Oh, Goddess.The redness in my cheeks burned brighter.
“Ah,” I breathed, tearing my gaze from his.
“You did great in the tavern, by the way,” he uttered. “It was more than great. It was… incredible. I have never seen a Storm Bringer use their magic before. It was powerful.”
“I wouldn’t call myself that,” I replied, my brows furrowing.
“A Storm Bringer?”
That or powerful, I thought as he turned to me.
“Ara, I promise you this. No one else alive can do what you did in there. No one else can call to the storms and its lightning like that. Your magic… It’s magnificent. You should be proud.” He gripped my chin, forcing my eyes to him. “I know I am, just to be by your side.”
My lips parted. He lowered his face, gliding his lips along mine.
“In any way that you’ll have me.”
He released my chin, sitting back in his chair. I blinked rapidly, turning back to the fire without a response.
“How did you manage to control it?”
“I didn’t actually,” I said. He glanced sidelong at me. “I just… asked it. For help.”
“You asked?” He asked incredulously and I nodded. “Well, it definitely worked, however, you did it.”
“I guess so.”
The demonstration convinced the people, I know, but in that moment… It was more than just convincing them of my identity, of our cause. That moment felt like coming home. Like taking a breath for the first time. It was becoming who I was meant to be, who I was always supposed to be. Finally melding with the other half of myself.
I hadn’t had a moment to think about it since it happened, but something had finally clicked into place. Even now, I could feel the pulse beneath my skin, and I knew if I wished it, it would materialize at my fingertips as flickering blue sparks.
It felt like Rogue had said. Powerful. Incredible… Terrifying.
It felt so right to be united, but an uneasiness still lingered in my gut as tohowpowerful it felt. Almost like an unavoidable magnet calling to the energy humming around me.
But those people, they pledged to me. Not Rogue. Not the cause. Me.
And that was especially terrifying. Just the thought made my chest tight, heavy with expectation and anxiety. I closed my eyes and shifted uncomfortably in an attempt to ease the feeling.
But the uneasiness only grew as I thought about what was to come.
“Were you there during the Ten Year War?” I asked suddenly, the words rushing from my mouth.
“Yes.”
“Me too,” I replied and his face jerked towards me.
“You were there? How old were you?”
I picked absentmindedly at my fingernails, eyes locked on the flames—looking but not seeing.
“I was thirteen when it started.”
His face fell as his hand covered his mouth.
“That’s so young,” he mumbled. “How long were you around it? Why were you there in the first place?”
“Evander. He dragged us along,” I paused. “The entire time he was there, so was I.”