Rage at Rogue’s family burned in me and guilt consumed me so suddenly, so overwhelmingly. Through the tightness in my chest, I took several deep breaths, raising my face to the sky in search of anything calmer than me. My eyes followed as dark clouds blew in the breeze, the stars twinkling in and out of the gaps. Eventually, my breathing steadied. The clouds drifted and dissipated in response, revealing the clear sky once again.
With a heavy sigh, Alden stood to his feet. “This island is also where I taught your father, and it’s where I am going to teach you as well.”
He extended a hand to me and I took it. He hoisted me up and led me to the circle of stones. It was much larger than it appeared from a distance. These stones were actually massive boulders, surrounding a large sparring circle. At the head of the circle was a carving of what appeared to be lightning reaching down to meet the blade of a sword.
“Vaelor carved that there when he felt he had finally mastered his magic. It was the symbol he chose for his kingdom, as he was the Storm Bringer.”
“I saw that title listed in the book of monarchs. What is a Storm Bringer?”
“Storm Bringer is the title given to those who possess a very rare form of magic. Your father is the only one to have existed in my lifetime. For Vaelor, it was created through my and my mate’s combined magic and then blessed by the Goddess. I can wield electricity.” He lifted his hand as a ball of crackling, blue light floated above his palm. “Ara, my mate, had the ability to call the rain from the clouds, so together, they formed Vaelor’s ability tocreatethe storms and control the lightning.”
“Is that why my emotions seem to affect the weather?”
He paused, as if unsure how to continue.
“As I said, the magic of a Storm Bringer is rare and it is not something that has been passed through a bloodline before. It is typically only gifted by the Goddess, but then again, she seems to favor you as much as she did Vaelor.”
“I’m confused. We don’t learn about magic of any kind in Auryna. You’re going to have to break this down for me as you would for a child.”
“For the most part, magical abilities are passed through bloodline: shifting, connections to the elements, the ability to change the weather, to an extent—like my mate, Ara. Those are but a few. It can be mixed or combined when it is a child born to true mates, like with Rogue’s wings from his father and the fire from his mother. But usually, the magic leans one way or the other, choosing either the mother’sorthe father’s magic. And the child is never more powerful than their parents. They are always of the same strength or, sometimes, weaker than the previous generation. It’s what we call familial magic. However, there are instances where the Goddess blesses her chosen ones with more powerful magic. Only those she deems worthy.”
He peeked over at me.
“Ara, you should not have the abilities that you have. Being half-Fae—”
“I should have half the normal ability.”
“Yes, exactly, but you do not. You, at the very least, have the same strength as your father, and even he was unusually powerful. It can only mean that the Goddess has chosen you,” he said confidently as if he truly believed that.
“That’s impossible. Up until a few days ago, I didn’t even know I was Fae at all. Why would she choose me of all beings?”
“That is a question only she can answer, but the spell Iaso cast should have prevented you from ever presenting any Fae characteristics at all. The simple fact that Rogue was able to break it so easily tells me the Goddess must have a hand in it. She wanted it to happen. You’ve truly had no signs or clues at all before Rogue claimed you?”
“No.” The dream in Blackburn flashed through my mind. The one I’d dismissed as soon as we’d left the inn. “Well, I guess in retrospect, some things do seem obvious, but at the time, I just brushed them off as coincidence.”
“Like what?” His eyebrows creased together as his eyes searched my face.
“Well, I have always felt a connection to the sky. As if it knew what I was thinking, what I was feeling.” He nodded as I spoke. “And then, while we were in Blackburn, I had a strange dream that felt so real.”
“A dream?” He looked at me intently. “Tell me exactly.”
“All I remember was standing in an open clearing…” I glanced around and my eyes widened as my heart rate spiked. “Much like this one. Exactly like this one, actually. The sky was dark, ominous, and a storm was blowing in. The wind was howling and I… I knew the sky was trying to tell me something, urging me to understandsomething, but I didn’t know what. That’s when a bolt of lightning shot down to the ground, but it didn’t flash and burn away. It stayed there, connected to the ground, sizzling and crackling, but I wasn’t afraid. I felt… safe. Comforted. I reached my hand out to it and when my hand entered the light, a warmth washed over me and a wave of what felt like recognition, maybe.”
I turned to Alden and he was frozen, his face blank.
“Alden?”
“You had that dream? In Blackburn, you say?”
“Yes, why? What does it mean?”
“I am not entirely sure, but I can tell you Vaelor had the exact same dream when he was young before his powers surfaced.”
“The exact same dream?” I gaped at him, chills spreading across my skin.
“Yes. Exactly.” He paused, bringing his thumb and forefinger to his chin. “I will scour the library and speak with Iaso to see if she has ever heard of dreams repeating in a bloodline. I didn’t think much of it when Vaelor came to me about it, but now…” He shook his head in a daze. “It must mean something.”
After a moment, he cleared his throat.