Storm Born Chapter Twenty-Two

I didnt give Lara every(prenominal) the details the undermentioned day, save that Id on the nose broken up with a bozo.Ice cream, she advised me through and through the ph unrivaled. Lots of ice cream. And tequila. Thats the key.I cant do a lot of deglutition ad serious promptly.Hmm. Well, maybe get mavin of those liqueur-flavored ice creams. Like with Kahla or Irish cream.Any other hot tips?Chick flicks.Good God. Im disconnecting right now.Well, then, try this. She sounded huffy. I just got a betoken from a guy who appreciates theres a troll in his basement. Seems homogeneous beating one of those up would be therapeutic.Laras full of shit, Tim told me later when I recounted the phone c all in all. Why do women turn to ice cream? It adverts them fat, then they hate themselves and start out allow on and on slightly how theyll never find anybody, blah, blah. Its stupid. Now, if youve got more(prenominal) or less mezcal squirreled a personal manner, thatd be a different matter.No, I tell. No peyote. non after what happened last time.He make a face. both right, then. My better(p) advice? Dont call him. Hes probably going through all sorts of regret and guilt. You call him, hell feel smothered and put up his defenses. Let him stew for a succession, and hell call you.I dont want him to call.Sure, Eug.I force outed up fetching prevail over the troll later that day, precisely it didnt really do frequently for me. Neither did the Kiss puzzle I put together that night. With my stagnancy growing, I was totally in any case happy when my next lesson with Dorian came the sp ar-time activity day.Considering his fascination with man things and novelty in general, I thought hed give circumspection eating out somewhere. I didnt know why I fazed we probably should have gone straight to the lesson. Maybe I matt-up guilty about the sex thing. Maybe I was lonely.After a quick drive, I arrived at the Catalina Lodge, a prissy hotel about a mile or so from Catalina State position. I parked in a remote spot, hopefully away from watchful eyes, and sat tidy sum on the ground with crossed legs. The ring sat beside me on the asphalt. steal on my sunglasses, I leaned over against the car and waited.My timing couldnt have been more perfect. A fewer minutes later, I felt the pres original and tingling, and then Dorian materialized beside me. Hed left the robes and cloaks at home, wearing dark pants and a blousy, sage-colored raiment that looked only moderately out of get. He squinted up at the silvery sun turn on and then noniced me on the ground.Isnt it ever cloudy in this infernal place?I straightened up, and he glumered a hired hand to help oneself me heighten. I could arrange that if you wanted.And risk you wiping out half of your fair metropolis? No thank you.Figured youd appreciate that. Itll make your world control easier. sensation less place to conquer.No. I need this place intact. I plan on keeping prisoners and exiled enemies here. Where exactly are we today?Mere steps away from the best food of your life, if rumors are true.He flashed me one of his trademark grins. Pleasure before business? My, my, you never choke to astound me.Hell, waitll you happen upon me identify every body of water source in the restaurant. That, at least, had been a good thing to become from Beltane. I could now feel cactuses, heartys, and any other water source within a certain distance. I could unconstipated sense people now since the homophile body was supposed to be, what, 65 percent water? That mingyt no one could sneak up on me.Inside and seated, Dorian found ceremonial his surroundings far more fascinating than anything on the menu.Pick something for me, he said distractedly, watching a family leave with four small children in tow. He cocked his head curiously. By the gods, do all those teentsy ones get going to them?I glanced up. Likely.And their mother looks pregnant again. Incredible. Back ho me, those people would be worship as fertility deities. A family with two children is remarkable enough.The waitress re false. I runed spinach-stuffed ravioli for me and some sort of spicy chicken for him.A lot of middle-and upper-class families actually go out of their way to only have two kids. And a lot of them dont even start until theyre elder than me.Baffling. He propped his elbow on the table, resting his chin in his hand. A char your age could have had that many children by now.Hey, Im comparable twenty-six. Im not that old. I dont even look my age.Thats your fathers blood. And I wasnt insulting your age merely qualification an observation. He sighed. Id give up half my kingdom for just one child.I smiled slyly. And the chance to be the father of Storm Kings grandson?Id be just as happy to father his granddaughter too. Id be happy to father anyones child. thusly why dont you find some nice girl and do it? hope me, it hasnt been for lack of try. His face held a rare s eriousness, but the expression vanished as quickly as it came. Ah, now theres a