Elemental's Domain

by Yvette Bostic

  Elemental’s Domain

  Book 3

  Call of the Elements Series

  Copyright © 2019 by Yvette Bostic

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Acknowledgement

  I’d like to start by saying, while there are some references to places and events, any similarities to specific people are purely coincidental.

  I hope you enjoyed the beginning of the Call of the Elements Series by reading Magister’s Bane and Vampire’s Crucible first. Don’t start with Elemental’s Domain or you’ll be truly disappointed. I had a blast writing this tale and allowing the characters to run wild with their own stories. I hope you enjoy reading it just as much.

  I want to say thank you to the people who’ve helped me throughout this process. My husband has been my encouragement, as well as the perfect sounding board and first-draft proof reader. I could not have done it without his positive attitude and patience. Thank you to my wonderful editor, Hannah at Between the Lines Editorial (www.btleditorial.com). She is an extremely talented young woman who’s also a joy to work with. And thank you to Aleksandra Klepacka (https://www.facebook.com/AlissandraArt/), the very gifted young artist who created my cover art. Thank you to my very gracious beta readers. Your comments and opinions about the characters, events and time lines make all the difference!

  And last but not least, thank you to my readers! You’re the reason I continue to write.

  The Light in the Darkness Series:

  Light’s Dawn: A Novella https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C1WNLJ8

  Light’s Rise-Book 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0762Q52DP

  Light’s Eyes-Book 2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079GHC3CD

  Light’s Fall-Book 3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CV5QQMY

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  Cedric stared out across the small meadow from his treetop prison trying to contain the darkness boiling beneath his skin, begging to be released. The field of wildflowers and their pollinators should have calmed him. His natural affinity to nature’s beauty should’ve drowned out his frustration and resentment, but it seemed nothing would. Not the nymph laying naked in his bed, not the luxurious room they refused to call his prison, and not the woodland animals that spoke to his soul.

  The darkness threatening his sanity grew stronger every day. The only thing that brought him peace was his daughter’s spirit, but Elise had taken her away as well. Thoughts of his illustrious queen heightened Cedric’s rage. She’d taken everything from him. His freedom to leave the fae kingdom was somewhat justifiable after his tryst with the mage, but not the rest. Now, his queen selected his mating partners. She controlled the time he spent in the woodlands, and even then he was escorted by her royal guards. And she took away the small amount of time with his daughter. His peace.

  That hurt more than anything else. He’d only been allowed to see Alisandra once every five years to renew her veil and bind her magic, then erase her memory of him. But he longed for those visits. Her sweet spirit called to him regardless of the cruel magic he used on her. Somehow, her heart stayed pure, kind, and craving the love he could never give her.

  As much as he hated it, Elise would allow nothing more. His queen had wanted Alisandra’s life to end with her first breath, but Cedric had managed to convince Elise to spare his daughter. The price was high but worth it to give the child a chance at life and him a chance to keep the darkness at bay.

  Until now. For twenty-five years, he kept her hidden and safe, but his last visit was cut short by Elise’s royal guard. He couldn’t complete the binding and suspected at least some of his sweet child’s fae magic had been activated in the process. Not that it mattered. Within days, she’d be dead as the binding intended. Few mages were capable of removing his magic, and the chance of his baby finding that rare someone made her death inevitable.

  His fingers wrapped around the bark of his narrow window, his sharp claws digging into the hard wood. Cedric needed to leave the fae kingdom before his darkness consumed his soul. There was nothing here to tame its need for blood. As much as he hated his queen, he would not subject his people to the evil living within him.

  A rustle of fabric drew his attention to the pretty little thing in his bed. Her thin arms stretched above her head, and the silk sheet slid from her slender body. She was a beautiful and fragile creature, the exact opposite of what he needed. His darkness demanded violence and suppressing it didn’t work. When it finally found a way out, there was no controlling it.

  “The queen is on her way, my love,” the little nymph sang in her lovely voice. “I should leave before she arrives.”

  She slid from the bed and pulled a robe around her shoulders. Cedric watched silently as her willowy form strolled across his room and disappeared through the door. She didn’t expect a reply from him. He was her mate for the cycle and nothing more.

  Seconds later, the queen appeared alone. She stood at the entrance of his illustrious cage but didn’t enter.

  “I have a proposition for you, dear,” she said, her voice low and soothing.

  Cedric tensed. She was never nice. “What do you want?” he growled.

  “Your daughter’s magic,” she replied. “If you help me get it, you can have your freedom.”

  Chapter 1

  Standing on the balcony of Braden’s apartment in Alexandria, I took in the breathtaking skyline of yet another city I wouldn’t get to see. The warm night’s breeze caught the edge of the loose clothing covering every inch of my skin. I didn’t mind. The thin fabric breathed easily, and the pretty pastel colors gave me a false sense of calm. The reassurance of the scarf around my head brought back memories of my previous life, one I thought I hated but wished I could go back to. It was so much simpler.

