Chapter 60
Within the safety of the energetic shield, Rain released a heavy breath of relief and rushed to Jay’s side.
“I’ve got you. You’re safe now.” His voice was firm, steady, a lifeline in the chaos.
He pressed a soft kiss to Jay’s forehead as he pulled the gag away, his fingers lingering just long enough to brush aside the fresh tears tracking down Jay’s dusty cheeks.
“You shouldn’t have come,” Jay choked out, sniffling back a sob. His gaze followed Rain’s hands as he worked to untie him. “It’s a trap. They’re going to kill you.”
Rain’s jaw tightened. He dragged Drazier’s blade through the rope bindings in one swift motion, freeing them from the pole.
The red aether embedded in the dagger’s handle pulsed against his palm, replenishing his energy in steady waves.
Thank the gods Drazier kept his weapons charged; maintaining the shield was already draining and with the attack, hammering at it, Rain needed every scrap of power he could get.
They wouldn’t be able to stay like this for long.
Jay twisted toward him, hands still bound behind his back, glaring up at Rain with stubborn defiance; as if sheer willpower could transport him out of danger. Rain hooked a finger beneath Jay’s jaw, tilting his face up until their eyes met
“I know it’s a trap,” Rain said quietly. “I simply don’t care. I told you before—I will always be there for you. And I can’t think of a more crucial moment to prove that.”
Jay’s lip quivered, his resolve melting. Rain’s thumb brushed over his bottom lip, lingering in a moment of silent reassurance.
A soft, muffled sound broke the intimacy. Jay’s mother. Rain dropped his hand immediately, the urgency of their situation snapping back into focus.
“Turn around so I can release your hands,” he instructed. Jay obeyed with a shuddering sigh, twisting his wrists forward once the rope fell away. He flexed his fingers, coaxing blood back into them, colour slowly returning.
Rain moved to Jay’s mother next, approaching her with a gentleness that contrasted sharply with the violence outside. He removed her gag with careful hands, mindful of her distress.
“Thank you,” she sobbed as he began untying her wrists.
“Don’t thank me yet,” Rain murmured, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. “I still need to get you out of here safely.”
His gaze flicked past the shimmering dome, assessing the battlefield.
A deafening eruption of gunfire hammered against the shield.
Rain braced as the roar intensified, bullets striking the barrier in relentless waves.
Sparks skittered across its surface, each round deflecting and falling, forming a growing ring of crushed metal around them.
He held the shield firm—for now—but its strength was finite.
He prayed the attackers were emptying their ammunition in this first onslaught, though he knew better.
Time was slipping through their fingers.
Soon he wouldn’t have the strength to maintain the barrier, let alone defend against whatever came next.
They needed to move, to find cover, gain distance, anything.
He sensed that Drazier and company had cleared the field, watching from a distance with smug confidence, believing themselves safe. Rain almost smirked at their delusion. They were not safe from him. Not even close.
Determined to demonstrate his inescapable power, He pushed into Drazier’s mind with brutal force, abandoning all subtlety.
He wanted the king to feel him — to feel the weight of what he had provoked.
Drazier’s fear spiked instantly, his mental defences crumbling as panic swallowed him.
Rain sifted through his thoughts with ease.
Five minutes.
Drazier planned to launch another attack in five minutes; one he believed would kill Rain.
Satisfied, Rain withdrew, but not before sending a wave of pure hatred through the connection, a promise carved into Drazier’s mind:
I am going to kill you.
“We can’t stay here,” Rain said, turning back to Jay and his mother. “We need to make our way down the mountain.” His main priority was to get them to safety; he would get his revenge regardless.
Jay nodded, trying to appear brave for his mother, who clung to his hand so tightly her knuckles had gone white. She stared at Rain with open horror, unable to hide her fear.
Rain hesitated. Winning her trust was now their greatest obstacle. She needed to believe him; believe in him, if they were going to survive.
He softened his tone. “I apologise. I had hoped to meet you under different circumstances. As you know, my name is Rain. Please feel free to address me informally. May I ask your name? Referring to you as Jay’s mother feels… inadequate.”
She blinked at him, terror and disbelief warring in her expression. Rain could feel the deep-rooted hostility in her — a lifetime of fear and prejudice clashing violently with the reality that she now depended on him.