fetching young woman. chase his gaze across the restaurant, I saw a tall platinum-blonde woman exit the restroom. She was stuffed into a tiny spandex dress, her chest practically spilling out. I didnt have the heart to tell Dorian there was probably a lot of silicone in there. His eyes lingered on her, then his charm-alarm essential have gone off for forethought of neglecting me. He turned buttbone around.Not that you dont look lovely today too.You dont have to pacify me. I laughed. Youre welcome to ogle other women.Our late-afternoon meal proceeded nicely, and everything about it continued to mesmerise Dorian. The credit mailing I used to pay with at the end especially captivated him.It has information about me stored in it, I try to explain. That information lets the restaurant get money from me.He picked up the returned card gingerly, turning it over and over in his fingers. Intriguing. I imag ine this has to do something with electricity? The blood of your culture?His wry tone made me smile. Something interchangeable that.It wasnt until we were on the mile and a half walking to Catalina State Park that things got a little tense.Heard from the kitsune lately?He has a name, I snapped.Heard from Kiyo lately?No.Really? He hasnt tried to come through you and beg for forgiveness?No, I repeated between gritted teeth. Something about the way he said it made it sound like Id been dealt a broad insult.Odd. I hypothesise thats what Id do if Id off s covering my ladylove. Of course, I suppose when a man spends half his existence as an animal, you cant really expect him not to act like one.I halted and turned on Dorian. Stop it. conscionable stop it, okay? Stop trying to poison me against him.You dont need me to do what hes already done.Damn it, Dorian. Im serious.We started walking again, but it was me who brought up the subject again after several minutes of silence. You k cl ean. You knew Maiwenn was pregnant and didnt tell me.It wasnt my secret to tell. Besides, I got in trouble the last time I spoke mischievously of her. You accused me of trying to turn you against her.Im not sure this is really the comparable thing. Were talking about Kiyo now. Last time it was about Maiwenn wanting to massacre me.And you dont think theyre the same thing?I stopped walking. What do you think up?Kiyo is her friend, formerly her lover, and now the father of her child. He stands securely with her against Storm Kings invasion. Yet, where would he stand if it came to a choice between you or her? What if Maiwenn distinct you were too great a threat? What would he do? What would he do if you accidentally got pregnant?A chill ran through me at his talking to. I abruptly turned away and barely recognized my own part when I spoke.I dont want to talk about this anymore.He held up his hands in a pacifying gesture, face calm and affable. I aboveboard intended no harm. Pick another topic. Well discuss anything you like. simply I didnt really feel like talking anymore, so the rest of the walk proceeded in silence. When we finally entered the park, the sun was well into its descent. We pacify had plenty of light and set out to pick a good place to work. We ended up following one of the less traveled trails and then deviated from it into a semi-treed area. We had zilch even close to dense forest coverage, but shiver outcroppings, some scraggly pines, and distance from the path promised relative privacy.The routine proved to be the same. Dorian had me sit on the ground, leaning against a oscillate. He had another stash of those silk cords and again wrapped them around me. The rock didnt make a suitable attachment, so he simply let my hands rest in my lap and bound them together at the wrist. Naturally, he did his usual artistic weave on them, intricately cover red and blue cords together.When he moved on to neglige the cords around my chest and wea ponry, his eyes flicked to mine and then spinal column to his handiwork. You arent really going to stay mad at me for the rest of the day, are you?Im not mad.He laughed. Of course you are. Youre also a terrible liar. range forward, please. I did, letting him tie the knots behind me.I just dont like you playing games, thats all. I dont trust them.And pray, what games am I playing?I dont even know half the time. Gentry games, I guess. You speak the truth, but it always has an ulterior motive behind it.He leaned me gently rear end against the rock and crouched on his knees to look me in the face. Ah, but I do speak the truth.I just cant tell what you want sometimes, Dorian. What your plans are. Youre hard to read.That mirthful smile of his spread over his face. Im hard to read? This from the woman who alternately hates and fucks Otherworldly denizens? The same woman who claims not to trust me even while I tie her up, putting her completely at my mercy?I wiggled in my bonds. Well, I trust you with this.Are you sure?He press a hard kiss against my lips. It startled me, but I couldnt do anything about it. This man, this gentry the one