"What the hell?" Isadora shouted and then promptly started convulsing on the ground.
I only had a second to think, Oh, God. What have I done? when those last few stick-like trees left standing burst into flames and licked the storm tossed sky.
Earth, Air, Water and now Fire. I'd outdone Genesis. And if those stars in the sky were Aetheros bearing witness to my idiotic attempts to return Aktor's Pyrkagia then I'd just delivered the whammy of Elemental packages for the imbalanced world to endure.
I staggered to my feet, even as Theo tried to reach out for me, lifting my hands up to Aetheros and pleading for it all to end.
"Stop!" I shouted. "Enough!" I screamed. My hands flung wide, my eyes blazing green and gold and white and ice blue. I could see the colours reflected against the rain, making the droplets into crystallised gems; emeralds, topaz, diamonds and sapphires.
If I wasn't so scared and so desperate for it to end and feeling so freaking guilty about starting this horrendous disaster, I would have appreciated the beauty before me. The stunning glory of the Elements on display. The awesome power they wielded when joined together. The tremendous awe they forced you to feel.
Weighted with a terror that stole all cognitive thought.
Alone they had been stupendous. Combined they were simply monstrous in a stunning way.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, my chest hurt with every single breath I took. Time seemed suspended, in an otherworldly stretch of pain. I could feel Earth's cries for help. I could hear Air's screams of fury. I could sense Fire's hiss of agony. I could taste Water's bitter torment.
I was surrounded by Quintessence's stunned reverence.
My arms lowered on registering that last. My brow furrowed as the ground slowed its roiling and bucking, the wind quietened to just a caress, the rain tempered itself until it was no more than a light drizzle, and the flames on the trees that still burned settled into a warm glow.
Silence filled the air, eerie and unnatural. No birds sang. No people called out in wonder at the storm that had miraculously occurred.
No one on Mount Victoria, staring up at me from their fallen positions on the ground, uttered a single word.
What the hell had just happened?
I glanced over at Isadora, who was sitting up with Mark's help. She looked wet and bedraggled, but otherwise unharmed. The rest were the same.
Or at least I thought they were until Nico lifted his hand and the most wonderful thing happened. Fire licked from his fingers, dancing across the tips as though delighted to be returned.
I spun to find Theo, he was looking up at me still with that look of shock and maybe awe on his face, but I think I was wishing for that last and it was probably more a healthy respect and fear for what I had just done.
I opened my mouth, unsure what I was about to say, when Aetheros spoke.
Aether. Oh, my Aether. The first hurdle has been climbed. The long road ahead waits.
And then he was gone, the stars in the sky disappearing, the dazzling display of twinkling lights snuffing out. And replacing the wind and rain was the sun. The trees were just smoking now and the ground was solid beneath my feet.
I turned around slowly and looked out over a devastated Wellington city, feeling numb.
Theo's arms wrapped around my body, and they were more welcome than I would have thought when I'd been feeling so lost and alone and discombobulated right then.
I'd caused an even larger catastrophe than Genesis.
I'd possibly killed thousands. Ten of thousands. Oh, dear freaking God, maybe more.
I turned into his chest and let out a silent scream of agony, somehow managing to hold my tears inside.
"Cassandra," Theo urged. "Oraia," he pressed. "Why are you so distraught?"
I pulled back, breathing heavily, and stared up at him in shock.
"I did this," I cried. "I made this happen. It's all my fault."
His smile was unexpected. The laughter rumbling through his chest was so not right. Then Aktor and Nico joined in, making me feel like I'd missed something, and Isadora, the bitch-cow, walked over, eyebrows arched, superior look on her face.
"Gi," she said, her favourite way to talk down to me; Gi being a derogatory term in her mind. "I have my Pyrkagia back."
"So do I." Nico confirmed what I had witnessed only moments ago, a wide grin on his face, gold blazing from his eyes. "We owe you our sincerest thanks."
"What?" I said, ineloquently.
