"So we can reach them," I surmised.
"Cassandra!" Theo yelled, making Sonya jump but the rest of us were used to his outbursts and just cringed. "We cannot proceed with this."
"She's alive, isn't she?" I said evenly.
"In agony," he growled back.
"Are you saying she can't handle a little pain?"
"You think she's in a little pain?" he shot back. "This is not the Isadora I know. She would not allow anyone to see her like this if she was capable. She is compromised."
"Let's see how long it takes her to recover, and then assess our options from there." I had to hope she did recover, otherwise my argument was going to be shot to hell.
"You will not reach for any of your Stoicheio," he commanded. "Promise me!"
I looked into his steely eyes and realised the anger he'd displayed was not for Isadora's painful predicament, but for the potential agony that could befall me. Theo didn't want me on that couch, compromised, suffering, helpless. And he was furious that I still wanted to try something so reckless, despite witnessing the harrowing results.
With each moment that passed, he made me fall in love with him further. Made me open my heart a fraction more to this Theo. To the man he now was.
I still wanted my old Theo back, but I was quickly losing the desire to hold out for him. Theo in any form was too much for my heart to resist.
"I'll wait until she can communicate," I agreed, and saw the tension slowly seep from his body.
"Promise," he whispered.
I nodded back, my chest feeling tight, my throat constricting, all because he was desperate to protect me.
"I promise," I whispered.
"She may be like this a while," Aktor announced. "We should take turns sitting with her."
"Do you wish to move her to one of the bedrooms?" Mark asked, stepping forward as though he would offer to carry her.
"It might be best," Aktor conceded, standing up from his crouch beside her sofa and looking toward Theo for guidance.
"Let him take her to the one closest to here," Theo instructed. "That way we can hear if anything changes." I think he might have meant, if anything gets worse. But I couldn't see that happening. I was quite sure Isadora was not using her Stoicheio right now.
I was praying that she could, though, as soon as she awoke.
"I'll sit with her first," Mark offered, lifting her rigid body up with the utmost care.
Silence stretched between the men. I'd withdrawn when the argument had finished, making my way over to where Sonya stood, wide eyed, watching the saga unfold.
"Do you think they'll let your brother sit with her?" she whispered.
I shrugged my shoulders, checking out my best friend to make sure she was still in one piece. Not that she'd braved the streets, but nowhere seemed safe right now.
"What's he going to do?" I offered. "Three Pyrkagia in the next room willing to lay down their lives for her."
"Three Pyrkagia without access to their Elements," she very astutely pointed out.
"Neither has he access," I countered.
Her big doe eyes came up to my face and she whispered, so quietly I was sure no one else could hear, "Are you sure?"
The shock of her suggestion immediately made me scowl and then the lies that my brother, along with my grandfather, had told me settled over that visceral anger and made it fizzle out.
"You've been spending too much time with Aktor," I said instead of the myriad of other disjointed thoughts pouring through my head.
In the end the men must have decided along the same lines as Sonya, because Nico accompanied Mark as he left the room with a still unconscious Isadora cradled in his big arms.
"Tea perhaps," Aktor announced, almost to himself, but clearly desperate to be doing something.
"I'll get the biscuits," Sonya advised, jumping to do a task that she was capable of. I was well aware my best friend was determined to make herself useful. Unable to wield a Stoicheio or to see one being used left her feeling the odd man out.
Ironic right now, because she wasn't that different from the rest of us. No Stoicheio wielding going on anywhere.
I leaned back against the table where we'd been standing and stared off across the room into the flames in the hearth. The Alchemists who'd been in CERN could still access the Elements, did that have something to do with the way they accessed them, not being born Ekmetalleftis? Or was it to do with the place itself?
Theo strode over, his eyes wary, his body held in check as though expecting me to throw a wild punch or kick him in the shins. I wasn't that aggressive, was I?
"Are you all right?" he asked, rather formally.
I nodded, a half smile on my face. Better to keep him on his toes.
"What do know about CERN?" I asked, making those eyebrows rise up his forehead again.
"Only what the popular public impression is; one I am sure the Alchemists have manufactured. It could all be a ruse," he offered, recovering swiftly from his surprise. "You don't trust him either, do you?" he asked, softly.
I let a long breath of air out, eyes back on the fire.
"I've learned the hard way how trust can be misplaced."
Aktor dropped a cup, shattering the relative quiet in the room. I noticed his hand shook when he bent to pick up the pieces. I closed my eyes and hung my head. It was clear the butler still carried enormous guilt over what he'd done. But how could he? Sonya stood next to him helping clean up the mess. I have no doubt she wouldn't have been if Aktor hadn't done what needed to be done.
Theo's hands landed on my shoulders, his thumbs rubbing in circles above my collarbones. I opened my eyes and looked up into his face as he kept slowly massaging the stiffness away.
"Congratulations," he murmured. "You're officially an Athanatos. Mistrust being our number one tenet."
My eyelids closed again in sadness at that thought. It was not a way to live.
Theo pulled me closer and then wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pressing my cheek into his chest. He kissed the top of my head, inhaling my scent.
