Elemental Betrayal

by Elle Middaugh

  Sighing, we made our way home. Even Kale, who hadn’t yet moved in, camped out on the couch temporarily. We’d probably help move his stuff in the next day. We were a team, and even I was beginning to appreciate that dynamic.

  At the top of the stairs, Cade released my hand and moved toward his own room, but I quickly latched on again.

  “Will you stay with me tonight?”

  We’d never had sex, and the gentle look in his eye suggested he knew that wasn’t what I was after. We’d had a long evening, full of way more information than a human brain could possibly process and a fight that even Gifted Elementals hadn’t come out of unscathed. I just wanted him near me, to feel the warmth of his soul next to mine. I knew that sounded kinda stupid, but after being in Euphoria, I felt I knew him on a spiritual level now.

  He smiled. “Yeah, I’ll stay with you.”

  I pulled him into my bed, and he curled around behind me, holding me tight.

  “I feel like this whole evening was just a dream,” I said, trying to recall everything that had happened and connect some sort of reality to each memory.

  “I know what you mean.”

  “Are we really demigods?” I asked, turning my head to catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye.

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “And there are eight of us.”

  “Yep.”

  I shook my head. “And we have to find the other four, convince them to join us, and somehow defeat Nicholai, Amelia, Loren, and all the other Elitists before they destroy the entire human realm.”

  Cade chuckled. “That pretty much sums it up, yeah.”

  I went silent for a moment. “I’m sorry for keeping the dark magic stuff a secret. I don’t want to keep anything from you.”

  He squeezed me tighter. “It’s all right, Val. I understand why you did it. But, now that we’ve experienced virtually everything in the universe together—from fighting and killing to cutting openings between realms—I hope there’s nothing more to hide.”

  I grinned, recalling my train of thought from earlier. “Well, we’ve almost experienced everything…”

  He froze for a moment before running his hand down my side, over my hip, and across my thigh. “Is that why you asked me to stay?”

  “No.” My answer was honest but breathless. “Not at first.”

  He slid his hand back up, fingers lightly caressing my ribs and the side of my breast through my shirt. “And now?”

  My breath shallowed and heat flooded through me. “Now…I think I’d like to share my entire universe with you.”

  He leaned in and kissed my neck, moving upward to my jaw before I rolled over and met his mouth with mine. We quickly became a tangled mess of desperate touching and uncontrollable desires.

  I grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head.

  Strangely, he halted and gave me an uncertain glance. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  I could’ve laughed.

  “Of course I’m sure. I’ve wanted this for so long. Is it not what you want?”

  He grinned and kissed me again. “No, this is exactly what I want.”

  He hopped up and locked the door then moved back to the bed, climbing over top of me. His fingers slipped beneath the material of my shirt, and he slowly lifted it away. My skin burned where he touched me. The excitement was practically palpable, a force that drove us deeper into uncharted territory.

  He trailed a line of smoldering kisses down my neck, chest, and stomach. Then he kissed his way back up, tantalizing me with every brush of his skin.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  My eyes went wide. No way was this possibly happening right now. Whoever the hell dared to disturb the most glorious moment of my life would most definitely be on my shit list.

  “Valerie?” a tiny voice whimpered.

  My face immediately softened. “Kendrick? Is that you, buddy?”

  “Yeah. I had a bad dream.”

  I bit my lip and closed my eyes. This was the only thing I’d allow to interrupt us, this little boy who’d stolen our hearts. Cade kissed me and quietly moved to get our clothes. I pulled my shirt back on and took a deep breath to steady myself. Then I walked over to the door and unlocked it.

  Kendrick stood in the hallway, clutching a floppy stuffed bunny to his chest. Tears welled in his big brown eyes and spilled down his tan cheeks.

  “Can I sleep with you?” he asked, so pitifully I immediately scooped him up and hugged him tight.

  “Of course you can, buddy,” I cooed, feeling Cade slip in behind me to hug us both.

