by Brenda Trim
“It’s okay. This is my brother,” Calla explained as she waved her hands in the air.
Brokk’s stance relaxed. Well, he dropped his weapon and stood up straight, anyway. The guard remained on high alert, regardless of the reassurance from Calla. Maurelle understood. Their King’s life was at stake here.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Iddo replied. “We thought you were staying at the academy. Why are you here?” It was clear Calla’s brother didn’t trust them any more than they trusted him.
“We’re here to help with the outer lands,” Calla informed her brother. “What happened?”
In Maurelle’s mind, Iddo’s grim expression confirmed the information Ryker and Daine had received yesterday before he ever uttered a word. “Dark magic is stealing the elements out here. We haven’t restored enough since the bombs did their damage so it’s taking its toll. We were forced to move to the caves on this side. We thought the King was back and things would change, but the deterioration only accelerated. Mom and dad have no idea how the elders were so wrong about that.”
Calla rushed to her brother’s side and grabbed his hands. “No. They weren’t wrong. He is back.” When Calla turned her head with excitement on her face, Maurelle shook her head. They could not tell her family who Ryker was. “He sent his guard to help.”
Iddo glanced around their group with one eyebrow lifted to his hairline. “Why would he send inexperienced students? For that matter, why did he select them for his guard in the first place?”
“I don’t know the King’s reasons for making his decisions,” Calla said and started walking up the hill. Iddo and the rest fell into step behind her. “But I know he trusts them and infused them with his energy.”
“Why didn’t he come himself?”
“He can’t reveal himself until the enemy are identified. If the wrong person discovers his identity he will be killed before he can help any of us,” Ryker replied saving Calla from coming up with a response.
“As things stand now it’s not safe for us either,” Sol added. Sol was the intellectual of the group. His nose was buried in a book more often than anything else. Maurelle loved that about him. He made a great study partner for their theory and history classes. They were some of the core courses all students shared. “We need you to keep your mouth shut about encountering us.”
Iddo glanced at Sol and nodded his head. “I can imagine the danger the King faces. I won’t say anything.”
“Not even to mom and dad,” Calla added. “Knowing will only put them in an awkward position.”
“But you can help spread the rumor that the King is in fact back. We want morale among Fae to increase so when the time comes, they will join the fight,” Brokk said.
Maurelle gasped and her hands flew to her mouth when they reached the top of the mountain a second later. She’d never seen anything so awful in her life. Much of the vegetation had turned brown and brittle. The ground cover was just as dead, and the trees looked dry as the desert. “Holy shit.”
“That’s an understatement,” Ryker muttered with a shake of his head. Maurelle saw his jaw clench and knew he was as horrified as she was.
“How can I help?” Iddo asked.
“We all need to access our elements and no matter where your elements lie pour them into the land before us. We will need water to wash away the taint and wind to carry it to the heavens,” Ryker informed them. Maurelle wondered how he knew that when none of them had much more than rudimentary knowledge.
With a nod from everyone present, Maurelle opened herself to her elements. She was strongest in air, but also carried earth and water. Keeping a close eye on Ryker, she watched as he closed his eyes and spread his hands out to his sides. She immediately followed suit, wanting to help mask his identity.
Her skin started tingling as elemental energy flowed from everyone to fill the air around them. It had her heart racing and her breath coming in pants. It also invigorated her. Suddenly, all their efforts didn’t feel so pointless. There wasn’t anything they couldn’t do together.
Opening her eyes, she watched as faint blue light burst from Ryker’s body. It was filled with his unique elemental power. Calling on her air, Maurelle helped send it down the hill and out to the plateau beyond.
Trees, shrubs, ground cover, dirt and countless other objects floated into the air and hovered there. She’d never seen anything like this. She had no idea it was even possible. Accessing her water element, she sent whatever she could find. She felt other power merge with hers before the liquid poured down over the scene.
Fatigue was weighing her down, making her vision swim. She needed to call her air and help cleanse the dark energy she could feel hovering around them. Reaching to her core, she was about to send in her wind when the blue light exploded, making her duck and cover her ears.
From her crouched position, she saw everything in the air illuminate and knew Ryker’s power was cleansing the dark magic. Lifting her hands, she used the last of her reserves and sent her air whipping through the area.
Standing up, she watched the light fade and met Ryker’s stunned gaze. “I…I can’t believe we pulled that off,” she told him as the vegetation and dirt fell back into place. The suffocating feeling was gone, replaced with all she could describe as hope.
Ryker fell into her, distracting her from the sight before them. “We need to get out of here,” she warned the others.
Brokk and Daine were by her side a second later, taking Ryker’s arms and helping him walk back the way they’d come. The rest of them scrambled to follow suit.
“We need you and anyone else you can muster to come out here and keep anyone from recasting their spells,” Ryker croaked to Iddo.
“We won’t let anyone pass our mountain. The unicorns and centaurs will help, as well,” Iddo promised.
Maurelle’s chest tightened and adrenaline dumped into her system, giving her new energy. “You coming back with us?” she asked Calla.
