But I’m still not risking it.
My parents—and every other Westerly—gave up their lives to protect our secret language. And not just because they were brave enough to stand in the way of Raiden’s quest for ultimate power.
Violence goes against our very being.
I’ll never forget the agony that hit me when I ended the Stormer who’d been trying to kill Audra. Even though it was self-defense, it felt like my whole body shattered, and if Audra hadn’t been there to help me through, I’m not sure I would’ve pulled myself back together. I can’t risk letting the power of my heritage end up under the control of anyone who doesn’t understand the evil of killing. Anyone who isn’t as determined as I am to avoid it at any cost. Anyone who isn’t willing to make the kind of sacrifice that might be necessary to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.
Even the Gales—no matter how much they beg or threaten. And yeah, they’ve threatened. They’ve made it pretty dang clear that Audra’s “desertion” is considered an especially serious offense right now, when they need her help so much more. But if they had the power of four on their side . . .
I still haven’t figured out how to handle any of that—except to add it to my list of Things I Will Worry About Later.
“I’ll be back before sunrise,”I tell Gus as I wrap the winds around me and order them to surge.The cool drafts tangle tighter, stirring up the dusty ground as they launch me into the sky.
It takes me a second to get my bearings, and another after that to really get control. Audra hadn’t been kidding when she told me windwalking’s one of the hardest skills to master, and I definitely prefer letting her carry me. But it wasn’t quite the same being carted around by Fang or Gus, and it’s hard to sneak around in my noisy car. So I forced myself to learn how to get around on my own.
The first dozen times I tried, the drafts dropped me flat on my face. Then one night I had some sort of breakthrough. It wasn’t like the times when Audra opened my mind to the languages of the wind—but I did hear something new. A voice beneath the voice of the wind, telling me what the gust is about to do so I can give a new command and keep control.
I asked Gus about it once and he looked at me like I was psycho, so I’m pretty sure it’s something only I hear. Maybe something I picked up from Audra when we bonded, since I hear it best with Easterlies. Whatever it is, I’m grateful for it because it lets me fly faster and farther than even the most experienced Gales.
The lights of the desert cities blur below and I follow the streetlights lining the I-10 freeway, heading up into the mountains. It’s a path I’ve flown dozens of times, but I still feel my insides get all bunched up as I soar over the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm. There are gaps in the rows of blinking red lights now. Places where windmills used to be—before Raiden’s Stormers destroyed them in the fight.
Every time I relive the attack, I can’t help thinking the same thing.
Soon we’ll be fighting his whole army.
The air gets cooler as I fly, and as it sinks into my skin it feels like downing a shot of caffeine. Still, it barely makes a dent in my exhaustion, and my sleep-deprived body stumbles through the landing on San Gorgonio Peak. I sorta half sit, half collapse near the edge of the cliff.
I close my eyes, so tempted to curl up and grab even a few minutes of sleep. But it’s not worth the risk. Besides, I came here for something much more important.
I reach out my hands, searching for Audra’s trace.
I can’t really describe the process. It’s like some part of me connects to the wind, following an invisible trail through the sky that somehow always leads me to her. And I know it’s her.
The rush of heat.
The electricity zinging under my skin.
No girl has ever made me feel like that.
It helps that I’ve dreamed about her most of my life—and that she’s ridiculously hot. But even if she weren’t, Audra’s the one.
Always has been.
Always will be.
I sink into the warmth, leaning back and letting the sparks shock me with tiny zings. It’s almost like she’s holding on to me across the sky, promising that she’s still out there. Still safe.
Still mine.
And maybe I’m crazy, but the feeling seems stronger tonight.
Much stronger.
So intense it makes my heart race and my head spin. And the dizzier I get, the more I can’t help but ask the one question I’ve been trying not to let myself ask since I found her dusty jacket and her hasty goodbye.
Is she finally on her way home?
I try not to get my hopes up in case I’m wrong. But it doesn’t feel like I’m wrong. It feels like she’s so close I could reach out and—
Vane.
The sound makes my heart freeze.
I hold my breath, starting to think I imagined it when she melts out of the shadows.