"He will regret it, my dear. When he remembers. I'm simply helping to reduce that fallout by removing you from the scene until he calms."
"Will he remember though?" I asked. Aktor just smiled. A sad, but hopeful one.
"Back to us," he said instead of bolstering me up falsely. "I beg your forgiveness, Miss Eden. I pray you will see it in your heart to forgive an old man his impulsive actions. Actions directed by an old and weary heart. I could not stand by and watch as they tormented that young girl. She didn't have a hope in surviving that. She is not like you."
Like me? I wondered just what he thought I was capable of. Right now it clearly wasn't much more than eating a plate full of sandwiches and feeling like utter freaking crap while I did it.
I stared down at the near empty platter. How many sandwiches had been there. Three? Four? I pushed it away and wrapped my chilled hands around the still warm cup, then lifted my eyes to Aktor's face.
There was nothing to forgive really. I wanted to blame someone for what had happened. For the pain and suffering. For Theo no longer being mine. And it would have been so easy to keep on thinking it only happened because of the betrayal I'd felt from this man.
But there'd been a reason. A valid one.
"I spent many hours," I said softly, "thinking up ways to pay you back."
He nodded, but remained quiet.
"Sometimes it was all that got me through the lab sessions."
A slow blink of his eyes.
"While the doctor prattled on about what he was about to do to me in exacting detail I'd tune him out with images of what I would do to you instead."
His hand shook slightly as he rested his coffee cup back on the table.
"Occasionally the doctor and I would think alike."
A small, clearly reluctant, smile spread his lips.
"It's a bit hard, if I'm honest, to rearrange my thoughts. To realign my reality. To turn the focus of my rage somewhere else."
"I understand," he said gently.
"It was so unexpected," I added, talking about the moment he stepped forward in the Rigas' throne room, announcing his betrayal. The moment it was obvious the Pyrkagia Rigas had found us in Peru because of him.
"I imagine it was," he whispered. "They'd had her for five days by then."
My eyes shot up to his face to see the truth.
"I don't think she would have survived another night."
"Then you had no choice," I whispered back.
"There is always a choice. Theodoros would have chosen your safety over a human's."
"You're not Theodoros," I pointed out.
"But you're not in love with me."
No, I wasn't. But I had loved him. Like a father figure, someone to turn to for advice. Aktor had always looked out for me. Accepted me from the very start, never doubted I belonged in Theo's life. That's why the betrayal hurt so much.
I couldn't do this anymore. Somewhere, somehow something had to give. Too much hatred and anger, it wasn't who I was. This was a chance to let some of it go.
I sucked in a deep breath of air, closed my eyes and let my soul reach out to the Earth around us, the Fire in the passionate people nearby, the Air that we breathe but I'm not connected to. The Water in the rain outside, equally as distant as the Air. And having no idea what Quintessence actually was, I just sent a prayer up to Aetheros and asked for his guidance and forgiveness.
The ground shook, the heavens opened up with thunder and lightning, the air in the café became super chilled.
I opened my eyes and glanced around the store, but with most things Ekmetalleftis the humans assumed what they heard and felt was natural. A storm so strong it rocked the building, sent torrential rain down on the streets and lit up the sky with lightning.
"That wasn't natural," I whispered, bringing my gaze back to Aktor.
"No, it was not," he confirmed, eyes narrowed and flicking around the street outside.
"Someone's here?"
"I don't think so," he said with a shake of his head. "I think it might have been you."
Me?
"Ah, no?" I replied, but it was doubtful, posed as a question rather than a statement.
"How have your Awakenings been going?" he asked, and just like that I had my Aktor back.
I hadn't said the words of forgiveness, but my heart had opened to this old, gentle, caring man again. I'd say them, but first...
"Just the two so far," I confirmed.
"Maybe you're about to receive a third," he suggested.
I watched the storm for a moment, contemplating the lightning as an Aeras power or the rain as a Nero one.
