Taken by Storm (Storms of Blackwood Book 1)

by Elle Middaugh

  “So, what god does his power come from?” I asked.

  “Demeter,” Dan said, still panting heavily. “Goddess of... harvest and... growth.”

  Ben touched one of the strands of straw and turned it into a living, flowering vine. He grabbed a few more strands and turned those into hollow, trunk-like shoots. Then he weaved the vine in between them, forming a small wall. He repeated this process until he'd constructed a box of some sort.

  His fingers plucked a new strand of hay, and this time turned it into a plant with swelling red fruit. He plucked the fruit and put it in his box. Then he made another plant, but this time the fruit was large and striped in two alternating shades of green. He added those to the box as well.

  As he worked, something strange happened to him. His movements became sloppy, and he stumbled around as if he suddenly couldn't see.

  "Ben?" I asked, taking a step forward, concerned for his well-being.

  But Cal put a hand on my shoulder and halted my advance. "He can't hear you, Alexis."

  I turned around quickly. "What?"

  "The price of Ben's magic is his five senses. The longer he uses his power over harvest and vegetation, the less he feels. He eventually goes numb and blacks out."

  I gasped, and my hand flew to my mouth. "How does he recover?"

  Dan took another deep breath and smiled. "Water."

  "It's a double-edged sword, for sure," Cal said, popping another chocolate into his mouth. "He's the perfect candidate for ruling the desert, because he can make anything grow, even in the sand. That's why we call him the Sand Prince. But at the same time, what does the desert not have very much of?"

  My eyes widened. "Water."

  "Exactly." Cal offered me another chocolate, then returned the bag to his pocket. "If he ever used too much magic, he could be senseless for days until they were able to hydrate him again."

  "That's awful," I decided immediately. "The Storm King should allow him to rule somewhere else."

  "He can't," Cal explained with a small smile. "If he did, everyone in the Obsidian Desert would die. They need Ben's care and protection, or they'd starve."

  My features fell as the weight of Ben's fate sank into me. What a serious responsibility. I turned back to him, watching as he collapsed onto the floor, hearing nothing, seeing nothing, feeling nothing...

  Finally, Dan took pity on him. He held his breath and lifted the water back out of the trough, then slowly funneled it into his brother’s mouth.

  Eventually, Ben sat up and his brown eyes focused on us once more. He blinked a few times, and then his gaze shot over to his box filled to the brim with fruits and vegetables of every variety—at least half of which I'd never seen before.

  He smiled, apparently pleased with his work. “I’ll have to donate this haul to one of the orphanages in town.”

  Oh, my gods, he was a bleeding heart, and I was totally there for it.

  When he returned to our line, I looped my arm in his and squeezed. "You really are the kindest soul I've ever met."

  He grinned. "Thanks, Sailor. That means a lot to me."

  "A lot?" I teased. "That's the best you can do? Now who's the lexicon?"

  He chuckled as my gaze somehow landed on Rob. He was the last prince to go, but he didn't appear to be in any hurry. Both vampires stood beside him, encouraging him to show off his skills, but he seemed to be refusing.

  "Go ahead," Tamara said.

  "We trust you," Taron added, lifting his chin a bit higher.

  "No." Rob’s lips were thin as he crossed his arms. "I'm not going to do that to you. She's already seen enough magic."

  “It’ll be fine,” Tamara insisted.

  “Just a few minutes,” Taron agreed.

  But Rob was having none of it. “I won’t, and that’s final. I’m sorry.”

  Tamara sighed heavily but nodded. "Very well, Your Highness."

  Taron turned to face me. "Are you ready to see what your power is now?"

  This time, I smiled and nodded. Whatever it was, I'd find a way to cope with it, just like the princes had. If they could do it, I could do it. I wasn’t a delicate little pansy.

  “Brace yourself,” Taron said, catching me a bit off guard.

  Tamara smiled wickedly, showcasing her pointed teeth and sending the fear of the gods back into me. “This part tends to get a little... messy.”

  Then, without a moment to prepare, they attacked.

  Chapter 10

  Taron grabbed a knife from the weapons table and whipped it at me. It sank into my chest before I could so much as blink, burning with the infernal pain of a wildfire.

