Britta was gone.
I ran back into the room where everyone stood seemingly astounded by what they had witnessed. “Well, that was a dramatic exit.”
“Has she abandoned the council?” Orion asked.
“There’s nothing left of the high council,” I shrugged. “I had hoped we’d reform it, but it looks like that’s not going to happen.”
Kalin came to stand in between Orion and me. “We’ll find a way to bring her back, but for now, we need to focus on Valac.”
The water queen’s exit was a concern. What had she seen in her vision? She spoke as if she had to prepare her court for war. Questions swirled in my head, but I had to push them aside for now. Kalin was right. Finding Valac was the top priority.
“Rowan, can you sense the Ring of Dispel?” Orion asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Last time I tried, I needed Kalin and Britta’s joined powers to find the ring. The three of us were successful, but it took a lot out of me. Without Britta, it would be even more difficult. My head still ached from the migraine. “It’s not a constant connection,” I said, massaging my temples. “I have to use my core energy to search for it.”
“If you can tell us which territory he’s in,” Kalin added, “we should be able to anticipate his next move.”
“I’ll try.” Closing my eyes, I focused on the image of the ring. Within my mind, a dark tunnel pulled me forward. Something slowly came into focus. It was greenery. I saw massive tree trunks, wild bushes, and a flat walkway like a path of some sort. I headed for the trail. Pain radiated from the back of my head, slowly spreading into my shoulders. My energy was fading. A hand slipped into mine, interlocking our fingers. It was Kalin. Within moments, our powers merged, and I felt an urgent jolt of incredible strength. Everything moved rapidly. It was as if someone had pressed the fast forward button in my head.
The location in the distance came into focus.
“He’s at the edge of the woodland court,” I shouted as I fell to my knees, exhausted from the power I’d used to find the ring. I locked eyes with Orion. “I’d guess he’s heading for your castle.”
“Valac sent you here to distract us.” Orion went straight for Selene. “He knew about the summons.”
“Marcus brought me against my will.” Selene shrieked, trying to hide behind one of the hounds. “I had no control over that.”
Marcus stood in front of Selene, blocking Orion. “Stay back,” he ordered with a sharp tone in his voice. “This isn’t the way to go.”
“Marcus is right.” I rushed in front of Orion before he could reach Marcus. His face was blood red. “You need to return to your court.”
As my warning sunk in, terror flashed in Orion’s eyes. “We have to stop him before he gets the Green Armor.”
Britta’s exit had sidetracked us. We should’ve anticipated he had spies everywhere. Someone had told him we were all here, leaving the woodland court open for the taking. I didn’t want to leave Kalin. She was powerful, but she needed to learn to control it. Unfortunately, time was the one thing we never seemed to have. An ache settled in the pit of my stomach. As much as I hated it, I had no other choice. “I’m going with Orion. He will need all of the help we can give him.”
“I’ll prepare my guard,” Orion announced.
“You’re not going alone,” Kalin said, signaling to one of her knights. “Go wake up your captain. I want no less than fifty knights to meet me at the woodland pathway in twenty minutes.”
“Yes, my queen.” The knight bowed and left.
“Thank you, Kalin,” Orion said as he took Queen Marlena’s hand and led her toward a side door.
“You’re not going without me,” Marcus added, shifting my attention to him.
I shook my head. “I need you to return home. You’re the only one I trust to lead our court in my absence. The eternal flame must be protected.”
Marcus sighed and then nodded. He didn’t like my decision, but we both knew it was the right one. He tilted his head toward Selene. “What do you want me to do with her?”
“Take her with you.” I leaned in, lowering my voice. “I get the feeling that she knows more than she’s letting on. Maybe you can talk to her.”
“You can’t be serious,” he snorted. “What makes you think Selene will talk to me?”
“You always managed to get through to me.”
“She’s not going to listen to me, Rowan.” He glanced over at her. “You see the way she treats us. To her, we’re nothing more than servants.”
Marcus watched Selene fiddle with her skirts. She had a lot of nervous energy. Which only made me more suspicious. “All I’m asking you to do is try.”
A low growl of frustration escaped his throat. “Don’t do anything reckless.”
“Me? Reckless?” I smirked. “Never.”
He signaled to the other hounds. They grabbed Selene by the arms. She struggled as they exited out the same door as Orion. Once they were gone, I spun back around to face Kalin. We were alone once more. She stood with arms crossed, staring out into the distance. I’d seen that look before. She had a plan.
“I can’t go with you,” she said, with regret in her eyes. “If this is all a trick….If Valac comes here instead—”
“You have to protect your court.” I ran my thumb over her cheek. She leaned into my touch. “I get it.”
With determination in her tone, she said, “I want to make him suffer for what he’s done.”
I pulled her close, slipping my arms around her waist. “You’re pretty hot when you get all riled up.”
As she glanced up at me, I saw the worry in her eyes. She tried to hide it by looking away. I wasn’t a fool. “Don’t leave Orion’s side,” she said. “I can’t lose anyone else.”
I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Are you all right?”
Lowering her head, she replied, “I’m not sure I’ll ever be right again.”
