26. Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Ryder
“ I think I sprained my brain,” I gasped as I stumbled to the side to miss the bubble of water that Dean threw at me.
It wasn’t exactly going to hurt, but there was only so much humiliation I could take for one day.
Dean strolled into our suite of rooms last night like nothing had happened. Then crawled into bed with Alyssa and the rest of us without barely saying a word. That would have been one of the weirdest thoughts I’d ever had before, but now all of us not cuddling up together just felt wrong.
Either way, the fucker had apparently grasped how to draw some of his magic to the surface and here I was, struggling to do anything. I didn’t even know what I could do, and I was feeling like the weakest link in our pack.
Maddox and Dean had both felt their animals way before I did. Hell, Maddox even shifted before he was supposed to. I felt weak. Useless. Just like always.
I shook my head and walked to the edge of the training field, feeling done for the day. Even when the ball of water hit me in the back of my head, I didn’t feel like laughing it off like I always did.
“Can you stop showing off for a second?” I snapped, spinning around, teeth bared in Dean’s direction.
His wolf didn’t like that. I saw how Dean visibly had to hold him back from taking over.
I didn’t even feel bad about it. I might always act the clown when tensions got high, and we needed the break, but that didn’t mean I wanted them to kick me while I was down. Maybe for once someone could think about my feelings.
I hadn’t noticed that the training grounds had gone quiet as I grabbed one of the towels that someone had left ringside at some point. I swiped at my hair, roughly drying it as much as I could, considering my next steps.
The only thing I wanted right now was to pull a Dean and go off to sulk somewhere. But I couldn’t even bring myself to do that because I knew the others would only worry. Even when I was pissed off, I couldn’t put myself first.
I turned around, hoping the words would come to me when I did, because I had no idea what to do right now. My knee-jerk reaction was to laugh the whole thing off, but I couldn’t muster the strength to do it right now.
Then I saw Dean fly across the ring as he was hit with a massive gust of wind, and Fizzle landed in the spot where he’d been standing, snapping his beak in annoyance. “Your beta is hurting, you overgrown fleabag. Why aren’t you doing anything about it?”
The talons on his front feathered legs clawed at the ground as he snapped at a dazed Dean in annoyance.
Thankfully, he seemed more confused than anything because I doubted Dean would hold back just because Fizzle was supposed to be our ally.
Then what Fizzle had said registered, and I looked at Dean nervously. Beta .
We’d always been close. I considered him my brother, but it was true that things had changed when we’d shifted.
“Explain,” Dean growled, but there was no echo of his wolf in his voice.
Fizzle looked between the two of us and then rolled his eyes as he sighed. “Where is the perch? Why hasn’t he explained this to you?” A blast of air rocketed across the training rings and I was pretty sure it hit Tank square in the face.
“What the fuck?!” he shouted, cradling his nose as Fizzle sniggered.
“Why have you not explained about the beta?” Fizzle snapped. “I’m here for the magic. You can’t expect me to do everything! I’m thinking about downgrading your status as my perch, just so you know.”
“Oh good, we’re back to that,” Tank snarked. “I didn’t explain it to them because… I. Am. Not. A. Wolf! Feathered fucker.”
Tank rubbed at his face and stormed further away from Fizzle as he muttered about how he wasn’t the answer to every shifter problem.
Alyssa sniggered at the entire scene, and I had to admit it was nice to see the carefree smile on her face again. With everything that had been happening around here, there was one thing she had whole-heartedly avoided until now, and I didn’t know if the others had even noticed it. Because apparently we were all ignoring it as well.
Alyssa was queen here.
In fact, more than that, Tank was her king.
But she’d made no move to do anything about that. I didn’t even know if she was supposed to do anything about it. I wouldn’t be the one to bring it up, though, not when she finally seemed like she was working through some of the stuff that had been weighing her down.
