Elemental's Domain

by Yvette Bostic

  He smiled, not a happy one but a devious curling of his lips. “I already have,” he purred, taking my hands. “I didn’t just renew your binding every five years. I removed it and taught you about your fae magic, then replaced it.”

  My mouth fell open again and I didn’t try to close it this time. “But I don’t remember anything,” I argued. “And why would you do that?”

  “At first, I wanted revenge and planned out the queen’s assassination,” he replied with not an ounce of guilt. “As you grew, I realized your heart was too kind for killing, and you softened my need for retribution.”

  I stared at him. My heart wasn’t too kind for killing or I wouldn’t be carrying the guilt for the deaths I’d already caused. And he wanted to use me as a weapon, just like everyone else.

  “Yes, I know,” he mumbled. “I’m a monster who taught you everything and now needs to awaken your memories. This shouldn’t hurt.”

  He brought our joined hands to my forehead before I could protest. A searing pain started at my eyes and raced over my scalp, almost like someone ripped all the hair from my head. I screamed in agony and passed out.

  Chapter 6

  Soft murmurs intruded in my dreams, voices I knew didn’t belong there. My dream centered around Logan, but Kellen’s voice told me to wake up.

  “No,” I mumbled, trying to roll over.

  His strong arms pulled me against his chest, smothering me in his brown sugar and cinnamon.

  “Mmmm. I need breakfast.” My eyes fluttered open and l looked up at my partner. The effort made my head throb, and I forced them shut, but I didn’t miss the concern etched across his face.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Always,” I muttered. “My head hurts. Where’s the bastard that hit me.”

  “Standing next to me,” Kellen replied.

  I tried to open my eyes again and regretted it. “Wow, that really hurts.”

  “Why is your water elemental not healing your pain?” a low voice asked.

  “Ah, Cedric,” I slurred, wrapping my fingers around Kellen’s neck. “Don’t talk to me. You said it wouldn’t hurt.”

  “No, I said it shouldn’t,” he argued.

  I buried my face in Kellen’s chest as visions of a child practicing magic with Cedric assaulted me. She giggled as a tiny flower sprang from the dirt beneath her fingers. She giggled again when Cedric changed from a man to a rabbit. The little brown bunny jumped in her lap and nuzzled her hand. She scooped it up and pressed its fur against her face.

  My grip on Kellen tightened as more memories of a loving father playing with his daughter flooded my mind. I should’ve been paying attention to the magic, but all I could see was the love in his eyes. It was the only thing I’d ever wanted as a child. I had it, but the memories were stolen from me by the man who was supposed to love me.

  “I need to go home,” I muttered. “I can’t deal with this right now.”

  “Alisandra,” Cedric’s voice called to me, but I refused to look at him.

  “Can I take Kellen with me?” I asked, knowing he would understand my question.

  “Yes, just don’t let go between realms,” my father replied.

  I pulled my face from my partner’s chest and looked at him through my tears. “Don’t let me go.”

  “Never.”

  His promise hurt just as much as my father’s, but I believed Kellen. Cedric had already broken his. I envisioned the training room at Kellen’s estate, convincing myself it was the only place I wanted to be. The world lurched and streams of color raced around us. A strange wind pulled at my clothes. Hot and cold twisted together, burning and freezing me at the same time. My grip on Kellen tightened as I tried to stay focused on his training room. A jarring stop threw us to the ground, but my partner didn’t let go. We rolled twice as he clung to me before we finally stopped. I lay on his chest, afraid to move.

  “Well, that was uncomfortable,” he said. “Are you okay?”

  “No,” I whispered, not moving.

  Kellen sat up still holding me. “What happened? I heard you scream and ran into the room. What did he do to you?”

  I choked on my sobs several times. “He loved me.” I leaned back and sniffled. “I don’t know if he still does, but he did.”

  My partner brushed a tear from my cheek. “Let’s get a cup of coffee and you can tell me what happened.”

  I nodded. “That sounds really good.” I untangled myself from him and made my way to the kitchen. “Are you okay?” I asked, sitting on my favorite bar stool. He certainly didn’t look okay.