“Yeah. It’s where I’m supposed to be right now. Tell mom and dad I love them, and I will see them soon,” Calla told her brother before she gave him a hug.
They left Iddo where they found him and hurried down the hill. Brokk and Daine helped Ryker while Sol stuck close to Maurelle and Calla. This progress they’d made would be for nothing if they were caught now. With no new enemy jumping out at them, Maurelle’s vitality quickly waned as the adrenaline dried up and they still had a long ways to go.
Wishing she could curl up under the nearest tree and sleep for fifteen hours, she pushed one foot in front of the other, praying they made it back before being caught.
Chapter 12
“Lucifer’s fucking balls!” Brokk cursed the second they crossed the grass.
Ryker’s head snaps around and follows his friend’s line of vision to see what made him curse. Ten feet away, Gaius is talking to several enforcers. They were so close to making it back to their rooms, too.
Grabbing everyone’s hands, Ryker calls on his power to make them invisible. Initially nothing happens. He used every ounce of energy he had back in the outer lands. Just their luck.
Before his curses left his mouth, Maurelle’s hand landed on his bicep. “Take mine,” she demanded.
“I don’t know how,” he admitted.
“Me either. Open yourself to me. I’m going to push mine toward you,” she instructed. Nodding his head, he opened his heart to her. Within seconds he felt her aura nudging him. Reaching out, he pulled it toward himself.
A gasp left him and the conversation across the way stopped. Acting fast, Ryker threw out his ability and they blinked out of sight right as the headmaster was turning his head.
“We need to get out of here,” Brokk whispered.
“Don’t lose contact with one another. Head toward the cliffs. We will never make it back to the dorms,” Ryker added.
Gaius was heading toward them when they took slow steps, moving out of range. Thankfully there were several buildings nearby and they snuck behind
one of them before the headmaster could hear their footsteps.
“What is it, Sir?” Ryker heard one of the enforcers ask Gaius.
“I thought I saw something over here,” the headmaster replied. “Search the area. There are students out, I know it.”
“Yes, Sir.”
There was a shove at his back as Brokk pushed Ryker to move faster. He was barely walking at this point. He had no idea how he was going to get there any faster. The desire to drop the shield and reveal himself was overwhelming, but they couldn’t be discovered close to the brambles that led to the outer lands.
It was unclear if Gaius felt his expenditure of power or not. He was out with the guards when they’d passed through the brambles. He needed a good cover and figured going to the cliffs was his best bet.
That was on the opposite side of the campus. Even if Gaius felt it, he wouldn’t suspect them because there was no way they could have gotten all that way that fast. They’d run until their legs nearly gave out then took to the air and flew as fast as they could. It wasn’t wise to fly because enforcers in the Edge could have seen them, but they had to return as fast as possible.
“I feel like I might die,” Maurelle whined as she stumbled and nearly fell. Ryker lost his hold on her arm and she became visible.
Heart pounding in his chest, Ryker bent and grabbed her hand. He couldn’t lift her up because he was wrecked himself, but he couldn’t let her be discovered. Calla helped her get to her feet and they continued on their way.
The cool night air swept around him, carrying with it the dark magic that was destroying the campus. Having spent more time away from the campus lately, the dark energy impacted him greater than ever.
The cliffs came into view but seemed like they were still ten miles away. They’d made it to the last building before the open space that led to the ocean below. The sky was lightening, telling Ryker it was close to sunrise.
How the fuck had they been gone that long? He was exhausted, as were the others. Thankfully they didn’t have class in the morning. Otherwise they’d be screwed. Leaning against the stone wall of the fire league, Ryker took a minute to catch his breath.
He hated that there was no way to avoid getting caught. Maurelle deserved better than this. His chest tightened when he considered he’d have no impact on what her punishment was going to be. He didn’t want the others to go through hell either, but he lost his mind where Maurelle was concerned.
She was quickly becoming his world, and that frightened the fuck out of him. Yet, he didn’t want to change that or walk away from her. He could do either, but the thought of being without her was not something he was willing to live with.
The rock behind him smelled strongly of cinder and ash. He hadn’t attended classes in this league yet, but the scent now surrounding him made him wonder how classes were taught.
He couldn’t imagine going out to the forest to practice. They’d burn down half of the trees as the students lost control. But it seemed as if practicing in the building was just as dangerous. There was only so much fire stone could handle before crumbling. And, the sense he got of the building at his back was that it was an original structure.
“Ready?” Brokk asked, making his eyes snap open. He hadn’t realized he closed them.
“Yeah. Thank God it’s not much farther,” Ryker said with a sigh.
They started moving, this time their progress was a bit faster. When they weren’t running or flying like the devil himself was chasing them his natural healing helped him rebuild some of his strength.
Within a few seconds they were at the cliffs and he dropped Maurelle and Brokk’s hands and the rest let go as, well. “Okay, now what?” Maurelle asked.
“We practice our elements. Don’t use too much energy. Just enough to leave an imprint around us. If we all do that then we can saturate the area enough, so it seems as if we have been here for hours casting,” Ryker explained.
