“Is that it?”
Adriana’s arms dropped to her sides in defeat. “It usually takes me a while to find the light, and most of the time it has only shown itself in my fingertips. But I found it rather quickly today.”
“And you think that is going to be enough?”
Adriana dropped her head. “Well, no, I suppose not.”
“Do you think your pretty glowing palms would be enough to take down Caligo?”
“No, I do not.”
“Do you think a few little sparks from your fingertips would be enough to take down the souls of his army?”
Adriana was growing angry now. He knew she would not allow him to talk down to her that way, and as the wind blew harder and a light rain began to fall as she struggled to contain her emotions, Xander knew he was getting a rise out of her. Just as he’d intended.
“I know it isn’t enough, just let me explain—”
“Explain what?” Xander raised his voice as he pushed himself off the tree and sauntered towards her with his hands in his pockets. “Explain to me how I had been gone for almost three months and you made no effort to work on your powers?”
“Oh, shut up, you arrogant bastard!”
Xander stopped in his tracks, his brows shot up in surprise at her cursing.
“You are insufferable,” she raged, slowly moving towards him and leaving singed patches of grass with every step she took. Lightning danced between her fingers as she walked through the rain, the air crackling with power as the beginning of a storm brewed. “You believe you are so much better than the rest of us, you act as if control is easy! Have you so quickly forgotten it was I who helped you in the cellar all those years ago? You had no one that night, only me. You didn’t seem so confident back then, you hypocritical prick.”
“You think I am insufferable?” he questioned. “You are fucking intolerable. Everywhere I go, you are there. Every time I want some peace, my thoughts always have to revolve around you.”
Xander’s resentment matched her own now. They had both advanced on another, ready to pounce, to fight at any moment,standing less than a foot apart. He had forgotten why he’d been pushing her limits and fallen straight into his own anger at her insults. The hold she had over him, it made him want to hate her, to resent her.
“No wonder you are not the Lady of your house,” he snidely remarked, his voice rising above the heavy rain and howling winds. “I cannot imagine your father would entrust you with running the home with your outbursts. Or perhaps your temper is a result of your lack of suitors and lovers? Maybe the fact your bed is cold every night gives you cause to make me feel as lonely as you?”
“I have no interest in any men when all love is to them is to get between a woman’s thighs. I have no use for men, I do not need them, and I do not need you.”
“No? Not even your stable boy? Is he really that disappointing?” Xander gave her a wicked grin as he leant down to whisper in her ear. He knew he shouldn’t have said it, he knew it was wrong, but he couldn’t help himself. “Perhaps I should show you how a lover is meant to make you feel.”
She screamed out in frustration. The sky lit up with a flash of bright lightning and the sound of thunder crashed so loudly she held her hands over her ears. He hadn’t expected this, hadn’t expected either of them to react so strongly to one another.
Taking her hands away from her face, he held them tightly and bent at the waist to reach her eye level. “Adriana, you need to stop, you need to calm down. Listen to me, you need to stop this before you hurt yourself.”
The noise of the thunderstorm and the ringing in her ears at releasing so much power all at once echoed in his own mind as he connected with hers. She began to shake, her body swaying on the spot as her magic continued to run wild.
I’m sorry,he spoke into her mind.I did not mean for this to happen. Please, hear me.
He tried to pull her mind back to reality, back to him, but he couldn’t reach her through the storm that brewed within her, its power matching the one above them. Unsure of what else to do, he picked her up and ran through the rain to the barn, cradling her to his chest as her body shook. He kicked the door open and called for help, setting her down gently on a pile of hay, but no one was in the stables.
As he moved to pull away to find her a blanket, her hands reached out to grab his wet shirt. With a sharp shake of her head, he understood. She didn’t want him to leave, she didn’t want him to let go of her.
I am here,he said, using the link to her mind once again to ensure she would hear him.I am with you, and I am not going anywhere. Just come back to me.
Adriana
His words were distant, and she tried to focus on them, to focus on him, but her power was so loud. The drumming in her ears matched the sound of the hailstones raining down on the roof of the barn, her own voice screamed inside her head to accompany the wailing of the wind.
Xander pushed her wet hair off her face as he kneeled in front of her. She stared at him, noticing the small green flecks around the edges of his warm brown eyes. His long, dark lashes framed them perfectly. His dark clothes, completely soaked through, clung to his body just like her dress clung to hers. So beautiful…
“Kiss me,” she stuttered. His head tilted away from her slightly as she felt his Manipuli power reach towards her again, trying toread her mind through the chaos of her magic to see if this was what she truly wanted. She knew it was. She knew she needed him.
“Kiss me,” she said again, clearer this time. “Or I will wait for Jonathon to come back and let him—”
