Chapter 20
Romulus
I’ve never been so worried in my entire life. The sky above Laini and Leafshire Cove grows darker with every second. I can’t fly quickly enough.
Laini is up in my tower, her sunny hair flying in the rising wind and her hand raised to me like she doesn’t know whether to wave or not. My mark shivers under my skin as if the wind is ruffling the rose petals around the small heart shape.
Lifting the speaking cone to her mouth, Laini shouts, “Use your magic! Make a shield!”
But I can’t. It’s too risky. Within minutes, I’m landing on the tower’s roof and climbing down to Laini. She steps back, her eyes wide. All I want to do is fly her awayfrom here.
“We should leave.”
“You don’t want to just let Rustion and everyone else here suffer. You’re just scared.”
No one has ever spoken to me the way Laini does. “You’re right. I can’t make the shield.”
As if the storm senses my trepidation, lightning flashes in a magical scarlet shade, and the sky grumbles noisily. The sound of people calling out for younglings and slamming doors carries up from the streets.
“Just try, Rom. I believe in you.”
I lean out the far opening and examine the coming tumult of clouds and lightning. Flashes of blue, pink, and green dot the entire horizon.
My throat goes tight. “This is bad, Laini.”
“I know! That’s why I called for you.”
“You didn’t just ask for help.”
Her cheeks flush. “I wanted you to see that I’m not afraid of my feelings for you. I will remain a friend if that’s what you want, but I’m here, wanting you in any way I can have you.”
My heart swells. “Do you have a mark?”
She nods, her eyes filling. “Do you?”
“Aye.”
Her eyes close, then open again, and ferocious is the only way to describe her look now. “Use yourmagic, Romulus Greystone. Be the monster we need right now.”
Shaking my head, I spread my hands and reach inside for my power. This is a mistake. But she’s right that Leafshire Cove will be hammered into near oblivion by this level of storm if some solution doesn’t arrive soon. I must be that solution.
Visions of the abbess shouting down at me blink through my mind. Blowing out a breath, I shove those memories away. She isn’t here. And if someone like Laini believes in me, perhaps the abbess had it all wrong the entire time. Maybe the death in the last town truly wasn’t my fault.
“You are good,” Laini says. Her hand is on my forearm, and her gaze is imploring and genuine. “No matter what happened in your past. You are a force for good. It begins now. Bring out that magic, monster, and show us what you’ve got!”
A lightness fills me despite the fear tugging at my mind and the thunder smashing the air around us. I take encouragement from Laini’s touch and summon magic from deep within me. A snapping, cracking sensation rolls through me, and my blood goes stone cold as the magic rises. The tower sways slightly. Laini whimpers, but she keeps her hold on me. I eye the town below. The cobblestoneslining the market area quake violently. I have to aim the magic carefully, or I’ll destroy everything and everyone in the path of the stones. Shingles fall from the roof to smash on the road, and I don’t think it’s just the wind. It’s my power drawing them free due to the mineral content in each shingle.
“You can do this, Rom.” Laini’s voice is serene. I’m amazed at her composure, considering the scent on the wind says the storm is nearly on us.
I sense the minerals in the cobblestones and focus on their exact make up, so I will only affect those specific rocks and not the ones buried below or those used in the walls of homes and shops. Invisible magic pours from my palms down to the roads. I picture the magic slithering down all the streets in town, blocking off the cobblestones that are too close to people, animals, or structures. Once I have the right stones cloaked in magic, I tug. Sweat beads on my forehead and drips down the back of my neck despite my cold skin and the way the power fills me with strength. Mentally, holding on to the exact borders I’ve created in the streets is a slippery thing. The wind whips through the tower openings, thrusting debris across my arms and face. Laini makes a small sound of surprise, but she keeps her hand in place on me and doesn’t falter.
I envision the cobblestones rising, rising, rising.
Magic swirls around me, and then it begins to scatter.
“No…”
The tower rumbles, and Laini gasps, her fingers almost leaving their perch on my arm. Lightning flashes scarlet and green, and the storm growls louder and more fiercely than anything I’ve experienced. I’m losing control. My power slips away, heading for the stone in the structures near the streets.
