Chapter 31 — Storm in Her Veins (Continued)
Later that night, the sky outside was painted in deep indigo and silver. The rain had long stopped, leaving behind the clean scent of wet soil and the quiet song of crickets rising from the fields beyond the palace. Inside, the world felt hushed — as if even the wind held its breath.
Kate stood on the balcony, hair loose and damp from her bath, her silk robe fluttering softly around her legs. Moonlight kissed her skin, and for a fleeting moment, Ryker thought she looked like something out of a forgotten legend — part goddess, part storm.
He joined her silently, his bare feet making no sound against the marble floor.
"You couldn't sleep," he said, his voice a quiet rumble that seemed to blend with the night.
Kate didn't turn around. "No. Every time I close my eyes, I see lightning."
Ryker leaned against the railing beside her. "Lightning can be beautiful when you learn not to fear it."
"I know," she whispered. "That's why I want to control it — not just feel it."
Her hands flexed at her sides, palms glowing faintly with a bluish light. A faint wind stirred around them — soft at first, like a sigh. The scent of rain filled the air again, though the sky remained clear.
Ryker watched her carefully. "Don't force it," he said. "Let it listen to you. You command the elements, Kate — not the other way around."
She took a breath, steady and deliberate. The air shifted, responding to her focus. This time, the glow brightened but didn't flare wildly as before. A gentle spark danced between her fingertips, flickering like a captured star.
Her eyes widened in wonder. "It's listening."
Ryker smiled faintly. "It always was. You just needed to speak the right language."
When she turned to look at him, her face was luminous under the moonlight — not from the power, but from pride. She'd done it. Controlled it. Owned it.
The small smile that curved her lips made something deep in Ryker's chest tighten. He stepped closer, until their shoulders brushed. His presence was steady, grounding — like the calm after a storm.
"Again," he said softly. "Show me."
Kate raised her hand once more. This time, the air around them shimmered, a faint breeze circling in lazy spirals. Her eyes glowed faintly gold, her focus absolute. She guided the air, bending it to her will, shaping it like a dance — until the wind lifted a few fallen petals from the balcony floor and swirled them gently through the air.
Ryker's voice was barely above a whisper. "Perfect."
The petals floated between them, catching the moonlight before drifting down again. Kate laughed — a soft, breathless sound that seemed to warm the air itself.
But as the laughter faded, the silence that followed grew heavier. Their eyes met and lingered. Neither spoke, but everything that mattered was said in that look — the shared exhaustion, the unspoken pull, the fragile thread tying power and desire together.
Ryker reached up, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. His fingers lingered, tracing the edge of her jaw, down to her throat where her pulse fluttered like trapped lightning.
"You did well," he murmured.
Kate's voice was barely a whisper. "Because you were here."
He smiled faintly. "You would've managed even without me."
"Maybe." She tilted her head slightly, eyes gleaming with quiet challenge. "But I like knowing you'll always try to help me anyway."
That drew a low chuckle from him — the kind that started in his chest and rolled out like distant thunder. His thumb brushed her lower lip, and her breath hitched, the air around them trembling with the same charged energy she'd just learned to control.
This time, though, she didn't want to control it.
The wind rose again, swirling softly around them as if drawn to their heartbeats. The candles flickered, bending toward the energy building between them.
Ryker's gaze dropped to her lips, then back to her eyes.
"Kate…"
Her name was a warning, a plea, and a promise all in one.
She didn't answer — she just stepped closer until there was no air left between them, her hands resting lightly on his chest. The storm she had once feared now hummed quietly beneath her skin, alive but gentle, reflecting every emotion she couldn't put into words.
Ryker's forehead rested against hers, his voice barely audible.
"Even the sky listens to you."
"And you?" she whispered. "Do you?"
He smiled — slow, dangerous, and impossibly tender. "Always."
And when their lips met, it wasn't the reckless heat of before but something deeper — a soft surrender, an unspoken vow. The night air stirred once more, wrapping them in its warmth, the wind sighing like the earth itself exhaled in relief.
The lightning stayed quiet this time.
Because for the first time, Kate was the calm before the storm.