I shoved every ounce of my energy against the power. Strained to break through that wave of sound, to find the surface, the air, the real world again.
I stretched for solid ground. Roots into mountain. My blood, my family, stood against the powers of this world. I’d be damned if I let one god power hissy fit take me down.
I dug deep and braced myself, spreading my arms wide, and did exactly what my father had told me to do: I faced into the storm.
That’s it. That’s good.
“Delaney!” Herri’s voice.
Herri’s arms around me. Herri’s bar slammed into focus.
I blinked, trying to figure out where I was. I scanned the room for Dad, sure that he must be there, that he must be beside me, close. Telling me to fight. Telling me I had done the right thing.
Face the storm.
I thought I caught a haze of light at the corner of my eye, but when I looked, all I saw was the bar, filled with people staring at me.
“What happened?” My mouth was dry, throat hot. I thought I was going to barf.
“You’re all right,” Herri said. “I got you. Let’s sit down over here, okay?” She kept her arm around my waist and started leading me to a table. “Watch your step.”
I glanced down.
Cooper lay unconscious, crumpled on his side, his nose bleeding. Sven Rossi, Herri’s vampire bouncer, crouched beside him, tapping him on the cheek.
“What happened?” Details were spotty, but some of the fog was clearing.
“Something beautiful,” Herri said. “And a long time coming.”
Was she talking about Cooper on the floor or the power that was now quiet and still?
I didn’t know how that worked, but I felt that for maybe the first time since Heim’s death, I actually had a handle on the power. I had made it shut up and sit down and think about its actions.
Chalk one up for the Reed family.
“My hand hurts.”
Herri chuckled and helped me sit in the booth.
The crowd gave up on whatever show they’d thought was going to unfold and went back to their drinks, conversations, and screens.
“You feeling okay?” Herri’s hand was solid on my shoulder as she bent to get a better look at my face. “You are very pale.”
“I got shot.”
Her eyes narrowed and she lifted her head, looking around the bar. “When?”
“This morning, early.”
“Who?”
I shook my head. “I’m not so sure.”
“You didn’t see them?”
“No, I did. I’m just not sure that he did it.”
She released my shoulder and sat across the table from me.