  “I have no idea,” he replied, taking two cups from the cabinet along with a can of coffee. I didn’t miss his shaking hands as he scooped the grounds out of the container. “Whatever you did to get us here hurt like hell. Something tried to rip you from me the entire way.”

  “Yeah, I was holding on for dear life,” I said. “Apparently, I wasn’t very good at it as a child either.”

  He stopped mid-scoop and looked at me. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

  Once I started talking, I couldn’t stop. I poured my heart out to him about my experience with Braden, leaving out the part about the oath, but including my conversation with Gordon and his loyalty to Braden. I tried to tell him about my stolen memories, but I could only vocalize my feelings of betrayal and my hatred for my father. I understood why he had to take the memories of our time together—to keep me safe—but it didn’t lessen the pain. All I ever wanted was a family, someone who loved me unconditionally. Every five years, he gave me a small taste of it only to take it away.

  Kellen nodded and only stopped me a couple times with questions, which surprised me.

  “You can’t say the spells out loud, can you?” he asked.

  “No,” I replied. “It’s like a barrier between my brain and my mouth.” I smiled and Kellen chuckled. “Maybe I need a more permanent one for everything else.”

  Regardless of my inability to talk about my magic, a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. The emotions I’d been carrying around suffocated me more than I realized.

  Kellen leaned on the counter across from me running his finger around the edge of his cup. “That’s a lot to take in,” he finally said.

  “Yeah. I don’t even know where to start.” I scoured his face, looking for disappointment. If it was there, he hid it well.

  “I want to train together.” He looked up from his cup and his deep brown eyes caught mine. “Cedric confirmed Otto’s story about Ernesto. I think it’s a test for you. Maybe if our reaction is big enough, Jack will back off.”

  “What are you suggesting we do?” I asked. “The only thing that seemed to scare Sergey was my elementals.” I thought back to our latest fight. “I guess Ernesto’s vampires, too. They’ll remember their buddies getting tossed in that pit.”

  “The other mages can’t do what you do, can they?” he asked, pushing his cup to the side.

  “I don’t think so,” I replied, looking away from him. I’d wanted it to be true, but apparently it was a fae thing, not a mage thing. “But Brian said his elemental spoke to him in his head, so maybe some of them can.”

  “Or maybe one of Brian’s ancestors was fae,” Kellen suggested.

  “Could be,” I conceded. “I really hoped everyone could have the relationship I have with mine.”

  My partner pulled his fingers through his hair. “Seeing and interacting with them is amazing. The fire elemental is intimidating, though.”

  “Don’t let him hear you say that,” I teased, smiling. “If he’s anything like Niyol, it’ll go to his head.”

  A gust of wind ruffled my hair, and I laughed.

  “That.” Kellen pointed at me with a grin on his face. “That’s what everyone wants.”

  “Just don’t let yours catch your hair on fire.” I stood up and put my cup in the sink. “I feel better now. Let’s go do some training.”

  Kellen caught me around the waist as I pushed past him,
and my face flushed at the contact. He’d been everything I needed and more in the last few hours. It would be cruel to push him away. Lying to him would be worse, though.

  “Thank you for sharing that with me,” he said. “I know it was hard for you.” He pulled me closer with both arms snaking around me.

  “Thank you for being my support and not judging me today,” I said, returning his compliment and placing my hands against his chest. “I needed you and you were there for me.”

  Then I gently pushed him away. I didn’t miss the disappointment in his eyes.

  “Let’s see what kind of trouble we can get into,” I proposed, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the kitchen. “I still want to try to solidify that water-spear-thing. And we need to see what your elements are willing to do in tandem with us.”

  He chuckled as I dragged him down the hall. “I’d love to see you attempt the surfing again.”

  “I bet you would,” I retorted. “You just want to laugh at me when I fall on my ass.”

  “I would never laugh at you falling on your ass,” he argued. “At least not until after I made sure you weren’t hurt.”

  “Oh sure,” I drawled as we entered the training room again. I paused at the door, my smile fading. “I think I left my shoes at your uncle’s along with all my stuff.”