“I have to do everything.” Fizzle sighed, fluttering his wings to land directly at Dean’s feet, continuing as he pointed a wing in my direction. “He is your beta. His job is to make sure that everyone has what they need, that the pack is happy. Your job is to make sure he gets what he needs to do that. You. Are. His. Alpha. He is stressed and worried because he can feel the fractures in your pack and he doesn’t know how to fix them, especially when you are all blocking him out and preventing him from doing his duty.”
Dean opened his mouth to shout back at the little owl gryphon. Frankly, they both looked ridiculous given the whole size difference. But then his mouth clicked shut, and he turned his head to look at me instead. The usual slightly pissed off look that Dean sported was replaced by confusion, and I knew exactly where he was coming from.
“I thought Alyssa was our alpha,” Dean pointed out.
Fizzle hit Dean square in the face with another blast of air and paced across the sand in front of him. Every so often, he stopped and clacked his beak at him before continuing.
A hand brushed down my arm before Alyssa snuggled into my side and watched the whole thing with a bemused look on her face. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him as angry as this before, which is actually really impressive. There was this one time…”
“Enough!” Fizzle shouted, aiming his ire in her direction.
Something in me snapped as he took a step forward. I knew he wasn’t really a threat to her, but I also wasn’t about to stand here and let him throw her across the ring with a blast of air just because he was angry. Training was one thing, but there was no way my wolf and I would let him do something like this.
A flash of lightning blasted into the sand at Fizzle’s feet, and fortunately, he was able to dance back and avoid the blow. As he did so, a gust of wind rustled his feathers and he frowned as he fought with his own magic to take hold of the situation.
Holy fucking shit.
The clouds darkened and a crack of thunder rent through the air, my ears aching from the sudden pressure.
And then it was gone.
As fast as the storm had arrived, the clouds parted, and the rays of sunlight returned. If it wasn’t for the charred patch of sand in front of us, I might have been able to convince myself that it had never happened.
“Congratulations,” Fizzle said, sounding impressed. “The beta has finally unlocked his magic. The rest of you are still at the level of pre-adolescent children.”
Again… holy fucking shit.
There was no way that had been me.
I looked at Alyssa in confusion, and she beamed up at me. The rest of the guys jogged over and there were pats on the back and words of congratulations.
We were all sweaty and tired from a day of trying to do the impossible. As much as I wanted to brag about being better than the rest of them, I had no idea if I could actually do it again.
“Alyssa,” Fizzle barked. “Now that we have an idea of what they can do, it’s time to show them the potential of what they hold inside. Prepare yourself.”
She nodded firmly, striding into the ring that Dean and I had been occupying. As he passed her to give them room to train, Dean’s fingers trailed across her hand, and Alyssa smiled nervously back at him.
She doubted herself, but I knew she could do this. We’d seen her access the magic she needed when we were in danger. Alyssa was strong. Now that I’d felt the potential of what I had inside, I knew she was capable of so much more, and that one of the biggest problems she was facing was herself. She needed to stop doubting herself. Get out of her way and just do it. That was what she’d done before, and I didn’t understand why she didn’t see that herself.
I hadn’t realised that we’d drawn a crowd until I heard the shuffling behind us. Several of Rhidian’s men who had helped us with training yesterday were moving into the shadows at the edge of the courtyard, waiting to see what Alyssa could do.
This was either going to help, or completely break, her focus. She had nothing to prove to these people.
Except she did.
Alyssa was not only their queen, but the answer to their problems, even if she didn’t want to be. If we were going to face the impossible odds that currently stood against us and survive this whole thing, she needed these people to have the confidence in her to do it.
I watched quietly as Alyssa gritted her teeth in determination. From our position, we had the perfect side view of the two of them, and I watched as she nervously clenched her fists before shaking out her arms.
Fizzle stood patiently waiting for her fidgeting to stop. At least he wasn’t rushing forward to prove she wasn’t ready. Hopefully, he realised just how much was riding on this display.