"Hard to say which one, if I am," I murmured.
"There have been increasing rumblings in the Earth since your captivity in Pyrgos," Aktor remarked. "I assumed it was Earth's disgruntlement with your confinement and treatment. Cut off as you were from it."
"Earth said it could still feel me, but I couldn't feel it," I offered.
"Strange," was all he said.
"What else has been happening?"
He reached out with a steadier hand to lift his cup to his lips for a sip. Saying the words now seemed overkill. Aktor was astute, he knew he had my trust back.
Leaning forward he whispered, barely loud enough for me to decipher, "The Rigas has been more uncontrolled than usual. He has always been considered... highly strung, I think is the modern day term."
I smiled into my cappuccino.
"But lately his rage at Theodoros' betrayal has caused countless arguments in Court."
Everyone felt betrayed lately. It was definitely a theme.
"Court? You mean, where the King and his council meet?" I asked instead of voicing that thought. Too close to home for Aktor and I right now. Bridges were being mended, we didn't need to threaten them with a flash flood.
My eyes darted out onto the street, where the gutters had disappeared completely and the drains were hidden in giant sized murky pools of water and muck.
"Not just council meetings, but in Pygos itself," Aktor explained. "There are factions forming. Those who support the Rigas and those who oppose any threat to a future heir."
"Where do I fit in their reasoning?"
Aktor smiled, it was consoling.
"You are not Pyrkagia," he simply said.
OK, nothing changed there.
"So, political unrest which would mean a weakened Pyrkagia," I surmised.
"Very insightful, my dear. The vultures circle as we speak."
"And the vultures are?"
"The Alchemists."
"They're here?" I asked, scanning the café and then out on the street as though I could spot one. Which wouldn't be easy, they're human and not necessarily identifiable. Unless they borrow an Element and give themselves away.
"We suspect so, yes," Aktor replied. "We even think some of those unhappy with the current reign have been approached. But without being in the thick of Court life, it's difficult to be sure."
"I can understand why you're exiled here in Wellington, but why is Nico and Isadora?"
"Nico spoke out too loudly on Theodoros' and your captivity. He is as exiled as I. But Isadora is still not suspected. Well, she wasn't until tonight. Now, I should think, her chances of returning to Auckland to spy for us are nil."
Great. The bitch was outcast with us. Would I never be shot of her?
Aktor gave me an indulgent look that said my thoughts were written all over my face.
"Well, she is," I muttered.
He chuckled, but then quickly sobered. "You won't like it, but it must be said..."
"We need her," I finished for him, rather peevishly.
"We need each other. Isadora has been an agent of Pyrkagia for thousands of years. Her position high up in the echelons of Court life. To be outcast now will have unsettled her. It is a daunting thing to face."
His tone said he'd had issues accepting his new fate as well, a pain born of centuries of faithfulness abruptly discarded.
I didn't have it in me to show empathy for Isadora. I may have forgiven Aktor, but Isadora's threat had never been one of betrayal. Hers was more open than that.
Theo.
The weight of my current situation came back with such heaviness I slouched down in my seat, wrapping the coat Aktor had given me to cover my bedraggled prison garb around me. The air in the café felt too chilled again. The rain landed on the front window with the sound of pellets hitting a tin can. The shock of the noise making the entire room full of late night coffee drinkers jump in their seats with fright.
"I think we should go," Aktor advised. "If this is because of you, we should draw it away from these people."
"And if it isn't?" My bet was definitely on the side of "not."
"Then we'd best surround ourselves with powerful allies," Aktor returned.
Either way, an order to get up and leave.
But leaving would be going to wherever Theo now was. Seeing that distant look in his eyes. Seeing the closeness he now had again with Dora. Neither were welcomed right now.
Aktor hailed a cab, which appeared out of a mist of freezing rain drops, and within seconds we were riding the storm with the other crazy people out on a night like this in Wellington.
