Shannon Messenger - Let the Storm Break

It sucks to be king.

Maybe it wouldnt be so bad if I got a castle and servants and my face on a bunch of money.

But no, I get to be the king of a scattered race of mythical creatures that no ones ever heard of. And they expect me to swoop in and defeat the evil warlord whos been tormenting them for the last few decades. Oh, and hey, while Im at it, I can marry their former princess and restore the royal line!

Yeah, thanks, Ill pass.

I already told the Gale Forcemy army or whateverwhat they can do with their betrothal. And Ive been tempted to tell them exactly where they can shove the rest of their little plans for my life.

But . . . its hard to stay angry when they keep giving me this desperate youre our only hope look. And theyre all so full of stories about the things Raidens done to their friends and families, and the horrifying battles theyve fought. Risking their lives to protect me.

The last Westerly.

The only one capable of harnessing the power of all four winds, twisting them into the ultimate weapon.

Well, they think Im the only one.

Which is the other reason Im playing along with the whole Your Highness thing.

I have someone to protect too. And I can do that much better as Vane Weston, king of the Windwalkers.

So Ill follow their rules and train for their battles. But as soon as Audra comes back . . .

She left twenty-three days, seven hours, and twenty-one minutes agoand yes, Ive totally been counting. Ive felt every second, every mile shes put between us, like our bond has claws and teeth, tearing me apart inside.

And its been loads of fun trying to explain to the Gales why my guardian left me unprotected. Every day that passes makes the excuses Ive given seem weaker.

I thought shed be home by now.

I thought . . .

But it doesnt matter.

Audra promised shed come homeand I want to give her the time she needs.

So Ill wait for her as long as it takes.

Its the only choice I have.

Im not running.

Im chasing.

Racing the sun across the sky, carried by the whim of the wind.

I have no plan.

No path.

No guide along this journey.

Just the whispered songs floating on the breezes, promising that hope still lingers on the horizon.

The birds circle me as I fly, dipping and diving and begging me to join their game. But theyre lost to me now, like everything else. Everything except the one person I should be trying to erase.

I can feel him in the air.

In my heart.

In the empty ache from the space between us, mixed with the delicious sparks that still burn in my lips from our kiss.

Our bond.

I will not regret forging it.

But Im not ready to face it either.

Not until Ive sorted through the tatters of my life. Swept away the lies and mistakes and found someone whos more than the guardian who broke her oath.

More than the traitor who stole the king.

More than the daughter of a murderer.

The last word turns my stomach, and Im grateful Ive gone back to denying myself food and drink.

Ive paid for my mothers sins every day for the last ten years.

I wont pay for them anymore.

But is locking her away enough to erase her influence? Or does it sink deeper, like one of Raidens wicked winds, breaking me down piece by piece?

I always thought she and I were sunrise and sunsettwo opposites that could never meet.

But I have her dark hair and deep blue eyes. Her connection to the birds and her stubborn temper.

Im more like her than I ever wanted to be.

Maybe I am running.

But not from Vane.

From me.

I really miss sleep.

The clock by my bed says 3:23 a.m., and all I want to do is face-plant on my pillow and close my eyes for about a year.

I drop to the floor and do push-ups instead.

Exercise is the only way to stay awake. And hey, maybe Audra will appreciate how ripped Im getting from these late-night workouts. Though Im not sure how much longer I can keep them up.

I havent slept more than a few hours over the last two weeksand it was hardly what Id call restful.

Freaking Raiden and his freaking winds.

The Gales thought hed wait to see how powerful I am before he made any sort of movethough they assigned me a new guardian and set up a base nearby, just in case. But after a few days Raiden found a better way to torture me.

Creepy, broken drafts keep slipping into the valley, drawn to me like heat-seeking missiles. And if they catch me when Im asleep, they slip into my dreams and twist everything I care about into a Slideshow of Suck.

Walls and windows cant block them, and no one can find a command to keep them away. So its either be a Vane-zombie all the time or suffer through the nightmares. Ill take zombie any day.

Ive seen my friends and family tortured so brutally its hard to look them in the eye. And Audra . . .

Watching someone hurt her is like drowning in boiling oil. I wake up screaming and soaked in sweat and it takes forever to convince myself it wasnt real. Especially since I cant hold her or see her to know shes really okay. The pull of our bond tells me shes alive, but it cant tell me if shes safe. For that I have to feel her trace. And thats not easy to do, considering my uptight new guardian, FengI call him Fang to annoy himthinks the only way to protect me is to never let me out of his sight.

Hes seriously insaneand Id probably be going insane too if it werent for Gus.

I glance at the clock, grinning when I see its 3:32.

Gus is supposed to take over Fangs stand-outside-Vanes-window-like-a-stalker shift every night at three thirty, but I swear he shows up late just to drive Fang crazy.

Tonight he waits until 3:37.

Fang screams at him so loud it scares GavinAudras stupid pet hawkout of his tree. But when I glance out my window, Gus is totally unfazed. He winks at me as Fang paces back and forth, waving his burly arms and shaking his head so hard, his dark, scraggly braid keeps whipping him in the cheek. The tirade goes on at least five minutes before Fang switches to the nightly update.

I stop listening.

Its always vague reports from other bases with weird names and weirder army terms, and the few times Ive asked anyone to translate, it turned into yet another lecture on Why I Need to Teach Everyone Westerly. Its just not worth the fight.

I switch to sit-ups, trying to keep my energy up, and Ive done 314 before Fang finally flies away. Physically, Im rocking at my training. Its the memorizing a billion and a half wind commands thats killing me. That, and covering for Audrathough hopefully shell be home soon and I wont have to worry about that part anymore.

If she

I stop the thought before I can finish it.

She is coming backand when she does, I can think of all kinds of awesome ways to celebrate. In the meantime I settle for making sure shes okay.

I stand and stretch, throw on the first T-shirt I find, and climb quietly out my window.

Well . . . I try to climb out quietly.

I cant help yelping when I scrape my arm against the pyracantha, and spend the rest of my sprint across the yard cursing my parents for planting thornbushes outside my bedroom.

What are you laughing at, Legolas? I ask when I make it to Gus. He doesnt get that Im teasing him about his blond, braided hair, and Ive never explained the joke. Probably because he somehow makes the girlie hair work. That, and his biceps are bigger than my head.