Elemental

by Serena Pettus

  He was only down for a moment, before stumbling to his feet and shaking his massive head.

  “We have to go now!” the woman exclaimed, tugging Mandy’s arm as they both made a run for the door.

  She could hear the animal’s approach, but wasn’t prepared for the speed with which it reached them. Mandy felt the fiery burn of the wolf’s claws as they slashed her side, dragging down to her hip, and she cried out in agony. She wrenched her arm free of the mysterious woman and turned her gift back on the wolf just in time to avoid another swipe of his claws.

  To her horror, she was only able to push the beast back about ten feet. She was weakening. A glance down at her torn sweater revealed that she was losing a disturbing amount of blood.

  A fierce roar from just inside the castle was echoed by the enraged wolf glaring at her. He snarled and launched himself at her one last time, and Mandy used every ounce of energy left in her to deflect him once again, sending the furry black demon hurtling over the SUV.

  Unable to support herself any longer, Mandy allowed her rubbery legs to have their way and felt herself sinking to the ground, only to be scooped up into a pair of well-muscled arms.

  “I’m sorry, Jonathan,” she whispered, regretting that he had to discover her secret like this.

  “Shh, Jonathan is right here. Let us get you inside and taken care of,” the man above her crooned. He looked just like Jonathan, until she noted his eyes. While Jonathan had eyes as black as night, this man had eyes the color of a clear summer sky. So this must be Nicolas, she thought absently.

  Mandy could feel a strange sort of weight pulling her down. Her body seemed to be getting heavier, her arms and legs refusing to move on her command. “I’m tired,” she whispered.

  “Stay awake, Mandy,” Jonathan spoke beside her, “Nicolas is going to get you settled inside and then we’ll take a look at where the wolf got you.”

  “Not a normal wolf,” she slurred.

  “She’s going to need healing, gentlemen.” The woman from outside was with them too, and to Mandy’s relief, sounded unharmed. “I would be honored to provide the healing needed, as she saved my life.”

  Healing? What were they talking about?

  “Let’s get her into the dining room. We’ll need the table,” Nicolas instructed, his tone leaving no room for argument. “You’re Fey.” That sounded more like an accusation than a question.

  “Yes, I am his majesty’s daughter, Princess Anna.”

  Fey? Princess? Man, I must be hallucinating, Mandy thought, as she felt herself being lowered onto a hard surface.

  “She needs to be tended immediately,” Anna declared, pushing her body in front of Nicolas’s and lifting Mandy’s sweater out of her way.

  “Dear, God,” Jonathan groaned.

  “Save her,” Nicolas ordered.

  Mandy managed to pry her eyes open at that, and noted the looks of worry and determination the brothers wore. The woman currently examining her side, however, just looked slightly perturbed.

  “She will be fine, but she will also need rest for a day or so,” Anna instructed as she placed her surprisingly warm palms against Mandy’s wounds.

  Mandy hissed in a breath. To her astonishment, Anna’s hands grew warmer and warmer, her pain lessening as a strange sort of pulling sensation began. After a moment, her pain eased completely, and Mandy allowed the darkness to pull her down into its comforting depths.

  Chapter Three

  “What are you doing?” Nicolas demanded. “You’re hurting her.”

  “I’m healing her. She will feel only a minor discomfort at first.”

  “That didn’t look minor to me,” Nicolas snarled. He had no trust for the Fey after what had happened with his family. To have one now, in his home again, was enough to set his teeth on edge.

  “I did not come here to harm. I was trying to escape the werewolf, and this was the only place I could run to with the exception of the village. I did not expect to find a human outside of the castle walls.” She spoke softly, her full concentration centered on the wounds that Nicolas could see knitting themselves closed.

  Jonathan stepped up to Nicolas’ side, “Let’s cut her a little slack, I don’t think she’s here to hurt anyone. Look at how she’s dressed, she must be freezing.”

  Nicolas frowned at the interest he saw in his brother’s eyes, but he didn’t have time to ponder his brother’s taste in women, not when Mandy was lying, bleeding, on his dining room table.

