Page 54 of Tides of Shadows

The wind began to swirl. The forest breathed with him.

“More.”

The gusts grew stronger, branches began to bend.

“More.”

The trees groaned under the force of the gale.

“Reach deeper. Don’t close yourself. Open to everything within you.”

The wind roared, circling us in a widening vortex. The trees bent nearly to the breaking point.

“Good...” I whispered, though I knew danger was near.

Branches snapped with loud cracks. Stones lifted from the ground. I could barely keep my balance. But in the eye of the storm, where I stood close to him, it was almost still. I was looking at him in full of awe at his power. For years I’d been alone with this. And now. Seeing with my own eyes what we could do. I was mesmerized.

But I also knew it had gone too far. That Aidenar was about to lose control.

“Enough!” I shouted.

He didn’t hear me.

“Enough!” I screamed again, but the wind devoured my words.

“Aidenar! Break the bond!” My voice cracked.

He opened his eyes, but they weren’t his eyes. They shone silver like molten light, without pupils or whites. I knew if he didn’t stop now, the power would consume him. Or worse.

My shouts meant nothing. Without thinking too much, I swung and slapped him across the face with all my strength.

His head snapped to the side, but he didn’t come back to himself.

He began to rise, weightless, suspended in the air. His eyes blazed, hair and clothes whipped in the tempest. The element was devouring him. One more breath and disaster would follow.

I had to break this. I grabbed his head and tried to sever him from the power. He fought me. I began drowning him in his own body, filled him with my power. I felt him slowly weaken. My own force poured into him, dampening the storm, sealing the well within him. Severing the element’s hold.

I didn’t know how long it lasted, moments, or eternity.

When I pulled back, the wind had died. Silence fell so heavy it rang in my ears.

We stood upon the torn earth, both gasping for breath. He stared at me with his usual eyes now, filled with confusion and disbelief.

He glanced around. The clearing looked like a battlefield. Shattered trees, torn earth, stones and branches scattered in ruin.

“Did I... do this?” he asked, disbelieving.

“Yes,” I said quietly. “And it would have been worse if we hadn’t stopped it.”

Aidenar stood for a long moment, surveying the devastation he’d caused. Finally, he turned to me.

“Do you...” He paused awkwardly. “When you use this much power, do you feel it like that too?”

“The excitement? The thrill? The ecstasy?” I nodded. “Yes. That’s why it’s so addictive. Why it’s so hard to stop.”

His eyes still glowed faintly. I could feel him slowly regulating himself, the power within him pulsing and settling.

“Have you ever... lost control?”