"It's a shocker of a storm," the cabbie remarked jovially.
"Yes, quite unexpected," Aktor offered.
"Of course they got it wrong on the weather channel," the guy added. "Meant to be sunshine until the weekend."
"I wouldn't recommend a trip to the beach," Aktor deadpanned.
"Not bloody likely in this," the cabbie agreed and then thankfully fell silent to concentrate on his driving.
"We've commandeered a rather large house on the hillside at Oriental Bay," Aktor murmured quietly at my side. "Lovely views of the harbour and a defensible position."
Strange how my life had become.
"There's space for everyone, so we shouldn't have to trip over each other's feet," he added.
But what he really meant was trip over Theo's feet. Or maybe Isadora's. Either would likely cause sparks to fly.
"I'm too tired to do any tripping," I assured him.
"I dare say you are," he murmured sadly.
We remained silent for the rest of the short ride, winding up Hay Street until we came to large white double sided gates. The taxi pulled over in front of them, but within seconds they swung open and the car's headlights illuminated a short but well cared for driveway. He rolled the vehicle forward and a large expanse of manicured grass, floodlit with strategic lighting, spread out on either side. The odd Nikau Palm and Cabbage Tree dotted here and there, and right in the centre of the driveway, a return surrounding it, stood a Moreton Bay Fig Tree.
The house was all white, rather like Pyrgos itself, but whereas the Rigas' mansion was based on colonnaded Greek architecture, this house was modernism at its best. Glass and metal sat in angular juxtaposition, all blazing brightly making the rain drops dazzle as they continued to fall outside.
The cabbie whistled as he pulled to a stop in front of the door.
"Always wondered what it looked like behind those big old gates," he said, turning in his seat to get a better look at us, I think.
"And now you know," Aktor replied, slipping a twenty into his hand. "Keep the change," he called out as he followed me from the car.
I'd ducked up under the overhang and watched as the taxi pulled away and the rain kept pouring and the gates shut all on their own behind the car.
"Whose house was this before?" I asked Aktor as he slowly walked up the stairs, age evident in every single step he took.
I wondered if an Athanatos had ever died of natural causes, like becoming too ancient.
"It had been on the market for quite some time. We were lucky," he said, opening up the front door and ushering me inside.
Warmth hit me as soon as I crossed the threshold. Then the sight of extravagance soon followed.
"Did it come fully furnished?" I asked, staring at the marble statues and gold gilt framed mirrors and thankfully copious brass potted plants. Artwork adorned the walls, modern and bright, but still oozing expensive.
"Yes. Again, we were lucky. I had to leave everything we had back at Theodoros' house."
I'd loved that home in Mountain Road. Especially my little forest of trees in the front yard.
"I understand," I said, running a hand over a side table made up of at least five different types of highly polished inlaid wood that I could see.
"I'll show you to your room," the butler said, once more effecting his normal persona. You could tell the man felt more comfortable already.
I dutifully followed taking in a formal sitting room on one side, a more casual parlour, fire lit, on the other. A library, a den, an office and even more rooms out of sight but down the side of the wide curving staircase we started to ascend.
"I wonder where everyone is?" Aktor mumbled to himself.
I was too tired to answer, even if I had been able to think up something worthwhile to say.
"Right, here you are, Miss Eden. Everything you should need is all in here. Clothes in the walk-in, toiletries in the ensuite bathroom. The fire should already be lit in the hearth. I recommend fifteen minutes in front of it, you need to refuel. Likewise, I made sure to have enough plants inside to feed your Gi. We'll worry about the other Stoicheio when they Awaken."
I stepped into what was clearly the master suite. Opulent, plush, luxurious and masculine with a hint of femininity in the pattern on the thick coverlet that spread over the king-sized bed. Aquas and browns, modern to match the artwork, but rich in design. Small oriental looking flowers dotted the bedspread, hand embroidered by the looks of it. I let my gaze fall over the dark wooden furniture, the large bay windows and overstuffed armchairs sitting at a comfortable angle to each other by a beautiful orchid in full bloom. The fire called to me, an Aubusson rug before it the only reference to old money the house seemed to have.
