“Aston gave it to me,” he explains, “so I’d have a way to see you were still alive. I don’t know what I would’ve done . . .”
His voice catches then, and he clears his throat, his eyes glistening with tears.
My hand slides to where he’s clutching the silver feather pendant, and I wrap my fingers around his.
“I’m sorry I worried you,” I tell him.
“Are you seriously apologizing for Raiden capturing you? If anything, I . . .” He shakes his head and steps back, putting a gap between us. “Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine.”
I scratch at my sleeves, needing to keep my hands busy.
“Is your shirt itchy?” he asks.
I run my hands over the smooth purple fabric. “Actually, it’s too soft.”
My guardian uniform was coarse and heavy. Comfort makes me uncomfortable.
“Well, I feel like Captain America in this thing,” he says, pulling his shirt, trying to stretch it out. “Though I guess I wouldn’t mind if it turned me into a supersoldier.”
“You’re doing fine on your own,” Solana promises. “Plus, you have awesome backup.”
She smiles, but Vane’s lips stay straight and serious, and his eyes shift to the floor. “Actually I’ve been thinking about that—”
“Uh-uh,” Solana interrupts. “I’m seeing this through to the end.”
“So am I,” I tell him.
“Just hear me out,” Vane argues. “Aston can fly you to his cave and keep you safe—”
“I don’t want to be safe,” Solana tells him. “And I don’t need to be taken care of. You’ve seen me fight. You know I can handle myself. And whether you like it or not, you’re going to need my power.”
“What power?” I ask, realizing there’s an even better question. “How did you get us out of the oubliette?”
Vane and Solana share a look.
“Maybe we shouldn’t think about that right now,” Vane says.
“No, she might as well know.” Solana leans against the wall, trying to look confident. But her hands are twitching. “Just promise me you’ll hear me out before you judge me, okay?”
She waits for me to agree, then adds, “I . . . know how to use the power of pain.”
I fall back a step.
I can’t decide what bothers me more: That I never noticed? Or that they didn’t tell me.
“You knew?” I ask Vane. “How could you let her—”
“He hasn’t let me do anything,” Solana says. “It was my choice—and it saved all of our lives.”
“At what cost?” I demand.
“I haven’t ruined any winds, if that’s what you’re asking. All I’ve done is store drafts that have already been damaged, and draw them out when I need them.”
“That won’t stop the power from taking over,” I tell her.
“Yeah, I’ve been warned—a lot.” She shares another look with Vane, and I feel my stomach turn.
“You’re okay with this?” I ask him.
“Of course not.”
I’m calming a little. Until he says, “But . . .”
He sighs when he sees the look on my face. “Sometimes there isn’t a perfect solution—and I know what you’re thinking—”
“I don’t think you do.”
Westerlies are supposed to value peace above everything else.
Does he really trust Solana more than his own heritage?
“You didn’t let me finish explaining,” Solana reminds us. “I had a revelation when we were trapped in the oubliette—and it changed everything. I realized the power of pain feeds off my needs—and that’s an incredibly selfish process. So I thought, maybe that’s why it’s so destructive. It’s there to serve my every whim, of course that would be addictive. And I wondered what would happen if I focused on the needs of others instead. So I told myself that I didn’t care about me. I just wanted to get you guys out of there. I didn’t care if I had to be left behind, or sacrifice myself to save you, and I repeated it over and over until it felt true. When it was, the need came up with a command that blasted us out of there. And the power didn’t have as strong of an effect on me.”
“I guess that explains why you were able to stop us from falling even though Raiden said he wouldn’t be able to do it,” Vane mumbles. “I’m pretty sure he hasn’t thought about anyone besides himself in . . . ever.”
I suppose it does make sense.
“But I still think it’s dangerous to keep using the power,” I tell her.
“I know,” she says. “I’ll stop as soon as I can. But we all know it’s going to take everything we have to beat Raiden.”
“No, it’s going to take everything I have,” Vane corrects. “I’m the last Westerly. I’m the one this is all about.”
“It may have started with the Westerlies,” Solana argues, “but then Raiden stole Brezengarde from my family. I’m just as involved as you are. And Raiden has the power of pain—and his backlash. You can’t expect to handle all of that by yourself.”
“I don’t,” he says. “I have it all planned out. I’m going to lure him somewhere far away from people, so I can make sure no one else gets hurt. And then I’m going to bring in the Gales. They’ve learned the power of pain, so they can keep the Stormers busy—”
“Wait,” I interrupt. “The Gales are using the power of pain?”
Now I truly do feel sick.
“Os started training them when we left,” Vane says. “I tried to stop him. But . . .”
There’s the “but” again. And this time it destroys the whole Gale Force.
“They made their choice,” Vane tells me. “So I might as well not let the power go to waste.”
“You don’t sound like a Westerly,” I tell him.
His smile looks painful. “Maybe not. But I’ve still got a little bit of Easterly left in me. I’ve held on to as much as I could.”
His hand moves to his heart as if he’s reaching for the strands of our bond.
I thought they’d all been severed, but I can almost feel them tangling around me, connecting us together.