"I wonder," he mused, "if you'll obey the rules of history or just forge on despite precedent."
"I do have a bit of wild streak," I deadpanned.
"Oraia," he purred, ignoring the tongue-in-cheek tone of my words. "You are Fire itself."
God. How could I not love this version of Theo?
How could I have been so lucky to have him fall for me twice?
Chapter Fifteen
Let... Me... In
Isadora hadn't awoken by dinner. Even I was beginning to worry. If she didn't come-to soon, I was going to have to break my promise to Theo. The Moreton Bay Fig Tree had somehow miraculously survived the earthquake, and I knew I'd start my attempts there.
Gi had been the first Element to Awaken, it would be the first I reconnected with.
Dinner was a subdued affair. Without being able to connect to the outside Athanatos world, and with the repetitive and rather inadequate announcements on the Civil Defence radio station, we felt extremely cut off and ineffectual. There was only so much tidying of rubble about the place, stacking of provisions and organising a ration system, that you could do.
By the time the sun set and no further Genesis threat had appeared we all decided we'd hit the sack and get as much sleep as we could, knowing tomorrow could bring another disaster. Theo offered to take first watch, with Aktor moving into Isadora's room to keep an eye on her, and Mark being locked out of either duty altogether.
I was up for third watch, after Nico took over from Theo, so I crawled onto the big mattress, covered myself with the blankets Aktor and Sonya had salvaged, and waited for sleep to arrive.
There was no reason to think my grandfather would appear in a dream visit, I hadn't had another Awakening, but as I finally drifted off to sleep I kept hoping that he would. If he was in CERN, he had access to whatever Element he could steal, and might have an answer for us on how we could reconnect with ours.
&nbs
p; I wasn't sure whose side he actually was on. One of the first things told to me when I became a Gi was that the Alchemists were the enemy. Of course, that was laughable when the Pyrkagia and Gi had proven equally as deadly to me. The Aeras not so bad, but quite frightening. I hadn't met a Nero yet, and I wasn't in any hurry.
So, who to trust? I'd chosen to put my faith in Theo. As my Thisavros he was compelled to protect me. Above all else, even his beloved Pyrkagia. Now, he was no longer my Thisavros, and yet I still found myself sure of his loyalty. But my brother, who as family should have gotten an automatic vote? I couldn't decide. And that left me in turmoil.
I knew another Genesis moment was approaching and I felt off centre, powerless, afraid. Not sure if I could trust any advice given by either Mark or Gramps. Not sure we had enough knowledge ourselves to get out of this mess without their aid.
It made for a fitful sleep, and definitely no dream visit. By the time Theo slipped into the bed beside me, in a move that felt more natural than it should have, I hadn't made progress on any front. Still lost. Still unsure. Still scared.
He pulled me close, kissed my forehead, and murmured in a tired voice, "Go back to sleep."
Thankfully with him there the next few hours seemed to be far more restful. When Nico came to wake me for my shift I almost felt whole enough to face Genesis blind, hog-tied and at a definite disadvantage. Almost.
I slipped out from under Theo's arms and legs, catching the smirk on his cousin's lips in the dim light of the candle he held out to me once I was free. We closed the door before he spoke.
"There are fires burning all over the city," he whispered as we walked into the living area. "Some are certainly out of control and no doubt intentionally set. A few have ventured closer in the past hour."
"You think we might have to handle an approaching horde?" I asked.
He snorted. "I'm picturing pitchforks and flaming torches."
Well, I had been.
"I think they'll stay back," he finally said. "Aktor and I placed some traps around the property, but if they get too close, it would be best to wake us all up."
"OK," I agreed.
"How are you holding up?" he asked, eyes scanning my no doubt pale face.
"I've had better adventures."
"Yes," he said softly. "I dare say you've had a few to date."
Silence. He seemed reluctant to go to bed. If Sonya was sharing it, I wondered why he'd delay.
"Has he remembered?" he finally asked and I realised why he wasn't rushing into my best friend's arms. It's hard to get amorous when everything was so upside down and 'round the wrong way.
"No," I murmured.
"But he seems so..."
"Attentive?"
"That's one way to put it. I would have said possessive. Acting like a Thisavros with his mate."
I shook my head. This topic of conversation still hurt so damn much, even with the progress we'd - I'd - made.
"I don't know, Nico. I'm just glad I've got Theo with me at all."
"He's bloody lucky," Nico whispered. "Even if he can't remember why."
"So am I," I ventured. Even if my heart still ached because he didn't remember me at all.
Nico offered a kiss on the cheek and then quietly left the room, leaving me with the candle. I checked the accessways, walked the perimeter of the property, took in the sporadic fires lighting up an unusually dark cityscape from the highest spot I could climb, noting their distances from us for now, and then walked back towards our makeshift home.
Without conscious thought I found myself beside the Moreton Bay Fig Tree, my hand touching the grooved trunk, my eyes following the raised roots. I sat down on one, leaning back against the base of the tree, keeping my eyes on the front of the property where anyone approaching would likely come.
