Storm Born Chapter Twenty-Two

I didnt give Lara all the details the next day, only that Id just broken up with a guy.Ice cream, she informed me done the phone. Lots of codswallop cream. And tequila. Thats the key.I cant do a lot of drinking right now.Hmm. Well, maybe invite one of those liqueur-flavored ice creams. Like with Kahla or Irish cream.Any opposite hot tips?Chick flicks.Good God. Im disconnecting right now.Well, then, try this. She sounded huffy. I just got a call from a guy who thinks theres a troll in his basement. Seems exchangeable beating one of those up would be therapeutic.Laras bounteous of shit, Tim told me later when I recounted the phone call. Why do women work on to ice cream? It makes them fat, then they hate themselves and start going on and on some how theyll never find anybody, blah, blah. Its stupid. Now, if youve got some peyote squirreled away, thatd be a contrasting matter.No, I said. No peyote. non after what happened at long last time.He made a face. All right, then. My best advice? Dont call him. Hes probably going through all sorts of regret and guilt. You call him, hell tactile property smothered and put up his defenses. Let him stew for a while, and hell call you.I dont want him to call.Sure, Eug.I finish up victorious down the troll later that day, that it didnt unfeignedly do a great deal for me. Neither did the Kiss puzzle I put unitedly that night. With my doldrums growing, I was only too happy when my next lesson with Dorian came the following day.Considering his fascination with piece things and novelty in general, I thought hed like eating bug out somewhere. I didnt go through why I bothered we probably should beget gone straight to the lesson. Maybe I mat up indictable 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 Park. I parked in a remote spot, hopefully away from watchful eyes, and sat down on the ground with cut throu gh legs. The ring sat beside me on the asphalt. Slipping on my sunglasses, I leaned against the car and waited.My timing couldnt prevail been more perfect. A few minutes later, I felt the pressure and tingling, and then Dorian materialized beside me. Hed left the robes and cloaks at home, wearing dark pants and a blousy, sage-colored shirt that face uped only moderately out of place. He squinted up at the bright sunlight and then noticed me on the ground.Isnt it ever cloudy in this infernal place?I straightened up, and he offered a reach out to help me rise. I could arrange that if you wanted.And risk you wiping out half of your fair city? No thank you.Figured youd appreciate that. Itll make your world command easier. One less place to conquer.No. I need this place intact. I plan on keeping prisoners and exiled enemies here. Where exactly are we today? simple 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 fail to astound me.Hell, waitll you uplift me identify all(prenominal) water source in the restaurant. That, at least, had been a good thing to come from Beltane. I could now feel cactuses, wells, and any other water source within a certain distance. I could even sense people now since the human body was supposed to be, what, 65 percent water? That meant no one could sneak up on me.Inside and seated, Dorian found watching 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 exact ones belong to them?I glanced up. Likely.And their mother looks pregnant again. Incredible. Back home, those people would be worshipped as fertility deities. A family with two children is remarkable enough.The waitress returned. I ordered 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 older than me.Baffling. He propped his elbow on the table, resting his chin in his flip over. A woman your age could have had that many children by now.Hey, Im like twenty-six. Im not that old. I dont even look my age.Thats your fathers blood. And I wasnt insulting your age merely making 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.Then why dont you find some nice girl and do it?Believe me, it hasnt been for lack of trying. His face held a rare seriousness, simply the expression vanished as quickly as it came. Ah, now theres a fetching young woman.Following his gaze across the restaurant, I saw a steep blond woman exit the restroom. She was stuffed into a ti ny 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 must have gone off for fear of neglecting me. He turned dorsum around. non 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 enchant Dorian. The credit greenback I used to pay with at the end especially captivated him.It has information about me stored in it, I tried 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 imagine this has to do something with electricity? The blood of your culture?His ironical tone made me smile. Something like that.It wasnt until we were on the mile and a half walk 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 contact 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 great insult.Odd. I think thats what Id do if Id offended 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. Just live 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 some(prenominal) minutes of silence. You knew. 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 badly of her. You accused me of trying to turn you against her.Im not sure this is really the same thing. Were talking about Kiyo now. Las t time it was about Maiwenn wanting to pop me.And you dont think theyre the same thing?I stopped walking. What do you mean?Kiyo is her friend, formerly her lover, and now the father of her child. He stands firmly with her against Storm Kings invasion. Yet, where would he stand if it came to a choice between you or her? What if Maiwenn decided 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 words. I abruptly turned away and barely recognized my own voice when I spoke.I dont want to talk about this anymore.He held up his workforce in a pacifying gesture, face tranquilize and affable. I honestly intended no harm. Pick another(prenominal) topic. Well discuss anything you like. scarcely 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 still had plenty of light and set out to pick a good place to wo rk. We ended up following one of the less traveled trails and then deviated from it into a semi-treed area. We had nothing even destination to dense forest coverage, but rock 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 rock. 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, in an elaborate way wrapping red and blue cords together.When he moved on to wrapping the cords around my chest and arms, his eyes flicked to mine and then back 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. Lean forward, please. I did, letting him tie the knots bottomland m e.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 back 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 heavy(p) to read.That delighted 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 pressed 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 kissing me. The realiza tion 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 elicit 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 just a moment.He produced the canteen Id brought along and took off its lid. Searching the area, he found a large boulder, reaching closely to his shoulders. He set the open canteen on top of it and then selected a spot for himself near some scrabbly bushes where he had a clear van tage 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. tender 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. draw a blank 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 mortal 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 mental faculty to engineer care of it.Sighing, I turned back to the canteen. What I attempted seemed ludicrous but, then, so had touch modality 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 efficacy 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 training 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 thing 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. Looking over at Dorian, I swore he was asleep.Hey, I said. No respon se. 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 starting to wonder if you made this magic rule just to protract 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 overstretch 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 being whiny 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 unmolested 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. shutdown 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 wet, 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 coalesced 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 think 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. piddle spirits.Two were male two were female. Legends whispered they could shape-shift into more beautiful forms, but here they appeared drab. Clammy skin, dappled and gray. Clothes sodden and dripping. Seaweedlike hair hanging down. The one holding me pushed me down flat to the ground, all the better to cut off my oxygen 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 pressed harder while I frantically assessed my options.I finished the assessment passably quickly because I had no options. I was fully armed but unable to reach anything because of Dorians fucking bondage 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 to latch onto something. Her claws dug into the tender flesh of my neck, and I half-wondered if shed rip it out sort of than wait for suffocation.My only hope was Dorian, but he wouldnt get to me anytime soon, not with his own army of Every stone and pebble in the area sud denly lift off the ground. Shortly thereafter, the really large stones and boulders followed suit. Those big 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(a) up like some sort of symphony conductor. Above him, that cyclone of sharp rocks spun faster and faster, a blur to the eye. Then, as though giving the songs grand finale, he brought his arms down sharply.And down came the rocks.A portion of that maelstrom 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 fierce precision. She o pened 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 soft 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. Small 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, hearing the hysteria in my voice. 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 longish 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 have been tied up again. He scared me, having turned into someone else. Someone supplyful and awe-inspiring. Looking into his eyes and seeing the suds 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 eased up, and I nearl y 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 heat 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, and 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 proximityor the promise of power he offered.