Theo turned me to look at him, lifted my face up to his with tender fingers under my chin.
"I don't know how you did it, but Casey, you returned everyone's Stoicheio and I'd hazard a guess it wasn't just here in Wellington."
"What?" I repeated, dumbfounded and sensing a burgeoning swell of hope.
"That was quite an event," Aktor offered. "The epicentre was definitely you and the waves of your power rolled out in all directions."
"Probably still are," Mark added. "They didn't look like they were ready to stop."
Everyone was smiling at me, including Isadora, which was rather hard to take.
And then Theo said, "I think you halted Genesis. I think you did it." He pulled me close, hugged me hard, kept laying kisses in amongst my hair.
Then Aetheros' words came back to me, tempering the elation with a cold dose of reality.
The first hurdle has been climbed. The long road ahead waits.
Maybe I had stopped Genesis. But I hadn't balanced the world yet.
I glanced over Theo's shoulder and took in the sight of a bruised and battered city, noting the few humans that had crawled out of their hiding spots and were facing the new day.
And despite the realisation that we weren't yet done, hope continued to expand inside.
If we could survive this, we could survive anything.
At least, I prayed we could.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Dance With Me
Come dance with me, Aether.
The words woke me in the pitch black of night.
It took a moment to register where I was, why I'd awoken. Then it all came rushing back. We'd made camp on top of Mount Victoria. Away from the recovering city, but close enough to be reminded of what we'd overcome. Aktor confirming there was indeed hope, having made contact earlier through Fire with a friend in Pyrkagia, letting us know my balancing act, the storm-filled Stoicheio blast, had reached at least Auckland. Probably further afield as well. Despite that hope, though, we all knew there was more to come. Genesis was, after all, just the beginning.
Dance, Aether.
I sat bolt upright in our little tent, feeling the chill air coast over my bare arms, and shook my head trying to dislodge the panic that had taken root inside.
"What is it?" Theo murmured, eyes blinking up at me, from our shared sleeping bag, as he came fully awake.
Come dance.
Nero. Water was calling me, but I knew it hadn't Awakened. And I was sure, somehow, that the voice was not actually the Element itself. But the same voice that had called to me earlier.
Come, Aether.
I thought, perhaps, that it might have been a variation of Aetheros, but the longer it went on and with the absence of stars in my mind, I knew the god had retreated again, letting the cards fall where they may. I turned and looked down at Theo. Knowing everything was about to change.
We'd just spent a celebratory night with our friends in front of a fire. Followed by a glorious few hours in each others' arms. Unable to deny the longing we had for each other, that had never diminished, only grown stronger. Become more in spite of the hurdles, despite the agony along the way. I'd welcomed his arms and his body around me, over me, inside me, as he'd made love to me so gently, so reverently, so beautifully.
A celebration of life. Of survival. Of winning this battle and enjoying the moment before we went on to fight the rest of the war.
And as we'd both come together, Pyrkagia dancing across our feverish flesh, our delicious moans swallowed b
y our hungry lips and tongues, our tingling bodies gliding against each other, sated and complete, I'd known, no matter what, I was not alone anymore.
Battered and bruised, but not broken. Frightened and sorrowful, but not without hope. Theo was my guiding golden light amongst a dark world that had been beaten most mercilessly, and still had more to come.
Aether.
And the more to come had just arrived.
"Someone's here," I whispered, leaving blissful memories where they could be treasured but never forgotten. I watched the sleep leave his beautiful eyes on my words, then he immediately reached for my sweatshirt and handed it to me.
"Any idea who?" he asked, as we both donned more appropriate outdoor clothing.
I shook my head. Unsure if my guess was right or not.
We climbed out of our two-person tent, emerging into a moon bright night strangely devoid of stars, immediately turning our attention to what awaited. The owner of that tantalising voice.
A figure stood looking out over what was left of Wellington city. His back to us, arms clasped casually behind him, attention riveted on the decimation that lay below.
