Page 63 of When Storms Ruin

“How easily you forget your time in the Stormvault. Maybe you need a reminder.”

She flicked her staff and Corian moved to dismount, his white horse whinnying a hot exhale into the cold night air.

“Do not come any closer,” I warned, my arm outstretched between us.

A smile lifted the corner of Corian’s mouth, but he stayed by his horse as a streak of lightning crossed the sky, striking the ground a few yards away. If I wasn’t careful, I would lose a hold of this magic. I needed to useonlyenough to let them see I could wield it.

Only enough to let me escape.

But where would I go? I couldn’t lead them to the townhouse where Nik, Puck, and Tess were. I would never make it back to the safe house before they captured me. I swallowed hard, racking my brain for a way out of this.

“I saw you.” Corian’s words were soft as he took a step forwards, then another.

“I said don’t come any closer.”

I tried to put as much steel into my voice as I could, but I couldn’t risk channeling any more storm magic.

“I saw you, spying on us.” His lip lifted into a sneer.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, shaking my head back and forth, my hand still outstretched between us.

“Dream walker,” he spat, as if the word were a curse.

Donika’s expression did not change. She simply moved the reins of her horse to her other hand, her grip on the staff tightening.

“If you saw me, that means you, yourself, are a dream walker. Do you deny this?”

“I do not deny it. The mother thought fit to curse me. I am a dream walker, but I am also the right hand of the queen now that Zion has betrayed our cause.How much did you see, little Stormshade?” His mouth twisted into a grimace as he spoke.

How could he hate dream walkers this much when he was one himself?

I only shook my head in response. I had seen Donika’s Noctani, but Zion had confirmed as much. They were no longer a secret to protect. Neither were the Araneoch, who she had sent to attack us on the training field. We might not have made it out of that alive if it hadn’t been for Tyr coming to warn us and kill one of them himself.

“No matter, I will know what you saw soon enough.”

How could that be possible? Was there something…moreto his dream walking abilities?

“I think you’d better leave.” My voice was cutting despite the shake I could feel in my outstretched hand.

“I think not, Diana. You will come with us, back to The Stone Palace, by choice or by force. But youwillreturn with us,” Donika replied.

She appeared utterly bored by the entire exchange, and my heart hammered away in my chest. Was there something I could do to break the spell that hid me from my friends? Did it have to do with the magic in Donika’s staff?

I dipped into the magic in my core, channeling it out of my arms and through my fingertips to taste the magic in the amber crystal.

My magic immediately reared back, recoiling. It recognized this magic as somethingdark. Something awful. I pushed once more, urging my magic to reach out, but whatever spell was held inside the amber crystal, it wasn’t the spell that had hidden me here.

That meant this was Corian’s doing. I lifted my palm towards him, and without giving him time to react, I let loose a burst of amethyst magic as I had with Warrick earlier. Just as Warrick had, Corian whirled back. His horse whinnied, its eyes wild. It stomped its hooves against the ground, preparing to run off.

As Corian flew back, I could see a black surge around him, as if it were a ripple in time.

What was that?

As he tried to get up, I unleashed another blast of magic, knocking him to his knees. Again, I saw that darkness ripple around his figure.

My voice came out barely above a whisper. “This is a dream.”

My eyes lit up with the recognition of what that ripple truly was.

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