“Cael?” Drayce gasped.
Caelan’s eyes darted to meet Drayce’s wide, questioning ones. His friend was begging him for a sign, a plan, anything that would save his life. Or even condemn him. Drayce would die for Caelan right then and there without another word if that was what Caelan asked of him.
He would never abandon Drayce. Never use Drayce to save himself.
“Release him,” Caelan bit out slowly between clenched teeth. As he spoke, the wind picked up and the sky dimmed under a rush of black clouds pouring like hot tar across the sky. There had been no conscious thought about tapping into the powers of the God of Storms. It had just come with the rush of anger and the need to free his best friend from danger.
“Careful, Cael. It’s okay,” Drayce warned, and Cael wanted to laugh. Was Drayce really trying to talk him down when it was his life on the line? That was absurd. How could he not destroy everyone in this camp for threatening his life?
Lightning flashed through the clouds and a single bolt slammed into one of the wagons. Chunks of scorched wood exploded outward and horses panicked, breaking loose from where they were tied. Their desperate cries echoed across the valley as they ran for safety. Men shouted orders and ran for cover as well, but Caelan never moved his eyes from the man still holding the knife against Drayce’s neck.
The leader of the camp flinched first. He looked around, bellowing commands at anyone who would listen. His men were falling into disarray, but he had yet to release Drayce.
Chaos wasn’t enough.
These people needed to pay for what they’d done to Rayne. This man needed to pay for hurting Drayce.
Let me help you, Tula whispered in his ear. We can control them. We can break them.
“Yes,” Caelan hissed.
Overhead, the storm broke free, sending fat flakes of snow that filled the violent wind. Hair blew in front of Caelan’s eyes and snow stuck to his lashes, but his gaze never wavered from the man who had returned his attention to him and Drayce.
He said something, but Caelan was no longer interested in trying to understand his words. It was too late for that. The power that had bubbled and burned in his chest lashed out in all directions. The God of Storms had leaped into the sky above, and the Goddess of Life was dancing across the rocky soil toward all the living creatures surrounding them.
Tula’s power crawled up the leg of one man and sank deep into his skin, sliding along under it, and latched on to his brain like a root digging into loose soil. Caelan nearly laughed. He couldn’t understand the man’s thoughts, but he could control his body this way. He called his new puppet closer one jerky step at a time. With a knife pulled, he had the man kneel behind him, and he deftly cut away the rope that bound his wrists together.
The entire time his captor was shouting orders, his face growing redder by the second, but the man never blinked or hesitated.
As soon as Caelan was free, his puppet stood and looked at his boss as he lifted the knife to his own throat. The puppet’s fear ripped through Caelan, but it did little more than bounce off his hardened heart. Caelan couldn’t feel anything for him as he watched the blood continue to trickle down Drayce’s throat.
Do it, Tula whispered.
And he did.
The puppet pressed the edge of the knife in deep and ripped it across his own throat. Hot blood sprayed out, splattered across the back of Caelan’s head before his poor prisoner collapsed to the ground, gasping for air and choking on blood.
The large man tossed Drayce aside and pointed the knife in his fist at Caelan as he shouted, but Caelan ignored the noise. Thunder crashed and rumbled across the valley. Snow clung to the rocks and pummeled the flames in the middle of the camp. Calean was content to let Kaes run amok on the Zastrad mountains.
He was in Tula’s grasp right now, and she promised to exact pain for the damage and torment this man had caused. He was the leader of this group who had hurt Rayne and threatened Drayce. Slowly, he pushed to his feet and faced the raging man who lifted the knife over his head with the intent of burying it in Caelan’s chest.
No, he couldn’t have that.
“Cael?” Drayce’s voice came to him in a shaky whisper. He looked at Drayce, but his gaze was drawn from worried eyes to the bright red that still flowed freely down his throat.
Wrapping Tula’s power in his fist, Caelan threw his arm out, opening his hand as if spreading seeds of the goddess’s power all around him. Like vines, Tula stretched across the ground, seeking out her targets. They were all found in seconds.