How the hell had this man made it to the top of Mount Victoria? He had to be related to the Nero, what with that voice, but where had he come from? Had he always been here in Wellington and we'd just not known?
I started walking toward him, drawn inexplicably to the stranger who continued to keep his back to us, as though we simply posed no threat at all. I felt Theo fall into place beside me, shoulder to shoulder, his body rigid with distrust, but my eyes were all for the shadowed figure.
The man did not look toward us, just kept his steady gaze over the destruction below. He had a strong jawline, stubble smattering along high cheeks, a nose that hinted at his Greek ancestry. Deep auburn hair that was cut short and surprisingly modern, and skin the colour of rich clotted cream, with eyes that shone ice blue, lighting up the sky.
He was magnificent, and power rolled off him in gentle, soothing waves. Stroking my arms absently, reminding me of the seaweed that played beneath the ocean, dancing with me within its arms.
Definitely a Nero.
"Who are you?" Theo demanded. I heard stirring in one of the tents at his raised voice. I couldn't look to see whose, my eyes wouldn't leave the strange man.
I was a little disconcerted that he elicited that type of response. As though he was a tantalising mystery I just had to solve. No matter what I tried, I couldn't look away. And then he spoke and reached right inside me and I knew I was trapped.
You know who I am, the voice, his voice, replied in my head, and looking at the surprise on Theo's, it had also resounded in his.
"You're a Nero," I surmised, voicing my earlier thought.
Not just any Nero, he offered, still whispering warmly inside our minds.
"A prince?" I asked, and Theo sucked in a breath of air, moving forward to block me. Placing himself between me and the man.
"The Nero Rigas," he hissed and the man smiled, finally turning to look at us both.
"Yes, Prince of Pyrkagia. I am their King." He turned his stunning frost blue eyes to me. "And I have come a long way to find you, Miss Eden."
"Why?" I blurted, as Theo growled low in the back of his throat.
The King's smile broadened, humour at Theo's reaction evident in his extraordinary eyes. "You are Aether," he said, not bothering to address Theo anymore.
"What do you know of Aether?" I demanded.
"I know, Miss Eden, that without Nero you will not succeed."
"It will happen," Theo pointed out and I nodded agreement. My Awakenings always happened, sooner or later.
"But not Nero," he smoothly replied, eyes still on me.
I wasn't sure what to make of this man. He was omnipotent, that was obvious. Beautiful and regal, just like Theo. But there was something hidden behind that mesmerising ice blue in his eyes. I couldn't name it, but I was wary of it.
"It will happen," I repeated Theo's words, refusing to show any fear before this stranger.
His smile turned intrigued, with a dash of wicked. I racked my brains for what Theo had told me of the Nero. Unlike the earthy Gi or the playful Pyrkagia or the strange Aeras, the Nero were considered welcoming, like a warm bath, or a spring shower.
I wasn't sure this man was welcoming me. I wasn't sure what he was doing.
"Did you not feel Nero attempt to reach you?" he enquired pleasantly. "When you swam with its children?"
Swam with its children? I guess he meant the crustaceans and sea creatures that mournfully called beneath the waves. And, of course, the seaweed that stroked tantalising fingers all over my skin.
"It's too soon," I advised, the only thing I could think of to say.
Because I had felt it. The moment too personal, too invasive to be anything other than that. Every Genesis episode up until then had barely touched me, I'd been protected in a bubble and left quite safe. But Water, when it had struck, simply pulled me, tugged me, called me to it. And I'd been unable to turn away. Like an Awakening.
"Child," he said, voice gentle, and somehow his use of the term "child" made Theo almost relax. "You missed your Awakening. You lost your chance. Aether you may be, but without Nero you will not succeed."
The repetition of those last words felt ominous. And a little too real. My disquiet aided by the fact that Theo swore softly in Greek.
Oh dear freaking God, Theo agreed with this man.
"I tried," the King went on. "I called to you, I invited you to dance. But you did not accept my invitation."
"How did you do that?" I queried, thinking he shouldn't have had access to his Stoicheio right then, when the rest of the Ekmetalleftis did not.
