Rain poured through the broken glass, flooding the spacious living room. My gaze drifted from the raging storm to Adrian, who stood perfectly still, staring into the distance. I had calmed him before, but witnessing the sheer magnitude of his power left me uncertain if I could ever tame this. He was the King of Storms.ThePrince of Storms.
Just like Poseidon, Amphitrite’s mate—the true gods of my people—I wondered if he had blessed Adrian, too, just as I was a descendant of her.
“Adrian,” I called, but he remained motionless, arms hanging loosely at his sides. “You need to stop this.” The faint sounds of car alarms and panicked screams drifted up, cutting through the roar of the storm. Even this high up, I could hear the chaos below. “It’s going to flood the entire city.” Still no response. I paced on the soaked floor, feeling the rising water lap against my ankles.
“Adrian!” I shouted, but at that moment, the glass doors to the balcony shattered, sending shards flying towards me. Without a second thought, I summoned a wall of ice from the flooded floor, but I wasn’t fast enough. A sharp piece of glass sliced across my shoulder.
Searing—scalding pain roared down my arms as warm, thick, red liquid trailed down my arm. Gritting my teeth, I focused my energy to close the wound. My fingers hovered above the wound, outstretched and warmth radiating from them. As my magic pulsed, the water within the cells stirred, called by my vital force. Tiny droplets danced like liquid rubies beneath the torn flesh, weaving and threading themselves through the injury.
The blood, still warm with life, responded. Water molecules bent and shifted to my will, guiding the crimson flow to slow, then reverse, as if time itself obeyed. The torn vessels knit and sealed together. Muscles reattached, layer by layer, under a silken current of healing power, smooth, unmarred, save for the faintest red line.
Do not think it didn’t cost me because it did. The pain sliced through my body. It was the price of these abilities. Manipulating blood and healing without ocean water had a toll on a siren, even a powerful one like me.
I strode forward, grasping his shoulders and shaking him, but his body remained unresponsive.
This was going to take all I had. I had already worn out from earlier, and healing myself had taken a lot of energy. Closing my eyes, I reached into the depths of my power. Adrian was strong, but so was I, and as mates, we were equals in every way. Lifting my arms, my magic flared, wrapping around the chaotic winds like fingers closing around a wild, thrashing current.
I seized control of his storm, gripping hard on our bond with all my remaining strength and pulling hard. I reached deep, past the chaos and rage, until I felt it, faint, but there. The bond thrummed like a taut cord, threading through the fury like a lifeline until the storm stuttered, until his fury faltered. Even in his demigod ferocity, he couldn’t shut me out.
The rain subsided, with the thunder now only a distant rumble as the wild winds calmed to a faint breeze. I shook my head, barely able to believe what I was seeing. Slowly, his gaze refocused, his pupils returned to normal, and his dark brown eyes softened back to their familiar hazel, flecked with gold. Lifting my chin, I stared him down, making no effort to hide my anger, which pulsed openly through our bond. My nostrils flared as I took in a steadying breath.
He looked me over, scratching his jaw, then surveyed the destruction. His ruined penthouse was barely recognizable. “What happened?” he asked, the innocence in his tone as though he hadn’t just thrown the entire city into chaos.
“You happened,” I replied, one eyebrow raised. “Can’t remember? Going full demigod fury over what I shared with you?” Sarcasmdripped from every word.
“What?” He blinked, his gaze shifting to the shattered glass, the soaked floors, and finally landing on me, his expression darkening as he noticed my shoulder. “Tell me that wasn’t me,” he murmured, his voice cracking. His jaw clenched, eyes growing distant, and I felt it—the shame, irritation, guilt, and pain as he wrestled with himself. He was blaming himself, especially when he saw the scar marking my skin.
“It wasn’t you. It was the glass,” I said, voice high and light, trying to soften the blow despite my irritation. “I’m fine. Healed.” I moved my shoulder to show him.
But my reassurance didn’t seem to appease him. His hands went to his neck, and he dropped his head, muttering through gritted teeth, “Fuck.” The words were tight with restraint, every muscle in his jaw taut.
“Besides your shoulder… did I hurt you anywhere else?” His voice was barely above a whisper. “Fuck…have I hurt anyone?”
I shook my head, reaching out and touching his cheek with both hands, but the tension in his jaw didn’t ease. The shame radiated from him through the bond.
“No, Adrian,” I murmured, gently lifting his face, so he’d look at me. His gaze was intense. “You lost control, and that’s… expected. But you need to be careful,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “Powerful emotions will trigger you until you fully control your powers. Any emotion.”
A blush crept up my cheeks as I remembered the kiss on his yacht, the taste of his lips, the warmth of his hands on me. His touch had been electric.
His eyes darkened, as though the same memory played through his mind. “I guess that means I’ll have to be careful around you,” he murmured, opening his legs slightly.
Memories flooded my brain, casting a haze over my thoughts, and heat pooled in my core. The way he held me against the wall, and pounded inside me, while gripping my waist, I immediately got wet. And the worst was he could feel my arousal through the bond, and at this moment I didn’t have an issue with that.
19
Just for tonight
Adrian
I lost control, destroyed my penthouse, and installed chaos, but beyond that, I had hurt her…. Fuck, I hurt her. I should have had more control over these abilities, over this power, but what terrifies me more is that I don’t remember tapping into that power, I only remember our conversation, what she told me, how she blamed herself for something she’s had no fault at.
I shouldn’t have lost control, but the rage I felt, how much I hated that council member, and her ex-fiancé—it clawed at me. The idea of her being with someone else left me uneasy. My fist curled on its own, but I buried the thought. Now it’s not the time.
I was unfamiliar with expressing emotions and preferred to conceal them, so displaying them in front of her was tormenting, but since I first saw her, she sparked a fire in me I couldn’t contain. Bring me to life when all I wanted was to disappear and leave the metaphorical shackles my father put around my neck.
Her red scar caught my attention as it ran from her left shoulder down to her collarbone. The deep crimson color made it seem like it could reopen at any moment.
I rubbed the back of my neck, eye fixated on the floor, unable to meet her gaze. Guilt flooded my lungs like smoke, silent, choking, impossible to scrub out. How could I be any different from the man who already hurt her? Because of me, she had another scar to add to her existing ones, which pains me because, although we met in odd circumstances, I was falling for her, and seeing I hurt her made me sick to my stomach.