“I never thought you were,” Ty said, his brow furrowed. “And it’s not like that. Being my Calling doesn’t mean I fight your battles for you. It means I stand beside you.”
“I don’t even know who you are,” I whispered. “And yet, when I’m with you, things seem clearer . . . Is that really how I feel, or just some magic trick?” My lower jaw started to tremble, and I bit down hard on my lip. I would not cry.
“Lainey, I—”
“No, don’t say anything else. Pretty sure I’m at my limit of magical confessions for the day.” Brilliant streaks of lightning flashed across the sky. Breathe. Just Breathe.
Kissing Ty had been an impulse, a rash action with very little thought behind it, much like standing in front of the train. Remembering his guarded expression from the boxing studio, I’d half expected him to push me away, but instead he had wrapped me securely in his arms and kissed me back.
I flushed at the thought of his fingertips pressing into the small of my back, his warm breath on my skin. In spite of the fact that my life was a hot mess and I knew nearly nothing about him, kissing Ty had felt so incredibly right.
Now with the declaration of who he truly was hanging in the air, the kiss itself felt like a lie.
Everything is so screwed up right now.
The small semblance of acceptance I’d gained in the graveyard earlier that morning had evaporated after the conversation with Gareth; the pangs of hurt, anger, and betrayal stirred up by the whole situation refused to be ignored. I already felt like I was at my emotional capacity—but then I’d kissed Ty, and I’d been woefully unprepared for it.
It wasn’t just the physicality of the kiss; it was the warmth that radiated from Ty himself, a sense of certainty and purpose. The notion that even if everything in the world was wrong, this was right. He was right. But now, everything felt even more jumbled and confused.
“What do I do?” I whispered.
Another loud crack of thunder jolted me back to reality. This time it was so loud, the ground rumbled beneath my feet.
The wind picked up, and the rain fell even harder. Nearly everyone from the party had already made a mad dash for the row of parked cars, and the only remnant of the gathering was the smoke from the dying bonfire.
I tried to look at Ty, but the wind was howling around us, whipping my hair into my face. I tried in vain to wrangle my hair into place, but the wind was impossible and the rain was starting to come down so hard that it was like tiny nails pricking my skin. It was dark, but overhead angry clouds swirled together. Panicked, I scanned the surroundings for some kind of shelter from the storm.
Ty shouted, but I couldn’t make out the words over the wind. A flash of lightning split the sky about us, and I shrieked. Ty grabbed my arm and pulled me close, his lips at my ear. “Lainey!” he shouted over the storm. “I think you’re doing this.”
“What?” I cried. Had I heard him correctly? I wiped the rain off my face and leaned forward. “What did you say?”
“The storm! It’s you, Lainey!”
I shook my head. He wasn’t making any sense. Ty grabbed me by the wrists, pulling my hands up in front of my eyes. A startled cry erupted from my lips.
Tiny sparks of green light flashed like lightning between my fingertips.
“No!” I wrenched myself away from Ty. “No!” I stared at my hands, then looked up at the clouds rotating dangerously above my head. “What do I do?” I cried as a loud crack of thunder echoed across the trees. “Ty, what do I do?”
As if in response, a streak of lightning struck a tree several feet away from where we were standing. Wood splintered everywhere as a large branch crashed to the ground. I shrieked and nearly tumbled to the ground. Ty shouted again, and gestured with his hands, but all I could focus on was the fear shooting through my entire body. “I don’t know how to stop it! I don’t know what to do!”
The physical storm and the torrent of emotion raging inside me were too much. I turned away from Ty, covering my face with my hands. I just want it to stop. Please let it stop.
A loud peal of booming thunder shook the ground. Accompanying bolts of wild lightning streaked across the sky.
I would’ve collapsed, but then there were hands gripping my shoulders. Ty pulled me closer, trying to shield me from the violent wind. I could tell from the vibrations in his chest that he was talking, but his words were lost to the storm. Despite the fact that the earth whirled around him, he radiated steadiness.
Taking deep breaths, I closed my eyes and leaned into Ty, trying to block out the storm. I refused to allow myself a peek at my hands to see if the light was still dancing between my fingertips. Instead, I forced myself to take deep breaths, keeping my eyes squeezed shut. Just breathe, Lainey. Just breathe.
“That’s it,” Ty’s voice murmured in my ear a few moments later. “It’s almost over. Just relax.”
Opening my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the sky. The rotating clouds were scattering. The wind, though still blowing, was no longer a howling gale, and the rain had dissipated to a light sprinkle. I turned to face Ty. His blue eyes were wide and fixed on my face. “Are you hurt?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.” I disentangled myself and took a few steps away. I looked around; the sky was clearing, and the stars were peeking out brilliantly overhead. The only evidence of the storm that remained was a few mud puddles, the damp smell of the trees, and a palpable humidity.
“But how?” I looked back at Ty. “I wasn’t trying to—” Realization smacked into me. “This isn’t the first time it’s happened, either.” I remembered the warmth that had spread across my skin as the rosebud had started to bloom, the feeling of strange acceptance as the plant came to life before my eyes.
Ty’s eyebrows rose. “You mean the dryad?”
“Well, that, but earlier today in the graveyard. I made a dead rosebush bloom. I wasn’t trying; it just kind of happened.” My mind flipped backward through my memories, and I gasped. “The red lights . . . and the clock. The morning of the SATs. That was . . . me.” I stared at Ty, my mouth hanging open. “Is it possible that every weird, unexplainable thing that’s happened to me the last few years . . . was my fault?”
I staggered backward. “But those were small things. I just nearly unleashed a freaking tornado on top of us.” My voice was getting higher and shriller the more I talked. In the distance, there was a low rumble of thunder.
“I could’ve killed someone, and I don’t even know how I did it!” I bent over, clutching my knees for balance as a rush of vertigo had me swaying on my feet.
A streak of lightning flashed across the sky, and there was another low rumble of thunder. Ty looked up at the sky and then back at me. “You have to calm down. I think it’s reacting to your emotions.”
“Calm down? I don’t think I can.” Raindrops pelted my shoulders.