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Amara nodded distractedly. “Hurry on, then. If we encounter anyone else, we’ll send them to join you.”
The man kicked his horse’s flank, and Amara flicked the reins, each of us starting off in opposite directions.
“If the storm is so bad,” I began hesitantly, “should we be…?”
I trailed off when Amara began to shake her head.
“I can protect us. We need to get to Eldrida.”
“We do?” I asked, still confused about what was happening.
“It’s not just a bad storm, it’s really bad,” she said in clipped tones. “And more importantly, it’s come on with almost no warning. Anyone with an elements affinity—from medium non-mage strength upward—should have been able to track a weather phenomenon that big from hours ago.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, but even as I spoke, I remembered the preparations we would make on the farm if we got word from Tarin that there was a big storm due the next day. “No one’s going to be prepared.”
“That’s right,” Amara said grimly. “The fishing fleet will have left this morning as usual, and trading ships will be out at sea as well. Not to mention any damage the actual city may sustain.”
I gasped. I hadn’t even thought of ships at sea.
“And once the initial chaos dies down,” she continued, her voice dark, “people are going to start asking questions.”
“Questions? Will they blame the elements mages?”
“Not ours.”
“What do you mean, not our—oh.” My eyes widened as I caught on to her meaning. A large and dangerous storm had come in too quickly, and it had come from the north.
“Do you think it’s possible some Calistan mages drove the storm south?” I asked in a small voice.
“I would like to think no one with the strength and control to do so would be so reckless,” she said savagely. “But I can’t absolutely guarantee it.”
Her shoulders sagged. “Everyone knows Calista is still in the process of rebuilding, and that includes their Mages’ Guild. They lack the structure and experience that governs our own mages. Even if they didn’t do it, people will suspect they did. And when the whole countryside is already on edge…”
“Plus, if they didn’t do it, and this storm isn’t natural…” I didn’t need to complete the question because we were both already thinking it. If the Calistans hadn’t sent this storm, who had?
ChapterFifteen
The winds reached us first, followed quickly by a sheet of driving rain. The wind alone might have been enough to knock us from our seat, but it never had the chance to touch us.
An invisible bubble sprang up around us, an unnatural circle with neither wind nor rain. And when lightning began to arc down from the sky, none of the branches came near us.
The storm spooked Acorn, however, and she picked up her pace again, speeding us toward the shelter of the city walls. Ember was equally unhappy, huddling in my lap and shivering almost constantly while Phoenix sat unusually still on my shoulder.
“How long can you keep this up?” I asked Amara, lifting my voice above the storm. “How long can Acorn?”
“For me, as long as we need.” She peered at the horse. “As for Acorn—shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
I grimaced. “She’s in good health, but this is a fast trot for her given she’s pulling the cart. I’d have to touch her to know how her energy levels are going, though.”
“For now she should be fine. She and I have been together for a long time, so I think I have some idea of her limits.”
We both lapsed into silence, which was easier than trying to be heard above the beating rain, roaring wind, and unpredictable cracks of thunder. It didn’t scare me, though, which surprised me until I remembered I was healing cross elements now. Storms would probably never scare me again.
Thoughts of the people in Eldrida did worry me, though, so it was an uncomfortable ride. After some time, Amara eased Acorn to a stop, directing me to climb down and check on her. I did so quickly, almost collapsing when I landed on my stiff legs. But it only took a moment to recover and rush forward to place a hand against Acorn’s flank.
She was tired, that much was easy to tell. I sent my power into her, easing her aching muscles and refreshing her fatigue. I’d never done it to a horse before, but Luna and I used to secretly practice on each other when Hayes’s lessons went long. We knew if we told him we were doing it, he would lecture us on the difference between a healer easing our fatigue and true rest. But this wasn’t a time to worry about the difference.
When I climbed back into the cart, I nodded at Amara. “She’s ready to go again.”
