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The loss burned more than I expected.

They backed away, their boots dragging twin trails through the untouched snow. Then Kleitos raised his voice, letting it crack like thunder across the icy shore. “Show us what you’re made of!” He broke into a jog, Valentina at his side, until they were far enough that their figures blurred in the mist, half a football field at least. Then they stopped, turning to face me. Waiting. Watching.

The challenge lit something deep in me, a spark that ignited into fire, searing hotter than any coat could ever shield. My chest swelled with it. My pulse thrashed against my veins like it wanted out. Uncontrolled. Unfiltered. Raw energy surged up my spine until my entire body hummed with it. Sweat slid in rivulets down my temple, freezing in the cold air, but the heat inside me only climbed. Boiled. Until the pressure was unbearable. Until I couldn’t hold it any longer.

And then, it broke.

A sudden, bone-deep chill swept through me as a breeze unfurled from nowhere, curling around my frame like living ribbons. It wasn’t harsh. It wasn’t violent. It caressed, twisting and weaving with an almost deliberate grace, tugging at my coat, threading through my curls until they whipped across my face like black flames in the wind.

The air…

It knew me.

It welcomed me.

As if sensing I’d reached the edge of myself, it stilled. Soft. Settling against my skin like a vow.

Until I moved. My fingers splayed wide, palm cutting through the air, and the world answered. A feral gust erupted outward, slamming against the ground in a single, concussive blast. The snow screamed, torn from the shore in a swirling cyclone. It ripped upward in spirals, shredding the soft white blanket to ribbons and baring the damp black sand beneath my boots. A blizzard whipped around me now, wild and relentless, its force circling like a tornado that bent to my will.

And for the first time in my life…I felt like a storm wearing skin.

TAINTED| CHAPTER 34

First Night

Alexander’s POV

Two weeks had passed like a single unbroken day. Each morning, after most of the staff had fallen asleep, Kleitos led Valentina and me to our training zone. The first few days after I released the storm from within me, Kleitos focused solely on helping me refine the skill. We started slower than before, working to control this new element now stirring in my veins.

At first, I tried to slow the falling snowflakes above our heads, channeling air through my body and launching it into the atmosphere. Every time, it felt like a tornado spiraled through me, sending snow and sand into wild flurries. The sea would rise in response, forming small waves that crashed and launched water into the sky whenever I lost control.

The first time I successfully bent the air around us came the morning after Valentina stayed the night in my chambers. My mind and spirit had become restless, and her pursuits were so hard to resist. It was as if the longer I refused to share my bed with her, the more agitated and unbalanced I became. I still hadn’t given in to that primal connection between us, but having her body close, pressed tightly against mine, brought peace.

When I finally gave in, something clicked.

Instead of forcing the atmosphere to obey me, I found myself merging with it. The feeling wasn’t forceful as I controlled it. A part of my mind needed to slip into it, like stepping into a current already flowing. For a few fleeting moments, I became part of it. The wind didn't whip or roar. It listened. And with it, I managed to hold a delicate sheet of powdery snow suspended above our heads.

Valentina’s powers up close were dangerously beautiful. I had only gotten a glimpse of her strength before, the night Mark and Elguto’s attacked. It was just that her power was so deceptively secret. Arianna’s gifts were always front and center, hovering around her like a second skin. But Valentina’s… hers were subtle, nearly imperceptible, until she chose to reveal them. When she did, it stole the breath straight from my lungs.

Magic burst from her fingertips like living ribbons, pulsing in molten crimson, deep violets, and icy blues. The snow itself seemed to dance with her, catching and reflecting the light in a brilliant, playful display. As they danced along the wind, static shimmered throughout the current I was connected with. With each extension of light, it crackled beneath my skin like a thread pulling taut.

It was like it was called mine.

I actually had hesitated to let her join my training, worried it would distract me. I wasn’t wrong; it was. But that pull… it came from a place deeper than instinct. Allowing a gentle breeze to move in her direction, I met her magic. Her ribbons responded to me like a touch, stretching farther, glowing brighter. As they mingled in the atmosphere, they sent soothing waves through me, waves of calm, of control, of something I could only describe as surrender. It felt like the elements themselves were molding me to her. And I loved every second of it.

The energy coursing through our bodies moved in waves, rolling off one another ceremonially. It was a dance of push and pull: my air acting as an amplifier to her lights, while her power rippled through me like electric kisses.

That day of training felt less like a sparring session and more like an ancient mating ritual. It started light, playful even, but soon took on an undercurrent of sensuality. Her ribbons laced around my waist, winding themselves around me. Slithering up my spine, they curled softly around my throat like a vine of living light. I expected them to burn like fire, but instead, they felt like a second set of hands: warm, intimate, gently tugging at my skin.

Kleitos admitted he had never witnessed a display like ours before. The way our gifts mingled so naturally was something unique to our bond. Later that day, when we were alone, he confessed that he suspected it had something to do with our Naemira. His mother had never found a bond, and neither had he, but he believed it might explain why I acted as Valentina’s amplifier.

His Naemira once shared a prophecy with him: that when he found his mate, she would bring him both peace and power. Kleitos said he had never truly believed it. He had spent his entire life assuming it was just another story. But now, seeing what Valentina and I shared, he was beginning to wonder if perhaps his time had not yet come.

After that first week passed, Kleitos brought Bomani and Arianna to join us in our new training grounds. The previous one was still engulfed in flames. The fire burned so hot, so violently, that it disrupted the skies themselves. Thick gray clouds no longer formed above that region. What was once a calm, snow-glittered sanctuary had turned into a smog-filled furnace.

My mother had stayed behind at Arianna’s estate, too anxious to venture far. Arianna told us she’d grown paranoid in my absence, fearing someone might come and kidnap her in the night. I wanted to go to her, to reassure her in person, but Kleitos advised against it. He offered to visit her himself, to soothe her fears. He visited her every evening after our sessions, always saying she'd be okay. If anyone could ease her mind, it would be him.

When they arrived, Bomani and Arianna stayed for the remainder of the training sessions. I should have been scared that first day rather than excited. With Bomani, it wasn’t just about refining powers anymore. He wasn’t impressed by the storm blooming inside me. The man was more concerned with whether I could take a hit… or a few bites.