“That doesn’t sound very reassuring,” he replied.
Hidden behind a glamour, we made our way past the firefighters and emergency workers. My nose filled with the scent of ash and smoke. Heat radiated over my face as we got closer to the flames, but the temperature never bothered us. Fire elementals ran hot most of the time. Unfortunately, my clothes did suffer from exposure. Soot splattered my jeans, and both sleeves of my leather jacket had burned at the edges. What a shame. That jacket was one of my favorites.
“Who is responsible for this?” I asked. “Can you pick up on anything?”
Gabriel hounds had an incredible sense of smell. If a member of the fire court caused this fire, Marcus would know. We’ve heard daily reports of attacks in their territories. Every court has suffered losses. I feared one of my kind had ignited this forest as retribution. I’d done everything to try to end the war, even being forced to take down members of the fire court who refused to stand down. The natural disasters and attacks had kept me away from Avalon and away from Kalin.
“I can’t tell in this form,” Marcus said, unbuttoning his shirt.
He began to shift into a gabriel hound. Since I wasn’t into seeing my best friend’s junk, I looked away while he undressed. Bones popped, repositioning themselves beneath his growing muscles. He tried to hide the pain, but I heard him grimacing a few times. Each of his transformations was excruciating. I wished I could help ease his suffering. Marcus snarled, and I turned back around. Standing on all fours, he was about the size of a panther on steroids. Coarse black fur now covered his caramel skin. I collected his clothes from the ground, stuffing them into my canvas knapsack.
“We need to find the source of the fire,” I said, tipping my chin. “Follow me.”
I stretched my hands out on both sides. Using my power, I thrust my energy away from us. A pathway formed, splitting the fire into two. We headed straight through the flames. After about two miles, Marcus stopped. His head arched as he sniffed the air, and then he took off. He had likely picked up a scent. I chased him until he circled something. He couldn’t speak in his hound form, but when his eyes met mine, I knew he’d found what we had feared.
Within the blaze, Marcus discovered an area of forest that was undamaged. It was an oasis filled with lush green trees and flowering bushes. As I approached, I saw what he had already uncovered—three deceased faeries from the woodland court. Their skin was charred and blistered, but their remains had not dissolved. Woodland faery corpses did not burn like fire elementals. Their remains melted into the ground, becoming one with the lands they protect.
The marks on their skin indicated that a fire elemental had attacked them. I bent down next to one of the bodies, setting the knapsack on the ground. The woodland elemental was very young. I would guess she wasn’t even a teenager. I ran my hand over her face, closing her eyes. A moment later, she began to liquefy into the earth. Anger burned in my chest. I couldn’t understand why fire elementals would kill without reason. These fae were children, most likely unaware of the events in Avalon. I stood, vowing to give the slain creatures justice. I would put an end to this violence.
Since there was nothing more I could do for the victims, I turned back to the blaze. I had to save as much of the forest as possible. I closed my eyes, summoning all the energy I could from my core. Power surged deep in my chest. I let it extend into my arms and hands. From my center, a ball of energy formed. I focused all of my power into the orb, urging its growth. Every inch of the expansion weakened me. I could barely stand, sensing my knees were about to buckle. When the sphere equaled the size of the forest, I encased the woodland within the energy dome. I spread my fingers then tightened them into a fist. As I pulled my arms into my body, the ball sucked the oxygen out of the fire. No oxygen, no fire. Sweat poured down my neck and I fought to hold on. Little by little, the blaze grew smaller. My arms got heavier as if someone were adding weights on top of them. My body swayed. I was so close, just a few more seconds. It was too much.
When I had nothing left, I collapsed.
I braced for the impact but never hit the ground. I opened my eyes. Marcus was carrying me on his back with my knapsack swinging from his mouth. As he raced through the burning forest, twigs snapped under his massive paws. Additional planes flew over with water. Some of the liquid landed on us, which felt pretty good. The mortals managed to contain what remained of the fire. It was a small victory. Now we could rest and prepare for the next challenge.
I woke up next to a large stream in a thick, wooded area. Oak trees that seemed to stretch into the skies surrounded us. A sweet scent permeated the area, coming from nearby berry bushes. None of the foliage had any fire damage. I didn’t see a single burnt leaf or blade of grass. Marcus must’ve carried me for quite a while. Bruises covered my entire body. It would be several hours before I would return to full power.
He sat on a log, chomping down on what was most likely the last of our food. I could’ve filled a semi with the amount of food he had eaten this week. Each time he shifted, he used a tremendous amount of energy. He needed to eat to regain his strength.
“How long have I been out?” I asked, checking the knapsack to see if there was any food left. I found a sandwich and took a bite.
Marcus stared into the distance. “A few hours.” Before I could say a word, he said, “Don’t complain. You needed the rest.”
Although we were close in age, he acted as if he was my protector. Had my mother still been in power, he would have been my guardian. He would be expected to give his life for mine if necessary, but I would never accept that. Marcus was the reason I survived my childhood. He was my family. My brother. Since he returned to my side, we’ve been closer than ever.