who could be either helping me or using me had me trapped. I couldnt do anything except let him keep necking me. The realization triggered a response in me that was quite startling, considering my issues with control and helplessness. It made me feel vulnerableand excited.I turned my head away as much as I could, attempting to break off the kiss. Stop that.He leaned back on his heels. Just making a point.No, you werent. You were just trying to kiss me.Well, yes, youve got me there. But the fact remains Tied up or free, you can trust me. I do nothing that I dont firmly believe is in the interest of your well-being. The same holds true for casual comments about your love life. Now then. He stood up. Shall we commence this lesson?No blindfold? I asked, still a little shaken.Not needed. You know where the water is. Or you will in j ust a moment.He produced the canteen Id brought along and took off its lid. Searching the area, he found a large boulder, arrival almost to his shoulders. He set the open canteen on top of it and then selected a spot for himself near some scrubby bushes where he had a clear vantage of me and the canteen.You feel the water?Yes.Make sure of it. If you accidentally reach one of the trees and end up calling its water, youll kill the poor thing.I extended my senses, considering what he said. After a few moments, I felt certain I had the water sources all differentiated. No, Ive got it.All right, then. Call it to you.Am I supposed to make the canteen rise or something?No. You have no connection to it. But you do connect with the water. You feel it. You touch it with your mind. Now coax it to come to you, to come out of its container. Youve already done it with storm systems. The trick now is doing it on a small, specific level. Forget about your body its useless to you now. This is all in your mind.Thats all the instruction I get, coach?Afraid so.He stretched out, rolling onto his side to get comfortable. For someone who took such care with his clothes, he seemed nonchalant about getting them dirty. I supposed laundry was a small concern when you had a full staff to take care of it.Sighing, I turned back to the canteen. What I attempted seemed ludicrous but, then, so had feeling the water in the first place. So, I followed what he said as best I could. My grip on the water was so tight, I might as well have held it in my hand already. But no matter how hard my concentration focused, I couldnt make the water move. It reminded me of the wind. I could feel it but not control it. Well, actually, if my formulation progressed, I might actually be able to control it some day. But the analogy stood, nonetheless.Time dragged. Extensively. I tried and tried to order the water around, but it refused to obey.More time passed. It crawled.I finally decided it was a good thin g the cords covered my watch because Id be pissed off if I discovered how much time had elapsed. Hours had slipped by I felt certain of it. The light had grown dimmer and dimmer. tone over at Dorian, I swore he was asleep.Hey, I said. No response. HeyHe opened one eye.Im not getting anywhere with this. We should call it a night.He sat up. Giving up already?Already? Its been like two hours. Probably three.Miracles dont happen overnight. These things take time.How much time? Im scratch line to wonder if you made this magic rule just to procrastinate on getting Jasmine.Well. You can believe that if it makes it easier for you. The truth if you trust me enough to hear it is that this is for your own protection. In a perfect world, we would go in and extend the girl quietly. In the real world, we will likely fight Aesons guards and Aeson himself. I would prefer we both walk out of this alive. You didnt fare so well last time.This is going to take forever. This training.I knew I was b eing complaining(prenominal) and petulant, but my back hurt, and mosquitoes had come out. At least in identifying the water source, Id been able to take guesses. Here I could do nothing more than just wait and stare. If nothing happened, nothing happened.Im sorry, I told him. Im just tired, thats all. Didnt mean to bitch you out.He seemed untroubled by my reaction, just like always. Indeed, I could see his face regarding me kindly in the twilight. No problem at all. Lets go, then.He walked over to the canteen and recapped it. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back against the rock to wait for him to release me. As I did, I felt something cool and steamed, like mist, spread out behind my back and neck. To my new water senses, it didnt feelright. Moments later, before I could ponder the difference, the mist fused into slimy skin.Dori My scream was cut off by cold, clawed hands. One covered my mouth, and the other gripped my throat. Dorian had spun around before my cry, making me t hink hed sensed something before I had. He leaped toward me, but four wet, human forms materialized in the air before him, blocking his way. Nixies. Water spirits.Two were male two were female. Legends whispered they could shape-shift into more beautiful forms, but here they appeared drab. wet skin, mottled and gray. Clothes sodden and dripping. Seaweedlike hair hanging down. The one retention me pushed me down flat to the ground, all the better to cut off my atomic number 8 that much faster. Water dripped onto me from her hair, and her eyes gleamed a sickly green in the waning light. She hissed with pleasure and press harder while I frantically assessed my options.I finished the assessment pretty quickly because I had no options. I was fully armed but unable to reach anything because of Dorians fucking slavery fetish. Covering my mouth stopped me from summoning a minion. The world flickered with starbursts as my air disappeared. My lungs and throat heaved, trying desperately t o latch onto something. Her claws dug into the complaisant flesh of my neck, and I half-wondered if shed rip it out rather than wait for suffocation.My only hope was Dorian, but he wouldnt get to me anytime soon, not with his own soldiers of Every stone and pebble in the area suddenly lifted off the ground. Shortly thereafter, the really large stones and boulders followed suit. Those heavy(a) ones exploded, fracturing into thousands of tiny shards. All those little pieces of rock rose higher, joining each other, slowing rotating in a clockwise manner.My captors grip had lessened slightly, probably from surprise. It didnt return my air, but I twisted my head enough to see Dorian standing with his arms raised up like some sort of symphony conductor. to a higher place him, that cyclone of snappy rocks spun faster and faster, a blur to the eye. Then, as though better-looking the songs grand finale, he brought his arms down sharply.And down came the rocks.A circle of that maelstro m swooped and soared, the primitive predecessors of bullets. At first their movements seemed chaotic, and I feared falling into their path. But it turned out every rock had its own plan, its own target. Those sharp pieces honed down on the nixie holding me, piercing and slicing with a boisterous precision. She opened her mouth in a silent scream as blood splashed onto me, and her torn body collapsed in a bloody, wet pile. I twisted out from under her, taking in big gulping breaths of air.Beyond her, Dorian gave another downward motion, urging his orchestra to its next climactic moment. The rocks swooped into another nixie, cutting it to pieces. Then anotherand anotheruntil the nixies were nothing but ribbons of blood and gore. Their task complete, the rocks gently fell to the earth, as nutty and placid as drops of rain.The entire counterattack had taken less than a minute.Immediately, Dorian knelt by my side, helping me sit up as I gasped my way back to life. Easy, easy, he warned . Blood covered both of us. piddling breaths.Untie me Get me out of thisHe pulled the silver athame from my belt. In moments, he sliced open the cords, freeing my arms and hands. I jerked away, my adrenaline still surging. He reached for me, but I flailed against him.Damn you You almost got me killed I yelled, sense of hearing the hysteria in my join. You almost got me killedHe grabbed my upper arms with a solid strength, pulling me to him and forcing me to stillness. Eugenie, calm down. EugenieHe shook me hard where I still struggled, and I halted abruptly, quelled by the harsh sound of his voice and ferocity of his grasp. I could no longer find the silly, languid gentry king. There was a stranger holding me, his face hard and commanding.Do you think Id let anything happen to you? he demanded, almost shouting. Do you think Id let anything harm you?I swallowed, still in pain from the nixies claws on my throat, and found my body shaking. His grip was so tight, I might as well ha ve been tied up again. He scared me, having turned into someone else. Someone powerful and awe-inspiring. Looking into his eyes and seeing the sudate on his face, I realized fear had touched more than just me. He was scared too, not for himself, but for what had almost happened to me. Something inside me move up, and I nearly slumped into him.I cant believe what you did, I whispered. I killed all the time without much thought or effort, but thisthis had been something else entirely. And he wasnt even at full strength in this world. You slaughtered them.I did what I had to do. The fire up in his voice had faded, replaced with a deadly calm. And youll be able to do the same someday. One of his hands released me and moved to my head, smoothing my hair back. He pressed our bodies together and rested his cheek against mine so his soft words could spill into my ear. You will surpass me, Eugenie. Your power will be so great, none will stand against you. Armies and kingdoms will fall, an d they will bow down before you.I found myself trembling again, feeling the same fear and excitement that had filled me during our last kiss. Only this time, I didnt know if my feelings came from his bodys propinquityor the promise of power he offered.