  “I think you’re right,” Kellen said. “I’ll ask Zahur to send it to us.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and started tapping on the screen.

  “I feel bad for your cousin,” I mumbled. “We left him there with Cedric. I should go back and apologize.”

  “No, you should stay right here.”

  As Kellen stepped onto the dirt floor of the training room, his phone rang. He switched to the same language he’d spoken before with his cousin. None of it made sense to me, so I wandered to the center of the room and sat down.

  My mind immediately shifted to my unearthed memories. Fae magic was so much more complex than what the mages used. The long, poetic phrases of the fae spells could grow anything, then kill it just as quickly. Their attunement to nature drew them towards life, but their power made them arrogant. They lacked empathy and had little concern for those they felt were beneath them, which was everyone.

  But despite their faults, they understood the risk their power presented to the rest of the world. Those who refused to abide by their very strict laws were executed. My father repeated those warnings to me at every visit. Because of my blood magic, they would watch me as carefully as they watched him.

  My existence outside of the fae kingdom flew in the face of their laws. Why did they leave me here? The fae couldn’t see the future, could they? So, it wasn’t like they have some knowledge of my destiny. It had to have something to do with whomever Cedric spoke of, the one with an interest in my life. Who the hell could that be?

  “Cedric is becoming less trustworthy by the minute,” my partner growled, dropping onto the dirt in front of me.

  “What did he do now?” I asked, wiping my hands on my knees and leaning towards him.

  “He took our stuff and left.”

  “He did what?” Why would he take our luggage, not to mention where?

  “I’m not allowed to leave your side, daughter,” Cedric’s voice echoed across the room. “I brought your belongings with me.”

  Kellen jumped up and stormed towards my father. “You’re not allowed in my home!” he bellowed.

  “My oath forces me to stay with her,” Cedric argued, not backing down as my partner rushed towards him. “I have no choice, which means neither do you.”

  “And when is this oath complete?” Kellen asked, stopping well within Cedric’s personal space.

  I sighed and rose. Men were such a pain with all their posturing.

  “When she is trained and we release the elder,” Cedric replied, stepping forward and closing the gap between them.

  My partner stood several inches taller than my father, but they appeared equally muscled. Regardless of Kellen’s height, I knew Cedric would use his fae magic to easily put my partner on his ass. I raced to Kellen’s side and touched his shoulder. He flinched and pulled his eyes from my father.

  “I’m already trained,” I said. “We merely need to release Braden.” Cedric huffed, but I ignored him. “I really want to spend some time with you figuring out the best way to work together. When we face Ernesto, we need to have a plan.”

  Kellen glanced at Cedric again then gave me his attention. “I agree,” he said. “But if freeing Braden will finish his task, we should get it over with. Then you and I can focus on each other.”

  Cedric snorted and I rolled my eyes. I hadn’t missed the double meaning in my partner’s words, but maybe he was right. “Do you think you can get back into the palace and talk to the council while Cedric and I do this?” I asked. “Although getting back in isn’t really necessary, is it? You could find out the scoop over the phone.”

  I let my hand trail down his arm, and he took my fingers in his.

  “I’ll find out what I can about our people and get in touch with Victor,” Kellen said. “I’ll also let Zahur know that we have our stuff.”

  When Kellen pulled me into his strong embrace, I didn’t fight it. I needed his kindness if I was about to spend the next few hours with Braden and Cedric.

  “You should also call Jim,” I suggested. “His mages were great during our last fight. We’ll need him when Ernesto’s plan blows up in his face.”

  “Your certainty is totally unfounded,” Kellen said.

  “Maybe, but if I keep telling myself we’ll win, maybe it’ll actually happen.” I pushed away from him and turned to Cedric. “Let’s make a plan to get into the Sanguis Hotel.”

  Chapter 7

  Dusk fell across the city of Vegas. Neon lights flashed in the near darkness, and the buzz of cars and people filled the air around us. I hadn’t been back since the mages rescued me from The Sanguis Hotel and Casino. Now here I was, trying to rescue a vampire from the same hotel.