  “We can make a Val sandwich,” Cade said playfully, coaxing a giggle out of Kendrick.

  I walked to the bed, lowered him down, and curled up between them.

  “What was your dream about, anyway?” I asked, tucking us all under the covers.

  He sniffed and his bottom lip popped out once more.

  “I dreamed there was a great big fight,” he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “And you and Cade both died.”

  15

  The next morning, I woke up feeling like shit. Nightmares had plagued me all night long.

  I eventually snuck out of bed before dawn and tiptoed downstairs to make a soothing cup of tea. It was what Aunt Marge would’ve done, and she usually had the right idea about things, oddly enough.

  When I’d added the milk and sweetener to the cup, I quietly slipped out back onto the deck, watching the sun slowly rise as I tried to clear my head.

  Nothing in this life had been what I’d expected. Things that used to matter seemed trivial now. Things that had seemed impossible before were now just an average part of my day. I’d gone from a quiet human girl just trying to make friends to an Elemental demigod trying to save the world. It was a lot to wrap my head around, and yet it was already starting to feel like…nothing…normal, almost. I didn’t want my life to change yet again, and I sure as hell didn’t want to die. I was already warming up to the idea of living forever in Euphoria once all was said and done—if the original gods would allow it, and not any time soon. There were many friends and loved ones in the human realm I wanted to spend time with for as long as I could, but when and if those people ever died? What would I have left?

  The scary thing was, death was a very real possibility for us all, even us champions. Elementals might’ve been immortal, but we were most definitely killable.

  I took a sip of my tea as the sun shifted higher over the horizon. Beautiful hues of red and orange bled like watercolors into the fading purple sky. Early birds were chirping and hopping from branch to branch in the trees. Such a shame a world so beautiful should be full of so many evil things.

  By the time I finished my tea and went back inside, most of the house was already awake.

  “Wait a second,” my dad said to Sienna, scrubbing a hand across his face. “You mean to tell me you’re all demigods?”

  Sienna took a sip of her coffee. “Not all of us. Just Val, Cade, Xavier, and me.”

  Dad’s eyes locked onto me as I quietly made another cup of tea.

  “Is this true?” he asked.

  I nodded. “We found out yesterday, from the original gods themselves.”

  Dad flopped into a kitchen chair and ran his hands through his salt and pepper hair. “How is this even possible?”

  I sighed and shot him a sympathetic smile. “It’s a long story, and one I’m not particularly proud of, so I’d rather not get into the specifics. Let’s just say I accidentally created a portal to Euphoria.”

  “Euphoria?” Dad repeated, confused.

  “It’s like heaven,” Sienna told him. “Heaven for all the gods.”

  Dad pursed his lips, seemingly thinking everything over. “There were eight originals, right?”

  Sienna nodded. “Yeah, but there are more than just them. Nik told us he owed the Norse gods money from a card game he lost.”

  My poor father’s face slipped even further into confusion and disbelief. “Wh
o’s Nik? And you mean to tell me the Norse gods are real too? As in Thor, Loki, Freya, and Odin?”

  I smiled to myself as she replied. “Yep, and also—”

  “The Greek gods,” Cade said.

  “The Egyptian gods,” Xavier added.

  “The Chinese gods,” Kale said.

  “And the Mayan gods,” Jay threw in for good measure.

  Sienna rolled her eyes at them then turned back to my father. “Seriously. All of them.”

  “Holy shit,” he muttered. His fingers had a death grip on his hair. “And you’re their proteges?”

  “Champions,” Sienna corrected. “They gave us extra power in order to defeat Nicholai.”

  “You four?” he asked, pointing to each of us in turn. “You were blessed by the Elemental gods themselves, to do their bidding and rid the planet of evil?”

  I dunked my tea bag a few times and shook my head. “You’re making this sound way more epic than it feels.”

  “Val,” he said, his voice cracking. “If this is true, it is epic. I need to tell Holden we were wrong, that Modernists and Traditionalists alike need to join forces with the Revolutionists because it’s the will of the gods.”

