Chương 41: Chapter 35 – Broken Seal

Esmerelda made her decision in an instant. Light flared from the cracked jar, the searing crackle of wild essence escaping its bonds—there wasn't time to hesitate. Cade was already as good as dead but she could still protect the young if the Stormseed exploded. She cursed herself as her body moved. She was foolish. Foolish to leave him alone. Foolish to hand over an ancestor's relic to a stranger without supervision. She had thought him harmless. Weak. She had thought nothing would happen. And now this.

She flung her tongue forward in a blur of motion. It slapped wetly against the glass of the jar still pressed to Cade's chest. The moment her tongue touched the surface, she retracted and rammed the cracked Stormseed deep into the spatial fold of her throat sac. The glass vanished between her jaws, swallowed whole into the pocket dimension inside of her, a fold of space meant for storage and safekeeping. She hoped, prayed, that it would buffer the impact. That the fold would take the brunt of the explosion.

That the children might live. But before she could even prepare for the pain of death— Cade roared. The sound wasn't like anything she had heard from the human before. It was raw and primal, full of power, echoing through the air with such force that it rippled the mists below. She stared, wide-eyed, at the source of the sound. And for the first time since meeting him, Esmerelda felt fear. The roar tore from Cade's throat before he even realized he was making a sound.

One moment he had been on the edge of unity—so close to becoming one with the Stormseed that he could taste it in his blood—and the next, the connection had been ripped from him. Something inside him screamed at the loss. The cycle had been perfect. The surge of power, the electric purity of the Stormseed racing through him. It made him feel alive. No, not just alive, whole. For the first time since his encounter with the Ashen Emperor he hadn't felt broken. His body had thrummed with strength, with clarity.

His every cell had drunk from the storm like it was divine ambrosia. As the last echoes of lightning faded, Cade became aware of subtle changes rippling through him. Like pieces of his body that hadn't quite fit together since the Ashen Baptism were being nudged into place by the storm's passage. His muscles no longer trembled under the strain of his own weight. His breathing felt deeper, steadier, like his lungs could draw in air without struggle. His body wasn't healed. The aches were still there.

The damage from the Ashen Baptism hadn't vanished, b ut thanks to the Stormseed something had shifted. And now it was gone. The last dredges of its power had been in his grasp and then they were unceremoniously torn away. He opened his eyes with a jolt. His body was still buzzing, still sizzling with the echo of the Stormseed's power, but the source was absent. His hands clutched at empty air. His chest felt hollow, robbed of something vital. And there, crouched a meter away from him, was Esmerelda.

His vision sharpened as his instincts surged to the surface. His lips curled back slightly, his breath ragged. Every part of him wanted to snarl at her, demand the return of what was his. The power. The storm. But then he met her eyes. Esmerelda's expression was taut with restraint. Her face was a strange mix of fury, disbelief, and something Cade couldn't immediately place. Shock? Confusion? Awe? The sight broke through whatever had seized him.

His jaw clenched, and the tension in his body receded slightly as his conscious mind slammed back into control. What the hell had just happened? What had gotten into him? He looked down at his shaking hands. Then back up at Esmerelda.

"I—" he started, but the words died in his throat. She didn't speak. She just stared at him, eyes locked onto his face like she was waiting for something. Cade swallowed hard and tempered his voice.

"Did I… do something wrong?" Esmerelda still said nothing. Then, at last, her posture shifted. Some of the tension bled out of her shoulders. Her eyes blinked, slow and deliberate.

"Stay here," she said softly. Almost hesitant.

"Do not move." She turned without a word and stepped away from him. Cade nodded quickly, unsure what else to do. Esmerelda walked to the edge of the pavilion. The young frogs were now clustered nearby, eyes wide, their croaks hushed and nervous. She raised her staff and slammed it once into the rigid pad below. The sound echoed across the lily-walker.

"Lessons are done for today," she announced curtly.

"Return to your nests." They hesitated—still gawking—but one by one, the young ones began to hop away, their bodies low, like they feared what might happen next. Only when the last frogling vanished into the mist did Esmerelda turn back and return to where Cade was seated. She lowered herself onto the woven mat opposite Cade with a stiffness that hadn't been there before, her staff resting across her knees. For a moment neither of them spoke. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site.

Support the author by reading it there. Cade shifted, suddenly all too aware of the silence pressing in around them. Should I say something? Would that help? Or just make it worse? I don't even know what happened. It was like something deep inside of me erupted open and all that mattered was what was in that jar. I needed it like I'd been starving and only that lightning could make it stop. Before he could decide what to say, Esmerelda spoke. Her voice was low and restrained.

"Do you know what you just did?" The question hit harder than he expected. Cade hesitated. His throat tightened from the memory of that raw hunger that had surged through him. He chose his words with care.

"I think I resonated with the Stormseed." Esmerelda's eyes didn't flicker. She stared into him with a steady, unreadable gaze. The silence dragged. Cade swallowed and pushed forward, the weight of her stare refusing to let him stop.

"I thought I felt a buzzing from the jar, so I focused on it. Then I tried to find something similar within myself. After a while, I felt a matching kind of buzz—not identical, but close. So I tried to adjust the feeling inside me to sync with what I felt from the Stormseed. It took time, but eventually I got them to align. The rhythm, the intensity… they matched." Still, Esmerelda said nothing. Her gaze locked onto his, unblinking. Cade looked down, unable to hold it.

