by Autumn Dawn
He considered. “Walk with me. We’ll talk when we’ve left some of the crowd behind.” He was silent for long blocks, letting her simmer as the foot traffic thinned. A red glow lit the edge of the city, reminding her of a giant bonfire as they passed through a quiet neighborhood. “You have to understand that my people are very powerful. Not everyone can make the earth shake, but for those few who can, the power is heady. Some of us think no more of destroying cities than you do of smashing an anthill. Causing earthquakes is something youths do for entertainment.”
She thought of the millions who had died tragically in earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis. “That’s horrible.”
“The elders and elemental council feel the same, which is why they punish transgressions.”
She waited, but when he remained silent, she guessed, “So you were playing chicken with the other boys and things went south.”
“It was an accident, but I acknowledge my guilt. That doesn’t mean I’m not angry.” A muscle in his jaw flexed. “Eight hundred years is a long time to seethe about how the ants rose up.”
Cara froze, numb with horror. She stared at him. “You’re angry because humans punished you?”
He stared at her. “I said I acknowledge my guilt.”
Her mouth formed a wordless O. Conflicted, was he? She walked at a fast clip, blind to where she was going. This changed things a lot. She couldn’t, wouldn’t be involved with someone who played games with human lives, who didn’t even like them. Holy crap!
He tried to catch her arm, but she pulled away. “Don’t!”
“Why are you angry?” He crossed his arms, so grim she suspected he knew.
She let him have it anyway. “I’m not getting involved with someone with a grudge against the entire human race and the power to bury them! Maybe you’re sorry, maybe you want a second chance. Maybe you think I’m your best shot at being a good boy and following the straight and narrow. Ha! I’m not going along with any of it.” Her teeth were chattering, she was so upset.
He bared his teeth in a predator’s smile. “I never promised to be a good boy, darling. Don’t get confused.”
She made an inarticulate sound of rage. “I don’t know you, and what I do know freaks me out. How do I know you won’t turn on me one day because of what I am? How can I allow you around my parents, knowing you could hurt them?” The ground seemed to shake, but that was probably her frazzled nerves. She dug deep for strength and found a well of energy. It flowed into her on command, filling her with infinite confidence and power.
The ground buckled.
Tremor grabbed her arm. “I’m not the one causing the earthquake, sweetheart.” He seized her power, drawing hard, snatching it from her like a big kid yanking on a rope. Cara struggled to hold her end, kicking and even biting him. He grunted and spun her to face away from him, wrapping his arms around her until she couldn’t breathe even if she’d needed to. She couldn’t figure out how he was stealing her power, and he was too strong to stop. Only when the last dregs of energy had been wrested away did he relax his hold.
“Let me go,” Cara demanded. She didn’t care if she couldn’t stand on her own. She resented him for taking away the beautiful energy.
He formed a bench next to the path and allowed her to sit. She flopped down angrily and shot him a poisonous glare. He shook his head and sat next to her. “You do realize you nearly destroyed the Garden, don’t you?”
“I don’t care,” she sulked, not listening.
“You nearly killed thousands of people,” he said with heavy irony. “How elemental of you.”
She blanched. For the first time she noticed the few pedestrians were watching her, some clearly fearful.
She could have killed them.
Most of the bystanders hurried away when she looked at them, only to stop as two dust devils swirled into the street. They stared as the dust condensed, becoming two huge elementals. One was black marble with gold veins, the other sparkling gray granite. They wore black body armor and bristled with huge axes and other pointy things.
Tremor got to his feet.
“What’s going on here?” The black enforcer demanded. His hard gaze took in Tremor in one quick sweep and he looked ready to rumble.
Tremor inclined his head coolly. “My wife is young. She became upset and accidently caused a small tremor. I helped her regain control. Our apologies.”
“And you are?” the enforcer demanded.
“Tremor Earth,” Tremor said, noting that the enforcer didn’t seem surprised. They would know exactly who he was. He was certain the authorities were alerted shortly after his arrival in the city; they would keep tabs on a powerful ex-con.