  From the moment she and his brother had arrived, Nicolas noticed a distinct change in the atmosphere. The air inside the castle seemed lighter, and he found himself wanting to do nothing more than cancel the meeting with his brother and meet the infamous woman his brother had raved about for the last year.

  He’d had no idea that while he had been bringing his brother up to speed on the increase in attacks, the very beast they discussed was creeping around the castle grounds. Of course, Mandy wasn’t supposed to have gone outside either, but that was neither here nor there at the moment. All that mattered was ensuring she was healed, and recovered fully from her injuries.

  “There,” Anna announced, “She’s all set, but we should move her to her room and I’ll change her clothes. She doesn’t need to wake up in these,” she gestured to the gruesome remains of her green sweater, now shredded on the side and soaked in her blood. Her jeans hadn’t fared much better. The waistband had been sliced through and Nicolas could just see the creamy skin of her hip.

  “I’ll take care of her,” Nicolas declared.

  “I do not think that would be wise,” Anna interjected, “While I was healing her, I checked for other things that may have been affected during such an attack. I was not sure if she was romantically involved with either of you, so I wanted to ensure that any child she may have conceived was well.”

  “And, did you find anything?” Nicolas asked, casting a glare at his brother.

  “Don’t look at me! I was bringing her here for you to meet.”

  “She is an innocent, gentlemen.” That little statement brought an identical look of shock to both their faces. “Do not look so startled. Virgins do exist, even in this time.”

  “But she’s so beautiful,” Nicolas replied.

  “And? Just because she is beautiful does not mean she has to go to bed with a man,” Anna’s eyes flashed with her growing anger over their reaction, and Nicolas turned a quizzical eye on her.

  “Are you taking offense to our surprise because you are a virgin as well?” he asked, causing Jonathan to sputter out a startled cough.

  “So what if I am?” she replied, swaying a bit on her feet.

  Nicolas frowned, “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing,” she bit out, before plopping down onto the bench seat.

  “Don’t lie to us now. We owe you for healing Mandy, and we’re not likely to repay that by leaving you sick or injured in her place.”

  Jonathan approached her and placed his hand on her brow. “You’re clammy.”

  “I will be fine, it just takes a lot out of me when I heal. I am not as strong as those of the Fey who are Bound.”

  “Bound?” Nicolas asked absently, his eyes moving over Mandy’s unconscious form.

  “Fey who have met their one love and are bound together, share their power. They can perform healings with little to no aftereffects,” Anna explained, her words getting softer as she spoke.

  “Let’s get both of you upstairs. You will stay here as well, until we can get you safely back to your father.” Nicolas scooped Mandy up and watched as Jonathan took Anna into his arms.

  “I don’t think Anna will be able to help Mandy change,” Nicolas pointed out, watching as the Fey princess slumped in Jonathan’s arms. “Do you think she would be terribly embarrassed if I were to help her?”

  “Without a doubt,” Jonathan answered. “Just get her settled and I’ll see if I can find one of the maids to come and help. Are there any staying here tonight?”

&nbs
p; “Yes, they’re staying in the west wing,” Garrett announced from the doorway. “I had the castle cleaned thoroughly before your arrival. I will send one to her room immediately.”

  Nicolas shrugged, “I guess I was trying to impress her with our home. I wanted everything to be perfect.”

  “She’s not a materialistic person, Nicolas, and she’d be insulted if she even suspected you thought her so.”

  “No! I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant I wanted her to like the place.” Nicolas thought for a moment, and then asked, “She doesn’t have a problem with Christmas trees, does she? I can have it out of here in a second if she does.”

  Jonathan laughed, having to lean against the banister to keep his hold on Anna. “She’ll be fine with a Christmas tree. I’m not sure how long it’s been since she’s had a big Christmas, but I’m sure she’ll enjoy it.”

  “I’ll make sure she does.”