“That could work,” Brokk said before he sat on the grass with his legs crossed in front of him.
“No could about it, jackass. It will,” Ryker teased as he fell ungracefully to the ground. Without hesitation, he dug deep to his elements and accessed water.
Everyone else followed suit and sat in a semi-circle. Maurelle wasn’t close enough for his taste. He didn’t like her being between Sol and Calla. He wanted her next to him. Having her heat bathing him would give him additional energy. Besides, he needed her more and more as time passed.
He was coming to rely on her support and presence in his life. On the rare days they weren’t able to see each other his mood soured, and he was grumpy as hell. It was a crappy predicament to be in.
For her safety he needed to keep some distance between them, but after what they’d been through last year, he barely kept himself from declaring his love for her and claiming her as his mate.
Brokk made mini-tornados, while Sol shot fireballs from his palm. Calla and Maurelle increased the wind and at least one of them added to the water flying all around below the cliff face. The sound of the surf crashing calmed him, despite the fact that his heart was racing, and his energy was flagging.
“What are you students doing out here?” Gaius demanded as he exited between buildings.
Ryker went to climb to his feet and fell into Brokk. Going to his knees first, he pushed off Brokk’s shoulder to stand up. “We are practicing, Sir,” Ryker called out while the others stood up.
The headmaster’s face turned red and his eyes narrowed as he glared at them. Ryker swore if he were human, he’d have a heart attack. It was clear he was pissed off and ready to strangle them.
“You shouldn’t be out of your dorm rooms. You know students aren’t allowed out at night,” Gaius barked.
Ryker had to look away and briefly met Maurelle’s gaze. She was good at hiding how she felt and keeping a neutral expression on her face. It made it impossible for him to know how she felt or what she was thinking half the time.
“We weren’t aware it was frowned upon to practice our skills to improve our class performance. With having new elements recently identified, I feel as if I am behind the rest of the second years,” Ryker admitted. The words slipped easily from his lips because they were the truth.
He was behind the other students that had been identified last year. They might not have received formal training, but they were given exercises to practice. He was far more skilled in his fire element because of that fact.
The headmaster scanned the area and then glanced back at the enforcers behind him. By the time he faced them again, his hands were glowing dark purple, making it obvious he was casting some sort of spell.
Ryker would bet he was examining the energy in the area and looking for a clue as to what they were doing out there. It still wasn’t obvious if he knew anything about the outer lands, and it was difficult to stop from asking about it.
Ryker found he was impatient to know if anyone showed up to undo the progress he’d made in the area. It would be highly frustrating to have his efforts undone already. He refused to give up. He would continue to go out there and heal the land as many times as it took.
This realm needed him, and while he couldn’t take the throne yet, he could do small things to defeat those intent on destroying the planet.
“Why would you decide the middle of the night was the appropriate time for schoolwork?”
Maurelle cleared her throat and lifted her hand in the air while calling the wind to her. She shaped it into a five-inch tornado in the palm of her hand. That was an incredible display of control. Ryker and the others gaped at her while she smiled.
“That’s my fault, Sir. I listened to the stories of my parents and their friends about the countless late nights spent running through exercises and sharing junk food during their academy years. I have always felt like it was a rite of passage when students attend,” Maurelle told him.
Her smile vanished from her face as soon as she finished talking and her eyes went wide as saucer
s. Her tornado spread out from her hand and wiped them around the area. Before Ryker could blink, he was flailing like he was having a fit.
On one of the turns his body was making, he caught sight of Brokk being thrown around, along with Gaius. The wind stopped suddenly, and he landed heavily on the grass.
Groaning from the pain of impacting with the hard ground, Ryker rolled to his side. Brokk and Calla were lying there panting while the headmaster was on his knees with his arms outstretched.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Maurelle chanted as she crawled toward Ryker.
“Don’t use your elements again. There is a reason a tired student should never practice spells. You are far more likely to cause damage than at any other time. I appreciate your eagerness to improve, but this is not the way to go about it,” Gaius informed them as he got to his feet.
“Did our parents really have all-night sessions?” Maurelle asked with wide-doe eyes. “I mean that wind got away from me in an instant and there was nothing I could do to quell it.”
“I can’t imagine this campus surviving long if shit like that happened regularly,” Brokk added with a chuckle. His face paled and his head swung toward Gaius. “Sorry, Sir.”
The headmaster waved his hand and shook his head. It was clear he was frustrated and angry with them. “There are spells and incantations protecting every inch of this property. No one would put hundreds of inexperienced elemental Fae just coming into their powers in one place otherwise. It’s a recipe for disaster and would be irresponsible.
“As for your parents. Yes, we practiced all hours of the night. It’s different now. There are forces at work in the Edge that you can’t begin to fathom. It is not safe for you to be out here.”
Ryker narrowed his eyes at the headmaster and ground his teeth. It almost sounded as if he was trying to warn them because he wanted to protect them. He simply refused to fall for the ruse. “Why would you say that? What do you know that you aren’t telling us?”
Gaius swung his head toward Ryker and lifted one corner of his mouth. “You’re an insolent student. You should respect your Elders.”