  I sucked in a harsh gasp just before I screamed.

  Taron cocked his head and had the decency to look remorseful. "Have you no survival instincts at all?"

  "Fuck you!" I gritted out as tears stung my eyes. "Ah!"

  I blinked away the blur and took in every face surrounding me, one by one. What was the point in this? Doll me up, teach me to be a lady, promise me to a prince... then kill me? Why not just murder me on sight the morning the king found me? That would've been quicker and easier.

  Blood gushed down my beautiful black dress, visible only as a slight liquid sheen in the semidarkness of the room. Well, at least I'd chosen a color that wouldn't be ruined for the next gullible peasant playing princess.

  As a coldness spread through my chest and limbs, a burn blazed in my lungs and throat. I dropped to my knees, sobbing, and curled up into a ball on the stone floor. All I could do was wait to die and curse these motherfuckers to the deepest depths of the underworld.

  May Cerberus eat you slowly and crunch on your bones for months after.

  Rob let out a dramatic sigh, heavy with annoyance.

  "What? I'm not dying fast enough for you, you royal prick?" I hissed as I peeked at the bright red blood covering my left palm. "Go fuck yourself. All of you."

  Cal and Ben looked confused. Dan looked cocky as always. And Rob still just looked annoyed. He rolled his eyes and crossed his burly arms.

  "Get up, Jewels. You're not going to die."

  "I was just stabbed in the chest!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, making the wound bleed harder. The blood had already started puddling on the floor beneath where I lay.

  "Oh," Ben said, as if the answer to some unasked question had just dawned on him. "That's why she's lying on the floor."

  Cal walked over and offered me his hand.

  "Fuck off!" I spat, scrambling further away, causing the pain in my chest to multiply.

  He smiled gently and squatted down to my level. "Rob’s right, Alexis. You're not going to die. You're immortal now. The power on the inside won't let the vessel on the outside fail."

  I swallowed hard, unsure of what to think or believe. Was he seriously telling me the truth? Would I truly never die? Ever?

  "If you knew how to use your powers," Cal said, "you could simply flare and make this as if it never happened."

  Despite the nauseating pain, my features fell flat. “Then why didn’t that Rory guy do that? He could’ve healed himself and kept running, and I wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.”

  Cal remained silent, apparently refusing to answer my question. Or, perhaps, he simply didn’t know the answer.

  "Besides,” I groaned as the pain intensified, “isn't that what they were supposed to be doing? Teaching me how to use them?"

  My accusing glare shot over to the twins. Both sets of crimson eyes looked a little greedy at the sight of so much blood. Over my dead body, I promised them. Which, you know, could’ve been any minute.

  Rob stomped closer. "They thought you'd use some sort of magic on instinct to protect your stupid self. But apparently, you're as dumb as a bag of jewels, Jewels."

  "Oh, fuck off, Prince High and Mighty. Mister I-don't-even-have-to-show-off-my-powers-because-I'm-literally-that-fucking-cool. Get over yourself. You're nothing more than the biggest douchebag in the room."

  My anger intensified
, and I staggered to my feet. That's when my powers decided to kick in, lighting me up in an unnatural blaze of pinkish-peach flames. It curled almost... cutely at the ends. It looked nothing like the fearsome inferno I usually associated with fire. It was hot, though, so I’d never mistake it for anything else. Thankfully, I seemed to be immune to the burn.

  As the magic passed my stab wound, the blade fell right out of my chest and onto the floor, leaving behind... nothing. Not even a scar or a red mark.

  Totally ignoring the fact that I was now 100 percent healed, and the fact that I was completely engulfed in magical peach flames, I stomped over to Rob and jabbed a finger at him. It was insanely satisfying to watch him stumble backward trying to get away from my burning touch.

  "And those two vamp things,” I said, carrying on with my rant, “were not assuming I'd come up with some badass instinctive move. That's why they warned me this tended to get messy. So honestly, why don't you come up with a better reason to belittle me?"

  No smart-mouthed responses passed his lips this time. In fact, he seemed to be stunned into total silence for once. It was a good look on him. Such plush, pink lips...

