At the last moment, right before I lose control, Baelen closes his eyes. When he opens them again, they’re full of lightning, full of storm. He flattens one palm across my heart, the other against my temple.
He whispers, “Yours.”
He lets go and my world explodes.
Lightning pours from his body into mine. I scream and cry, soaking it up, drinking it in, absorbing the storm while every other part of me splinters into a thousand rocketing sensations. I fall into his arms as we shudder and tremble. We may as well have survived an earthquake, we’re both shaking so hard. All we can do is wait for it to ease. I slide my arms around him, dropping my head into the crook of his neck, wanting to find my voice, wanting to speak, but I don’t know how right now.
He strokes my back, his big arms gentle and calm. “Marbella, baby. Tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” I whisper into his neck. “Are you okay?”
“Very.”
“Did I… just get my storm power back?”
His vocal chords rumble against my forehead. “Why don’t you try it and see?”
Without shifting my position, still snuggled against him, I lift my hand to examine my fingers, the back of my hand, my forearm. Lightning prickles under my skin and tiny sapphire pulses flicker along my fingers. Its familiar crackling reaches my ears before I shut it off. I exhale my amazement. “Did you know that was going to happen?”
“I suspected it might. Everything was different in the deep springs, but this is where you got your power. It’s right that you should get it back here.”
I sigh into his neck, nuzzling his ear only to find that my hair tangles in his bristles. “It’s time to shave this beard off, Baelen Rath. You don’t need it anymore.”
I sense his jaw shift as he smiles. “Okay, Marbella, but first…”
He lifts me up, muscles bunching, keeping my legs wrapped around him. A fat raindrop lands on my cheek a moment before he says, “Look up.”
I tip my head back. A gentle rain shower patters down around us, rinsing the sweat off our bodies. I squeak as the river of water runs toward our clothing, but Baelen laughs. “Don’t worry, they’ll dry.” He lowers me to my feet, letting the warm water wash over both of us, following it with his hands, making me sigh all over again.
I ask, “How did you get so good at this?”
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Good at what?”
I blush. “I mean controlling the storm.”
“Practice.” He grins, water droplets running down his face as the rain shower eases. He shakes his head, splattering rain drops across the space between us, making me laugh. “Lightning is your strength, rain is mine.”
Acid rain.
I lean into him. “I want to try something… Do you remember when you were asleep? We combined our power without realizing.”
“I remember.” The depths in his eyes pull me in. “I waited a long time for you to call me.”
I entwine my fingers in his, closing my eyes, listening for his heartbeat like I used to. I sense the connection almost straight away. Sooner than I expect, his whisper reaches me as if from a distance, a rumbling laugh drawing me back to myself. “I don’t think we’re doing our clothing any favors.”
I open my eyes. Crimson raindrops rise upward from our bodies, lifting into the cloud cover: raindrops in reverse. One of them loses altitude, drops to the rocky cliff, and sizzles right next to my jacket. I break the contact with an “Oops.” Baelen might be able to dry our clothes off but it would take a miracle to sew them back together.
He pulls me close, brushing the hair out of my face. He exhales a long sigh. “Do you really think we have a week before the elves attack?”
“I do. Grayson is unpredictable, volatile sometimes, but when he gives his word, he keeps it.”Sometimes for the worse.
“Okay, then. I’ll reduce the patrols. Keep everyone rested.”
It’s my turn to take a deep breath. “There’s something I need to do now that I have my storm power back. Senturi told me that my future depends on it.”
“Yes?”
“I need to see Elyria.”