  “Oh my god, Dad, no. This isn’t some holy war. We’re not freaking crusaders or saints. We’re just trying to stop Nicholai. That’s it.”

  “Okay, fine,” he agreed while somehow simultaneously disagreeing, “but even still, you need the added support of the Modernists and Traditionalists. The Elitists are strong—stronger than they’ve ever been before.”

  I crossed my arms and leaned back against the counter. “If you can somehow work that out, fine, I’ll graciously accept the extra help, but if not, I’m not going to stress over it. The only thing I care about right now is finding the other four champions and convincing them to join us.”

  Dad eyed me knowingly. “Don’t forget what Holden told you the other day.”

  Shit.

  Wellsfield. Parker Center. One week.

  How on earth was I going to find four Gifted Elementals—who could be lurking anywhere in the world—convince them to join us, and somehow manage to get back in time to stop Nicholai from bombing another city to the ground…all in less than a week?

  Maybe we’d need more help than I’d thought.

  “The gods can read minds,” Cade said, thinking aloud to himself and to all of us. “And I have a feeling they can see the future, at least glimpses of it. If they were smart—and they most definitely are—they probably chose champions we’d naturally come across on our journey.”

  I wasn’t convinced Nik and Meg would make things that easy on us, but Eve and Taj probably would.

  “What’s your point?” I asked him.

  “I don’t know. I just have a feeling if we go to Wellsfield to stop Nicholai, we’ll stumble across the other Gifteds along the way.”

  Cade was a smart guy. He was a lot like Jay in the sense that he, too, seemed wise beyond his years. When he came up with something like that, I was inclined to believe him, and if that wasn’t enough, I caught Jay nodding out of the corner of my eye. Both of the wise guys were in agreement, so I nodded too.

  “Okay. Then let’s just gather the Revolutionists and head to Wellsfield. We’ll figure it out as we go.”

  “When are we leaving?” Sienna asked, finishing off her coffee and standing up. “I can be ready in an hour if need be.”

  I shook my head and veered toward the fridge to get milk for my tea. “No, let’s not rush this. We’ll leave tomorrow morning to make sure we’re as prepared as possible. Besides, I’d like to chat with Aunt Marge one more time before we go.”

  “Can I come with you this time?” Cade asked.

  I froze, palm halfway to the fridge handle.

  It was a simple enough question, but there were others hiding behind it: Can you trust me? Are we still a team? Are we completely exposed to each other with nothing to hide?

  “Yes.” Then I finished making my tea.

  I hadn’t been lying when I said I didn’t want any more secrets between us—not that I was planning on discussing anything earth-shattering with Marge, anyway. I mostly just wanted to fill her in on what was going on and let her know my meeting with her colleague in Northland would need to be canceled.

  But still.

  Cade stared intently as I returned the milk and took a sip from my cup. His gaze held the same intensity it had the last time he mentioned putting a rock on my finger. My thoughts instantly drifted to simple things like love, marriage, and kids…a big house in the West Woods, surrounded by friends and family…simple things. Those things would have once encompassed an entire lifetime but now only seemed like a peaceful dream, the farthest thing from the bone-crushing reality of our true fates. It was almost laughable.

  Then again, I was pretty sure Leo had called Ida his wife. If the Elemental gods could be married, surely we demies could manage it too?

  Dad cleared his throat, and as heat crawled up my neck, I realized Cade and I had been in a bit of a stare-off.

  I bit my lip and turned away, but I couldn’t deny the thrill fluttering in my chest. No matter what was going on around us, Cade still had the ability to captivate me.

  “What do you want us to do while you go to Marge’s?” Sienna asked, setting her empty cup in the sink.

  I took a deep breath, finally feeling the weight of this mission in all its overbearing glory. This was it. We were really doing it. We were about to meet Nicholai head on and hopefully come out on top.