It would have been so easy to reach for Gi and test our connection. The desire to call for it inside my head was so acute. But what if something happened to me, like it did to Dora? I told myself I'd be careful. I told myself I wasn't holding back a blaze for a suspended stretch of time like her. I told myself just one little, tiny attempt couldn't hurt me.
It was wrong. It could be called selfish, because those inside the house were relying on me to stay alert enough to watch over them. But the compulsion was too great, the desperate need to end this, right this, fix this, too consuming to stop me from testing the waters with the tip of my toe.
I sucked in a deep breath of air and whispered aloud, as well as in my head, "Are you there?"
Only echoing silence, which was almost a relief, belying my frantic desire to reconnect.
I dug my fingers into the dirt beside me, between the over large exposed root system of the tree. For a moment I just enjoyed the sensation, the feeling of earth over my fingertips. The smell of the soil as I disturbed it. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, rubbing dirt between my fingers and finding a strange kind of peace.
I'd promise Theo I wouldn't reach for my Stoicheio until Isadora awoke.
I'd promised my Stoicheio they were not alone.
"I'm here," I whispered, not sure if I was projecting my thoughts to Earth or not, just needing it to know I hadn't given up. Just needing to hear me say the words.
The light of dawn found me in the exact same position. I hadn't dozed off, but I certainly hadn't been as alert to my surroundings as I should have. Thankfully the front of the property looked the same, no torch or pitchfork wielding thugs crashing through the now manual front gates.
I rose up to full height and stretched out the kinks in my body, feeling like I had slept a solid night's sleep, despite only being in what I assumed was a meditative state. I did a round of the property, checked the location of the fires that dotted the horizon; none had come close enough to cause worry. As I walked back towards the house I was conscious I'd dodged a bullet. My first watch duty and I had not been at my best.
But nothing could stop the feeling of wellbeing thrumming through me. The lack of exhaustion lifting a ten tonne weight off my shoulders. I practically skipped through the front door and raced down the hallway towards the smell of morning coffee. Aktor already up and about, lighting fires, boiling water and if I knew him, baking bread.
"Morning," I announced, as I walked into the living room. Aktor jumped and spun around from the fire with a surprised smile on his face which slowly turned to an intrigued one.
"Good morning, Miss Eden," he said. "You look like you've had a good rest."
"I have," I declared, grabbing a precious apple from the fruit bowl and taking a bite. "Even though I was on last watch."
Aktor stared at me a minute, then flicked a look towards the open door.
"Cassandra," he started and I stopped chewing because this couldn't be good. "Did you...?"
"Morning," my brother said on a yawn. "Another day in paradise, huh?" he asked, throwing himself into a chair and continuing to yawn.
"Did I what, Aktor?" I asked.
"Nothing, my dear," he said quickly returning to his task.
I watched him for a second and then mentally shrugged my shoulders and crossed the room to sit beside Mark.
"Hey," I said, some of my exuberance diminished at Aktor's strange behaviour.
Mark started chuckling.
"What?" I asked, playing with my apple, but no longer eating it.
"You got some last night, didn't you?" he whispered, leaning forward and offering me a high five.
I stared at his hand and frowned.
"What are you going on about?"
"Sis, you look like a woman well tended."
"Well... what?" I said slowly, beginning to put two and two together.
"So, was he as good as before?" my very obnoxious brother asked. "Or was it your first time all over again?"
"You have got to stop speaking right now," I declared, mortified he'd be discussing this with me.
"In times of war you have to take any chance you can grab for gratification," he declared.
"S
top," I pleaded, trying to cover my ears.
"We could be all dead tomorrow. Live it up, Case," he blithely went on. "If I were you I'd go back for seconds."
"Seconds of what?" Theo's voice asked from the door to the room. I watched as he walked over, bent down as though to kiss me, but instead took a bite of my apple. Which was kind of sitting there doing nothing in mid air by my ear.
Theo fell into the seat beside me, nodding to Aktor and wrapping a casual arm around my shoulders.
"Oh, man," Mark said. His eyes flicking from my face to Theo's. "I guess he really is a prince, huh?"
Oh, good grief. Kill me now.
"Pardon?" Theo asked.
"Well, Casey looks..."
"Stop," I snapped.
"...like she's still floating and you look..."
"Oh, dear freaking God, just stop."
"...like you need to go back to bed and sleep it off. You the man!" my brother concluded, offering another high five.
Silence. You could have heard crickets chirp, if they'd survived the earthquake.
Theo turned bemused eyes towards me, pulling away slightly to get a good look. The bemusement was swiftly replaced with anger and confusion as his gaze scanned my face.
"Tell me you didn't break your promise," he said in an extremely low and ominous voice.
"I didn't break my promise," I replied immediately. A little too quickly for someone meant to be hiding nothing. My efforts earned me a scowl.
"Then why do you look well fed?"
"I.." My mouth fell open as I realised I did feel well fed. I felt like I'd communed with my Stoicheio even though I hadn't communicated with it at all.
"What did you do?" Theo demanded, each word spoken softly and slowly.
All eyes were on me. Even Aktor had stopped breakfast preparations and was watching from his side of the room. Thankfully Nico was with Isadora, and Sonya hadn't risen yet.
Elemental Awakening Book Bundle Page 69
