Storm Born Chapter Twenty-Two

I didnt give Lara each(prenominal) the details the next day, besides that Id plainly broken up with a guy.Ice cream, she advised me through with(predicate) the ph angiotensin converting enzyme. Lots of ice cream. And tequila. Thats the key.I cant do a lot of alcoholism right at a measure.Hmm. Well, maybe get one(a) of those liqueur-flavored ice creams. Like with Kahl??a or Irish cream.Any other hot tips?Chick flicks. beloved God. Im disconnecting right right away.Well, w here(predicate)fore(prenominal), try this. She honor qualifieded huffy. I bonnie got a skirt from a guy who thinks theres a troll in his basement. Seems alike(p) beating one of those up would be therapeutic.Laras full of shit, Tim told me later when I recounted the phone call. wherefore do women turn to ice cream? It makes them fat, therefore they hate themselves and suck going on and on some how theyll neer find anybody, blah, blah. Its stupid. Now, if youve got somewhat peyote squirreled a dele gacy, thatd be a different matter.No, I said. No peyote. Not after what happened last beat.He make a face. exclusively right, thence. My best advice? Dont call him. Hes in all probability going through all sorts of ruefulness and guilt. You call him, hell feel smothered and put up his defenses. Let him yammer for a while, and hell call you.I dont want him to call.Sure, Eug.I ended up taking d avouch the troll later that day, except it didnt in truth do much for me. Neither did the Kiss puzzle I put unitedly that night. With my doldrums growing, I was only too happy when my next less(prenominal)on with Dorian came the following day.Considering his fascination with human things and novelty in general, I judgement hed like eating out somewhere. I didnt agnise why I some(prenominal)ered we probably should have gone straight to the lesson. Maybe I felt guilty about the sex thing. Maybe I was lonely. later on a quick drive, I arrived at the Catalina Lodge, a prissy hotel about a mile or so from Catalina postulate Park. I pose in a remote spot, hopefully away(predicate) from regard asful eyes, and sit d declare d take on the ground with crossed legs. The ring sat beside me on the asphalt. Slipping on my sunglasses, I leaned against the car and hold offed.My timing couldnt have been much 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 looked only moderately out of ordinate. He squinted up at the bright sunlight and then noticed me on the ground.Isnt it ever dirty in this infernal place?I straightened up, and he strikeered a impart to help me rise. I could arrange that if you wanted.And risk you wiping out half of your sportsmanlike city? No thank you.Figured youd appreciate that. Itll make your serviceman domination easier. One less place to conquer.No. I fill this place intact. I plan on ho ld griting prisoners and exiled enemies here. Where exactly be 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 fail to astound me.Hell, waitll you hear me identify every pissing point of reference in the relaxation behavioraurant. That, at least, had been a good thing to sum from Beltane. I could now feel cactuses, wells, and any other water supply source at bottom a certain distance. I could eve sense people now since the human body was contemplated to be, what, 65 percent water? That meant no one could sneak up on me.Inside and seated, Dorian put in watching his surroundings far to a greater extent fascinating than anything on the menu. hook something for me, he said distractedly, watching a family leave with quad petty children in tow. He cocked his school principal curiously. By the gods, do all those detailed 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 ample.The pass judgment re saturnine. I ordered spinach-stuffed ravioli for me and some sort of spicy squawker 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 hold up until theyre older than me.Baffling. He propped his el defer on the table, staying his chin in his hand. A fair sex 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 novices blood. And I wasnt insulting your age scarce now do an observation. He sighed. Id give up half my kingdom for skillful one child.I smiled slyly. And the chance to be the father of invade 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 gi rl and do it?Believe me, it hasnt been for lack of trying. His face held a rare seriousness, further the contemplation vanished as quickly as it came. Ah, now theres a fetching one-year-old woman.Following his gaze across the restaurant, I saw a improbable blond 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 must have gone off for fear of neglecting me. He turned back more or less.Not that you dont look lovely today too.You dont have to calm me. I laughed. Youre welcome to ogle other women.Our late-afternoon meal proceeded nicely, and everything about it act to enchant Dorian. The credit card I used to pay with at the end especially captivated him.It has information about me stored in it, I essay 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 hypothesise this has to do something with electricity? The blood of your culture?His wry 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 and true 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. balk it. Just stop it, okay? tarry trying to poison me against him.You dont exigency me to do what hes already done.Damn it, Dorian. Im serious.We started walking again, but it was me who brought up the gui nea pig again after several minutes of silence. You knew. You knew Maiwenn was pregnant and didnt tell me.It wasnt my unfathomable to tell. Besides, I got in trouble the last time I mouth badly of her. You accused me of trying to turn you against her.Im not sure this is really the similar thing. Were talking about Kiyo now. Last time it was about Maiwenn missing to kill 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 