by Kat Adams
“Nah.” I waved them off but kept up my guard in case they both suddenly remembered why they brought me here. “I kind of want to see this. Let them have their fun. A patrol will be here soon enough. It’s not like they’re hurting anyone but each other.”
We fell silent and continued to watch Alec attack Spencer with an element, and Spencer retaliate with the same. Alec’s fireball singed off more of Spencer’s hair. Spencer’s fireball caught Alec’s shirt on fire, which really pissed him off. It was probably the only one he had. He blasted Spencer with air, sending the man flying.
“How’s working for the Council?” Leo finally said, making casual conversation while we waited for the dark elementals to finish.
Rob shrugged. “Oh, you know. Can’t complain.” More silence. We all cringed when Spencer hit Alec with a wave of air so strong, it knocked him flat on his back. He smacked his head against the concrete. “I mean, technically, I don’t start until Monday.”
“So you’ve got the weekend to settle into your new place. That’s cool.”
“Yep.”
The guys kept with their small talk while Alec and Spencer continued trying to kill each other. They seemed to be pretty equally matched. We’d be at this for hours if I didn’t do something to end it. I took a step forward, abruptly stopping when Rob grabbed my arm. “Hold up, Reed. Let Bry do his thing.”
“What thing?” I didn’t like that I hadn’t seen him yet.
“He has a surprise in store. Look up.”
I did and spotted Bryan on one of the grated platforms, his arms up, his brow furrowed in concentration. A dark and ominous fog rolled in, filling the warehouse. “Is he doing this?”
“Surprise,” Rob sang.
No. Nonono. This tapped in to a dark side of my earth elemental I never wanted him to tap in to. He’d been so adamant to avoid all things dark, and now he purposely gave in to it. “Why would you let him do this?”
“He’s just distracting them long enough for the patrol to get here. He’s fine.”
“He’s not fine,” I cried in horror. Bryan’s gaze had darkened to almost black, his expression now still, almost calm. “Look at him!”
Bryan amplified his call, and the fog thickened, swallowing the warehouse in darkness. It didn’t smell like burnt rubber and charred hair, or like a dead skunk inside rotten copper pipes. Instead, it carried the scent of decaying fruit, sweet, yet putrid. I’d never smelled his call like this. It scared me. Maybe I should teleport up to Bryan, help him control the fog, and pull him back if he went too far.
Suddenly, my palm throbbed, the yellowish glow pulsing just below the surface. This time, it hurt. Holy cankles, did it hurt. I rubbed it with the thumb of my opposite hand, applying pressure. It didn’t help. Screw this. I would not go dark again. I pictured Cressida’s statue to teleport out.
Nothing happened.
Great. My air element was back to avoiding me. I massaged my palm as I spun in circles. “Guys? I can’t teleport. Guys? Hello?”
“Oof!” A grunt off to my left pulled my attention. Was that Leo?
“You son of a—” That was definitely Rob. A faint glow illuminated and shot through the fog. A fireball. I brought up one of my own and sent it flying in the same direction. “Hey! Jesus, Reed. Whose side are you on?”
“Sorry!” I threw another in the opposite direction.
“Bloody hell!”
I punched the air. This was like playing a game of battleship, luckily hitting my first time out. Okay, I hit the wrong guy, but I got the right one now. I hurled another, and another, and another, each one slamming into my target. I closed in as I continued to launch fire, ball after ball. By the time I spotted Spencer, panting, half his clothes singed off, what was left of his hair wet with sweat and plastered to his blistered face, I held my next assault, tossing it up and catching it as I casually approached, quite proud of myself. “Anything you’d like to say before I sink your battleship?”
Wait. That sounded so much better in my head.
“Now.” He straightened suddenly as his lips spread to a malevolent and frightening smile. His expression twisted into one of triumph, like he’d planned this crazy show.
It was at that moment I realized he’d done exactly that. It explained why he and Alec battled and never seemed to do much damage to the other. Why he backed down when he’d been the stronger elemental.
“What are you up to?”
“I told you several times to bring me the earth elemental. At least you finally listened.”
My fire died as I lost my focus when the fog suddenly lifted. I spun around and sucked in a breath.
Bryan was gone.
24
We spent the rest of the day and into the night searching for my earth elemental, coming up empty and sending my anxiety through the stratosphere. Several patrols scoured the port, searching every inch. Still nothing.
I refused to believe he was gone. Stace had said he just might be the one elemental the dark side couldn’t kill with his opposite. That didn’t mean he couldn’t die.