  “I’ll settle Anna in and meet you in Mandy’s room,” Jonathan said, heading up the stairs and down the hall to the room across from Mandy’s.

  Once Nicolas had settled Mandy onto the bed, he backed out of the way of the maids who arrived to tend her. He decided to step out, so as not to make her uncomfortable with his presence should she wake while they were dressing her, but ordered her clothes to be burned once they were removed. He wanted nothing to remind her of the vicious attack she’d suffered. After making his wishes clear he turned and left the room, though he didn’t go far.

  Nicolas strode across the hall and watched as Jonathan settled Anna into the bed and covered her, thinking that there was something softer in his brother’s eyes as he gazed down at the Fey princess. He had to admit she was a stunning sight in her light blue gown with her long, black hair flowing all around her. Jonathan placed a quilt over her slight body, and even seemed to be a little reluctant to leave her side.

  Not willing to let his defenses down yet, where she was concerned, Nicolas stepped back into the hall and awaited his brother to join him.

  He was pacing outside the door to Mandy’s suite, his clipped stride warning every one of his turbulent emotions, when his brother joined him.

  “So? What’s happening now?” Jonathan asked.

  “They’re changing her clothes,” Nicolas bit out. “She didn’t even budge when I placed her on the bed.”

  “You’re worried.”

  “No shit, Sherlock!”

  “You felt it, then?”

  Nicolas nodded. He knew what Jonathan was referring to. When you met your other half, you just knew. It was like a weight was lifted from your soul that you hadn’t even known was there. Being near your mate did that, and bonding with them cemented it.

  “Do you think she could accept me? Will what we are scare her away? You’ve known her for a year now, what do you think?” Nicolas hated this feeling. He freely admitted to being a bit of a control freak, but he was at a loss here and he knew it. There was no way he could foresee or control her reaction to what he was.

  “Did you not see what she did out there?” Jonathan’s incredulous tone had Nicolas frowning. “She tossed that wolf without laying a finger on it!”

  Nicolas just waved that away. “That was the Fey girl, Anna. It had to be,” a niggling suspicion began to worm its way into his mind when he replayed the scene in his mind. “Have you ever seen her do something like that before?”

  “Well…no, but she could have hidden it, just like we do,” he pointed out.

  Nicolas wasn’t sure what to think. If she had some sort of ability then she should accept his, right? “What do you think she is?”

  Jonathan looked confused. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you think she’s Fey? A witch, maybe?”

  “Good grief, Nicolas! She’s human, trust me. Supernaturals are immune to human illnesses, but she ends up with the flu every year according to her,” Jonathan explained. “And trust me, there’s no way someone would be able to fake that. Her fevers nearly scared me to death.”

  “Fevers?” Throughout history, fevers had been a dangerous thing for humans. They had made wondrous medical advances over the centuries, but Nicolas had lived through the times when a fever was often a prelude to death, so the thought of Mandy having high fevers was something which greatly troubled him.

  A moment later the door to her room opened and two maids stepped into the hall. “She is dressed and resting, though not soundly,” the portly older woman informed them.

  “Explain,” Nicolas demanded.

  “She thrashes a bit and looks like she is fighting off some specter in her dreams. It is not wise to wake someone from night terrors, so we just stepped back until she settled and then finished dressing her. I suspect that she’ll wake soon.”

  Nicolas hated that Mandy was plagued by nightmares, but the maid was right, waking her would be a mistake, especially if she was the one who had repelled the wolf. He had no great urge to take up flying.

  “Thank you both for your help,” Jonathan replied prompting Nicolas with a nudge of his elbow.

  “Yes, thank you,” Nicolas added, still distracted by his churning thoughts.

  He was just about to enter the room when Jonathan stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll join you in a moment, brother. I just want to check on Anna.”

  Nicolas regarded his brother for a long moment before he felt his eyes widen with realization. “Is she…”

  “Yes, I believe she may be, but I need to spend some time near her without all of the excitement and commotion to be sure.”

