Page 26 of When Storms Ruin

“True, but how can you not fight for what isright?” she asked, shaking her head. “Instead, they turned tail and ran, simply because they didn’t want to be involved. They turned a blind eye to the slaughter of thousands of Stormshades and Shades alike. If some of the Shades who thought as they did had stayed to fight, who knows, maybe Siraleth wouldn’t have fallen.”

“You’re right. Staying out of the fray doesn’t make it any better, their numbers could have turned the tides of the war, but I can understand them wanting to keep you safe. Maybe Donika wouldn’t have killed my father if more Shades had stayed to fight.” I shrugged.

I hadn’t heard many good things about him, but there had to besomethingmy mother saw in him. Something that wasn’t entirely dark and corrupt.

“I am so pissed off at them for not telling me. Your mother, I understand. She was a mortal trying to make sense of it all. My parents areShades. They have magic. They never wanted me to come to Istmere or to know this life. I was hoping they would join the resistance, but their minds haven’t changed. They are too afraid of Donika,” Tess said, shaking her head. “I am disappointed.”

“They’re afraid of her with good reason, I’m not sure we will be able to defeat her without a miracle, even with the numbers the resistance has been gathering. I’m anxious to get back to Prins to start training with Isaac. Having another Stormshade to train with is going to be invaluable.”

Tess nodded in agreement. “And don’t forget sword training, I think I’m the most excited for that.”

I had to admit, I was excited about that part, too. What little training I had done with a blade had been with Nik, but it had made me feel powerful. It had felt like something I could excel at, and mother help me, I needed to learn to defend myself if I ever saw Donika again. Both with my magic, and a blade.

“Do you think you can beat me?” I teased, giving her a playful nudge.

“At least the playing field will be even unlike with our magic,” she teased back with a wink.

“Did you want those skin spells or not, Kotova?” Liss called out ahead of us.

I gave Tess a grin as I sped up, catching up to Liss. I rolled my sleeve up, holding my arm out to her as we walked. She covered the bare skin of my forearm with her hands, her nails lightly marking the skin there. She closed her eyes, the whisper of a soft spell on her lips. When she removed her hands, a serpentine spell was inked freshly into the skin, my steps already feeling lighter. Without the spells Liss had provided, I wouldn’t be healing nearly as fast.

Nik shot us a sideways glance, inspecting the new spell before turning back to Puck. I quickly pulled the sleeve of my shirt back down and averted my gaze.

We hadn’t spoken since I had slammed the car door on him yesterday. I was still irrevocably, infuriatingly, angry at him for betraying me. He had delivered me into the hands of Donika and then disappeared formonths. The thought of it had a tide of anger burning in my core and heat rushing to my cheeks. I shook my head, biting down on my lip to clear my thoughts.

I wondered if the grimoire would be able to tell us more about dream walking. There was so much about dream walking we didn’t know, and I prayed I wouldn’t be pulled into another of Donika’s torture sessions again any time soon. I feared having to watch as more innocents died by her hand. Zion said he would be joining us in Prins…but when? In the dream he had still been playing the part of Donika’s obedientand doting father, turning a blind eye to her immeasurable cruelty.

As we approached the pathway into Prins, a black bird passed over us in the sky, squawking as it swooped low over our heads. It was close enough that I could see its glistening black feathers, its human-like eyes set into a long, elegant head.

A raven.

But this was no ordinary raven…it was a Nightshade.

Liss stopped, turning towards the sky with an unreadable expression as the raven landed on the stone pillars ahead of us.

“Someone you know?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

We all stopped a few feet away, the raven flapping its wings and squawking in earnest.

“Kenna,” Liss nodded, her expression turning dark. “She’s a messenger and a watcher. She has something to tell us. We’d better get back. Quickly.”

“Did she say something?” Puck asked, stepping up next to Liss.

“That there is news,” Liss nodded, but said nothing else.

The bird spread its wings and took flight without another sound, and we pressed onward in silence.

Liss and I walked together as we entered Prins, and she led us through The Shadow once more. I was anxious to get back to the safe house to find out what Kenna had brought news of.

We made it through The Shadow safely, and I was beginning to think it wasn’t as bad as everyone had made it out tobe. We had been through it a number of times now, and nothing had happened to us thus far. Or maybe we had simply been lucky enough to have knowledgeable guides each time, knowing which places to avoid.

Luckily there were no sightings of Tyr this time, and as we approached the safe house, even knowing it was there, I couldn’t make out the entrance against the stone wall.

Liss held her hand out to the stone, and the door appeared beneath her touch. There were only a few Shades inside, and we made our way to the back of the room where Isaac was having a heated conversation with a girl who appeared to be about our age.

“Kenna, I presume?” Tess asked as everyone dropped their packs on the couch.

I held my pack tightly, not willing to let the grimoire out of my sight now that it had been returned to Istmere. I trusted the members of the resistance, but I trustedno onewith the grimoire. Even if they couldn’t open it. If the grimoire somehow made its way back to Donika, we were done for.

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