Born of Water

by Autumn M. Birt

  She shifted, holding up a hand and then stopped. Shaking her head, she sat back. “No, I think not.” Her face felt stiff.

  “Maybe with practice it will be less painful?” Darag suggested.

  “Practice . . . .” Ria was giddy with the thought. She slid forward until her knees nearly touched the stone of the ring. The fire rose up without her even needing to move her hand, a fireball cutting off and expanding slowly like a bird’s wings opening. Instantly, she sent up another one, this time swirling it in on itself until it winked out as a tiny spark.

  Laughter on his lips, Darag shook his head. “Now who is the showoff?”

  Ria grinned.

  Ty and Lavinia returned a few minutes later. Lavinia dropped her pile of sticks next to the fire and put her arms around Darag, holding him from behind while she nestled her cheek against his neck.

  “Having fun?”

  Ria answered Lavinia’s question. “Yes.”

  Ria formed another ball of flame from the dying fire. She collapsed it into itself quickly so that it shone brightly in the late afternoon light like a star. Lavinia blinked rapidly a few times while Ty chuckled. He tossed a few more sticks into the fire.

  “Wow, can you do that?”

  As Darag held out his hand, the air changed, feeling thick like before a storm. The flames flattened back to black coals specked with glowing embers. With the slightest lift of his finger, a jet of flame shot into the air like dragon’s breath. Darag spread it out above their heads so that it glistened like a luminescent mist before letting it fade completely.

  “I should have guessed. Things are always easy for you.”

  Darag shifted suddenly so that Lavinia lost her balance where she knelt behind him. He caught her, pulling her around so that she ended up lying across his laps.

  “Oh yes,” he said dryly. “Things are always effortless for me.” Then he kissed her.

  “And you?” Ty asked Niri.

  Niri glanced down with a shake of the head. “It is possible but not pleasant.”

  Lavinia had completely broken Darag’s concentration. After a moment, they rose together and walked hand in hand down the hill from the camp. Jumping a small stream at its base. They headed up the next mound, talking and laughing.

  Ria was totally absorbed in the fire before her as if she could make up for the lost years when she didn’t know she had the skill. Her brow was furrowed and hand held out as the flames danced and writhed to her calling.

  Niri watched a minute then stood. Ria had called a spark out of the air and was seeing how long she could keep it in existence before lack of fuel snuffed it out. She was getting quite good. Niri headed down the hill to where Ty was scavenging a few meager branches in the hopes of having the fire last more than a few hours. The evening already promised to be cool, though not bone chilling like the desert nights.

  There were scant pickings of the tiny shrubs and Niri wandered along the trickling rivulets, her mind wandering. The flowing water and damp underfoot was a comfort. The agony of calling fire had scorched her senses similar to the days in the desert. At least here, there was water around her for relief. Ty’s voice nearby nudged her from her empty thoughts.

  “Ria seems quite happy.”

  Niri’s lips curved into a smile. “Yes, I think she is likely to keep at it until she falls over from exhaustion.” Niri shook her head, thinking again of what it must have been like leaving home and running so far for a gift Ria neither wanted nor could use. It made Niri’s time in Solaire seem a little less harsh.

  The light at her feet changed. Niri glanced up to see what looked like a star hanging above the camp, neither fading or strengthening. Ria could only hold it for so long before it winked out leaving the shadows darker than before. With its disappearance, Niri’s eyes found the silhouette of Darag and Lavinia. Lavinia stood in front of her husband, leaning back against him. Arms loose around her waist, Darag bent his head to speak to Lavinia quietly or brush her shoulder with his lips.

  Joy filled Niri just seeing their happiness together. With a look deeper than a simple smile, Niri pulled her gaze away to search for more wood. Her eyes crossed Ty’s as he looked away from Lavinia and Darag as well.

  “Your sister is very happy.”

  Ty half snorted, half chuckled. “She has always gotten things right the first time. I can’t believe we are related.”