“You look so serious. What are you thinking about?” I had a pretty good guess, but I wanted to be sure.
“Do you think her parents will ever accept me?” he asked, shoulders sunk as if he already knew the answer.
Before we left Avalon, Ariel had gone to her parents and demanded they end her engagement to Aiden. Holding Marcus’s hand, she explained she was in love with him. Her parents wanted nothing to do with it. Marcus wasn’t an air elemental. Ariel’s parents were too obsessed with their social standings to see how happy their daughter was. They threatened to banish her from the air court. Of course, Kalin would never let that happen.
My chest tightened each time I thought of her. I hadn’t seen Kalin in over a week. Each day I worried about her father’s recovery. Until Taron could resume his position as king, she had to attend air court council meetings in his place. She also had to choose someone to replace Jarrod, the former captain of the air court knights. Standing in for her father was an incredible amount of responsibility for someone so new to the elemental world.
I sat next to Marcus. “Listen, Ariel’s parents don’t need to accept you. If you love each other, that’s all that matters.”
He threw a few stones into the stream. “Not to Ariel. She feels responsible for her younger siblings. She thinks she has to marry into a high-ranking family so that her brothers can become knights.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “If that’s the case, there’s nothing to worry about.” Marcus turned to face me. “Kalin is her best friend and the future ruler of the air court. She would knight all of her siblings if it meant Ariel could be with you.”
Marcus let out an exaggerated breath. “I don’t think it’s that simple.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “Why not?”
“Ariel said there are powerful council members who don’t want to see a halfling ruler.”
I let out a low growl. I couldn’t believe after everything Kalin had done—everything she had sacrificed—to save her court, there were still elementals who would stand against her. I wished I were there. I would love to set them straight with my fists. “What a bunch of idiots.”
Marcus turned his head sharply. “Did you hear that?”
I listened closely. “Nothing.”
&nb
sp; He stood, pointing to the left. “It’s coming from that direction.”
A scream rang out.
I unsheathed my sword. “I heard that.”
I ran in the direction of the noise. The pained wails got louder. I could tell by the sound it was most likely a woodland fae in danger. When the ground shook, I glanced to the side. Marcus had changed into his hound form. He must have been expecting a battle. I hoped whatever rest I had gotten was enough. My power wasn’t at full capacity, but I could swing my sword. As long as there weren’t too many, we would be all right.
Then we saw the source of the agonizing cries. Two armored goblins attacked a tiny tree elf. The elf used sand magic to block their fireballs, but he wouldn’t last long. Marcus howled, knocking all of them off their feet. During our distraction, the elf leaped into a nearby pathway. The two goblins tried to run, but they were no match for Marcus. Hounds were the fastest elementals in our court. By the time I reached them, he had both under his paws.
“Since you seem to enjoy picking on small creatures, I thought I’d let my ginormous friend play with you for a while,” I smirked, patting Marcus on the head. “I do have to warn you he gets a bit rough.”
Marcus bent his head, growling.
Beads of sweat trickled down their faces. “Don’t kill us,” one begged. “We were only following orders.”
“Do you know who I am, Goblin?” I pressed my boot into one of their wrists, forcing him to release his sword. I wasn’t going to take the chance that he might get brave and slice into Marcus.
“Rowan, the shadow prince,” the other goblin said, swallowing hard.
“If you know who I am, then you know what I do to little goblins who don’t answer my questions truthfully.” They both nodded, appearing too scared to lie. But who would command them to kill members of the woodland court? We were leaderless. I bent, resting my hands on my knees. “I want to know who ordered you to attack the elf.”
In unison, they said, “Our future king, Valac.”
Chapter Two
Kalin
After hours of endless debate, I was ready to scream.
An emergency council meeting had been called every day this week to discuss the unbalanced elements. Every conversation was the same as the day before. Each member of the council expressed their concerns and demanded an immediate resolution. I had no solution to offer. I was only attending the meetings at my father’s request. He asked me to listen to what they had to say and assure them of our concerns, but to tell them nothing of our plans or his condition.
I slumped in my father’s chair, pulling at a loose string on the sleeve of my yellow council robes. Mountain air rushed all around, whipping my hair into my face. The weather had been completely unpredictable. One minute it was sunny, and the next, lightning filled the skies. Air elementals had been spread thin all over the mortal world. Their power stretched to capacity. We did what we could to control our element. Unfortunately, nothing settled the intermittent storms.
“We need to see King Taron,” Jaya insisted, fists clutched at her sides. She had been a member of the council since its formation.
Tired of listening to the same requests, I stood to make my point. “As I’ve said, he is resting.”
Jaya paced the balcony. From this height, the castle appeared to be surrounded by clouds rather than part of an island. “Our children aren’t safe in the mortal world. There are reports of attacks daily,” she said as if I was hearing it for the first time. “The fire elementals must be stopped. Our king should lead his army against them before we are wiped out.”
