning, the harsh lines of my cheekbones disappearing. My hair was taking on a more vibrant auburn glow, but I still hadn’t touched my magic. If we were to travel back to Siraleth successfully to access the portal to the mortal realm, I would need to keep my magical signature on lock down until we returned. It was all too easy for Donika’s guards to track me if I reeked of storm magic.

I grabbed a plain white t-shirt from the dresser and threw it on, finding the common room outside my door empty. Tess must be downstairs, inhaling more pancakes. I had delivered on my promise to get her a giant short stack as soon as we escaped Akra. Then another, and another. Tess had likely eaten more pancakes in the last week than I had in my entire life.

I took the narrow staircase down to the first floor, which was much less crowded than it had been the first day we arrived. Isaac was behind the kitchen island, a towel strung over his shoulder as he mixed up a huge bowl of batter. Tess and Liss were perched on the island stools. I joined them, pulling one out for myself and giving Tess a smile.

“Are you ready to go back today?” I asked, grabbing a fork and a flapjack from the stack before me, “to the mortal realm?”

“I sure am,” Tess said around a mouthful of pancakes and syrup. “I am one hundred percent dreading the inevitable confrontation with my parents, but also looking forward to having it over with.”

“My thoughts exactly,” I replied, digging in.

The buttery cinnamon pancakes melted on my tongue.

“Isaac, are your pancakes better than The Giddy Griddle?”

He turned, his face covered in streaks of flour, a smile so wide it crinkled the skin around his eyes. “I don’t think so, but now that you’re staying in Istmere, you can be the judge of that yourself.”

“That’s true,” I replied, nodding thoughtfully. “But not until we put an end to this war.”

“Then you might be waiting a long time,” Isaac replied, his expression turning somber. “We don’t yet have the power, or the numbers. You think we haven’t marched on Akra before? Donika’s power isunparalleled.”

“But Donika doesn’t have the Kotova grimoire,” I pointed out.

“True,” Isaac conceded, “but let’s hope you’ve got something in there that can take her down. Otherwise, we need to bide our time. Grow our numbers. Stay hidden. Train your storm magic so you can learn how to wield it.”

“I don’t want to live in fear.” I bit my lip as Tess met my eyes.

“We will find a spell. We have to. There’s a reason Donika was willing to maim and kill to get her hands on that grimoire,” Tess reminded me.

Liss was uncharacteristically silent beside her.

“Speaking of the grimoire, where are the boys? They said they would escort us back to the portal in Siraleth today,” I asked.

“Something about running to the charm shop in Dragon’s Hollow?” Isaac replied as he turned back to the stove with a spatula in hand.

“Alastir’s,” Tess and I replied in unison.

What would they need at the charm shop? Were they getting more glamours? The last time we had gone to that particular charm shop, Tyr had seen me in Istmere and gone straight back to Donika to tell her of our location.

“They should be back any minute,” Liss said, speaking for the first time. “Is Saanvi going with you? To get you across The Shadow?”

“I’m not sure,” I replied.

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