  Niri glanced up at Ty. He was still scanning the fast growing shadows for wood, his search bringing him closer to where she stood. The hardship from the desert was fading from his face, his skin tan but lips no longer chapped. A warmth stirred in her, rising unexpectedly.

  She shifted away before their paths crossed, her breath a little quicker. Ty had become a good friend since the desert, before that even, maybe since Rah Hahsessah. Something had changed in him after they had sailed from Drufforth, or maybe something had left. Niri’s thoughts snagged on their talk in Sardinia, which had been the first time he had held her to give her comfort and then when she had cried in Tiero.

  “Are you alright?”

  Niri realized she was standing still across the weedy stream from Ty. She blushed, happy the darkness hid the color.

  “Yes . . . thoughts getting the better of me.” Ty was still looking at her, his eyes narrowed to see in the dimness. Niri found herself asking a question she did not even know she wanted to know the answer of. “You never did say what Ria said to you during the southern crossing that you said helped.”

  Ty looked away, Niri certain she saw him blushing. He glanced up towards the barely seen glow of the campfire then down at his feet.

  “She said several things really,” Ty said, looking up at Niri through his lashes. He took a breath and met her gaze squarely. “She said she appreciated that I had come along, but that she wasn’t my responsibility. She was sorry for the arguments in Drufforth. And . . . and that she was happy to know me as more than Lavinia’s brother. That I was a friend, but she didn’t love me.”

  Niri blinked rapidly a few times at a loss. She opened her mouth to say something then closed it again. Ty chuckled at her befuddlement. A flash of humor crossed her lips.

  “I didn’t realize that having a woman say they didn’t love you would cheer you up.”

  Ty grinned. He glanced up towards the fire again. “It would depend on the woman, I suppose.” He hesitated a moment, his eyes finding Niri’s once more.

  “Like if you said it, I think I would be very upset.”

  Niri’s breath caught in her throat as she met Ty’s gaze. He tried to keep the humor alive on his face, but his expression turned more serious by the second.

  “Ty, I . . . .” Nothing came into Niri’s head.

  Ty tossed down his armload of sticks and walked across the sodden gully between them. He took her hand before she could react.

  “Look, I know you must hate me for what I said after the Curse. I had no reason to accuse you. Damn it,” Ty looked away, pain on his face. “I should have apologized before and not been such an ass, wishing you’d just forget that day.”

  “You had every reason to hate the Church. I don’t blame you for that.”

  Ty touched her cheek with a hand that trembled slightly against her skin. His gaze was farm more tender but still filled with pain. “But I had no reason to doubt you.”

  Niri’s heart was pounding in her chest. A tremor went down to her knees making them weak. “You didn’t know me well then.”

  “I know you well now. Will you forgive me at least?”

  “At least?”

  “So that we can be friends.”

  Niri’s lips fluttered with a smile. “I don’t want to be friends with you.”

  Ty’s hand twitched against her skin as he stiffened in shock. Niri almost felt guilty for the wince that flashed across his face. But when he looked at the partially lifted eyebrow and the smile on her lips, he relaxed. It took another heartbeat for him to put what she meant together.

  Ty pulled her close, ho
lding her tightly but as if she were something fragile as well. She found herself pressing into Ty.

  “I never expected . . . you can’t mean that.”

  His breath was a warm whisper against her cheek. “Is it so hard to imagine I love you?” Niri’s voice trembled.

  “Yes,” he laughed, pulling back to gaze at her face. “Yes it is. I thought you had better sense.”

  “Sometimes things just don’t make sense,” Niri whispered, lightly touching his face. “Like after everything you would end up caring for a rogue Priestess.”

  Ty leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes briefly. “Elemental, Priestess, that doesn’t matter to me. I love you, Nirine.”

  His lips were soft against hers, tentative for a moment. Then the fire of sudden passion got the better of them. They were both shaking when the kiss ended a few minutes later, Ty brushing her closed eyes with his lips while her heart pounded like a drum.

  “Just promise me one thing?”

  “What would that be?” Niri murmured.

