Then Rissa held out her hand. “I think I know a group you might be interested in.”
Over the next couple hours,Rissa, Nox, and Lark were inseparable. Nox’s curiosity was boundless once he learned of the Sentinels and their cause, hounding Rissa with question after question about how it began, what their goals were, how their network operated, how he could help in Drakorum.
At first, Leo was hesitant that she should offer any information, worried that Nox may be forced to share their secrets once he went back to his province. But the idea of having someone as powerful as Nox, someone with a similar background as the lost heirs of the empire, and someone just as motivated to make things right…it was an opportunity the Sentinels couldn’t pass up.
Horace, ever the dutiful guard, left shortly after to scout the perimeter of the beach and make sure no threats lurked around the corner. Leo and I went off in search of fresh water untainted by the poisonous storm from the night before. With a couple of containers full of water from a stream we’d found—containers I’d enchanted to banish any spell or magic, so the water would be drinkable—we eventually started to make our way back to the beach.
Shoving a vine out of the way, I glanced over and caught Leo’s gaze, a hungry look in his eyes that sent heat to my core. I laughed and shook my head, biting my lower lip. “The others will wonder where we are, Leo.”
“That sounds like their problem.”
The way he looked at me made me feel years younger than I was, sneaking around in the shadows of trees, stealing these brief moments away from the others in the midst of the chaos. But unlike the past, this wasn’t some fleeting happiness. This wasn’t an excuse or distraction to avoid the demons that plagued me.
This was different. Ilovedhim. I trusted him. And I had a feeling I would long after these trials were over.
Before I knew what was happening, his tail snaked out to grab the water containers from my hands and set them on the ground, his hard body pressing into me as he forced me backward. Twigs snapped beneath our feet and my spine hit the bark of a tree trunk.
“Why is there always a tree?” I asked breathlessly.
He chuckled. “Tell me,” he said, his voice and stubble rough against the sensitive skin of my neck as he roved over it with his lips. “How it’s possible for you to still look this beautiful after the night we’ve had.”
Pushing on his chest, I leaned back to survey him with a smirk. “You know, you’re far more charming on this island than at home.”
He moved forward and nipped at my lower lip. “Home,” he said, his chest rumbling as he drew out the word, letting it flow slowly in the space between us.
“What about it?” I whispered.
“Not the capital. Not Veridia City. You saidhome.”
The word settled in me, nestling into my bones.
“Not the capital,” I repeated, kissing his cheek. “Not Veridia City.” My lips trailed his jaw. “You.”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kissed him, my body molding to his so effortlessly I had to wonder if it was real. Ifanyof this was real. The way my heart threatened to burst out of my chest, the way every inch of me was set ablaze, the way he seemed to want me as much as I wanted him. The way helovedme.
I had never known a love like this.
Leo’s hands gripped my waist and pulled me closer, his tongue sweeping against mine, a fire building between us that ached to consume. Devour. A rush of cool wind skimmed my hot cheeks, and I moaned into him.
He froze and pulled away.
Goosebumps crawled along the back of his neck where my hands rested. Blinking away my haze of thoughts, I asked, “What is it?”
His brow furrowed as his nostrils flared. He sniffed the air, and his head whipped toward the direction of the beach.
Another blast of wind met us, but this one was savage, frenzied. Not the sweet kiss of a breeze I’d felt a moment ago. My hair surged around my face, the end of my torn dress tangling in my legs.
“Something is coming,” was all he said before he grabbed my hand and took off.
Wind raced through the forest. Branches creaked with exertion, leaves and dirt and pebbles swirling from the ground and peppering our bodies as we sprinted. Was it another storm? My heart seized at the thought of that poisonous water again, at the void I’d felt when my magic had been erased. But we’d already passed the water challenge. Earth, water, fire?—
Air.
We reached the edge of the forest, where soft grass transitioned to rocks which then faded into dirt and sand. I nearly stumbled when I saw what awaited us.
Beyond the shoreline, across the ocean, was an enormous cyclone.
Water and sand twisted and spiraled in the air, forming a funnel high above the surface. Ferocious waves crashed against the shore, water spraying our skin even at the distance we stood. With every passing second it billowed closer, and the noise of the wind and angry swells became deafening.