Why? Why take Bryan? Why not me? They teleported me there. They could have teleported me out at any time. Why draw it out? Why bring in Trevor to guarantee I wouldn’t leave?
There were so many unanswered questions I almost wished one of them would have monologued, so I knew what the hell they had planned.
Brooks walked up in all his tattooed, full-sleeved, monstrous-armed glory. He took one look at me and nodded curtly. “Prophecy.”
“Hulk.”
“Why am I not surprised to find you here?”
“Oh, you know. I’m a rager. When I hear there’s a good party, I just can’t stop myself.”
He narrowed a steely glare. “You’ve got a man missing and you joke.”
“It’s my coping mechanism.” The fact he said missing as in present tense confirmed my worst fear, but I asked anyway. “Have you found anything?”
“Just echoes of the fight. If he fought the teleport, we would have picked up signs. It’s almost as if…” He didn’t finish and instead ran his hand over his face.
“As if what?”
“As if he teleported willingly.”
“No way, not Bryan.”
“He’s a Gunderson.” He shook his head. “I told the Council it was a mistake allowing that family into the academy.”
My temper spiked so fast, I had him wrapped in a root cocoon before I knew it. “Shut your whore mouth.”
He didn’t struggle. He didn’t even shout expletives, which would have been my first choice. Well, maybe not my first, but definitely one of my top three. He simply waited for me to release him, which wouldn’t be until he apologized.
“You don’t know him. You don’t know how hard he’s worked to keep people like you from judging him, how hard he works every day to prove he’s nothing like his sadistic grandfather. He has to go out of his way to avoid all things considered remotely dark, all because of his name. How dare you judge him.”
“Are you through?”
“I haven’t even started.” I took a step toward him when cheers sounded from somewhere, drawing my attention.
Clay came running over, his green eyes bright, his smile wide. “He’s back. Our boy is back. Come on!” He grabbed my hand and popped us out and back in right outside the large crowd of elementals applauding and slapping backs. I pushed through until the sight of him stopped every cell in my body.
He was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. That hazel gaze swung my way, and when he flashed a crooked grin, showing off his dimple, I sprinted to him and literally launched into his arms, hugging him tight. “Don’t you dare do that to me again.”
“Yes, dear.” He kissed my cheek. I laughed and buried my face into his neck. I’d go after Alec—and now his newest minion, the eyebrowless Spencer—tomorrow. Today, I just wanted to hold this man, hold all my men, and never let them go.
“How’d you get away from them?”
The applau
se slowed to a stop. He looked beyond me, his expression warm, grateful. “I had a little help.”
I turned, not sure what to expect. My entire lifeforce slowed to a stop at who it was. And then the tears fell as the one name I never thought I’d say again fell from my lips…
“Mom?”
WHOA! I did not see that coming!
THANK you so much for reading WRATH OF WIND! I hope you had as much fun reading the second installment in this four book series as I did writing it. If you did and want to share your thoughts with other readers, please consider leaving a review.
EAGER TO SEE what happens in the next installment of The Academy of Elements? Get ready for the return of Katy’s mom to turn her world upside down (even more than it already is) in RAGE OF STORMS.
READ ON FOR A SNEAK PEEK…
RAGE OF STORMS
THE ACADEMY OF ELEMENTS 3 - PROLOGUE PEEK - LEO JACKSON - WATER
It was times like this that made me really hate being an elemental.
Non-elementals wouldn’t be in a dark warehouse, searching for someone who’d vanished right in front of us. No, Nelems would be at home, chilling and watching this unfold on Netflix.
But not me. Not my friends, who’d become my brothers. Not my girl, who’d grown into the love of my life. We currently lived it, this stranger-than-fiction life, as we carried out the pact we’d made just over a year ago.
Four loves are stronger than one.
I thought about the woman who’d brought us all together. Her melodic laughter. Her level of crazy that challenged us at every step just to keep up with her. Her bravado that was only surface deep. She pretended to be so tough, like nothing got to her, but I saw a vulnerable side to her, one that had every protective instinct in my body screaming to react. She’d taken on the weight of the universe without hesitation, stepped into the role of the prophecy without understanding the impact being the one destined to save our world would have on her life.
What a woman.
Katy Reed was more than a girlfriend. To me. To the rest of the guys. She was our life force, the air in our lungs, the reason we bonded as one cohesive unit.
And, currently, she was the reason I seemed to be stuck inside a dark warehouse.