  “If I ever act such the fool again, you will toss me overboard.”

  “With pleasure.” Niri gave him such a wicked grin that Ty laughed and kissed her again.

  CHAPTER 36

  THE MARSH OF ISHA

  After Darag learned to control the wind, the air changed around him. It reminded Lavinia of the charged atmosphere surrounding Laireag but more controlled, more Darag.

  Lavinia looked over at where he rode next to her, her lips curving into a smile. With him beside her, the ache to return to Lus na Sithchaine was less acute. Darag said it was the same for him and could not explain it. Other than that maybe since she was not of the Forest originally and since they were together, the need was less. It was a satisfying thought, but paled next to simply being near him again.

  As an Earth Elemental, he was not supposed to be able to control air. That fact did not escape her. But having been born a Spirit Elemental, it seemed to buffer him from the initial feeling of too much space he had said he felt the first time he called the wind.

  “It was like finding yourself on a mountaintop with a view of all the world, but not enough air to breath. I thought I would suffocate or expand suddenly to break apart into nothing. Then it flooded back in and I could feel every particle, what makes the force of wind. After that, I could control it.”

  Darag’s description did not sit well with Lavinia. She had never thought of a risk to him. He was always so skilled. To think that there was a danger in just trying to touch an element made her mouth go dry.

  As they had rode north the day before, the rolling mounds had fallen away. Throughout the ride, the three Elementals had tested themselves and each other. After fire, water had been next with Niri leading the way in the morning. Ria had fumbled, Darag had told Lavinia, grabbing the essence of fluid too tightly so that it slipped from her fingers. It had barely moved for her. Impatient, Ria had only made small successes before wanting to move on.

  “And you?” Lavinia had asked.

  Darag had given her a half smile and shrug. “Water is not a challenge for Earth Elementals.”

  Ria had suggested they try to control the wind as it rippled the tall stalks of grass creating waterless waves. Unlike water, air was not an element all three were guaranteed to share. Niri, having called it before went first. Lavinia had watched as Niri closed her eyes. Her small horse had tossed its head as wind blossomed before it, racing out in a sweeping wave of bowing grass.

  Ria had floundered for a moment. Then a natural strong gust of wind had struck the group. Ria had frowned and in a flick of concentration the wind had parted directly behind to flow around them. Ria had laughed, tossing back her head with a carefree mirth Lavinia had never seen in her. Niri had smiled faintly, but her eyes had been sober as they flicked to Darag. Niri had called the element forbidden to her. Lavinia had never seen Niri cowed by anything, but she would not talk about calling fire.

  Lavinia had seen no change on Darag’s face as he closed his eyes and bowed his head. Whatever struggle had occurred in him had been hidden from her. One moment he was as before, the next he was surrounded by the electricity of a storm as the air in front of him shimmered and danced. He had only told her later of that time that hung frozen in his mind, when he could not breath and threatened to break apart.

  Now he held all five elements and the very air around him was thick with power. She wondered what Laith Lus would say when they returned. Or for that matter, what the Ashanti would say now. They would be equals now, Darag and Jeif’taku.

  Ahead the last hillock stood before the setting sun. The trail turned west. They would reach Ashi'shinai tomorrow once they crossed through the true marsh. Ty reigned in his horse on the last rise. The path ahead disappeared into muck through the soggy grassland.

  “This is our best chance for a dry night, short of keeping the Elementals busy holding back the water, of course.”

  Niri lifted an eyebrow at him, looking like she may very well accept his challenge. Ty grinned.

  “I’d be careful, Ty. Niri might swamp you just as well keep you dry,” Lavinia told her brother.

  He chuckled ruefully. He had been in a good mood for days. But there was something different about him today, a little more joyful.

  The need to set up camp put the puzzle of her brother’s changed spirit out of her mind. Dragging out food while Darag summoned stones for the campfire, an odd sound caught Lavinia’s attention. Niri, Lavinia realized, was humming.