  “Gather everyone up,” I said, thankfully sounding surer than I felt. “Tell them what’s going on. Pack up as many weapons as we have—just in case. Bring food, clothes, and tents so the Earths don’t waste precious energy creating them, and rest up, but get in the zone. I need everyone fresh and focused. This is what we’ve trained for all these months. We need to be ready.”

  Sienna nodded and rushed off to get started.

  I glanced at Xavier, Kale, and Jay. “Why don’t you guys help her spread the word? There’s a lot of stuff to do and not a lot of time to do it in.”

  They agreed and quickly followed her out the door.

  All that was left now was me, Cade, and Dad.

  Dad sighed. “I guess I’ll take Kendrick into work with me. I need to talk to Holden and give him my official resignation. When I come back, I’d like to help you guys get more organized. If I can set up a central base where new Revolutionist recruits can sign up and train, I can keep shipping in reinforcements for you.”

  I took a deep gulp of my tea and nodded. “That sounds perfect, thanks Dad.”

  He smiled. “It’s what I do best, sweetheart.”

  “Kendrick had some nightmares last night,” Cade told Dad. “You’ll probably have to wake him up if you want to get to work on time.”

  “Poor little guy,” Dad said with a sad smile. “Maybe we’ll stop and get some ice cream on the way or something.”

  I grinned. The effortless way we’d all slipped into this strange, extended-family dynamic made me so freaking happy. It was nice to have the people you loved around all the time.

  “I’m sure he’ll love that,” I said. Then I abandoned my cup and grabbed Cade’s hand. “Come on, Mr. Landston. Let’s get this trip to the West Woods over with.”

  He chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist as we walked out the door. “Whatever you say, Miss Moore. I’d like to stop in and talk with my dad before we go, too, if you don’t mind.”

  I snuggled in closer to him. “I don’t mind at all. He’s your dad. We can definitely stop.”

  Cade kissed the top of my head and smiled.

  We went to Cade’s old house first, pulling into the driveway of the most elaborate house on the street. Granted, “street” was a generous term. It was really just a dirt and gravel road that led through the woods to a rich community of Traditionalists living by a lake. Trees covered the area on one side, and water took up the other; there was only a single line of house
s in between.

  But, to my surprise, we didn’t go to his house. I mean, yeah, we parked in his driveway, but when we got out of his black truck, he grabbed my hand and led me through the woods instead.

  My brows furrowed. It wasn’t the first time we’d been back there, but it was an odd time to go to the willow. He’d created it himself, quite a few years ago, as a sort of sanctuary from his oppressive life. I was honored he’d share such a special place with me, and even now, I still felt that same awe and pride filtering through my bloodstream at the thought.

  “What are we doing?” I asked.

  He squeezed my hand lightly. “Going to the willow.”

  I chuckled. “Well, yeah, I figured as much. That’s why I didn’t ask where we’re going. I asked what we’re doing.”

  He was silent for a long moment as we made our way through the leafy trees. The chirps of birds and squirrels pleasantly filled the silence. Finally, he sighed.

  “I wanted to be us, and only us, one last time before…” He trailed off, shaking his head.

  I didn’t like the way he’d said “last.” A knot formed in the pit of my stomach.

  “Cade? Is everything all right?”

  Again, he sighed. His hand felt clammy in my palm.

  “Tomorrow we’re leaving to face Nicholai,” he explained, seemingly tackling the conversation from a different angle. “And as much as I believe we can win, it’s still going to be dangerous. People will get hurt. They may even die. I just want one last moment of peace and perfection with you before shit hits the fan, you know?”

  Finally, I could breathe again. That, I could handle; the thought of him breaking up with me or something, I couldn’t. Honestly, I had no idea why my mind had gone there. I usually never doubted him. It was just something about his tone. He was acting weird, strange…off.

  When the willow came into view, he pulled me over to sit at its roots. He leaned against the bark, and I settled in with my back to his chest, his chin resting on my shoulder.

  “I love you, Val,” he whispered, catching me completely off guard.