Dad barely had enough energy to lead himself to the bathroom. He was in no condition to wage war on anyone, but the council couldn’t know that. Not yet, anyway. I had to keep up appearances for his sake. They had to believe their king would return to full power. If I was honest with myself, I needed to believe it too. Dad had been bedridden since we rescued him. During his capture, he was kept hidden in Las Vegas. Without the protection of Avalon’s veil, he aged rapidly.
The elemental I dreamwalked with throughout my childhood appeared to be in his mid-twenties. Now he resembled a mortal in his fifties. To make matters worse, Valac had kept him shackled in iron chains. The poison seeped into his bloodstream. Our healers removed much of it, but some of the poison resisted our treatment. They fear the remaining iron was permanent. Worst of all, his powers had been dormant since his return. They might be gone forever.
I saw the desperation in Jaya’s eyes. She had not heard from her youngest daughter in days. I couldn’t say I fully understood her pain, but I remembered how I felt when Dad was missing. I had to set aside my agitation and be the leader they needed. The leader my father always thought I could be. I just never imagined that day would come when I was only sixteen.
Facing the council, I made sure I looked in each of their eyes as I spoke. “My father will return to us soon. Every day, I see improvement. But right now, I need to act on his behalf.” I made my way over to Jaya. “The fire court has no leader at the moment, which means these attacks are coming from rogue members. I don’t believe my father would charge into their court and punish many for the actions of a few.”
“But our children—”
I put my hand on top of hers. “We will send more knights into the mortal world. We will do what we can to protect them.”
“How do we know the fire court has no leader? Do you have information you’re not sharing with this council?” The voice I heard had to be Samson. Of all the council members, he had been the most difficult. I’d heard rumors he has been pushing for a no-confidence vote to remove me from power. His disgust was clear each time he refused to make eye contact with me.
I turned to face him. “I know the fire court has no leader because their element is out of control. Their situation is even worse than our own. If we truly want to resolve these issues, we should be aligning with them.”
“Align with them as you have with their disgraced prince?” he snickered. “His court is in turmoil, yet he hasn’t bothered to claim the throne. Perhaps he’s enjoying the destruction of his kind.”
My blood boiled. He knew nothing of Rowan. Of all the fire elementals, he had suffered the greatest loss. Although his mother had abandoned him and his court ostracized him, he chose to return to try to make things right. Not to mention, he had saved my life more than once. The last thing Rowan would do was watch his court suffer. “Rowan is in the mortal world now, doing what he can to contain all of the natural disasters.”
“How convenient,” Samson replied under his breath. He sat back in his chair with a proud grin. It took everything I had to not punch that smug look off his face.
There was no point in continuing this conversation. I could’ve rambled on for hours, and they would still never see Rowan as a hero. The best I could do was hope he claimed the fire throne soon and found a way to stabilize his element. Britta, the water queen, told me she had foreseen just that in his future. I had to believe she was right. But the future could always change.
Ariel appeared on the balcony. “Princess Kalin, your father has requested to see you.”
I had never been happier to see her. “Absolutely.” I glanced at the council. The air was thick with irritation. “I believe we can continue our conversation during the next meeting. Hopefully, Dad will be able to attend.” Before anyone could comment, I hurried out of there with Ariel right behind me.
“Your timing couldn’t have been better,” I said. We headed down one of the castle’s long hallways. The air inside the walkways was humid. The moment I could no longer hear voices from the council members, I stopped and tore off the council robes. I couldn’t wait to get them off. Those things were unbelievably scratchy. Under my robes were my jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and sneakers.
Ariel leaned against the wall next to me. “Things looked intense when I walked in there.”
Intense could pretty much describe every moment of the day over the last week. I couldn’t
leave my room without someone asking about my father. Even when I was practicing my element, knights would ask for updates. For the most part, I told them nothing. Dad had asked me not to. With the elements unbalanced, the last thing we needed was for the other courts to see us as vulnerable. “They’re scared. For my father, our people, and our element.”
“He’s moving around a lot better today.” Ariel smiled, trying to lighten the mood.
She always found the positive in every situation. Since Dad’s return, she rarely left his side. He had asked that only a few elementals be allowed to see him—elementals he trusted. None of the council members received an invite. After he learned the extent of Jarrod’s betrayal, he lost trust in his council. I couldn’t blame him. Jarrod had been a council member and the leader of his knights for centuries. But more than that, Dad considered him a friend. His disloyalty was something my father took personally.
“Does he want to see me?” I asked.
“No, but I’m sure it would be okay.” Again, optimistic to a fault.
What I needed was a break—a long one. I was overloaded, and I didn’t know how much more I could take on. Keeping up appearances while secretly worrying about Dad was eating away at me. “I’ll stop by later. It would be nice to take a breather. I need to get away from everyone for a while.”
She stared at me as if I had just broken up with her. “Do you want me to go?”
“No, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.” Ariel perked up again. “I’d love for you to stay and talk to me. Tell me what’s going on with you. I’m sick of talking about my problems.”
Ariel leaned her head against the wall, and her cheery demeanor shifted into somber. It was as if someone had deflated her. “I took Marcus to see my parents.”
I leaned to the side, facing her. “What happened?”
Mortal Enchantment Complete Box Set Page 29