Chapter 365: As Though It Never Happened
Liam takes a deep breath and tries to recall the feeling from the night he turned the rainstorm into snow. The rain that resisted at first. The thunder and lightning that threatened him. The wind that blew hard against his face. And then came the cold.
It had felt like a friend that night. Welcoming him, wrapping around him like a hug. Right now, it is bone-biting, and the wind is howling at full force.
He lets himself fall into it anyway. He accepts the cold as if he belongs to it, blending into it the way he did before. It happens smoothly, almost naturally, and a small smile finds its way to his lips.
The snow recognizes him. The element welcomes him, settling around him as though it has been waiting for him to show up. As though it expects him to take its side against the mages trying to subdue it, like children running to tell an adult about another child’s bad behavior.
Liam cannot help a faint chuckle.
Happy.
Content.
Elder Loujt’s ears catch the sound from across the patio, and it goes straight into feeding his frustration.
He grits his teeth and lashes out at the snow. He forces it to break apart, shoving the pieces toward the Lights with more aggression than care.
Liam feels it immediately. Elder Loujt’s Water pushing directly against his own.
What the hell is he doing? Why is he forcing it?
The element rebels harder in response.
And it shows.
The weather shifts. The falling snow thickens fast, and the howling wind drives it sideways, cutting visibility down to almost nothing. The patio chairs begin rattling against the stone. If the wind picks up any further, they will be airborne.
Liam’s brow furrows, eyebrows nearly meeting. He grits his teeth, trying to soothe the snow back into calm. But his grip on it is slipping, and he can feel it slipping, the wind driving snow straight into his face now.
Elder Loujt feels the resistance growing too, the snow harder to break apart with every passing second. His frustration grows with it. He pushes harder. The snow pushes back even harder.
The others feel it as well. Alicia’s feet are no longer touching the ground. She is hovering a few centimeters above the stone, caught in her own gust.
"Thea!" Liam shouts, eyes snapping open. "This cannot continue!" He has to fight to be heard over the wind. "If this keeps going, it is going to turn into a blizzard!"
"Do not let go! Keep trying! Hold on!" Theo shouts back.
Linus can no longer stand upright. He leans forward against the wind, more afraid that Theo will be blown off his feet than worried about himself. He quickly ties their coats together using the belts, anchoring them to each other.
"Mr. Loujt! Stop forcing the elements!" Theo has to yell to be heard at all.
"All of you. Do NOT force them. Guide them. I know it has gotten harder, but do not let go. Try!"
Calm down. Please, calm down. Liam chants inwardly. I mean you no harm. You need to return to nature. Please.
Theo keeps his eyes moving across the mages, reading every shift in posture and expression.
They are struggling. What can I do?
"Mr. Loujt!" Theo yells.
Elder Loujt’s eyes snap open. He sees Theo waving him over, gesturing urgently. Theo waves Liam in as well.
As much as Elder Loujt dislikes the Monforts, he knows this is neither the time nor the place to indulge it.
He moves toward Theo, glancing at Liam as he goes.
"I have an idea that might work! But it requires the two of you to do this together. We tried separating you and that backfired spectacularly. Let’s try the opposite!"
Both Water mages nod, reluctant but out of options.
"Mr. Loujt, I need you to pour your Water into Liam. He will lead. He will be the one breaking the snow apart and doing the rest of it, using both your Water and his combined. This is not because I think you are weaker. It is because this snow carries Liam’s mana signature. It recognizes him. It will listen to him faster than it will listen to anyone else."
Elder Loujt cannot argue with that logic, because he knows it is correct.
"But if we follow that reasoning to its end, the core of this entire weather pattern is still you, Ms. Montrose!" He shouts over the wind. "The original storm never actually disappeared. We are going to need your mana in this too!"
Theo lets out a frustrated breath. "I know that! I am trying to figure out how to contribute mana I do not have!"
For a moment, the three of them fall into a tense silence. But it is a silence none of them can afford for long.
"Alright. Let’s just do this together and see what happens." Theo says finally.
Everyone nods and moves into position immediately. Elder Loujt places both hands on Liam’s shoulders. They close their eyes together and begin.
Liam gasps the instant Elder Loujt’s Water touches his.
So clear. Like spring water. And the current underneath it is incredibly strong.
At the same moment, Elder Loujt gasps as well, feeling Liam’s Water reach him in return.
So blue. Like the ocean. Like the deepest part of the ocean. And so heavy.
But there is no time to admire each other’s Water. Liam blends the two together almost immediately and feels his own strength surge in response. Elder Loujt is startled by how easily Liam manages the combination.
It is as if they were meant to mix. He catches the thought and feels faintly ridiculous for having it. But he has no better way to describe what just happened.
The toll of carrying two Waters hits Liam fast. His hands begin to go numb. His breaths shorten, one after another, faster than they should. His whole body trembles, not from the cold but from the sheer weight of holding two oceans at once.
Elder Loujt feels the tremor running through him. Without consciously deciding to, he begins helping carry the load, easing some of the pressure off Liam and into the shared current between them. Neither of them notices when they stop moving as two separate forces and start moving as one.
Even Theo does not notice. He is too busy watching every shift in the weather, his mind racing through how he might inject his own mana into the working when he has none to give.
He takes a slow breath.
There is only one option left. My last resort. And I am not even certain it will work. Let us see if this new partnership holds first, before I do that.
For the next few minutes, the snow does not seem to change. But Theo notices it does not get worse either.
He almost allows himself to exhale.
Then, slowly, very slowly, it begins to die down.
The first sign is visibility. Theo can finally see past the wall of white and swirling snow. Then the wind eases, just slightly, and the patio chairs stop rattling against the stone.
Theo and Linus no longer have to lean into the wind to stay upright. They straighten, gradually.
The wind still howls. The snow still falls, heavy and steady. But it no longer feels like the end of the world.
Theo and Linus both sense the shift in the mages around them, the collective release of breath, the loosening of shoulders. Everyone seems to be thinking the same thing at the same time.
It is finally under control.
Another hour passes. Everyone is exhausted, and the weather has not cleared. They have managed to calm the snow back to its original state, the same gentle fall it had before any of this began. Nothing more.
Alicia is the first to give out. She collapses to the floor, no longer able to stand. Within seconds she cannot even hold herself sitting upright.
Maeve and Julian go down almost together, just after her.
Because their magic has been linked this entire time, the others follow not far behind. Sonia. Dae. Huri.
Only Liam and Elder Loujt remain standing. But it is obvious neither of them can sustain it much longer on their own.
They hold for another ten minutes before they too go down.
Theo and Linus spend those final minutes moving between the others, helping them inside to the warmth of the kitchen, until the two Water mages finally collapse as well.
Once everyone is gathered in the kitchen, mugs of hot chocolate pressed into their hands and coats draped over their shoulders, the room falls into a heavy silence. No one speaks. No one moves much beyond the occasional shiver. They sit with their eyes on the floor, shoulders sagging under the weight of it.
The atmosphere is bleak.
They failed. Completely. The weather sits exactly where it started, untouched, as though the last two hours on that patio never happened at all.