The officer sized Cara up, noting her youth. “You’re saying a class C tremor was an accident?” he asked skeptically. “She’s barely more than a youth.”
“She’s a first class elemental,” Tremor said calmly. “You may refer to my uncle, Lord Sarsen for confirmation.”
The granite cop grimaced and withdrew a recorder. Apparently, Sarsen’s name held power. “I’ll need to make a report.”
“Of course,” Tremor held one of Cara’s hands while she raked the other through her hair. Her hand shook, and she felt the officer noting it.
“Are you all right, ma’am?” The officer asked. “Would you mind telling me what caused your distress?”
She swallowed. “I didn’t like something he said,” she stammered. “I got mad, and…” she looked around helplessly. “I’m sorry.”
The officer softened. “It seems to have been properly contained, but there may be a fine. Also, you may be required to be accompanied by a power guardian at all times until you are tested to ensure you have proper control. Is there any reason why you would be uncomfortable with your husband or his uncle being a guardian?”
Her shoulders slumped. She might not like Tremor right now, but he’d never hurt her. “No,” she said glumly. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“You won’t, Tremor said firmly. He rubbed her back. “It will be okay.”
She heaved a sigh. “I’m having a bad day.”
“What’s your name?” the granite enforcer asked kindly.
Tremor interrupted before she could say her family name. “Lady Cara Earth.” He had no intention of announcing her human heritage; it was challenging enough keeping her family safe without acknowledging her parents as soft targets.
The enforcer paused. He might seem like the nice one, but Tremor could see calculation there. He wanted to know if Cara was with him willingly. It was a fair question, considering her age. She seemed barely out of the schoolroom for one of his kind.
“I see. And your age?” the officer continued pleasantly. His partner was alert, waiting for a signal that Cara was in danger and needed intervention.
She sighed. “I turned twenty-two yesterday.” It was clear it hadn’t been a happy birthday.
The enforcers looked at Tremor with identical looks of disgust. He stared challengingly back. He knew it looked bad; an ancient with a very young woman. They thought he had something over her, and they would blame him.
Cara finally caught on to the undercurrents. “Hey,” she said indignantly. “Don’t blame him; the Fates hooked us up…the dirty bitches,” she muttered bitterly. “They didn’t ask either of us.”
The enforcers looked suspiciously at her jewelry. “You were forced to wed him, ma’am?” The black one asked.
Tremor crossed his arms, knowing the situation was out of his control. If he tried to keep her from talking, they would arrest him and they would find out all they wished from Cara anyway.
She glanced at his closed expression, unsure what he wanted. Unfortunately, she chose honesty. “The Fates sent me jewelry…” She was good at summarizing, but the story took a bit of time.
He was going to put an excellent lawyer on retainer after this, just in case. Honesty could get her in trouble in the future.
The enforcers looked at her, nonplussed. Th
ey exchanged glances, clearly wondering how to deal with the situation.
“So you’re saying you don’t require assistance at this time?” the black one summarized, speaking carefully. Perhaps he hadn’t decided if she was crazy.
“No! I just said that,” Cara shouted, frustrated. The earth shivered with her distress.
Tremor spread his hands, exasperated. “Are we done? My wife needs to calm down.” He gently touched her shoulder, siphoning the unruly power.
She shot him a grateful look.
The enforcers left her with a citation. For someone who’d never even had a parking ticket, it was devastating, and her lip trembled as he wrote it out. Tremor did his best to comfort her, but all she wanted was go home.
Tremor loaded her into a goat carriage instead. “I think you could use some heat and relaxation,” he said sensibly. “The fire falls have both.”
“I shouldn’t have told them, huh?” she said glumly. “I talk too much when I’m nervous.”
He snorted with amusement. “We’ll deal with it. You might be notorious for a while, though. People will be curious. To most, the Fates are merely legends.”