Bryan, Clay, Rob, and I shared a brotherhood forged through our connection to our girl. When one disappeared, we all felt it, like we’d lost a limb. Bryan, our earth elemental with more baggage than an international flight, had gone missing. We weren’t whole without all of us together. We’d find him. That was the only option.
I peeled my shirt from my sweat-soaked chest and used it as a makeshift fan, blowing inside it to cool me down when the slight breeze from fanning myself didn’t work. Ever since meeting Katy, I’d run overly hot, overly sensitive to everything around me. Especially around her. I couldn’t get enough of her. One taste, and I was hooked. She was like a drug boiling in my veins, a literal fever consuming me, each day making me hotter and hotter.
The fever grew worse in times of stress, like now. It was dark, unbearably hot inside the metal building, and I was pretty sure the rats were forming an alliance to coordinate an attack. The sooner I got out of here, the better. It wasn’t the heat of the summer making me uncomfortable, though that didn’t help. I hadn’t been able to shake this spike in my body’s temp for months now. I hadn’t said anything to Katy. I didn’t want her to worry. She already had enough to worry about, what with her being the one destined to save our world.
But truth be told, I was more than a little worried. A fever could be dangerous to a water elemental. We ran cool, relaxed, and went with the flow. This heat building inside me had me the exact opposite. I was too hot, too uptight, and wanted to kick the ass of everyone who looked at me wrong. It made no sense, which was why I hadn’t said anything. I’d push through it. It was just a fever, right?
I still couldn’t believe how lucky we were. Katy chose us—all of us—to be with her. She’d bonded with Rob first, our hotheaded ringleader, which suited the rest of us just fine. Fire elementals like Rob were short-tempered and unpredictable. Our redheaded beauty tamed the savage beast.
With Clay, she had a similar effect. The carefree air elemental had grown a bit more focused, a bit more responsible, since bonding with Katy. Being with her had forced him to grow up. He still kept us laughing, reminding us life didn’t have to be so serious all the time.
It was now my turn to fully bond with the most magnificent woman on the planet, to merge my water element with hers and strengthen our connection, to forge an unbreakable bond. I wondered what about me would change, improve, and mature through our bond, just as had happened with Rob and Clay. Only one way to find out.
Once I got out of this damn warehouse.
INTERESTED IN MORE? RAGE OF STORMS can’t wait to crash onto your Kindle.
Kat Adams
THE COMPLETE ACADEMY OF ELEMENTS SERIES
Spark of Fire
Wrath of Wind
Rage of Storms
Fury of Earth
Allie K. Adams
THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL TREX ADVENTURES
First Response (FREE Read)
Rescue Me
At Any Cost
No Way Out (Special Edition)
Seek and Destroy
Under the Covers
Out of Time
It Takes Two
Merry TREXmas (Special Edition – FREE Read)
Girls on Film
THE TREX ROOKIES ADVENTURES — New Adult M/F Romantic Comedy & Sasspense
Reluctant Hero
The Heat is On
THE MURPH & GRACE SERIES — Psychological Thriller
I Will Find You
They All Scream – Coming Soon!
THE BRACE SERIES — Police Procedural Romantic Suspense
Brace for Impact
Brace for Contact – Unabridged Version Coming Soon!
THE CAMPUS PLAYERS — New Adult Romance
Grooming the Player
Hiring the Player
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“Allie K. Adams burns up the pages!” – New York Times bestselling author Carly Phillips
“If you’re looking for non-stop, heart-racing action and sizzling romance, look no further. Allie K. Adams will take you there—and more!” – USA Today bestselling author Lucy Monroe
Allie K. Adams, the head of the Adams Family, is the USA Today bestselling author of several award-winning stories. A former member of the search and rescue, as well as previously served as a reserve deputy, Allie has firsthand experience in most of the dangers she writes about. Known for her highly thrilling, deeply intense suspense romances, she can be found most days in front of her computer, saving the world one sizzling story at a time. She grew up in Seattle and now currently lives in southwest Montana with the hubs and various other wildlife.
She loves to hear from readers and encourages them to reach out to her through her website at www.alliekadams.com.
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Copyright © 2020 by Allie K. Adams
All rights reserved
Cover design by B Rose Designz
First E-book Publication: 2020
Published by Allie K. Adams
This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, information or storage retrieval, in whole or in part, without express written permission, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
&nbs
p; Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Rage of Storms
More Adams Family
About the Author
Copyright