Page 49 of When Storms Ruin

“Good.” I smirked. “I’ve always liked Puck.”

“So you’ll forgive Puck but not Nik?” she asked, leveling me with an expression I knew all too well.

“That’s different,” I replied. “Puck didn’t quitedeliverus into the hands of Donika like Nik did.”

“But Nikdidn’t,” she reminded me. “He told you to run. He never wanted you to be captured. And you said it yourself. He never thought for a moment there would be a reality where he didn’t figure out a way to get you out. He played his part to stay under the radar, all while plotting our jailbreak and crafting your custom little blade.” Her eyes moved to Stormslayer, strapped at my thigh.

I opened my mouth to respond…but nothing came out.

I wasn’t even sure what to say. In a way, Tess was right. But in my stubborn heart, I still wasn’t ready to believe him yet. I didn’t want to open myself up to being hurt by him…again. I didn’t think I could handle that heartbreak a second time. I had been soangryat him, and that anger had turned to hatred in my time locked in the Stormvault. But since our time in Prins, I have felt a crack in my armor, and that anger and hatred have slowly started to dissipate.

I wasn’t ready to come to terms with it yet. Things were still volatile, and with Donika’s ongoing threats looming over our heads, my emotions were all over the place.

I needed to focus on the resistance and on training. I didn’t have time to be thinking about Nik and how I did or didn’t feel about him. I shook my head as if to clear my thoughts and turned back towards Tess.

“I’m not ready to move on yet,” I told her resolutely.

“I understand,” she replied with a nod. “You always were a tough nut to crack.”

I shook my head at her and laughed. Leave it to Tess to make me laugh even when I felt as if I was drowning in my own emotions. Nik had been right about one thing…I needed this. Flipping through racks of clothing and having girl talk with Tess was its own kind of healing, and thoughts of dark magic were pushed to the back of my mind…for now at least.

By the time we had filled our arms with shopping bags, the glamour was starting to wear off, and we made our way back to the hidden safe house to meet with Liss and Isaac.

When we entered the safe house, it was completely empty, the lamps on the first floor having burned out. A trickle of fear slid down my spine at the sight of the empty bar stools, the darkness covering every inch of the first floor.

We made our way to Isaac’s office, and Kenna and Saanvi went first, opening the door with their daggers in hand. Inside the tiny office were Isaac, Liss, Warrick, Nik, and Puck,along with a figure sitting across from Isaac with shorn black hair that appeared awfully familiar from the back.

As he turned towards us, I met his hazel eyes, and relief washed over him as he stood. He closed me into an embrace, his arms so tight around me I couldn’t take a full breath.

“Diana, you are safe.Thank the mother you are safe.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked, extricating myself from his grasp, confusion creasing my brow.

“Donika didn’t only send Nightshade soldiers after me when I left The Stone City. She sent her Noctani. They have unparalleled speed and power, if they had found you…” his words trailed off as he hung his head.

“Noctani?” I asked, meeting Liss’ gaze, then Isaac’s.

It was Isaac who answered me. “Her idea of the perfect Shade. She is creating an army of demon witches corrupted by black magic and blood magic.”

“Like what I saw when I was dream walking?” I asked, my eyes flickering towards Nik, who stood in the corner, his arms crossed over his chest.

He nodded. “Yes, I have filled them in.”

Good. The less I had to relive that nightmare, the better. My eyes softened as he met my gaze and gave me a half-smile, the corner of his mouth turning up.

“Why am I seeing Donika?” I asked, turning back towards Isaac and Zion. “I have dream walked before, but I never have control of where I am or what I dream. The last two times I dream walked, I have been pulled into her throne room.”

“I think you were linked, somehow,” Zion replied.

“Linked?” My voice came out somewhere between a squeal and a croak.

Zion nodded. “During your time at The Stone Palace, your magic recognized her magic. You are sisters, after all. I’m not sure if it goes deeper than that, if she performed a spell or not.”

“That’s great,” I huffed. “Exactly what we need. We are trying to plan her demise, but I might be linked to her? If she dies, will I?”

“We aren’t sure,” Liss replied from the corner where she stood next to Nik. “But I believe the answer we are searching for will be in the Kotova grimoire.”

I nodded. One more thing I needed to find out from that grimoire. Maybe I would get lucky, and the grimoire would send me visions of exactly what I needed…but the chances of that happening were slim. The grimoire had a mind of its own, and thus far it had only shown me exactly what it wanted me to see. Which still didn’t explain the spell with the key…

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