She shifted. “So…they seemed really mad that I was younger than you.”
He raised his brows, letting her draw her own conclusions. He could have comforted her, but he was still frustrated with the situation. There had been a time when he could have protected her from the enforcers, but he was still weak. Cara was a powerful, but untrained elemental. In her current state, she was a liability, and he needed to correct that. They couldn’t afford for her to wreak havoc every time she got upset.
Cara slouched unhappily. It wasn’t either of their faults if she was younger than he was. Left to their own devices, they would have chosen completely different spouses. She would have chosen a nice guy with a smile and a steady job, and they would have enjoyed a courtship. They’d live in a house near her parents and she’d eventually have kids.
She glanced covertly at Tremor and speculated that he’d have chosen some beautiful, accomplished woman, someone he could show off to his friends. Maybe she’d have been rich or gentry, able to manage a mansion full of staff and throw fabulous dinner parties.
Cara scowled. She could cook…human food. Fabulous human food, she reminded herself angrily. Nobody did Mexican like her mom, and Cara had learned at her knee. She was great at organizing parties, too. Cara loved people, and she had a gift for hospitality. Some hypothetical, elemental diva would have a tough time competing with her.
She realized what she was doing and closed her eyes. She liked him, and it was unwise. She didn’t know him well enough to commit her life to him, and she didn’t trust the Fates; everyone knew they could be cruel.
She sighed and watched the foot traffic thin as they drove out of the city toward a dull red glow. The closer they got, the more she was intrigued. She forgot her depression as they crested a rise and saw a cataract of lava flowing into a molten river. Balconies shaped out of the black rock overlooked the river and bridges arched gracefully across the canyon. As the road dipped, she could see they were approaching a black sand beach. Earth elemental children splashed in the lava under their parents’ watchful eyes, but it was the fire people that made her eyes pop. Children made of living flame splashed in the water, the little ones shrieking with laughter. A young man rose in a shower of sparks and cannonballed from a bridge as his friends whooped.
She exited the cart in a daze and stared at a handsome specimen made of yellow flame. He noticed her attention and gave the once-over. He winked, and she laughed in surprise. He seemed so…human.
Tremor was not amused. He put a possessive arm around her and glowered at the interloper. The man laughed and dissolved in a shower of sparks. A moment later, he appeared at the bridge and dove off.
Cara shook her head. “Fire elementals? Lava? I can’t believe this.” The fire elementals ranged in color from red, orange and yellow to white and mingled freely with the earth elementals. “How many kinds of elementals are there?”
He shrugged. “Earth, fire, water, air…I take it you’re impressed.” His tone was dry; perhaps he was still miffed at the fire elemental’s flirting.
“Are you kidding? It looks like a movie set!” She peered at the water. “I can’t believe they play in there. Isn’t it hot?”
“You’re an elemental, darling. Why don’t we find out?” He took her arm and playfully pulled her toward the river.
“No! Please, I-I’m not ready,” she stammered, instinctively petrified. It was fire, after all.
He stopped. “You’re scared? Very well. Would you like to watch instead?”
She blinked. “Just like that? You’re not going to tease me?” Most of the guys she knew would have tormented her.
Maybe she was hanging out with the wrong guys.
Tremor stroked her cheek. “A woman should never be forced. We have all the time we need to make sure you enjoy your first time.”
She lowered her head, embarrassed, shy. He was clearly talking about more than lava. “I’ve gone swimming before,” she said, uncomfortable, unwilling to let him have the upper hand. Granted, the emotional letdown afterward had ruined it for her, and she hadn’t experimented since that brief relationship in high school, but he didn’t need to know that. She wasn’t going to admit she craved a husband and family to a man who told people she was his wife.
He laughed and took her hand as he moved farther up shore. “Cara, darling…I think you’re good for me.” He formed a sand bench and joined her on the slightly springy surface. He placed his arm over the back and watched the children building sandcastles. “So tell me about the art of swimming; though I admit, you seem young to know much about it,” he said with a smile. It was just a touch arrogant.