  Lavinia swiftly stood upright, a pot dropping from her fingers. The glances between Ty and Niri that morning fell into place.

  “Vin, you okay?”

  Ria was looking at her like she had just about walked off of Mirocyne’s cliff. Lavinia snapped her jaw shut.

  “Fine,” she answered unable to stop the laughter that welled up inside of her. Ria gave Lavinia a look she would normally have reserved for the daft and turned her attention back to what she had been saying to Niri. Ria was going to have to figure this one out on her own.

  Over Ria’s head, Lavinia caught Niri’s eye. Lavinia grinned. Niri’s eyes widened a fraction, then she blushed. A sweet smile painted itself across her face. Lavinia nearly danced as she pulled out the bedrolls.

  “Since there is no wood, should we try what the Ashanti did and make fire without fuel?” Ria’s main focus in the world now was controlling elements.

  Darag’s gaze was steady, a faint smile on his lips. “There is fuel here. I think it is time you learn to control earth.”

  Ria rocked forward in anticipation. Niri joined them as well, earth being an element that should be within her range of skills. Lavinia cast her husband a smile before turning to her brother and lacing her arm through his.

  “I think things are about to get very boring around here for non-Elementals. Why don’t we check out the trail for tomorrow?”

  As she and Ty walked down the hill, Lavinia saw Darag take a handful of dead grass. In his hand, the strands wove together into a tight, log-sized braid. Lavinia had a feeling that by the time she and Ty were back, there would be plenty of fuel on hand for the night’s fire.

  Once they were out of earshot, Lavinia turned toward her brother. He was picking his way along the muddy track, kicking at the slick dirt as he frowned.

  “You know Darag and Niri can make it perfectly safe.”

  Ty glanced up at her, his face clearing as he chuckled. “True. I guess there are some advantages to traveling with Elementals.”

  “Just some? So when did you and Niri realize you were in love?”

  Ty swung around to stare at her, his glance darting once to gauge the distance to their companions.

  “Don’t worry, I don’t think Ria has figured it out yet. If it doesn’t involve earth, air, wind, fire, or spirit, it isn’t on Ria’s mind at the moment.”

  Ty sighed, the tension in his shoulders releasing. When he glanced back at his sister, there was a deep warmth to his look that made her smile
. She knew the feeling but had never seen it cross her brother’s face before.

  “Yesterday, we . . . talked while we were getting the last of the twigs and such.”

  “Oh that’s why it took so long,” Lavinia teased happy to make her brother blush.

  Ty sobered quickly though. “Ria will realize it eventually though. How do you think she will take it? Even she said she realize what happened before . . . on the boat between us had been a mistake.”

  A dry lump formed deep in Lavinia’s stomach. The argument between her and her brother as well as Ty and Niri must have blinded her, because for all she was worth Lavinia hadn’t realized things had taken a serious turn between Ty and Ria. Ty’s gaze lingered on her face. He frowned and looked away down the track.

  “That well, huh?”

  “I don’t know Ty. I hadn’t realize that . . . you and Ria,” Lavinia bit her lip. “It might be best to just tell her rather than wait.”

  Ty nodded, kicking at the mud again. It squelched against his boot. There was a flash of violet and mauve as something small and scaled flashed through the grass and into the water. Ty kept his eyes on where it disappeared.

  “You know, I trust your sword and all, but maybe we should go back.”

  “Wait.”

  Ty turned and looked at her, concern on his face.

  “There is something Niri didn’t tell you about the Kith. She told me she left it to me.”

  Ty’s look settled on her, waiting. Lavinia’s heart was pounding, her brain unable to find the words while her lips refused to form any that did come to mind. She hadn’t thought this was going to be hard, even though she had put it off almost two weeks. Lavinia took a deep breath.

  “She told you they were bound to their trees?”

  Ty nodded slowly.

  “They live and die by their trees. They live as long as their trees.” Lavinia paused there.

  It took a moment, but Ty’s eyes widened as they refocused on her instead of memory. “But then Darag . . . you?”