Let the Storm Break (Sky Fall #2)(21)

Still, it feels especially eerie when we reach the open air and I notice all the giant black birds lining the rocks all around us. I remember seeing them on my way in, and I remember Audra telling me that birds are drawn to her mother—one of the few things the two of them have in common.

But I can see now that these are vultures.

I don’t want to think about what they’re waiting around for.

We race even harder on the way home—like both of us can’t get away from the Maelstrom fast enough—and I draw what energy I can from the wind. But I wish I could feel Audra’s trace.

The pull of our bond is so weak it’s almost like it’s not there, and that’s not what I needed after all my crazy doubts.

“I have something special planned for you today,” Os tells me as the Coachella Valley comes into view—stretches of green and color that seem totally out of place surrounded by so much barren desert. “A new trainer.”

“Really? I’m done with Fang?”

I can’t say I’m sad. The guy blasts the crap out of me every session.

But Os shakes his head. “Feng and Gus are still your guardians, and you will continue to train with Feng for the Northerlies. But it’s time you start practicing with Southerlies.”

He smiles as he says it, and it reminds me of my dad when he’s about to make me do something I’m definitely going to hate but that he thinks will be “good for me.”

But when I ask Os about it, he just steers toward the Gales’ base—an empty field of sand with a row of scraggly pine trees shielding it from the freeway. Giant holes in the dunes are the only things that set it apart from the billion other desert fields around here, and it still bums me out that the headquarters for my sylph army looks more like the home of mutant gophers. But the Gales try to stay underground as much as possible, away from Raiden’s searchwinds. And it’s not like they need a lot of fancy equipment. All they need is wind.

“What’s with the crowd?” I ask as I spot at least a dozen Gales gathered in the wash that cuts down the center of the field. It’s more guardians than I’ve ever seen aboveground at once.

“You’ll see.”

My suspicions grow when we land in the wash and I see the way all the Gales are grinning. Even Fang looks ready to crack a smile, and Gus gives me a cocky nod.

“Vane,” Os says before I can ask Gus what the hell is going on. “I’d like you to meet your Southerly trainer.”

They all move aside, revealing a seriously gorgeous girl with blond wavy hair rustling in the warm breeze. She stares at me with shy, clear blue eyes, and her peachy cheeks flush pink.

I can guess who she is before Os introduces her.

Solana.

The one they all want me to marry.





CHAPTER 14


AUDRA





I

need a plan.

The second Aston finished his warning, he snuffed out all the winds and dragged me back to the cave.

I should’ve seen it coming.

Should’ve fought harder.

Should’ve . . .

There’s an endless list of things I should’ve done. It’s too late for any of them.

“And how’s my new roomie doing?” Aston asks, reappearing in

the cave’s entrance.

He used sickly green drafts to tie me to a sharp-edged boulder

and told me to get all my crying out of my system while he went to

patrol his perimeter. But I haven’t shed a single tear.

If I learned one thing from growing up with my mother, it’s how

to survive with a selfish, psychotic killer. I just have to stay calm and

keep him distracted until I figure out a way to escape.

“Still sulking, I see,” he says when I don’t respond. “It’s really not

a good look for you. Almost as unpleasant as this.”

He slips out of his cloak and I have to look away. The midday

sunlight makes his wounds even more disturbing.

He laughs. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. I certainly have.” He waves his hands around, making the gaps in his arms whistle

before he utters a string of unintelligible commands and the cave fills

with salty ocean breezes.

“I figured you could use some fresh air,” he tells me as he plops

down across from me, “But don’t do anything foolish. Then I’ll have

to hurt you—and contrary to what you may be thinking, I’m really

not interested in torturing you. I never developed a stomach for that

sort of thing. Especially with pretty girls.”

“I’m not going to try anything,” I tell him, ignoring his flirtatious smile.

Not yet.

Not until I’m sure I’ll succeed.

Cool drafts whisk around me, filling the air with soft songs

that promise a calmer time ahead. But I’m more relieved to feel the

scorching pull of my bond again.

Vane’s still safe—and still far away.

I’m not sure how much longer that will last.

Between the message I sent him and the way Aston keeps cutting off my trace from the sky, it’s only a matter of time before Vane realizes I’m in trouble. And he would be no match against Aston if