Galled, she muttered, “I never said I was a ho! I had a boyfriend. We…were together a couple of times, so I’m definitely not a newbie.”
He grinned. “A couple of times. That’s hardly worth mentioning, darling.”
She narrowed her eyes, willing him to drop the subject.
His gaze smoked. “I’m no young pup, eager to finish quickly so I can brag to my friends.” He noted her widened eyes as his mark hit home. “Men don’t need to brag, and we have the sense to make a good thing last…and last.”
She fidgeted, unable to meet his intense gaze. He was definitely out of her league, and she didn’t know how to handle him in this mood.
Taking pity on her, he nodded to the swimmers. “Fire swimming is only one of the things you’ll be able to do. In fact, fire is easier on us then water, since it’s essentially molten rock. Water can be drying, and eventually it begins to dissolve your body.”
“And lava won’t?” she asked incredulously, grateful for the reprieve. “That’s crazy.”
“New you, new rules. You can swim through mud as well, of course, and tunnel through earth.”
She stilled, remembering how the Fates had dissolved her body. Why would she ever want to swim in mud?
He kissed her hand. “They won’t be able to drown you again, love.”
She let out a shaky breath. “Good. I’m still not going near mud.”
“Except to bathe, I hope,” he said lightly.
She shook her head. “The bath is different. That’s like the slurry they use in pottery class. It’s almost like thick cream.”
“I’m grateful you approve,” he said, placing his hand dramatically on his chest. “I’d hate to be forced to bathe you, though a man does what he has to.” He grinned roguishly as she smacked him. He stood. “Time to go home so I can feed you.”
She snorted. “That’s a good idea. I haven’t been this hungry since I was a teenager.” She looked around and spied a goat cart. She headed for it, only to pull up short when he didn’t move. “What?”
“I thought we’d take the fast way home,” he said, and dissolved them to dust.
Cara tried to scream, but she had no voice. There was a rushing sound, and sh
e clung to him as they moved freakishly fast through the air, streaming toward his uncle’s house. Her senses were drunk; she had no way to make sense of the kaleidoscope world. She felt like she’d spun until she was dizzy and flung herself down a grassy hill.
The worst part was the feeling of dissolving, her body coming apart at the seams. To someone raised with corporal rules, it felt like dying.
Finally, Tremor blew through his uncle’s front door and solidified in the foyer. Rosestone had somehow known he was coming and opened it.
Cara clung to him, face buried in his chest, and shuddered. She savored the rush of air through her lungs, grateful she had some.
“Cara? It’s all right, darling.” He stroked her hair. “You’re safe.”
She shook her head, traumatized. “No.”
“Yes,” he said gently, lifting her into his arms. He murmured to Rosestone and took Cara into the parlor, settling into a large chair. He stroked her hair, murmuring a thank you to the housekeeper as she brought coffee and refreshments. Once she’d left, he shifted to snag a cup. “Try a sip. It might settle you.”
Cara obeyed, shaken enough to be docile. “Why did you do that?” she whispered. “It felt like…they dissolved me in mud. I thought I was going to die again.”
He stiffened. “Mother of…I had no idea. I’m sorry, darling. It’s a natural way to travel; I thought it would be fun.”
“Fun,” she rasped. She laughed incredulously.
He kissed her brow. “Perhaps I should let you be in control next time. You won’t be afraid if you’re the one on top.”
She choked. “How can you..? You jerk!” She hit him and immediately felt better, so she did it again.
He caught her hand stole a quick kiss. “Forgive me?”
“No!” She smacked him, but he caught her hand and brought it slowly to his mouth so he could kiss her palm. He took his time, nibbling her fingers one by one. His eyes were heavy lidded and mischievous as he sucked her index finger in his mouth.
Cara gulped and shifted, aware of her dampness and his answering arousal. “Tremor…”
He quirked his brows, intent on his job. “Hm?” He didn’t release her.