I could hear the muttered whispers behind us as more people seemed to find their way to the training rings and blocked them out. I wanted to concentrate on how she did it, how it felt when she touched the magic, so I concentrated on the bond as I watched every move she made.
Alyssa’s feet ground into the sand as she braced herself, and then she nodded at Fizzle that she was ready to go. The magic buzzed in anticipation in our bond and I felt a tug inside me. I didn’t resist the sensation, and I allowed what magic I had to flow towards her like it seemed to want to do.
“Did you all feel that?” Maddox asked quietly, so only we’d be able to hear.
“Hmmm, just let it go. If this strengthens her, then that can only be a good thing,” Dean muttered back.
He was right. It had already been mentioned that Alyssa’s bonds were there to help with her control, so opening up could only be a good thing, right?
“We start with spring and autumn,” Fizzle called out. “I want you to combine the energy and use them together.”
Alyssa looked panicked at first as a wind gathered in the training ring, picking up the sand as it blasted Alyssa a step to the side. I knew it was coming from Fizzle because he seemed completely unaffected. For a moment, it was as if Alyssa wouldn’t react. I could feel her concern through the bond, but then she seemed to shrug and all that magic that buzzed inside of her was released in one single tidal wave of power.
She raised her hands, and the wind immediately stopped. Then, dancing forward, she darted to the side and appeared to reach out for something, only for vines to explode through one of the rooftops nearby and snake through the air. Throwing her hands out in front of her, the wind now under her control stormed across the courtyard, picking Fizzle up from the ground and pulling him into a twisting tornado that formed in the centre.
The vines snapped in the air, reaching into the wind funnel as they twisted and writhed, trying to capture the little owl gryphon as he struggled to keep himself under control.
The sheer amount of power flooding the courtyard had us all stumbling back a step. Even if we had wanted to move closer, the wind wouldn’t have allowed us, but the building pressure in the ring seemed to herald a catastrophe that had our spectators worried if the gasps and rushing feet were any indication.
Every window that lined the courtyard shattered, the glass whipped through the air to join the deadly tornado at the centre.
Could Fizzle actually survive this?
“Enough!” Tank barked.
And as suddenly as it started, it stopped. The wind dissipated to nothing and all the debris fell to the ground, missing every single person who was still present.
I felt the last of Alyssa’s magic moving through the air as the vines receded, the jagged hole in the roof and the empty windows the only evidence of the power she’d wielded.
No one spoke. Fizzle landed back on the sidelines, looked distinctly ruffled, and the silence around us felt ominous. We’d seen Alyssa’s magic before the bond, and it had been nothing like this. How was she walking around containing that amount of power inside of her?
“I think we’ll save the summer and winter magic for tomorrow,” Fizzle said, a hint of pride in his voice. “And perhaps after we find a bigger training area.”
Alyssa laughed as she walked over to her old friend, who took the opportunity to fly to her shoulder.
“I guess I’ll find someone to fix the hole then.” Rhidian’s voice cut through the silence. “You always were trouble when you were training. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about the rose bushes I took the blame for.”
Alyssa shrugged. “Repairing roofs isn’t really in the remit of a queen.”
The confidence in her voice didn’t match the lingering worry in our bond, and I pushed as much reassurance towards her as I could. The slight smile on her face showed that she’d felt it, along with the love and appreciation that flowed back to me.
“Finally ready?” Rhidian asked.
She thought for a second and then nodded. “It’s time. And I’ve got an idea for how to make Arik hurt in ways he’s going to be feeling for a long time to come.”
Rhidian grinned, and he wasn’t the only one. This was what we needed. We needed action, a plan that saw us moving forward. The people here had been waiting in the darkness for too long, hoping to not be discovered. They needed to see that Arik was just a man, one that was capable of not only feeling pain, but finally being put in the grave he’d long deserved.
“Well… long live the queen,” Rhidian said, a deadly smile spreading across his lips. “Shall we move this conversation to the war room?”