  Gordon’s low voice interrupted my mindless gaze.

  “I need to go as soon as your partner arrives,” he said, coming up behind me. He didn’t invade my space like Braden would have. I begrudgingly respected him for it.

  “I understand. I don’t expect you to stay now.” I turned around to look up at my babysitter. Like everyone else, he towered over my barely five-foot frame. “I can make sure everything is locked and just meet Kellen down in the lobby.”

  His troubled eyes held mine without trying to entrance me. Another plus for Gordon. But whatever news he received wasn’t good. “Jack killed everyone, except Braden,” he mumbled.

  “What?” I didn’t hide my surprise or my sadness. I despised Braden, but we’d had a weird friendship. Kind of. His clan didn’t deserve to die just for following him.

  Gordon looked over my head at the city’s bright lights glowing in the darkness. “I’ll try to secure his holdings and reassure our trading partners,” he said. “I don’t know if I can
keep Jack’s hand out of our finances, but I’m willing to try.”

  I searched his face for any sign of his thoughts, but he kept them from me. His dark skin silhouetted from the lights behind him didn’t help. “Will Jack kill Braden?” I asked.

  “No, he’ll do much worse.” His gaze landed on me, and he allowed his anger to filter through. “He’ll drain Braden’s blood and use it to strengthen his army.”

  I shook my head, trying to wrap it around what he’d just said. “What does that mean exactly?”

  The vampire chuckled. “You should’ve spent your day reading about vampires instead of elves and fairies.” He turned and walked back into the apartment, flipping his dark dreadlocks over his shoulder.

  “Wait!” I called after him. “I need to know what’s happening. We’re still planning to fight Jack, right?”

  “I will not,” Gordon replied. “Both my clan and my leader are gone.” He dropped into one of three barstools in the kitchen and rubbed his hands across his face.

  “All the more reason to fight,” I argued, sitting in the stool next to him. I refused to let him give up. “Jack’s taken everything from you. We could use your strength and your knowledge. Braden’s knowledge.”

  “You are irritating, little girl,” he moaned. “I can’t believe the master didn’t kill you.”

  “Yeah well, I have something he wants,” I said. “And so do you.”

  He looked over at me and his wide nostrils flared, the telltale sign he was frustrated. “I’m one man,” he growled.

  “I keep saying that, too,” I said, pointing a finger at him. “Well, that I’m only one woman. What could I possibly accomplish on my own that makes me so damn important?”

  He turned on the stool to face me and propped his elbow on the counter. “Have you figured it out?”

  “I have no fricking idea, but people keep telling me the same thing regardless. Look where it’s led me.” I slid off my seat and started pacing. “My mages think I’m the best thing since sliced bread. The shifters have renewed a vow that’s been broken for nearly forty years all because I can talk to my elementals.” I stopped my pacing and faced him. “And I’ve made a damned blood oath with your boss because he believes I’m some super-secret weapon that will destroy Jack.”

  Gordon’s eyebrows rose. “A blood oath? With Braden?”

  “Don’t even go there.” I waved my hand at him. “It wasn’t one of my brighter moments. The point is, now I’m supposed to convince the other mage families that I didn’t kill the European prince, even though I did. And they’re supposed to believe that the prince was in cahoots with Jack, who plans to enslave us all. How am I supposed do that? It sounds so stupid, even to me.”

  He just stared at me with a look I couldn’t decipher.

  “What?” I asked, fidgeting under his gaze.

  “Did Braden tell you what will happen if either one of you dies without the oath being complete?”

  “What do you think?” I replied, putting my hands on my hips. “He’s only interested in getting what he wants, not telling me the consequences.”

  He frowned and I wondered why it mattered so much to him. “If you die before he completes his part of the oath, his life is forfeit.”

  “What?” I asked. “So, if I haven’t completed mine and Jack kills him?”

  “Your life is over,” he replied.

  “And if he’s already done with his part and I die?” I pressed.

  “He’s fine as long as he fulfilled his end of the bargain.”

  “Well shit,” I muttered, pulling my hands through my curls. “Sneaky fricking bastard. That’s why he was in such a hurry to fulfil his part. He didn’t want to be tied to my craziness. We need to get him back.”

  Gordon tossed his head back and laughed.

  “This is not funny!” I huffed.

  “Yes it is,” he said, still laughing. “I can see you walking up to Jack and demanding Braden’s release.”

  “Assholes, all of you,” I grumbled. “I need people who love me, or at least pretend to like me.”

  “I now understand why Braden kept you around.” His laughter slowed and I glared at him. “Jack won’t kill him. An elder’s blood is too valuable, but I wouldn’t spread the word about your oath. If Jack gets desperate, he might use Braden to kill you.”

  That was disconcerting. Braden should’ve told me. Now, I was tied to two vampires whose deaths would mean my own. Could my life get any worse? Probably. Gordon could spill the beans. He said he wasn’t fighting against Jack. Did that mean he would join him?