It was such a contrast to Theo's old home, I wondered what he thought of it. Then I decided it was better I didn't know. The least I had to do with him, the better.
It would only hurt.
"Is it to your liking?" the butler asked.
"It's beautiful, Aktor. But surely this is the master suite."
"And you are the mistress," he said with a small bow and then backed out of the room before I could argue that fact.
As he had done, so many times before, Aktor simply accepted me. Despite the rules. Despite the obstacles. Despite Theo not thinking the same way. Aktor had put me in this room because he knew I should be with Theo. Here. In the master suite. And the old man was counting on that transpiring.
But wishes are one thing. Reality, I have learned, is something else.
I walked across the soft carpet to the fireplace, thinking I should shower the grime off but Fire called. I knelt down and watched the flames lick higher, a hiss of burning wood welcomed me home.
Aether, it said. Oh, Aether, it cried, and then I heard voices.
It took a second, maybe two, to realise they weren't in the room with me, but were coming through the flames of the Fire like a Pyrkagia communique.
"Darling, you must be tired," Isadora's voice purred from inside the hearth.
"Not too tired for this," Theo replied, his voice muffled but still audible through the crackle of the flames.
"It's been a long time, Theodoros," the bitch murmured. "Things have changed."
"If you mention that Gi one more time I will throttle you," he snapped back, the hand covering my mouth trembled as finally the tears returned.
"Theo," Isadora tried, and I reluctantly acknowledged that at least she was trying.
But how do you fight off an amorous suitor such as Theo? One you have always loved and so recently thought lost to another. One who clearly doesn't remember that fact and still believes you are his.
"Allow me this, Dora,"
he pleaded. "I need you, love."
And then he groaned. A sound I had heard him make on many occasions. A sound I knew he made when things were heating up and Pyrkagia was flowing and we were usually fully naked, skin on skin.
I made my own sound. A hitched, horrible sound. Then managed to whisper, "Stop!"
The words were for the Fire, to break the connection, to not show me anymore. But they could have equally been for Theo.
Stop hurting me.
Stop breaking my heart.
Stop doing this.
Stop.
The door to my room crashed open and as I struggled to gain my footing on the stupid rug beneath my feet, Theo crossed the space between us and hauled me up to his level, shaking me like a rag-doll. Shaking me while he sent every ounce of his will through his Pyrkagia directly at me.
I screamed.
Isadora screamed from the still open door.
And Theo let out the roar of an injured lion; so pain-filled, so wretched, so real.
"Get out!" he yelled, at first I thought to me. But his hand was still wrapped around my throat and his eyes were actually on Dora.
"Theo, what are you going to do?" she inquired, somehow managing to sound steady. But even I could see the worry in her eyes.
"This is between me and the eavesdropping Gi," he snarled.
"Theodoros!" Aktor thundered from the hallway.
And then with a flick of his hand Theo pushed Isadora back out the door, slamming it shut and then melting the lock completely.
They banged on it for several seconds. They yelled for him to not do anything he'd regret.
And all the while he watched me, not the rattling frame of the door. Not the lightning that shot down all around the building in a thunderous crack of sound, not the torrential rain visible through the still open curtains, nor the flames in the fireplace as they licked the mantle above.
Not even the orchid as it swayed in its pot and danced to a death's dirge.
"You want me?" he asked, voice deceptively soft. "Here I am," he whispered.
And then he leaned forward so slowly until his lips were hovering above my mouth.
"Open," he instructed.
"What?" I squeaked, but of course, that meant I "opened."
And Fire burned down my throat as he breathed Pyrkagia into me through a kiss that surely meant my death.
The Chilling Change Of Air (Elemental Awakening, Book 3) Page 5