“I can use the emergency call to bring the Gales to me,” he says. “And with their help, I can end this. And you guys can go somewhere safe. I’ll make sure I tell the Gales what Solana learned—”
“I’ll tell them myself,” Solana interrupts. “This is my fight too, Vane. You’re not going to change my mind.”
He opens his mouth and lets out a heavy sigh before he focuses on me.
“I’m going,” I tell him.
He moves closer, his eyes as desperate as his voice. “Please, Audra. I need to know you’re safe. If anything happens . . .”
“I’ll be fine. I know how to handle myself in a fight.”
“Not against Raiden. He has this backlash thing that rebounds any attacks. Plus Aston thinks what happened to Gus was because Raiden knew there was a chance you’d escape. That means he planned for this to happen—who knows what other horrifying things he’ll do? And if I lose you again . . .” His voice cracks, and he squeezes my guardian pendant. “Please, if I ever meant anything to you, please do this for me.”
I’m so lost in the impossible choices it takes me a second to catch his deeper worry.
“Of course you meant something to me,” I whisper. “Why would you even say that?”
He shakes his head. “I’m not saying this to try to pressure you.”
“And I’m not saying it because I feel pressured.”
Hope clears the sadness clouding his expression, but he blinks it away.
“I just need to know that Raiden will never touch you again,” he tells me.
“Then let me help you kill him,” I say, glad my words hold steady.
My Westerly instincts seem to be silenced by my hunger for justice and revenge. I wonder if Vane is feeling the same.
“But what if . . . ,” Vane starts, until I reach up and cover his lips with my finger.
I meant on
ly to silence him, but the spark of heat nearly knocks me over.
It’s such a simple thing, touching him like this.
I don’t know why I’ve built it up in my head to be so complicated.
I stare into his eyes, and it feels like falling into a memory and glimpsing the future all at the same time.
“We’ve done all of this together,” I whisper. “Even when we were kids, it’s always been you and me, standing strong against the storm. And that’s how we have to end it.”
My other hand moves to his cheek, pulling him even closer, until there’s nothing separating us but the last of our hesitation.
I never thought I’d be ready for this moment again.
But it’s like Gus said.
We chose each other once.
I just have to show Vane that I still believe.
My eyes focus on his mouth, and Vane sucks in a shaky breath.
He wants this.
So do I.
And yet, as I lean that last little bit, Vane turns his face aside and pulls away.
CHAPTER 39
VANE
Audra was going to kiss me.
WHY DIDN’T I LET HER KISS ME?
Why did I listen to that tiny, niggling voice in the back of my head?
The rest of my brain was whooping and hollering and shooting off confetti cannons—but that stupid freaking voice had to go and ask, How can she actually be ready for this?
Gus died like an hour ago.
And she still doesn’t know how badly she hurt her mom.
And she’s been a hostage for days.
And all of that just doesn’t seem like the right time for her to be making a major life decision.
So I turned my freaking head away, and now she’s looking at me with so much shock and betrayal I’m tempted to cling to her ankles so she can’t leave until I’ve had a chance to explain.
Instead, I open my big, stupid mouth and say, “Sorry, it’s just . . . Solana’s over there. . . .”
And with that, Audra walks away.
The door slams behind her, and I sink to my knees.
“Well,” Solana says as I punch the floor—and then curse at myself for punching the floor. “That was unexpected.”
I bury my face in my throbbing hands.
I wanted to do it right this time.
Not just right—better.
I mean . . . the first time we bonded was in the middle of a freaking battlefield, with a dead Stormer, like, right there. And our next big, important kiss was in Death Valley, right after Gus killed his father’s Living Storm and there were Stormers attacking us.
Is it so bad that I didn’t want the third time to happen in a bloodstained girls’ bathroom with Solana standing by watching?
Especially since I don’t see how Audra could really be ready to make that kind of commitment. I just want to make sure I don’t end up on her list of regrets.
“For what it’s worth,” Solana says, “I think you did the right thing.”
“Do me a favor and tell Audra that, will you? Actually—don’t, she’ll probably read something really bad into that.”
In fact, the longer I stay in here alone with Solana, the worse I’m making all of this look.
“Why does love have to be so complicated?” I ask.
I mean seriously, none of those sappy movies my mom loves to watch have betrothals and suicide drafts and broken bonds in them. Can’t I just be the guy who stands outside her window holding a boom box or something?
“Well, I don’t exactly have a lot of experience in this area,” Solana says, “but I know you guys will work this out. She’ll be thanking you in a few days.”
A few days?
Why does that sound like forever?
Solana offers me a hand up so I’ll stop being a Vane-lump on the floor. I’m about to take it when I realize how not cool it is to make her deal with my love drama.
“We should go,” I say, getting up on my own.
Audra’s waiting for us on the other side of the door with her coat buttoned up to her neck and her eyes glued firmly to her brown hiking shoes. I’m pretty sure she’s been crying—proof that doing the right thing sucks for everybody.
But there’s nothing I can do about it right now, except lead the way back to the entrance.