  “So, what’s your plan?” I asked, trying to keep the fear and suspicion from my voice.

  “Like I said, I’ll secure Braden’s holdings.” He shrugged. “Then I guess I better find you before you decide I’m a traitor and kill me.”

  Whew. “I won’t lie, the thought had crossed my mind,” I said, crossing the room to sit next to him again.

  “If you truly intend to free my leader, I’ll stand by you to the end,” he declared. The same expression settled on his wide features, but I couldn’t decide what it was.

  “As much as I dislike your leader, I can’t leave him to be bled dry,” I said. “Not when I made a promise to him that ties our lives together.”

  “Then you have my loyalty.”

  I stared at him, forcing down the lump in my throat. Damn vampires. I thought they were supposed to be evil, soulless creatures. This one clearly had deep loyalties to Braden, and stuff like that didn’t happen without some emotion driving it.

  “Thank you, Gordon.” My phone buzzed on the counter, making me jump. Kellen’s text flickered across the screen. “Let’s get the party started,” I mumbled, then picked up my phone to send a reply to Kellen who waited in the lobby.

  “I’ll find you as soon as I sort out our finances,” Gordon said.

  “I won’t be that hard to find. Just look for the chaos.”

  I tried not to whine or complain as I grabbed my new rolling suitcase full of clothes with the store tags still on them, provided by Braden. He went through a lot of trouble to get me on his side, and I refused to believe that his need to satisfy his masochism was the reason for it. I suspected he knew way more about my father’s magic than he admitted. I also suspected he would make me reveal my own magic to him during our little session. I snorted with disgust.

  Gordon rode the elevator to the lobby with me but didn’t get out. Kellen paced in a small alcove next to the exterior door.

  “Be careful, AJ,” the vampire whispered as the door slid shut, separating me from him.

  “Never,” I whispered back, even though he couldn’t hear me. It seemed like that’d become my motto.

  My partner turned and his brown eyes fell on me. He wore blue jeans and a dark gray dress shirt that was only half tucked in. His disheveled hair and dark circles under his eyes broke my heart. I dragged him half way across the world after he’d been beaten nearly to death. Tears clouded my vision as I strolled towards him. I’d almost lost him the other night and refused to think about it until now.

  Rather than stop and give him the option, I dropped my luggage and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’m so sorry,” I mumbled into his chest.

  He pulled the scarf off my head and tilted my chin to look up at him. “Can we talk somewhere private before going to my uncle’s?”

  “I’d like that very much,” I replied, watching his eyes. Was he mad at me? I didn’t think so. Worry and frustration drifted toward me, along with relief. His emotional barrier was down. Why? Maybe the same reason I hadn’t raised mine. I needed someone to share with.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I choked back my sob. “Physically, yes. Emotionally, not so much.”

  He wrapped me in another hug and I didn’t push away. I craved the comfort of someone who didn’t want to kill me. It felt a little ironic putting Kellen in that bucket, but I did.

  “There’s a hotel around the corner,” he whisper
ed, ruffling my hair. “Hopefully, they have an empty room.”

  I nodded and let him go, pulling the scarf back over my head. My partner frowned, picking up my suitcase and his.

  “I prefer you without the scarf,” he said and started towards the door.

  I disagreed with him, but I wouldn’t say so. Every minute that passed made me wish for my old life. As horrible as I thought it was, my life before magic was so much better than this.

  You don’t believe that, do you? Niyol’s voice echoed in my mind as we walked down the sidewalk. If you go back, you will lose me.

  A smile played at my lips. I never want to lose you or Göksu. You’ve been the best thing to happen to me.

  Then stop wishing for your old life.

  A gust of wind caught my scarf and pulled it away. I tried to catch it, but the end fluttered just out of reach, soaring into the night’s sky.

  “I’m glad Niyol agrees,” Kellen said, stopping on the sidewalk with me. “You no longer need to hide.” His eyes searched mine. “I don’t want you to hide.”

  I stood there, unmoving, afraid of the emotions rolling off him. I didn’t mind his concern for me, but I truly hoped that wasn’t affection or longing.

  “Let’s go,” he said, interrupting the moment. “We have a lot to talk about and I’d really like some sleep.”

  Chapter 2

  My partner dropped our luggage just inside the narrow entrance of the small hotel room. The bathroom door opened just to our right, revealing a single sink and bathtub. The toilet must’ve been on the opposite wall behind the door. One bed filled the room. A double bed, not even a queen. The small night table next to it held a lamp and the only source of light.

  “Wow, no dresser, desk, TV or nothing,” I mumbled.

  “Yeah, I’m glad I didn’t have to pay full price,” Kellen said, still standing at my side just inside the door.

  I wandered into the room and ran my fingers along the multi-colored bedspread. Polyester that might have dreamed of cotton. With a swipe, I jerked it onto the floor. Clean white sheets greeted me, and I smiled.