Heart of Stone (Rock Star Fairy Tales #1)

Chapter 25

C h apte r 25

Proper Hydration

Late Afternoon, Friday Febr uary 20 th in Margot’s Bus in North east Armav

W hen Margot opened her eyes, every part of her body ached. She was confused for a moment, finding herself in bed and staring at the familiar ceiling of her bus. Margot could still see light filtering into the bus from outside, but it was much later in the day. She must have fallen asleep, and Ash had moved her to the bed. She was still wearing her clothes, but her blanket covered her body. A quick glance to her right showed Ash sitting on the floor below, legs crossed as he sipped fr om a mug.

“You’re awake,” he said, leaning over to open her fridge. He pulled out a bottle of water, then hopped to his feet and handed it to her . “Drink.”

“Okay,” she said, rolling to her side and lifting up on one elbow. “You say that like an order.”

“It is an order,” he said. “What you did expended a crazy amount of energy. You need water, sugar, and a load of vitamins.” He gestured at the bottle . “Drink.”

Margot obeyed, the water soothing her parched throat, and without realizing it, she had finished the entire bottle. She handed the empty to Ash, wiping her mouth. “What the hell?”

“Magic like that takes a lot of energy.” He held out his hands. “You want to c ome down?”

She narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. “I am perfectly capable of getting out of—” she started, sliding over the edge as she did every single day, when she wasn’t sharing the tiny space with Ash, of course. Instead of her sturdy legs easily landing on the floor, they folded like rubber, and if Ash hadn’t caught her by the hips, she would have fallen. He set her down gently in h er chair.

Margot slapped her barely functioning legs. “What is wrong with me?”

“Magic overexertion,” Ash said. “Conjuring a monsoon will do that. Usually it takes a dozen fae to change the weather.”

“A monsoon?” she echoed, taking the can of sugary soda he held out, devouring it just as quickly. She recalled the storm in snippets, vaguely, sensing Ash’s growing concern as she grew sleepy. “You think I made it rain?”

“I know you created a massive storm,” he said. He gestured out the window, and Margot followed his gaze, seeing the battered landscape. She finished the soda, abandoning the can on the desk behind her, then slid forward, trying to stand but settling for shuffling on her knees as she tried to see outside.

“But it was sunny…” she said. Ash reached over and opened the door, revealing the devastated environment outside the bus. Tree branches and rocks littered the road. Part of the shoulder had been washed away entirely. Margot covered her mouth with her hands, body weaving as the enormity of the destruction set in. Ash’s hand quickly settled on her shoulder, keeping her steady. “Oh wow,” she managed. “I did this?” She looked at Ash. “How bi g was it?”

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. For a minute, I thought you’d take down the whole mountainside. Incl uding us.”

“I remember.” She nodded, eyes wide as she studied the rocks thrown by fierce wind, the surviving trees along the side of the road, white where branches had been torn off. She remembered the feeling, the power rushing out of her, destroying everything in its path. “You said I would kill us both.”

Ash nodded. “You ne arly did.”

“So what does this mean? When I get sad or mad, I cause freaking hurricanes?” Her voice rose. The idea terrified her, but thankfully, nothing stirred outside. Whatever power she had was gone, used up by the storm she had apparently conjured. Part of her heard what Tobin would have said, had he been there: They call them typhoons here, Margot. The idea was soothing, his imagined perspective slowing her pulse.

“No,” Ash told her, leaning down to put his head next to her face. “This means you can control the weather, a very powerful gift. You just have to practice.”

“This seems like a bit more than practice,” she grumbled, swallowing hard. “This is too much.”

“Yesterday, you taught yourself to control the glamour, and you learned to fly. I think a little storm control is minor in co mparison.”

Margot glanced at him, face creased in worry. “You think so? I don’t want to destroy an entire e cosystem.”

“You won’t,” he assured her, then tilted his head at her, expression gentle. “But maybe next time, you should try opening up before you explode. Just a thought.”

“It’s been a very stressful few days,” she snapped, rubbing her face with her hands. “And you have a show tomorrow night. We need to get to Akkoy.” She glanced again at the wreckage outside. She recalled feeling the bus move in the wind and not caring, knowing she was safe in Ash’s arms, knowing he would pro tect her.

Did I really do all this? It was just a moment, she reminded herself. I deserve to get upset for a moment. But what happens the next time I g et upset?

“Am I safe?” she asked, imagining the destruction she could cause in an open-air theatre, like the Yama Bowl in Genc or Mackie Park over in Yens. I could kill the fans, she thought, without even realizing it. She grabbed Ash’s hand, needing the rea ssurance.

“Of course,” Ash assured her, his touch gentle but firm on her shoulder. “No one will hurt you here.”

“No,” she said, turning to face him. “I mean, am I safe to be around people? What happens if I get frustrated with one of the crew and set off another hu rricane?”

“In that case, it would likely be a tornado, especially if it’s Travis,” he joked, trying to lighten her mood. “You know he loves to get under your skin. A storm would definitely keep him inside the building.”

“He just kills me with those smoke breaks!” she griped, appreciating the distraction, the reminder of the ordinary things in her life. “We would get set up so much faster if he could just wait until after we ’re done.”

“Says the non-smoker,” Ash observed.

Margot sighed, her bruised hand reaching out for his. “What am I going to do?” s he asked.

Ash gently pulled her so she was leaning against him, supporting her weight and relieving her strained muscles. “You’re going to drink this,” he said, thrusting yet another drink—this one a blended green smoothie he pulled from her fridge—into her other hand. Margot wondered what she had in her fridge with which to make a drink that color, then decided not to think about it.

“So it’s going to be torture by bathroom,” Margot guessed, taking a sip and wincing at the overwhelming sense of green that flooded her mouth. She didn’t love the taste, but her body seemed to crave whatever was in the shake, so she drank it, feeling strength steal back into her abused muscles. She held the smoothie out, tapping the cold side against her forehead as she did when she was thinking hard. “Seriously, Ash. This is too much. I don’t know if I can h andle it.”

Ash took her hand, Margot’s eyes watching as he brought it up to his mouth, kissing her palm, then gestured at her to keep drinking. “You can do this, Go,” he assured her, watching as she drank the smoothie. “I know you can.”