Aligning the Forgotten ✓

Chapter 26: Renit

Thunder rumbles, lightning crackling through their dark surface. The clouds swarm together as one and spiral, twisting like waves over the surface of the ocean. The storm unfolds in the sky above Renit, the banished prince standing in the clearing outside of Arego with only the waters below surrounding him.

Months ago, he chased Roux through this clearing had tried to kill her. It was his only goal; he isn't afraid to admit that now, but their future will be different. Instead of trying to end her life because of his own depression, he'll bring her back and give her the right to live—freedom taken away by his father. Renit will do whatever it takes.

The tall grasses sway around his knees, brushing up against his dark trousers. Since Celestine left, had no choice but to leave, the flowers have wilted and the grasses are a dying shade of yellow—dry and cracked with age. Renit remembers running through them; even when he was trying to catch up to Roux, he noticed how beautiful the scene was.

The storm breaks over the cliffsides. Lightning cleaves through the air, the swaying grasses plead for help against the thrashing winds. Some patches of wild grass tuck into themselves, folded as clumps and weighed down from their age.

Renit stands far enough away from the cliffsides but close enough his storm won't touch Arego. He hasn't summoned the full force of the power since that day in the courtyard when Roux took out all her anger on Darius and reveal to the castle a fraction of what she could do. It was his training that helped her, his training that gave her the courage to show herself.

Renit would hate to be on the other side of the catastrophic power. Anyone, especially Darius, is lucky enough to make it out alive. A mercy for the terrible things he's done.

The power is storm twitches open inside him, cautious and understanding. After three hundred years, Renit has learned to trust his power; it's a second being compared to what hides under the depths of his skin and the storm, uncontrollable and frightening, has a soft spot for comprehension.

His power didn't want to have a Grounding. That was clear from the first Outburst when the storm warned him first, flickering to a stop when Renit pushed it harder. He hadn't known then—what it was—and ignored the warning. The power slipped from his fingertips, spinning out of control, and from that day on, Renit couldn't control it.

Through training and many headaches, Renit has found that his power is willing to try. Great pain comes at a result of it but the Outbursts, as fickle as they can be, are weaker since Roux used all her power to stop him that day. It nearly killed her, used her entire reserve, but she helped. It's all anyone could have hoped for, the king got what he wanted but it still leaves Renit empty-handed.

Too many people in his life have slipped through his fingers. He won't let that happen again.

The thunder shakes the ground underneath his boots, and exposing his palm to the clouds, Renit summons a lightning orb and holds it over his callused skin. The ends bend and crackle, a twisting white light through blue streaks. No sign of an Outburst, yet, so far, his power is holding on.

He can't use it to take down his father or any guards. The storm is too noticeable and if he doesn't cause it during an already brewing storm, the king will immediately realize what is at stake. But, when all hell breaks loose and he's inside the castle trying to find Roux and bring her back, Renit can cause as much destruction as he wishes.

That power of storm will blossom freely, under the conditions it finds her. Even in his sleep, the storm searches for her. It cries out, the twitching of an Outburst used as bait to bring her back—but nothing works. She's too far away and too far gone to hear or sense his power's cry for help.