Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
Corin ran until his lungs burned, until the branches tore at his skin, until the night air froze in his throat. It didn't matter where he was going. Away. Just away.
Azelon's words echoed in his mind, sharp as broken glass. He and Jamie had formed something Corin could never be part of. Of course they had. They were the perfect pair: controlled, competent, complete.
Without the chaos he brought.
Trees warped as he passed, their trunks twisting like they were trying to escape his proximity. The very ground beneath his feet rippled like disturbed water.
He was so tired of it.
This was why he would remain alone.
"Stop it," he hissed to himself, trying to rein in the emotional projection. "Control it. Contain it."
But how could he?
His chest felt like it might crack open, the storm inside him pushing outward with increasing pressure. He'd spent three days practicing control, three days maintaining a tight grip on his powers after nearly killing Jamie.
And for what?
So he could overhear them forming a sacred bond that excluded him entirely?
The forest darkened around him.
Or was it his vision?
Something wet touched his ankles, and Corin looked down to see water seeping from the ground, pooling around his feet.
No. Not again. Not the drowning dreamscape.
But it was happening. Just like before, when his nightmare had trapped an entire village.
When Azelon had saved him.
When everything between them had begun.
He was still just as messed up as he was then.
The trees groaned, their branches reaching down, toward him.
In the distance, shapes moved—formless, dark creatures drawn to the emotional maelstrom. Hunger rolled off them in waves Corin could almost taste.
Let them come. Let them feed. Maybe they'd leave nothing behind.
Corin stumbled to his knees, water splashing around him as his power surged outward in fierce pulses. The forest blurred as tears filled his eyes.
Who was he going to hurt this time?
If he was lucky, only himself.
"Corin!"
The voice cut through the roar of his emotions.
Jamie.
Corin's head whipped around.
Of course Jamie would come after him. Stupidly brave, endlessly caring Jamie, who'd nearly died once already because of Corin's lack of control.
He twisted around to him and Azelon at the edge of his emotional storm. Jamie leaned heavily against Azelon, still weak from his injuries, but somehow here anyway. The Tideborn's markings glowed fiercely as he tried to shield Jamie from the worst of Corin's projected emotions.
"Go back!" Corin shouted. The water surged in response, rising faster. "It's not safe!"
"We're not leaving without you." Jamie's voice strained to carry through the howling winds.
Corin laughed, the sound jagged and raw even to his own ears. "Why not? You have each other now. Your precious bond. That's what you want, isn't it? Peace and calm and control."
He watched Jamie try to push forward, only to be driven back by a wave of projected emotion. The human winced, one hand going to his side where his wound must have reopened.
Guilt sliced through Corin.
They truly would be better off without him.
"See? I'm only hurting you. Again!" His voice cracked. "Just leave me alone!"
The storm intensified and tree roots erupted from the ground to twist in agony. Behind Jamie and Azelon, shadow creatures gathered at the edges of the clearing, drawn by the feast of emotional energy.
Everything was falling apart.
Of course it was.
Corin was powerless to stop it.
Magic surged through his body, burning along his nerve endings, pouring from him in visible waves of crimson and gold. His vision blurred further, darkness creeping at the edges.
But just as Corin was about to give in to it, Azelon charged directly into the heart of the storm—toward him.
"Stop!" Corin screamed. "Don't touch me!"
But Azelon didn't stop. The Tideborn pushed through the emotional winds like a swimmer fighting a current, his markings blazing so brightly they left trails of light in Corin's vision. Pain etched lines in Azelon's face as the magical projection burned against his skin, but still he came.
Why wouldn't he stop?
Didn't he understand Corin would destroy him?
Destroy both of them?
Azelon reached him, caught him in an iron grip before Corin could even think to move away.
"What are you doing?" Corin gasped, struggling against Azelon's hold. "Let me go!"
He was going to end up hurt if he stayed!
Just like Jamie had been hurt.
The storm whipped around Corin's head, picking up speed. He tried to yank his arm out of Azelon's grip.
Azelon held on. And then he began speaking in a language Corin had heard only in fragments before—the ancient Tideborn tongue, flowing and melodic despite the chaos around them. The words carried power, resonating in Corin's chest like the vibrations of a plucked string.
Azelon's markings flared and his magic seemed to creep along his skin—and into Corin. A tingling warmth that spread up his arms and into his chest.
Like a tether forming between them.
"What are you doing to me?" Corin demanded, his voice rising with panic.
Azelon's only response was to tighten his grip, his eyes fierce with concentration as he continued the incantation.
An odd emotion swept through their new connection. Fear of loss. Of failure. Of regret.
And beneath it, something startlingly like affection.
And while the storm still raged, Corin felt his chaotic power being drawn outward, flowing into Azelon.
The Tideborn shuddered under the strain, his markings pulsing erratically as he absorbed what Corin couldn't contain.
From the edge of the clearing, Jamie stumbled forward, as if drawn by some invisible force.
The human's face contorted with confusion and wonder as he approached.
Through the tether forming with Azelon, Corin sensed the bond that already existed between them—steady, solid, a counterpoint to the chaotic link now forming.
"Stay back!" Corin warned, but his voice had lost its power. His magic was being channeled now, flowing through Azelon rather than exploding outward.
Jamie ignored him, moving closer until he stood beside them. The human reached out, one hand settling on Corin's shoulder, the other on Azelon's back.
The moment he completed the circuit, something surged between the three of them. Corin gasped at the sensation—like pieces locking into place. Into balance. His chaos, Azelon's control, Jamie's stability.
What was happening?
"Why?" Corin whispered, feeling his resistance crumbling as the tether between them strengthened. "Why would you do this? Why would you want this?"
Azelon's voice was strained, his body visibly struggling under the weight of Corin's power. "Because I couldn't lose you."
"You're just afraid what I would do," Corin accused, but the words lacked conviction. Through their growing connection, he could feel the truth of Azelon's statement.
"I was never afraid of your power," Azelon said, his voice rough with effort. "I was afraid of breaking your heart."
"He's telling the truth," Jamie added. "You know he is."
The emotional storm began to subside, the water receding as Corin's projection found new channels through the bonds forming between them. The shadow creatures at the edge of the clearing withdrew, denied their feast.
Corin felt emptied, suddenly, hollowed out as his power flowed outward until there was nothing left to give. His knees buckled, and only the combined strength of Azelon and Jamie kept him from collapsing entirely.
"I don't understand," he murmured as darkness crept further into his vision.
"You will," Jamie promised, his voice seeming to come from a great distance.
The last thing Corin registered before consciousness left him was the sensation of being caught, of being held between them as the world went dark.
They came for me, he thought as the darkness took him. They chose me.