"When I finally got them to match," he said more quietly, "some kind of energy started pouring into me. It felt... good. Better than good. Like my body was finally getting something it had been missing." He frowned, remembering the moment it faded.

"But then it left, and everything started aching again." He lifted his eyes to meet hers.

"I could feel the energy from the Stormseed. It flowed into me, moved through me. Then it reversed—like it was drawing energy back from me into the jar. I thought that was the resonance you talked about. So I let it continue… encouraged it. I tried to make the cycle go faster." Cade hesitated, the final thought still twisting in his chest.

"I really thought I was doing something right." He looked at her, voice low.

"So why did you stop me?" Esmerelda studied him for a long time. Not his face alone—his posture, his breathing, the way his essence moved beneath his skin. Cade felt like an insect pinned under glass. Finally, she exhaled.

"I can tell," she said slowly, "that you are not lying." Cade let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"But what you described," she continued, "should not be possible." His brow furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"The Stormseed is not consumed upon reaching resonance," Esmerelda said.

"It is answered. Stormcallers shape storms. They do not drink them in, they do not cycle them through their bodies like blood or essence." Her fingers tightened around her staff.

"What you did was… something else." She fell silent again, gaze distant now, as if turning over pieces that refused to fit.

"At the moment," she said at last, "I do not understand what you are or how you did what you did." Her eyes refocused on him.

"That troubles me." Cade's stomach sank. She rose to her feet and gestured for him to do the same.

"This is beyond me. We will seek the wisdom of the Second Elder." Cade pushed himself upright. His body felt good, better than good. His limbs obeyed without protest. His back didn't scream and his legs didn't protest against holding up his own weight. His breath came easier. He was still thin, still just skin and bone, but the constant feeling like he was at the edge of collapse was gone. Energy lingered in him, subtle but present. They took a few steps before Esmerelda stopped.

She turned and regarded him carefully.

"Bring your shell." Cade's heart dropped. He hadn't brought it earlier when they'd visited the Second Elder for more translation mucus. Why would he need it now? A knot formed in his stomach as he reached for it. I really messed up, he thought. And as he followed Esmerelda out of the pavilion, shell in hand, he couldn't shake the feeling that whatever he'd done to the Stormseed had changed far more than just himself.

For the second time that day, Cade followed Esmerelda between the winding stalks of the village's walker-lilies toward the Second Elder's. The great pad was already lowered to the swampy ground below, its surface wide and unmoving as other lilies shifted and gave it space. Cade clutched his shell against his side as he walked, its weight much lighter than he remembered. Every step forward reminded him that he had probably fucked up big time.

The storm still echoed faintly in his limbs, a ghost of power threading through muscle and bone. He felt better than he had in days. Stronger. Steadier. But guilt gnawed at the edges of that clarity. He glanced at Esmerelda. She hadn't spoken since they'd left the training pad. Her jaw was tight. Her stride clipped. Cade decided not to break the silence. As they reached the broad lip of the Second Elder's lily the air felt denser somehow.

At the center of the pad stood the Second Elder—the massive golden toad, gleaming beneath the filtered daylight. In front of him stood Pearl, the orange frog who had brought Cade here. Today, she was different—more animated, her voice quick and low as she addressed the Elder. Cade could barely hear what she was saying, urgency plain in her movements.

"I just don't think I'm ready—" Pearl was saying before she cut herself off at the sound of approaching footsteps. Both she and Second Elder Varosk turned to see Cade and Esmerelda approaching. Pearl's expression shuttered instantly. She stood straighter, her hands folding behind her. The Second Elder's eyes narrowed. His voice boomed across the pad.

"Esmerelda. The mucus has not yet worn off. What more is required of me today?" Esmerelda bowed slightly.

"Second Elder Varosk, something has occurred. I seek your wisdom." The Second Elder's golden throat pulsed once.

"Is it urgent?" Pearl made a motion to excuse herself, but the Elder lifted a hand.

"You will stay," he said.

"If you are to embark on the trials soon, then you must learn what it means to be an Elder." Pearl looked briefly confused, then nodded and stepped back. Esmerelda took a breath and turned slightly toward Cade before speaking.

"As you instructed this morning, I guided the human in Stormcalling. I gave him the Stormseed and asked him to attempt resonance, as we do with our younglings." The Elder nodded.

"Did he fail?"

"No," she said quietly.

"He did not." Cade saw Varosk's wide mouth twitch into the beginnings of a smirk.

"Then what is the problem?" Esmerelda hesitated, her gaze flicking between Cade and Varosk.

"It may be easier to show you." She turned toward Pearl.

"I may need your aid." Pearl cocked her head.

"Aid? For what?" Esmerelda's expression darkened.

"Somehow… against all odds, the Stormseed has been destabilized. Prepare yourself." Pearl scoffed.

"That's impossible. No one's ever—" But Esmerelda was already moving. With a grim expression, she reached two fingers down her throat and drew out the cracked jar. The moment it came into view, the air changed. The lightning inside was barely more than a wisp—a pale thread of blue and white, flickering weakly in the fractured glass. Pearl's words died in her throat. The Second Elder's eyes widened. Pearl snatched the jar from Esmerelda's hand with uncharacteristic urgency.

She stared at the crack running down the side, at the broken seal of an artifact that had withstood countless generations of use without fail. Then she turned to Cade. Her voice was a snarl.

"What did you do?"