  What the fuck? I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about that asshole in any sort of... sexual way. And yet... a slow burning lust curled into my core, fanning through me in gentle waves.

  What the hell was happening to me?

  My gaze lowered slowly, taking in the steady rise and fall of his chest, the flat planes of his abs beneath his shirt, down to his groin where his cock twitched beneath his pants.

  My desire intensified, burning brighter as the waves of lust grew taller, pulsing through my bloodstream like the beat of a tribal drum—a primal sound for a primal urge. The drum beat faster. My heart pounded fiercely, and the waves rose higher, amping up my desire to incredible levels.

  His pupils dilated, and his fingers twitched as if they ached to touch something—hopefully me.

  "Uh, why are they just staring at each other?" Dan asked from somewhere off to the side.

  "No idea," Cal said, replying from some distance behind me.

  It was hard to focus on their words when all I wanted to do was tear Rob's clothes off and ride him like a horse. He could be my new Caramel. My sugar daddy. I bet he was even hung like a horse.

  "Well, she was right," Ben said. "Her power does manifest as fire."

  As soon as he said the words, the fire coating my skin went out.

  But the twins, whose expressions I could only barely decipher through the heavy haze of lust, seemed completely fascinated with me.

  Tamara shook her head excitedly. "It's more than that, there's something... else.”

  “It's not quite Hephaestus,” Taron agreed. “There doesn’t appear to be a metal aspect to it."

  “Perhaps it’s Hestia? Goddess of hearth and home. Her symbol is fire.”

  Taron nodded, red eyes wide with wonder. "Possibly. She has Prince Robert almost in a trance. There's some underlying magic taking hold."

  "Should we, like, worry about him?" Dan asked.

  Rob swallowed hard and bridged the gap between us with two long strides. His fingers raked through my hair, drawing pleasure from every cell of my body.

  "Marry me, Jewels," he panted, running his nose along my neck and jawline.

  "Yes," Cal decided nervously, replying to Dan. "We should definitely worry about him."

  In my lust-frenzied state, I wanted nothing to do with his proposal but everything to do with his body. I tipped my head back and captured his mouth with mine, our tongues colliding in a rush of heightened pleasure.

  "What the hell are they doing?" Dan shouted in disbelief.

  Ben chuckled, but the sound fell flat. "I thought the sweet-talking fuck boy would know a heated make-out session when he saw one."

  Cal didn't sound any happier. "Apparently she's chosen a prince."

  I pulled my lips from Rob's and gasped. "No, I haven't."

  But then I was kissing him again like my life depended on it, and the truth of my words quickly died on the air. Even I almost didn’t believe me.

  "This is fascinating," Taron said, observing our crazed foreplay like it was a science experiment. "She clearly has some Aphrodite in her."

  "She’s about to have some Rob in her," Ben muttered sarcastically.

  "Fuck this," Dan huffed. "How do we make it stop? What's her limit?"

  Tamara shook her head, as if piecing together a puzzle in her mind. “Her power is fire and... love? Marriage? Lust?”

  “Or are those the consequences?” Taron pondered. “The price for using the fire?”

  “Well, he didn’t say fuck me,” Cal pointed out. “He said marry me.”

  “So, she’s fire and marriage?” Dan asked. “Hephaestus and Hera? Or Hestia and Hera?”

  “And the price of using her magic is insatiable lust,” Ben continued.

  “Which still doesn’t tell us her limit,” Dan argued. “How long is this going to go on for? And what can we do to get them back to normal?”

  Taron and Tamara exchanged a curious look. One I barely even noticed as Rob ripped his shirt off. Dear gods, he was built and absolutely covered in black and gray tattoos. My mouth practically watered as our lips crashed back together.

  “Cal needs food to recover,” Tamara mused. “Dan needs air.”

  “Ben needs water to recover,” Taron continued. “And Rob needs heat.”

  “Maybe she needs cold?” Tamara suggested. “She’s clearly hot and bothered. If we physically cool her down, maybe she’ll cool down sexually?”

  “Worth a try,” Dan decided quickly, creating a wave of freezing cold water and dousing Rob and me with it.