"I had assistance," he murmured, his eyes boring into mine. "An old friend, you could say."
"Who?" I pushed, unsure if I could trust a word of what this mesmerising man was saying.
"A friend who taught me to believe," was his reply, and I felt myself sway.
Theo steadied me as the King watched on, a type of understanding on his face which made his features soften, from the austere brilliance he'd displayed, to something almost human.
But he was not human. Neither was I.
And neither was my grandfather, an Alchemist who would have known how to protect his Stoicheio from Genesis and could have shown this King as well.
"What do you want?" I whispered.
"What your grandfather wants," he whispered back.
"Casey," Theo warned quietly beside me.
I ignored him, this was too important. I struggled to remember what exactly Gramps wanted. In the end he was against the Alchemists, imprisoned in CERN, trying his best to keep me out of their clutches. Did that mean I could trust this Nero Rigas?
"What do you want with me?" I pressed further. His presence here was not just to warn me, to point out a failing in the series of Awakenings I'd had. He wanted something more. Why else risk facing Theo, a Scout leader and prince of Pyrkagia? I had a feeling the Nero King knew Theo would be here. He'd not shown an ounce of surprise at his presence or his behaviour. Only mild humour and what appeared unending tolerance.
"To help you, Miss Eden," the King offered. "To call forth your Nero before it is too late."
"How?" I asked, dreading the answer, and conversely already knowing we'd have to accept whatever help this man could give.
Wellington lay destroyed beneath us. Auckland, my home, just the same. The world lay in tatters, the Elements still imbalanced, and I'd known, dear freaking God, I had known, that I was missing something. Unfulfilled. Incomplete. Not yet done.
How could I fight this if I wasn't a full Aether? How could Quintessence come to me, if I was missing Nero?
The answer was simple. One would not come until the other was already Awake.
The Nero King held out his elegant hand to me in invitation, palm up and open, ice blue shining kindly from his eyes. Theo started to growl again.
I flicked a glan
ce up at my Thisavros' face; hardened Athanatos mask in place. But underlying it all was a fear so great I felt it. Visceral. Real.
"Theo?" I asked uncertainly, turning fully to face him.
"Now or never, Miss Eden," the Rigas urged.
We both ignored him as Theo pulled me further away to talk. I could see the calculation in his eyes now, the politician working through the information and determining what needed to be done. Part of me had already decided this was an avenue we had to pursue.
And part of me was so frightened Theo would agree. Where would that lead us?
Out of the corner of my eye I noted Nico and Aktor watching from beside the remains of our camp fire. Two men who had sworn allegiance to me. Having them present improved my mood. How bad could this get with three powerful Pyrkagia watching?
I wondered where Mark was. Still asleep? Maybe he knew this man if Gramps did. I wanted to ask him, but time was not on our side. And calling out to him in the thick air that chilled our bodies seemed harder to do than it should have. So much was happening. So quickly. I felt the ground shift beneath my feet and my body begin to fall.
"As much as it pains me," Theo whispered, interrupting my disjointed and turbulent thoughts. "I think he may be telling the truth. But Casey, you cannot trust him. He is an Athanatos. A powerful Ekmetalleftis." He closed his eyes and let out a ragged breath of air. "We go together," he suddenly advised, making my heart clench and my eyes sting with tears. "You need your Nero Awakening," he added. "Without it," he looked over my shoulder at the death and destruction Genesis had wrought, then golden hued eyes swept back down to meet mine, "this has all been for naught."
He was right. I had to take the chance that the Nero Rigas spoke the truth. Because not to trust could mean the end of the world. Even if Genesis was over, I knew there was more to come.
I nodded and opened my mouth to say something, when the King began to glow an ethereal ice blue, his large body vibrating slightly, ozone and fresh sea breezes on the air.
"My borrowed power is waning," he called towards us. "Without me, you will never find the Nero Pyrgos."
Elemental Awakening Book Bundle Page 80
