Is she jealous?
A jealous guardian angel—that’d be just my luck.
And I’m officially creeping myself out. Not because I think any of this is true, but because my brain even went there. I’m definitely losing it.
I need to put this insanity behind me. My instinct with Hannah was right. I can’t keep chasing dream girls or thinking about magical wind powers or angels—not unless I want to end up the star patient in the local loony bin.
Time to sleep it off and wake up tomorrow like nothing happened.
Except, she’ll be waiting for me. Sneaking into my dreams. Refusing to be forgotten.
Life would be so much simpler if I could just sink into a drugged, dreamless sleep. But the doctors gave me sleeping pills after I survived the tornado and my body broke out in sweat and hives until I threw them up and passed out. Same thing happens with any meds I take. Good thing I never get sick.
Still, the medicine cabinet tempts me as I brush my teeth before bed. Maybe half of one pill could knock me out without triggering an allergic reaction.
It’s not worth the risk. I’ll have to learn to ignore her until she leaves me alone—whatever she is.
Or maybe I just won’t sleep tonight. . . .
No.
Let her come. Then I can finally tell her to leave me alone.
I crawl into bed and flick off the light, pulling the sheet tight around me and squeezing my pillow as hard as I can.
Bring it on, dream girl. I’m ready this time.
CHAPTER 6
AUDRA
I thought he’d never fall asleep.
Crouching in the shadows below Vane’s window, waiting for the sound of his breathing to slow, always makes my legs cramp, no matter how many nights I’ve done it. And tonight I have the added pleasure of sharp thorns from the pyracantha bushes pricking through the thin fabric of the barely there dress I had to change into.
The pain is nothing compared to what I’m about to endure. But the wind has to break through Vane’s mind tonight and make a connection. This is the only way I can make sure that happens.
I’ve tried to awaken his mind every night for the last nine years, whispering on the gentle breeze I send to his room while he sleeps. It’s the most natural way to learn the language of the wind, like a child learning to speak by listening to his parents talk. But I’ve never fully gotten through to him, and any progress I make always vanishes when he wakes, like the strands of a dream slipping away with the morning light.
Time and patience, the Gale Force told me.
I don’t have the luxury of either anymore.
A date roach skitters across my bare foot and I bite back a scream. I’ve trained to face all manner of foe, but nothing is as horrible as the fist-sized, brown vermin that swarm the grounds of this awful place. They’re almost impossible to kill—I’ve had many scurry away after I smacked them with my blade. And they can fly. It isn’t fair that something so useless and ugly has greater skills than Vane.
The thought would be amusing if it weren’t so terrifying. Vane can be crushed far too easily, and I know better than anyone what we’ll face when the Stormers arrive.
A wave of pain rocks me as the memories I try so hard to ignore batter my mental barriers.
Vane’s parents. My parents. The unfathomable force of the cyclone tossing them around like dry leaves in a storm. The vindictive smirk on the Stormer’s lips.
I close my eyes, just like I did that day—but I can’t close out the roar of the winds tearing at me, or the echoes of the Westons’ screams. Or the sound of my father’s voice, before he surrendered himself to save us, ordering me to take care of Vane.
Sounds that will haunt me until I draw my last breath, and probably beyond.
Four of them fought one Stormer, and only my mother survived.
Raiden always sends his Stormers in pairs now. What chance do Vane and I have?
My legs itch to run—to grab Vane and flee this suffocating place. Keep him hidden. Protected.
I fight the urge.
The Stormers will destroy the entire valley in their search to find us. As a guardian, I can’t allow that to happen. Plus, they’d follow our trace. Overtake us eventually.
Forcing Vane’s first breakthrough is the best option.
Our only option.
Besides, I’m strong, and prepared. I haven’t tied myself to the earth with a bite of food or a drop of liquid since the day my father died ten years ago. None of the other Gales have kept the sacrifice so long. But I learned from my father’s mistake. It’s about to serve me well.
I have time to teach Vane to fight. Maybe even trigger his other breakthroughs. And if he can live up to even a fraction of his potential, we’ll be more than enough to take them on. Assuming I succeed tonight . . .
I’ve joined the wind only once before during my training—and I could only bear the pain a few seconds. It will take Vane’s mind a few minutes to have the breakthrough.
I’ll hold on as long as it takes. This is my only chance.