Cade didn’t mean to return to the cabin.
In fact, a part of him had sworn he’d never return after what happened here. But with the final pieces of the heist he was planning still afloat in his mind, he had done what he had always done:
He went for a walk.
The quiet strides through the underbelly of Elysia had calmed his mind. With each minute he kept moving, those nebulous thoughts of how he was possibly going to pull off all of his impossible goals got a little clearer. A little closer.
He climbed the switchbacks that led up to the subterranean cliff entrance, emerging into the glade adjacent to the old cabin. Cade paused to look at it. There was nothing inherently evil about it. The crew had removed what remained of the blood stains in the clearing just beyond the old shack. And yet, with each breath he took of the clear air, his blood boiled.
It was a cursed place now. It would forever remind him of just how fucking weak he was.
Never again, he vowed.
Cade stalked into the forest, unwilling to step foot on the same ground where his little sister had been kidnapped. Where his team had been brutalized. Sticks cracked under his heavy footsteps. He didn’t even try to hide his presence. Some part of him wanted to be discovered—wanted an excuse.
Gods, any excuse to fight right then would’ve been an answer to his dark prayers.
Bitterness and regret writhed within his mind like twin vipers, poisoning his mood while quickening his pulse. He shoved aside a low-hanging branch, the motion crude and violent as he delved deeper into the grove of trees.
Never again.
His magic roiled inside his veins, answering his unspoken call. It warmed his numb fingers, fending off the worst of the night chill that tried to creep across his limbs.
He barely noticed.
Rolling up his sleeves, he exposed his bronze bracers to the night air. As if anticipating his desire—his need—to vent the storm brewing inside of him, the metallic surface began to glow. Each rune carved into its surface was like a coal awakened by a fresh wind, brightening into a warm orange that belied the power hidden beneath their surfaces.
Much like him.
He stepped deeper into the collection of trees, each breath easing off the mask he wore for his friends. Here, at least, he didn’t have to pretend to be okay.
Chest already heaving from the weight of all of his tumultuous emotions, Cade finally let go. He released control over his expression, his thoughts, and his power. Bugs and birds of the night silenced along the cliffside as his aura spread throughout the glade. It smelled of fresh rain and flames, opposites meeting into one chaotic symphony. He let it out. He was so tired of always holding it back. No more.
Cade Stormhollow released his magic. It exited through his hands like a torrent, flames licking over shirt and skin and ground with unrepentant glee. He forced the flames to withhold their fury, their hunger. But he let them roam around the clearing. Winds kicked up across his chest and arms. They swirled around him until a cyclone spun around him in a tight spiral. Warm tears ran down his cheeks as he roared his defiance to the stars and skies.
“WHY?!” Cade shouted at last, his outburst accompanied by a fresh wave of power. The trees around him parted, as if they somehow knew his control of this unfettered destruction hung by a thread.
“WHY?! Answer me, you worthless gods! Why take her?!”
The heavens did not answer.
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“DAMN YOU!” Cade bellowed into the night.
His magic, filled to the brim with his rage and grief, burned into the sky like a funeral pyre. He fell to his knees, gritting his teeth through the swell of tears that raced down his face. Cade punched the ground again and again and again. Each strike cut his skin, but he didn’t care. His wind and flames raced over him, almost as if they could sense he needed the company.
“Get up,” a voice ordered from above him.
Cade looked up through bleary vision, spotting the stoic face of Nora. He growled, unwilling to bend to her whims.
“Get up,” she said more gently, this time with an outstretched arm.
He didn’t want this. He didn’t want her pity.
“Cade, get up,” she said one final time.
The thief stared at her offered hand for several long seconds. The moment stretched out until, at last, he took it. She yanked him to his feet with incredible ease, but then shoved him back.
“Hey! What the hells, Nora?!” Cade demanded, heat rising to his face.
“Come on,” was all she said. She waved at him in invitation, dropping into a defensive stance.
“Are you serious right now? I’m not going to fight you. I—I can’t—” Cade couldn’t get the words out. His mind was a storm. He could barely think, much less control his magic right then.
“You’re not going to hurt me,” Nora promised.
Cade seriously doubted that. Not in this state.
“Stormhollow, I… I’m not the greatest at this thing, but I can tell that you need this. So, come on. Let it out. The gods may not answer you, but I will. And I’m not leaving you until you figure your shit out, okay?”
He took in a deep breath, weighing each of Nora’s words. After a moment, he nodded.
“Alright,” Cade finally said.
He didn’t give her any warning. Cade shot forward, pushing his winds into his heels as he rocketed forward. He closed the distance in a heartbeat, but Nora was ready, a relieved smile playing over lips for a moment before resolve steeled her expression.
Cade was merciless. He punched and kicked, aiming for each spot where Nora’s defense was not. Flames danced across her plated armor, but Nora did not back down. He struck again, forcing a tight beam of wind to clip beneath her chin. She moved with the momentum of the blow, flipping over her back and landing lightly on her feet.
Cade’s vision was red. He snarled and launched himself into the sky, clapping his hands together as a jet of flame descended on the paladin. In one fluid stroke, she unsheathed her sword and bisected the fire, scorch marks forming on either side of her. He landed on the soft earth and rolled, hands already up in a defensive position.
Nora was grinning.
“What?” he demanded, aware that his tone was more terse than he’d ever let it be.
Nora, unfazed, said, “You did it. Your core evolved, Cade.”
Shock overtook the thief, and he stood up straighter.
“Wait, what?” he asked himself.
Peering down at his hands as if they might have the answer, he called upon his flames yet again. Sure enough, somewhere in the heat of their battle, the faint hues of silver and copper had shifted to a vibrant mix of the two.
He’d done it.
He’d reached the first Peak.
“You feeling a little better now?” Nora inquired as she sheathed her blade across her back.
“Yeah,” Cade breathed, still staring down at the flames in wonder.
He felt a warm glove squeeze his shoulder briefly before letting go. Cade met Nora’s gaze, grudging respect and patience lingering in those warm brown eyes.
“Good,” Nora answered softly. She walked past him and deeper into the woods. Calling over her shoulder, she said, “I’d check on that shifter. He looked nearly as bad as you did just now when he slunk out of the Twisted Oak. Just thought you should know.”
“Thanks,” Cade shouted after her.
The paladin waved a hand behind her head but didn’t look back.
Alright, Cade thought, his mind already much more at ease.
The evening breeze swept over his body, the sweat-soaked tunic providing a welcomed chill across his skin. He sighed, the final vestiges of that titanic weight he’d felt accrue on his shoulder finally lifting enough to let him breathe. It was still there, but it felt manageable now. Cade smiled and shook his head at the retreating form of Nora.
“I guess punching stuff can be therapeutic sometimes. Gods, now I owe Orro some gold,” Cade commented dryly.
He began to walk back towards the tunnel system, and the plan he’d been developing finally started to crystallize in his mind. As Destiny would have it, he really did need to go and speak with Gavin, especially if his suspicions were correct about the handsome telepath.
Cade reached the first step of the hidden tunnel, but looked back in the direction Nora was undoubtedly training.
“Thank you,” he whispered to the paladin before Cade returned to the darkness below Elysia.
If Chapter 57 were a self-help book, what would its title be?