  I gasped, jumping backward a few feet. Rob and I stared at each other tensely. It was like we weren’t quite sure what had been going on, but we were pretty sure we wanted to keep doing it, and we were equally sure that we shouldn’t be.

  “Come on, Cal, don’t just stand there,” Dan demanded. “She’s soaked. Give her a cold gust of wind or something.”

  Cal quickly sent an icy breeze cutting through the air, making me shiver and cave in on myself, holding my arms tightly as my teeth chattered. Finally, Rob shook his head, as if coming out of a daze, and he quickly frowned.

  “What kind of bullshit was that?” Rob asked me, wiping his lips as if my kiss had been toxic. “Are you part fae or something? Did you fucking glamour me?”

  I frowned and hugged my arms tighter. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m no fae, and I don’t even know what glamour is.”

  Rob spun around to the twins. “I have questions.”

  “We all do,” Ben agreed. “Like, does the marriage power always manifest along with the fire power, or can she learn to separate them? Does it only affect one person at a time, or can she make an entire crowd vie for her hand in marriage?”

  Rob scoffed. “Or is there any way to block her damned powers? I don’t ever want to go through that again.”

  I glared at him. “Fuck you, asshole. As if my kiss was that traumatic.”

  “You mean to tell me you weren’t traumatized?”

  To which I didn’t reply. Because, no, I hadn’t been. Even though it was magic that had spurred our heated actions, I’d still enjoyed every second of it.

  That, of course, made his rejection hurt even worse. For the first time in a while, I felt like crying. Which was stupid, because miners didn’t cry. They were too tough for that.

  “I think that’s enough practice for one day,” Tamara said, possibly taking pity on me.

  Taron nodded. “We need to do some research and come up with a better strategy. We can’t train her if we’re all caught up in an orgy.”

  Dan chuckled. “As long as I’m the one on the receiving end next time, I wouldn’t mind it.”

  That made me smile. “Were you jealous?”

  “Absolutely.”

  My heart warmed. I liked that he didn’t even bother to hide his emotions. That h
e wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest to admit them. It was a damn shame he wasn’t “emotionally available” for a relationship, because I was pretty sure I liked him.

  I glanced at Ben as soon as the thought crossed my mind, and he smiled shyly in return. I liked him too. Then I continued over to Cal, who stood tall and strong with his arms tucked carefully behind his back. Ever the perfect gentleman, even when it came to sharing his delicious chocolate sweets. Was it possible that I liked him too? Not just one but three princes? Not four, because I sure as hell didn’t like Rob, even if I did like kissing his stupid mouth...

  No.

  The sensible part of my brain finally kicked in and overruled my haywire emotions. I might’ve been pleasantly surprised by their looks and mildly pleased with their personalities—for the most part—but I barely knew them. They were the sons of a man who not only murdered my father and countless others in the heat of battle, but also Asher, his own son. How was I to know if they would or wouldn’t be just as cruel and heartless as their father one day?

  I collected my emotions and tucked them safely into my rib cage, allowing my facial features to pool into placidity.

  “Thank you for the lesson,” I said to the twins, doing my best to curtsey without breaking an ankle. “Shall I see you again tomorrow? Same place, same time?”

  Taron and Tamara nodded respectfully. “Yes, Miss Ravenel.”

  I sent him a tiny smile then turned to walk away.

  “Would you like us to walk you back to your room?” Ben asked.

  I could hear the hopefulness in his tone from behind my back, and my eyes fell closed.

  “No, thank you, Prince Benson.”

  I actually hated the formality I’d taken on, but it felt like the smart thing to do.

  Until I knew them—truly—I couldn’t allow myself to get attached.

  Chapter 11

  This sucked.

  I rolled over on the fluffy sofa and stared out my third-story window. Lavender sky was all I could see until the edge of the horizon where the purple bled into vibrant shades of magenta and burnt orange. It was a gorgeous sunset, but unfortunately, that meant dinnertime was drawing closer. Not only would I have to refrain from making an ass of myself in front of the king and the ambassador, but I’d also be forced to see the princes again.