  I’d spent my entire life in Vegas, but it didn’t feel like home. Nothing felt like home. The realization that I didn’t have one hurt. Sure, I had a room at Kellen’s, and Logan would take me in anytime, but it wasn’t the same as having a home.

  I shook my head. It didn’t matter right now. We needed to get Braden out of the hotel and get my father on his way to wherever he was going. I looked over at Cedric and frowned. He used to love me, or I thought he did. Maybe it was only because I brought him peace from his darkness. Was that reason enough to love someone? Yeah, probably. Which meant he wouldn’t be going anywhere, even after we rescued Braden. I sighed and pulled my ballcap lower on my head.

  My father’s blue jean shorts reached his knees, met by long white socks and bright, white sneakers. A Hawaiian shirt covered his fluorescent orange t-shirt and a scowl imprinted itself on his face. I wore a similar outfit, hoping we looked like tourists and that I would pass for a boy. So far, no one gave us a second glance.

  That wouldn’t be true once we entered the hotel. I couldn’t hide the smell of Braden’s blood running through me, but I hoped to at least fool the vampires for a few minutes.

  “This will never work, daughter,” Cedric hissed.

  “Of course it will,” I argued. “You distract them. I’ll turn into a little mouse and run downstairs to let him out.”

  “And how are you getting out of the hotel?” he asked. “They aren’t going to let him leave.”

  I hadn’t figured that out yet, but Braden should know the place by heart and hopefully have ideas.

  “You’re distracting them, right?” I kicked at a cigarette butt on the sidewalk. “I’ll put a veil over Braden and we’ll walk out.”

  Cedric raised an eyebrow at me and leaned against the wall behind him. I couldn’t blame him. It was a weak plan, but he hadn’t come up with anything better. He thought I should be the distraction, but there was no way it could work. They’d sniff me out in a heartbeat.

  I glan
ced across the street at the Sanguis. A constant flow of people came and went. I couldn’t tell if any of them were vampire without getting closer.

  “Let’s get this over with,” Cedric said as he pushed off the wall. “If you get in trouble, leave. Don’t risk getting caught. We can always come back as long as we aren’t discovered.”

  I followed him over the raised pedestrian crossover that spanned the four-lane road and descended to the other side. It wouldn’t be easy for me to leave. I wasn’t good at jumping through realms. Even as a child, I sucked at it. He’d always say, “Alisandra, make up your mind where you want to go, or you’ll get stuck in the middle.” Or another favorite of his, “You’re too indecisive. That’s why it’s so hard.”

  We drifted out of the crowd and into the shadows cast by the setting sun. My heart started racing. What a stupid idea. There was no way this would work.

  “The casino’s cameras are on each corner,” Cedric whispered, putting his hand on my shoulder. “Stay in the shadow along the wall and they shouldn’t see you.”

  “Got it,” I murmured, trying to hide my shaking voice.

  “You remember how to get to the door leading to the basement?”

  “Yeah, got it,” I said. Neither of us had been in the lower levels, but Cedric was fairly certain which door would lead me there.

  “If my distraction gets out of hand, I’ll let you know.” He tapped his finger on his temple. Another fae ability. Telepathy between the fae. “If you cannot get to him, tell me. We’ll regroup and make another plan.”

  “Good idea,” I mumbled. “I don’t suppose you have a better suggestion for going in right now?”

  “No.” He turned his back to the crowd and put both hands on my shoulders. “I don’t like your plan, but it should work as long as you stay out of sight. Braden should know how to get out without being seen, once you open his cage.” His brown eyes scoured my face and his frown deepened. “Be careful.”

  A short laugh escaped my lips. “Okay, sure.”

  “Let me see this mouse,” he said, pursing his lips into a thin line.

  His wide frame concealed me from the crowd and any security cameras, but it didn’t stop me from worrying about someone freaking out over my change. I sighed and closed my eyes, visualizing a tiny brown field mouse. Magic tingled across my skin, and a sharp wind pulled against my clothes. I knew I wasn’t actually shifting into a mouse, but the sensation of my body becoming something foreign was unsettling.