The lobby seems twice as full as it was before, including several moms holding tiny babies.
“We have to get Raiden away from here,” I mumble.
“Where are we going to lead him?” Solana asks.
She emphasizes the word “we,” and I know there’s no point arguing—though I can’t help hoping all the fresh awkwardness might convince Audra to go with Aston.
“I’m still figuring out the best place to go,” I admit.
It would take too much energy to head all the way back to the desert—and my hometown has suffered enough, anyway.
The closer we get to the Gales, though, the faster they’ll be able to meet us, so we need to focus on places that are in the middle.
“It should be Nebraska,” Audra says without looking at me. “The winds are strong there. And there’s plenty of empty land. And . . . that’s where it all began—for us, at least.”
Actually, that’s kind of . . . poetic.
Let’s crush Raiden the same place he tried to crush us.
“We’ll need to take a pipeline,” I tell her. “That way we have a little time to prepare.”
“Prepare for what?” Blazer Guy asks, coming up beside me.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” Solana promises.
He looks pissed at her answer, and the last thing we need is a big scene, so I tell him, “It’s going to happen far away from here. Just don’t forget what I said about getting everyone out when the storm clears. And keep them away from the windows for the next bit too.”
“Why?” he asks.
“Let’s just say there’s a chance the storm will get a lot stronger once we head out there.”
I can tell he thinks I’m a million miles beyond crazy, and in some ways he’s kind of right.
“Thanks for the help,” I tell him.
“And the clothes,” Solana adds.
“You can thank the other guests for those. Everyone searched their suitcases for spare things. Keep that in mind when you do . . . whatever it is you’re going to do out there. You owe these people.”
“We do,” I say, and he must believe me, because he leaves us there and calls for everyone to get back when we open the door.
The cold crashes into us like a tidal wave, the winds trying to knock us over as we sink into the thigh-deep snow. We have to hold hands and trudge together to make any progress, and Audra makes a point of clinging to Solana instead of me.
Aston emerges from the trees after we’ve distanced ourselves from the building. “Judging by the tension radiating from the three of you,” he calls over the storm, “I’m guessing there’s a rather interesting story to tell.”
“How is my mother?” Audra asks.
“Ah, so you are concerned about her. Then perhaps it’s happy news that she’s very much alive and resting just over there.” He points to a clump of trees on the far side of the hotel. “She’s a bit unhappy about the branch I had to remove from her shoulder, but I keep telling her holes are the new rage. She’s also in a delicious amount of pain. I think I absorbed two fixes already.”
“Fixes?” Audra asks.
“That’s how she’s repaying me for helping. Didn’t Loverboy tell you? What have you two been talking about?”
“Gus,” I jump in, glad when Aston’s cocky smile fades. “We’ve also been coming up with a plan to take down Raiden.”
“Having any luck with that one?” Aston asks.
“It’s still a work in progress,” I admit. “But we know we’re taking a pipeline to Nebraska and luring him there so he can’t hurt any more humans.”
“And I presume you know how to aim your pipeline to make sure you don’
t blast us to the other side of the planet?” Aston asks as I gather enough winds to weave one with the power of four.
“Not really,” I admit. “But I’m going to trust the wind. I’ll tell it where we need to go, and hopefully it’ll take me there. And wait—did you say ‘us’?”
I thought this was the part where Aston tells me it’s a horrible, stupid plan and he’ll be zipping back to his cave.
Instead he says, “I’ll go check on Arella. Let me know when we’re ready to leave.”
“We?” Solana asks, clearly as surprised as I am.
“Of course. I can’t trust you three not to screw this up—and if you do, Raiden will be far too powerful for my liking. And Arella needs some time for a heart-to-heart with her daughter.”
“Uh-uh,” I say. “You can come, but she stays away. I don’t trust her, and Audra—”
“No, it’s fine,” Audra interrupts. “We’re going to need her.”
“Her gift isn’t worth it,” I argue.
“Maybe not, but she’ll be valuable in other ways.”
“Like what?” I ask. “Betraying us? Making sure we’re captured?”
“Well now, entertaining as this lovers’ spat is, I’d better go gather your mother,” Aston tells us. “I wonder how her injury will fare through the pipeline. Here’s hoping it’s excruciating.”
He trudges off to get Arella, and I start building the pipeline, whispering a plea to the Westerly for it to get us to Nebraska in one piece.
The wind’s song doesn’t change, so I have no idea if it’s going to help. Still, I give the final command and spin the drafts into the sky-high funnel we need.
“Oh good, our transport looks even more unstable than I imagined,” Aston says, hobbling over, carrying Arella like a baby.
Her shoulder is tied in a shred of his cloak, and her skin has about as much color as the flurries of snow. But her eyes are open and her breaths look steady, so it’s better than I was expecting.
Until Arella draws her windslicer.
“Oh, relax,” she says as I grab the nearest winds and weave them into a wind spike. “I only wanted to give this to my daughter. I thought she might be glad to have a weapon. And she’s rendered my sword arm quite useless.”
Audra hesitates a moment before she takes the windslicer.