Kalin had been through so much over the past few months. She'd left her mother and the life she’d built in the mortal world only to discover her father was missing. She was thrust into power when he never fully recovered and then deceived by someone she trusted. She finally gained the power of the akasha but was too late to save Taron. Her pain and suffering were more than what most could bear. She was the strongest person I’d ever known. It was one of the many reasons I’d fallen in love with her.
“We’re going to get through this.” I cupped her face in my hands. “Together.”
“I know.” A cool breeze flowed through the room, rustling the ends of her red hair. She faked a smile. “We’d better get going. Orion has to prepare his court.”
I took her hand in mine and led her outside. The sun was at its highest. For most, the day had just begun. The morning dew had settled on each blade of grass like tiny emeralds. Only a few of the air court elementals roamed the courtyard. At this elevation, the mountain air was crisp and cool. The clouds floated all around us. Under normal circumstances, it would’ve been a beautiful day to fly.
But things were about as far from normal as they could get.
When we arrived at the pathway, Orion and Marlena were deep in discussion. Air court knights were everywhere. Kalin left to find their captain. When Orion noticed me, he nodded. I watched as he signaled to one of his knights. With their swords drawn, the royal guard encircled the king and queen. They formed a barrier around them. Once they were inside the pathway, clusters of air court knights followed.
After the last of them were gone, Kalin stood alone by the swirling entryway. “Promise you’ll come back to me. I need to hear the words.”
“I promise,” I said, wrapping my arms around her. I lowered my mouth, and our lips brushed together. It started soft, but it quickly escalated—all the worry over losing her morphed into uncontrollable need. I pulled her closer, curling my fingers around the belt loops of her jeans. For a minute, I lost myself in the kiss.
I loved her. More than anything. More
than myself. If we didn’t succeed, I’d lose her. As the only akasha in over a hundred years, she was the one elemental who had the power to stop Valac once the mist was punctured. Her blood sealed the hole. All of her blood. Her life. The ultimate sacrifice. No, I wouldn’t let that happen. I abruptly released her from my embrace, and she gasped in surprise.
Putting space between us, I unsheathed my sword. “This ends today.”
Chapter Two
Kalin
The akasha was absolute.
Both loved and feared—the strongest of all of the elementals with control over the four elements. I possessed immeasurable power and knowledge that had been passed down through the centuries. I was the beginning and end to it all. And I’d been given one central purpose: protect the mortals by keeping the elements in balance. But why me? I wasn’t even a full elemental. The only halfling akasha in our history. Why was I chosen?
I’d spent most of my life preparing for my duties. I left the only life I’d known in the mortal world, at sixteen years old, to ascend to the throne and become the queen of the air court. Avalon was supposed to be the picturesque realm my father had described. The peaceful place was full of magical creatures that controlled the elements of nature.
Promises made never came to be.
Instead, I found myself thrust into a world in turmoil, on the brink of war. My father was missing, and I was forced to navigate my new home without him. I was untrained in my air element and naïve to all the politics that went along with being a member of the royal family. Had it not been for Rowan and Ariel, I would’ve never survived. Mistakes happened along the way, and we didn’t succeed in preventing the war. Many lives were lost.
My father was one of them.
Not long after his death, the full power of the akasha surged through me. I killed the elemental that had betrayed us and claimed the throne. I wish I could say that was the end of it all, but the worst was yet to come. Thanks to his twin sister Selene, we now know Valac’s plan. He wanted to use the stolen artifacts to claim control over all four territories. If we did not relinquish our courts to him, he threatened to cut the mist that protected Avalon—a move that would kill thousands within days.
Only the blood of the akasha could seal the hole.
I refused to believe that was my only purpose. I was more than a sacrifice. After what I had survived, I wouldn’t let this be the end. I was going to figure out why I had this power bestowed on me. When I first became the akasha, thousands of pages of information rushed into my mind. It seemed nearly impossible to sort through it all. I needed to read through the akasha journals one by one. There had to be another way to stop Valac. Something we could use to vanquish the power of these sacred objects.
And I was going to discover it.
Staring at the pathway, I feared for Rowan. In only eighteen years, he had been through enough anguish to last a lifetime. He carried a weight he doesn’t deserve. Somehow, he held himself responsible for all that happened with Valac. As many times as I tried to convince him otherwise, he believed it was his duty to end his madness. My stomach twisted in knots as I worried that the burden he put on himself would make him careless. Valac was much stronger now that he had Excalibur. I prayed Rowan could push aside the obligations he felt, and make smart choices. I didn’t want to imagine living in this world without him.
Every day we were together, I’d fallen more in love with him.
I shuffled my way back into the castle. I assumed my mother was still asleep. At least, I hoped she was. She’d been inconsolable since my father’s death. He’d sacrificed his own life to save hers. It must’ve been agony for her, watching him die. Tears lined my eyelids. I brushed them away with the back of my hand. Since she wasn’t at the meeting, she had no idea what had happened. I asked one of my guards to bring her to me along with any of my father’s ashes that remained.