  “Well, that’s a hell of a turn of events, isn’t it? You left here to search for your other half, and find mine, while yours has been here all along,” Nicolas could only chuckle at the way things had worked out.

  Jonathan joined his laughter. “Yeah, who would have thought that we would meet our

  soul mates at the same time?”

  “Does it bother you that she’s Fey?” Nicolas asked cautiously. “You do realize it was her brother that nearly destroyed all of us. It was her brother we killed.”

  Jonathan cringed at the mention of that day. “I know this has the potential to be a disaster, but I’ve still got to try. Besides, she saved Mandy at her own expense, so that has to count for something, right?”

  “Let’s hope so.” Nicolas was still leery of the Fey, so his trust would have to be earned. “I’m going to stay with Mandy, but come let me know what you discover.”

  “I will. I’d like to check on Mandy as well.”

  Nicolas watched as his brother entered the room opposite of Mandy’s and softly closed the door. He was still thinking about how the Fates had a strange way of seeing that things worked out when he opened the door, and froze.

  Mandy was huddled on the couch, wearing one of his large flannel shirts and a pair of boxer shorts. Garrett had brought them for her to wear, since her things were still outside and the wolf could still be a threat. Her knees were drawn to her chest, her head down. She looked like a child, her build was so slight.

  “Mandy? Are you all right?”

  Her head came up, green eyes shining with tears while her fiery curls fell about her face. Nicolas didn’t think he’d ever seen anything so beautiful in the entirety of his existence.

  When her only reply was to sob and put her head down again, Nicolas quickly crossed to her side and pulled her into his arms. At first she fought to pull away, but he merely held on and shushed her. A moment later she turned in his arms and clung to him as she wept.

  “I’m so sorry, Jonathan,” she cried. “I didn’t want you to find out like this. I wanted to be able to tell you myself, but that wolf…”

  Nicolas was not surprised to find that she had mistaken him for his brother; after all, they were identical in everything except eye color. “Don’t worry about it, Mandy,” he soothed, rubbing her back. He wanted to make her feel better, would do anything to put an end to her tears. “I’ve got a secret of my own that should make you feel better.”

/>   She sniffed, and then asked, “You have telekinesis too?”

  “Not quite, but fairly close.” Steeling himself against her possible scorn or rejection, he went on. “I can control the elements,” he confessed. Nicolas sat there holding her as he awaited her reaction. He was so ready for her to bolt from his lap that her laughter startled him.

  “You don’t have to make something up just to make me feel better,” she chided. “I just don’t want to lose our friendship.”

  “I don’t think that you have anything to worry about. Jonathan would never hold anything like that against you.” Nicolas felt Mandy stiffen before she finally raised her brilliant emerald eyes to his.

  “Oh, God,” she wailed, “you must think I’m crazy.”

  “I think you’re beautiful,” at his softly spoken words, she stilled. “I think that you have a gift that you are very responsible with if my brother hasn’t even witnessed it before.”

  “So you don’t think that I’m a freak? You’re not scared of me?” she asked cautiously.

  Her insecurity showed and Nicolas made a quick decision, hoping that it was the right one, but prepared for the worst. “Watch my hand,” he ordered, “Don’t touch it, but just watch.”

  Nicolas raised one hand, palm up, and called to the fire element within him. First his palm began to glow a bright orange before a small flame sparked to life in its center. Mandy gasped and sat up in his lap, trying to get a better look. He gave his power a little push and the flame leapt, then began to roll in on itself until a glowing ball of flames rotated above his palm.

  “That’s amazing,” she whispered.

  Nicolas tossed the little fireball into the fireplace and regarded Mandy’s profile as she stared after it. “You’re not afraid?”

  “No,” she replied, “I think I’m jealous.”

  Her honest response had him barking out a laugh. “Jealous? Then I had better not show you the rest.”

  “You can do more?” Was that excitement in her eyes?

  “Like I said before, I can control the elements. I can move the rocks, dirt, trees, water, winds…pretty much anything. If you want a white Christmas, then I’ll have fresh snow that morning.”