The Storm Crow (The Storm Crow, #1)(75)

“They can’t.” My voice strained on the word. None of this made any sense. Was that why the earth had shaken? Had Res somehow used earth crow magic too? But that was absurd.

“Interesting,” Caylus muttered to himself. His fingers tapped along his leg in thought.

I took an unsteady step toward the island and dropped onto the nearest stool. Res let out a low caw as I buried my head in my hands, trying to parse this impossibility. Surely, the shaking had just been a result of Res’s magic releasing after being pent up for so many days. But that didn’t explain how he’d disappeared.

“We’re not stopping, are we?” Caylus’s voice drew me from my thoughts. I blinked at him, and he nodded at Res, who looked completely unfazed by the sudden rush of magic. In fact, he looked stronger, his posture straighter, his feathers darker, as if not using his abilities had been hurting him somehow.

I felt cautiously along the cord between us, questioning gently. Was he okay? Res let out a low coo and lifted his wings, stretching them wide as if insulted by the question.

A grin slid across my lips. “I need a pen and paper.”

Caylus retrieved them for me, and I began scribbling out a plan at the kitchen island. “There are different programs for different crow types,” I told him, knowing he’d want every detail. “We have basic sets of maneuvers for them to start out with, to get a feel for their power and help strengthen the bond between them and the rider.”

His green eyes glimmered with curiosity. “What’s first?”

Facing Res, I focused on the connection between us. “A spark.” As I spoke, I sent a thought down the cord too, imagining Res producing a small spark of lightning. It was one of the most basic storm crow maneuvers, a simple show of energy that many newborns produced on reflex.

Res cocked his head.

“Focus on the source of power inside you,” I said, repeating words I’d heard Estrel whisper to hatchlings first discovering their magic. “Imagine it as an extension of yourself.”

Res swayed, sending groan-like sounds along the cord, before spreading his wings and falling flat onto his back.

I blinked. He lifted his head gently, as if checking that I was looking, then let it flop back down.

“Is he okay?” Caylus asked.

A low rumble in Res’s throat mirrored the vibration of feeling he sent down the cord between us. Something that translated loosely to food food food.

I groaned, dragging my hands down my face. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I crossed my arms. “You’re not getting anything until you make some more lightning, you overgrown chicken.”

Another cooing noise reverberated in Res’s throat.

Caylus turned, withdrawing the box he’d tucked the chicken into. The moment the air caught the scent, Res snapped upright, flaring his wings to flip himself over in a show of agility that left me staring. Caylus tossed him a chicken slice, and he caught it, swallowing in one gulp.

“Sucker,” I muttered.

“More after you’re done,” Caylus told him.

Res straightened, and like a dam releasing a river, lightning erupted around his body, singeing the air in a crackle of sparks and jagged cracks. Caylus leapt back, but I grinned wildly as the yellow-white energy surrounded Res like a spiderweb. Then as quickly as it came, it vanished.

I expected Caylus to be afraid, but he was staring at the crow with a mix of bewilderment and utter fascination. Leave it to him to be curious about something that could fry him alive.

Res clicked his beak, cawing softly, and I turned back in time to see Caylus break from the trance he so often lost himself to. He tossed Res another chicken piece, and the crow gobbled it greedily.

Caylus went to toss Res a third piece, but I stepped between them. “Hold up! I said a spark, not a ball of lightning. You have to be able to control it.” Erupting into a flurry of searing energy hardly seemed conducive to crow riding.

Res huffed but did as I said. Or tried to. Every time he made to coalesce the lightning, it sputtered wildly. More than once, Caylus and I had to duck behind the island to avoid getting shocked. It took several more tries before Res managed to maintain the energy in a spark at the tip of his beak before releasing it in a snap of sizzling air. Caylus gave him the next chicken slice, and around we went. We worked on the spark of lightning several more times before doing a few wing exercises to help strengthen his muscles.

It would take a while for Res to truly master the basics of his powers, but we wouldn’t be able to try anything more advanced until we were away from Illucia.

That storm had been too close a call.

*

I helped Caylus clean the kitchen before returning to the castle. Apparently, everyone just thought the weather a freak storm, despite the sky being almost clear of clouds. With sunlight streaming down to illuminate the dark stone streets and deep green foliage, Sordell almost looked peaceful.

Even its buildings wore masks.

Despite the sunny day outside, the castle corridors still prickled with cold. A breeze brushed my skin. I looked up for the source, slowing as I approached Kiva and my chambers. Tension crept up my shoulders. Something was wrong. The door hung open at an awkward angle, and I glimpsed an overturned chair.

I shot forward, silently cursing myself for not carrying my bow and arrows.

The room was empty, and it was a mess. Chairs overturned, plants knocked askew, slices deep into the couches. One window had been broken, letting in the cool breeze.