Page 109 of When Storms Collide

Warrick fell to the marble tile before me, a pool of blood surrounding him as his black eyes turned green, right before they went still.

He was dead.

I had endured the same torture he had. I had experienced Donika’s wrath first hand. Not once did I betray my loved ones to save myself. Not once did I give in to her. I had not let her break me. But she had broken Warrick.

I hoped wherever he was now, whether that was with the Mother or not, he was at peace. His magic would return to the earth all the same.

I wiped the blade across my jacket to clean it before securing it back to my thigh.

We had managed to kill the soldiers that had infiltrated the throne room, only losing one member of the resistance in the process. Annelise, Amiyah, Alastir, Puck, and Tess were allsafe. I caught my breath, steadying myself as I glanced down at Warrick’s lifeless body.

“You ok?” Annelise asked, sheathing her own sword in her scabbard.

I nodded, wiping my face. It came away bloody. At some point, I had split my lip, and it throbbed.

“What happened?” Tess asked, motioning to the wound at my abdomen that was no longer bleeding but had soaked through the fabric to leave behind a large wet mark.

“Nik,” I explained. “He’s injured.”

“We better end this, then.” Puck said, nodding towards Annelise. “Do you know where else she might be?”

Annelise thought for a moment before speaking, her eyes on the blood coated marble. “Her chambers? That’s my next best guess.”

“Do you know how to get there without taking the main hallways?” he asked.

I didn’t relish the idea of traipsing around the castle hallways unprotected. Annelise nodded in response.

We followed her into the passage once more, closing the stone door between us and the carnage of the throne room.

Annelise led us forward through the corridor with the single lit lantern. Exhaustion wore deep in my bones, knowing we had another battle ahead of us. Donika was expecting us, but she had to have known that wasn’t enough of a force to defeat us. She was likely hoping Warrick would tug on my heartstrings. But there was no love lost there. It was Warrick’s fault that Nik was turned into Noctani. It was likely hisfault that Isaac turned Noctani, too. Ultimately ending in his death.

His betrayal was no question in my mind.

We passed down the hallway towards a part of the castle I had never seen before, but I could sense the token I had left as if it were awakening. As if we were growing closer to it, and it sensed me and my magic.

It was a heartbeat, pulsing with growing intensity as we neared it. My magic recognized itself here. The balcony where I had left it must have been the balcony of Donika’s personal chambers. She would have a firsthand view of the battlefield from there.

We ascended a set of steep stone stairs that were deteriorating to the point that I had to drag my hand along the wall to keep my footing. We weren’t sure the stairs would hold all of us at once, so we went up them one at a time.

When we were all safely on the top landing, Annelise continued, only stopping when we reached an antechamber large enough for all of us to fit inside. She traced her hand along the wall until she met a stone that was loose. Her gaze met mine, and I gave her a nod before she pressed it.

The door swung inward—I raced forward into the room—sword at the ready.

The room beyond was familiar to me, having seen it in my dream walking. There was a vanity on the far wall, a four-poster bed with sheets draped across it in the center of the room beneath the crescent window. The balcony lay off to the right as well as the door to the washroom, which was closed.

The room was empty.

I approached the closed washroom door, my hand on the knob as I turned back. Annelise nodded at me, ready. I swung the door open and entered, but the bathroom was empty too.

My sword fell back to my side as I let out an exasperated groan. “Where is she!?”

Annelise’s eyes roved over the room, taking in the delicate accents. I wasn’t sure what I had expected the first time I had seen it… but this wasn’t it. My gaze fell on the bed that Nik had once shared with her, and it felt as if a million little bugs were crawling all over my skin. I needed to get out of here.

Now.

“Where else would she be?” Puck asked, rejoining us at the center of the room after clearing the remainder of the space. “We need to move in case another force tries to ambush us like they did in the throne room. We already lost one soldier.”

Annelise nodded, her gaze meeting mine. Her eyes were swimming with an emotion I couldn’t quite name.

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