“Jacklynn, my name is Jacklynn” she replied warily, as if giving her name somehow handed him more power over her. Jay squeezed her hand offering her reassurance as Rain’s jaw clenched in frustration, he didn’t have the time or patience for this.
Rain fixed her with a serious, unwavering stare.
“Jacklynn, I know what you think of me and I understand why. Under better circumstances, I would take the time to prove I’m not the evil you’ve been taught to fear.
But we don’t have that luxury. I need you to trust me and do exactly as I say.
Your survival and your son’s, depends on it. Do you understand?”
Her eyes widened, fear flickering across her features. But then her expression hardened, maternal instinct overriding everything else. She nodded. Rain felt the shift; the moment she chose Jay’s safety over her own fear and that was all he needed.
“Good.” Rain exhaled sharply. “I don’t mean to alarm you, but I can’t hold this shield much longer. It’s draining my energy.”
Both their faces drained of colour despite Rain’s deceptively calm tone.
“We’re fine for now,” he continued, “but the fight has barely begun. It takes a lot of power to counter bullets of that calibre; it isn’t as effortless as it looks. Our best chance is to get into the woods; it will provide us with better coverage and make us harder to target. But we stay together.”
Jay swallowed hard and grabbed Rain’s outstretched hand. Rain squeezed back firmly, locking eyes with him.
“Whatever you do, don’t let go. And don’t stop moving unless I tell you to. Understood?”
His tone left no room for argument. Once both Jay and Jacklynn nodded, Rain tugged them forward. The shield—an extension of his will—moved with them as they broke into the clearing.
“Run!” Rain bellowed.
They sprinted. Behind them, the gunfire sputtered out in confusion. A ripple of shock spread through the units as they waited for new orders. Rain felt Drazier’s energy spike with fury—outwitted again.
They managed to distance themselves from danger before the world changed.
A chill swept over them so fast it stole the breath from their lungs. Sunlight dimmed, swallowed in seconds. The warmth of the day vanished, replaced by a creeping cold that raised goosebumps along their skin. Shadows thickened, swallowing the path in an eerie gloom.
Rain’s eyes darted upward, Heavy white clouds churned overhead, smothering the sky. The air shifted; a familiar, unnerving stillness that both comforted and terrified him in equal measure.
Snow was nearby.
Panic surged through him. He couldn’t leave. He couldn’t abandon his sister to face the battle alone.
Rain dropped the shield, giving himself a momentary reprieve to replenish his energy as he scanned the area, searching for her signature.
“Fuck!” He stopped abruptly. Jacklynn collided with him, nearly dragging Jay down with her. Rain caught her before she hit the ground, steadying her with a firm grip.
Snowflakes drifted between the branches; delicate, swirling, beautiful and utterly wrong.
“I need to go back.” The words slipped out before he could stop them, his focus locked on the energies gathering behind them. Snow and the Shadow Guard were minutes from colliding with Drazier’s main forces.
Jay tensed, fear tightening his grip. “What?! We can’t go back. Why would we go back?”
“Snow,” Rain said, distracted, mind racing as he tracked the battlefield above.
Jacklynn gasped, staring upward as the snowfall thickened. “Gods above… it is snowing. How is it snowing in the middle of summer?”
“He means his sister, Snow. She is making it snow.” Jay quickly explained as Rain stood still, his gaze fixed in the direction of Snow’s energy signature.
“Rain, we can’t go back, they will kill us.
The king wants you dead and he was willing to kill us to get to you, he knows I am your weakness. Snow can protect herself, right?”
Rain snapped.
“Am I supposed to choose you over my twin sister?” His voice cracked with panic, logic slipping through his fingers.
He sensed Drazier shifting course. “Snow is walking toward danger because of me.” He jabbed a finger into his own chest, then pointed sharply at Jay.
“No because of you. Because your stupid friend was spying on me and ran straight to your king. Oh, and I am absolutely certain she believed that you would be safe––that your beloved king would protect you from the big bad Prince who what? Fell in love with you? Stole her best friend away? Was that my crime?”
He let out a humourless laugh, disbelief dripping from every word. “And she sure as hell knew exactly what she was sending my way. Didn’t give a flying fuck about me and my family.”
Jay made a soft, wounded sound; like the air had been punched from his lungs. His eyes glistened, wide and devastated. Rain’s glare faltered, guilt bleeding through the cracks of his anger. Jacklynn wrapped her arms protectively around her son, watching Rain like he was a live explosive.