Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Thunder is the sound created by the fast expansion of air around a lightning bolt. The lightning creates a shock wave that manifests as a sound wave.
The more you know, hmm?
She wasn’t sure if he knew he was reciting a tagline from some old Chester show.
I do now, he thought.
Rain fell in heavy sheets, slashing through his magical bubble. The air electrified around them, and the temperature dropped further. Lightning flickered ever closer as the clouds continued to close in.
“What are we doing?” she asked softly, her voice quivering. “Why are we riding a creature that literally creates dangerous storms?”
It’ll be okay. Tarian gave her a squeeze. Stratow will shield us a great deal, and I will take care of the rest. It’ll be uncomfortable, but it won’t be incredibly painful.
She licked her lips, not wanting to speak in her mind. Needing to have the words spoken physically for reasons she couldn’t understand.
“Is this like the time very recently when you didn’t realize humans couldn’t tolerate high altitudes?”
No. I am well aware humans can’t handle a lightning strike.
A bolt zipped down beside them with such force that the crack made her scream. Her corresponding jump nearly launched her off Stratow’s back.
I’ve got you, Tarian said, and she heard the humor in his voice. She was forever the butt of the joke in this realm. He’d pay for that one day.
Add it to the list, he said, and he’d pay for that, too.
Another bolt crashed down, striking the stormback Kayla was riding. She leaned back marginally, not at all alarmed that the lightning had struck a foot from her.
“Oh my god,” Daisy said, pushing into Tarian. That bolt had landed right between the stormback’s wings, where she was currently sitting.
It’s going to be okay—
“Stop saying that! This is not okay. This is very much…” An ominous cloud rushed toward them as though it had a vendetta. Her scalp tingled before her hair started to stand. “Oh fuck, oh god. Oh god, oh fuck. Fucking—”
The bolt nearly blinded her with its brilliance. The air cracked with an ear-splitting boom before a flare of heat washed over her body. The bolt landed right between her legs in the center of Stratow’s back. Stratow, though, was not affected. His hair-fur didn’t blacken, nor did the skin show red or black underneath.
“Why?” she asked herself. “Why do they get struck by lightning? I understand the water and the natural order of things, but why do they get hit by their own magic?”
That’s…just the way it is, Tarian said haltingly, and it was clear he had never asked. Nor did Stratow offer any explanation, not that she could feel or understand. They can somewhat control where the lightning hits their bodies. Usually, they like it in the center of their backs, between their wings, where it is striking the others. But Stratow is redirecting it so you are safe. I am minimizing the electrical discharge and the corresponding heat.
The human world had its oddities, but Faerie was a weird fucking place.
The human world definitely has its oddities. So many and so strange that I began keeping a journal to remember them in years to come when I am closed out of that realm. Obviously, that was before I realized I’d have to die to set right the fissure I created. I find the human world so much more interesting than this place.
She shook her head, closing her eyes as another bolt struck. This one hit another of the stormbacks. The winds persisted, shoving at her from one way, then another.
How did your birth create the fissure? Just because you have—had, I guess—more power than most?
You still remember? he asked quietly.
Your being a Celestial? Yes. Hopefully I will forget this journey when we’re through, though. I’m concerned I’ll definitely be afraid of heights at the end of this horror show. And I haven’t even looked down!
His cheek brushed against hers. You’re a stranger and you’re not from my past, but it is nice to know your memories won’t be stolen. That I can tell you of my past, of the good times, and you will keep them—for now. He took her hand, turned it over, and placed a kiss on her palm. He curled her fingers to trap the sentiment inside. By the end, you will almost certainly hate me. Remember, I have no choice but to play my part in all of this. My cruelty, and my indifference, will be necessary, and it will be brutal. This is the light…and it will balance the incredible darkness I must become.
She pushed aside his warnings. His regrets. They meant nothing to her. She’d chosen this path; she’d weather what came. Literally, it seemed. She wasn’t afraid of his darkness and thought it was sweet that he kept trying to prepare her for his personality change.