Although elementals didn’t perform funerals—there was nothing left to bury—I had to do something to honor him. He hadn’t been honest with me for most of my life, but he truly thought he was protecting me. And I loved him with all of my heart. Very little time had passed, yet I already felt his absence. Losing him had broken me. Time supposedly healed the wound, but I wasn’t sure. Sebastian murdered him, ripping him away from Mom and me. Essentially robbing us of the family we had waited so long to reunite. How would I ever come to terms with that?
A question I imagined I’d contemplate for the rest of my life.
“Kalin, what’s going on?”
I turned around. Mom stood in the courtyard with her arms wrapped around her waist. Her red hair was disheveled, and her eyes swollen from many hours' worth of tears. My chest tightened. It was painful to see her like this. Had I been stronger, I could’ve protected my father and saved her from the pain of his loss. But I was the one who was deceived by Sebastian. I believed he was my friend, and that he had the best interests of our court in mind. It was foolish. A mistake I’d never be able to take back.
I held out my hand. “Come join me out here.”
“One of your guards said to give this to you.” She placed a gold thimble in my palm. The contents of the tiny container were all I had left of him. “What is it?”
“Dad’s ashes.” I waited until her evergreen eyes met mine. “I thought maybe we could have a private ceremony to say goodbye. If it’s too much, we can wait.”
“No, I think it’s perfect,” she replied sniffling. “We both need to do this.”
We headed to the highest stone balcony in the castle. From here, we could see the clouds beneath us. The sun warmed our faces. It was perfect weather. If Dad were here, he’d be outside enjoying the day with members of our court. They loved him so much. Since the news of his death, each smiled and tried to carry on as he would’ve wanted. But the pain of his loss and the fear of the unknown was felt by all of us. He’d been their leader since the beginning. I was sure they all had their concerns.
“Let’s do this together,” I said.
With our hands joined, I held the thimble above our heads. A sizzle of power ran up my arm and into my fingertips. Air thrust the ashes out of the container, casting them into the wind. We watched the remains as they joined the skies. Seconds later, they were gone. I imagined part of my father would float around Avalon forever. I glanced over at Mom. Streams of tears ran down both her cheeks. “What should we say?”
“Whatever’s in your heart,” she replied.
I paused for a moment. “I wish we’d had more time, Dad. But I’m grateful for the weeks we spent together. I promise I will take care of our court.” My throat tightened, and I swallowed hard. “I won’t let you down.”
Mom pulled me into a hug. We embraced for a long while, crying on each other’s shoulders. After a few minutes, she released me. “Goodbye, my love,” Mom said into the wind. “I know we will be reunited someday. I love you with all of my heart.”
I put my arm around her, and she tilted her head onto my shoulder. She’d always been the strongest person. To see her truly fall apart was agony. She tightened her grip on my waist, leaning her weight into me. For the first time in my entire life, I was the one holding her together.
“I should go,” Ariel said, eyes nervously roaming the room.
The highest-ranking elementals attended the council meetings in our court. This group made all the decisions about daily life. Some members had been on the council for centuries. Others had replaced older relatives who no longer wished to participate. It was considered the greatest honor to be part of such a regal group. Ariel had previously never been invited to attend, so I understood why she felt uncomfortable. “No,” I replied, the corners of my lips turned up. “I need you to be here.”
I’d asked the staff to put something casual together in the throne room. With everything going on, I wanted to keep things simple. I should’ve known that wasn’t possible for elementals, even in the air court. When I first entered the room, I saw that a mahogany wood rectangular table had be
en set up, with matching chairs. An exotic fruit and cheese centerpiece took up most of the table, along with long-stemmed crystal glasses filled with red wine. Small ceramic plates, napkins, and utensils took up the remaining space. I sat down at the head of the table and motioned for Ariel to sit next to me.
The council members arrived soon after. They wore their yellow ceremonial robes. It was no wonder why I stood out among them. I was the only one without wheat-blond hair and pale blue eyes. One by one, they glanced at Ariel with perplexed brows. Not a single one questioned why she was here. Since my akasha power ignited, their attitude toward me had changed substantially. They were courteous and polite. None of them had challenged me in any way. I’d finally received the respect from them that I should’ve had from the beginning.
It was a long time coming.
I wasted no time with pleasantries. As soon as they all were seated, I made them aware of Valac’s plan, the attack we anticipated on the woodland court, and our need to mobilize our knights. The emotions were mixed. We were all still mourning my father’s death. Many on the council had been close friends.
One of the older female council members stood. “What happens if Valac succeeds? Are we prepared for that?”
“If Valac cuts the mist, my blood will seal the incision.” Many of them relaxed after hearing my words. “But it will mean that I have to sacrifice myself. Which is why I’ve called this meeting.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, sitting back in her seat.
I stood. “If I die, I want to appoint Ariel as my successor.”
Several of them gasped. Whispers broke out among the group. None objected. I glanced over at Ariel. Her eyes were wide and focused on me. The complete and utter shock spread across her face told me everything I needed to know. Because her mouth was open, I waited for her to say something. A minute went by, and no words came out.
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