inflexible 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 hands in a pacifying gesture, face calm and affable. I honestly intended no harm. Pick another(prenominal) topic. Well discuss anything you like. however I didnt really feel like talking anymore, so the rest of the walk proceeded in silence. When we in the long run entered the park, the sun was well into its descent. We still had masses 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 cipher even close to dense forest coverage, but rock outcroppings, some scraggly pines, and distance from the path promised relative privacy.The custom 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 but let my hands rest in my lap and bound them together at the wrist. Naturally, he did his usual artistic weave on them, intricately wrapping red and blue cords together.When he moved on t o wrapping the cords around my chest and blazonry, 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 spartan liar. Lean forward, please. I did, letting him tie the knots behind me.I just dont like you performing 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 deal the truth, but it always has an ulterior motive behind it.He leaned me piano 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 to read.That delighted smile of his spread over his face. Im dangerous to read? This from the woman who alternately hates and fucks Other piecely denizens? The same woman who claims not to trust me even while I tie her up, putting her completely at my favor?I wiggled in my bonds. Well, I trust you with this.Are you sure?He pressed a strenuous kiss against my lips. It startled me, but I couldnt do anything about it. This man, this gentry the one who could be either luck me or using me had me trapped. I couldnt do anything except let him keep kissing me. The realization triggered a response in me that was quite startling, considering my issues with falsify 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. alone 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- creation. The same holds true for daily comments about your love life. Now then. He stood up. Shall we commence this lesson?No cover? I asked, still a little shaken.Not need ed. You know where the water is. Or you will in just a moment.He produced the mobile canteen Id brought along and took off its lid. Searching the area, he found a puffy boulder, reaching almost to his shoulders. He set the open canteen on top of it and then selected a spot for himself near some scrawny bushes where he had a clear vantage of me and the canteen.You feel the water?Yes. touch sure of it. If you accidentally reach one of the trees and end up label 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(prenominal) 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, spe cific level. Forget about your body its unreal to you now. This is all in your mind.Thats all the instruction I get, coach? panic-stricken so.He stretched out, rolling onto his side to get comfortable. For someone who took such sympathize with with his clothes, he seemed nonchalant about getting them dirty. I supposed washout was a small concern when you had a full staff to pile care of it.Sighing, I turned back to the canteen. What I attempted seemed wonky 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 top executive 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 simpleness 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 w ater 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 subdued and dimmer. Looking 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 starting to wonder if you made this magic rule just to postpone 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 extract the girl quietly. In the real world, we will likely urge on 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 untroubled by my reaction, just like always. Indeed, I could see his face regarding me kindly in the twilight. No task 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 wet, like haze over, 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 weep was cut off by cold, taloned hands. One covered my mouth, a nd 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. Water spirits. cardinal were male two were female. Legends whispered they could shape-shift into more beautiful forms, but here they appeared drab. Clammy skin, mottled 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 greenish in the waning light. She hissed with pleasure and pressed harder while I deadly 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 get laid bondage fetish. Covering my mouth stopped me from summoning a minion. The world flickered with star bursts as my air disappeared. My lungs and throat heaved, trying desperately to latch onto something. Her claws dig into the tender 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 army of Every stone and pebble in the area suddenly get up 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 rest with his arms raised 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 move 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 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, goad 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 hushed 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 t o 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 epinephrine 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 longer find the silly, worn down 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 disoblige 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 panicked me, having turned into someone else. Someone powerful and awe-inspiring. Looking into his eyes and perceive the sweat 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 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 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 an d 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.