“Thank you. I still need to practice, though. We better get started.”
After getting dressed and eating breakfast, we headed into the backyard to practice. I tried to think of ways that I could help Brielle, but I kept drawing a blank. Zane hadn't heard any more new information, so we had nothing else to go on but what he had already told us.
Brielle started by pulling some Earth into her palm as the base of her ball; dirt, small rocks, and sand swirled above her open hand. She called for her Water next, which swirled fluidly above the Earth. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she summoned her Air next, which whirled angrily over the water, causing tiny waves to ripple on its surface. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she strained to keep the opposing elements under control.
“Babe, maybe you shou…” I tried to warn.
“SHHH!!” she yelled back, keeping her focus on the elements within her hand. She summoned her Fire to finish her elemental concoction, which raged furiously on top of all the other Elements. The Elements moved independently of each other, not wanting to taint themselves by touching. Brielle struggled to meld the elements together, but they repelled from one another, disobeying her will. She gritted her teeth in stubborn determination as she continued to combine her elements. She had never accomplished this much thus far, and I knew she wouldn't quit until she passed out. The elements began to pulsate with light as Brielle proceeded in her attempt to merge them together, the display motivating her more. She brought both her hands together, cradling the ball of elements, which now spun wildly and shone with intense light, making the individual elements indistinguishable from each other.
I stood there dumbfounded by the scenario. Brielle was about to harness Akasha, and I didn't know whether I should be afraid or excited. The air around us began to tremble, and in a split second, I was blasted by a blinding light, simultaneously being thrown back by a momentous force. I landed about twenty feet from where I was standing, and I scrambled to my feet, immediately searching for Brielle. She was pushing herself up off the ground as my gaze found her. I sighed with relief and made my way over to her. She smiled as she exclaimed, “Did you fucking see that! That was just…amazing! Was that Akasha?”
I chuckled at her expression—she looked like a little kid at a candy store. “I don't know, but I've never seen anything like it.”
“It had to be! I mean, if it wasn't Akasha, then what the hell was it?”
“Well, whatever it is, don't even think about pulling it into yourself,” I warned. She looked at me and rolled her eyes. “I mean it, Brielle. Imagine what that would have done inside you.”
“I still need to learn to control it anyway. After I do, we can discuss the next step,” she replied.
“As long as the next step doesn't involve pulling that thing into your body,” I remarked.
She sighed, staying silent for a few moments, her face lost in contemplation. Then, her face lit up with unexplained joy. “Hey, you want to take a break? There's something I want to show you,” she said, looking at me expectantly.
“Sure, it would be nice to take a break from your tedious training schedule,” I teased, tousling her hair. She grabbed my hand and threaded her fingers through mine, pulling me towards the beach. We walked along the sand for a mile or so before Brielle changed our course, heading away from the ocean toward the lush hillside in the distance. I hadn't seen much of Avalon, so this scenery was all new to me, and very different from the cityscape of Long Beach.
“There's a bunch of hiking trails through the hillside. There's a special place I want to take you to, if you don't mind,” she said, slightly blushing.
“I don't mind at all,” I replied, bringing her hand up to my lips and kissing the back of it.
We continued walking, and Brielle informed me that the trails ran from our side of the island all the way to the other. Some led to small isolated beaches, while others led to small canyons. Brielle took a trail off to the right, which sloped upward, and I couldn't help but wonder where we were headed.
“So, what is this special place?” I asked.
“If I told you that, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?” She laughed, bringing a smile to my face. I didn't push it since she was so excited about taking me to her special place, and I didn't want to ruin her surprise.
We trekked on the same path for another mile or so before the trail leveled, and a dense group of foliage came into view. We followed the trail, which led through an array of trees, plants, and flowers. The sunlight shone through small gaps between the tree branches, speckling the ground with patches of light.
“We're almost there,” Brielle indicated, but I couldn't see anything outside of the trees. After a few more yards, we broke through into a grassy clearing nestled upon a waterfall.
“Wow,” I said, gazing up to the top of the waterfall. I estimated it was about sixty-five feet tall. “Is there a way to the top?” I continued.
Brielle nodded excitedly, pulling me by the hand towards a steep trail leading up the side of the waterfall. Once we reached the top, we made our way to the edge, peering over into the pool at the bottom. Brielle sat bordering the river that fed the waterfall, looking out over the ocean in deep thought. “This is my sanctuary. I come here a lot when I need to think. Nobody knows about it, not even Kimber,” she said.
I sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her next to me. “Thank you for sharing this with me,” I whispered, resting my chin on her shoulder. I turned her so that her back was to my chest, her body in between my legs, as we sat in silence overlooking the beautiful sea. The sun was high in the sky, its rays glittering like diamonds on the ocean's waves. Brielle leaned her head back against my chest, and I wrapped my arms around hers, which were holding her knees to her chest.
After a few more minutes of silence, Brielle turned her face to me and softly said, “I've never wanted to share this with anyone. Not until you.”
I cupped her face in my hands as I kissed her softly, our lips barely pressing against one another. I leaned my forehead to hers, closing my eyes and letting the sensation of our bond envelop me. It was hard to just sit and enjoy each other back home with everything that was going, especially now that Kiera lived with us. The warmth of our connection was so comforting, and it just felt like home. Brielle was my true home; no matter where we were, as long as she was with me, I would be home. Nothing else mattered. She was my strength, my reason for being, even before we met. My subconscious knew that, connecting us through our mutual nightmare.
Her stomach rumbled, interrupting our peaceful silence. I tried to contain my laughter, but it slipped through, causing a scowl to form on Brielle's face. “Are you ready to go, mi amante? Sounds like you are ready for lunch.”
“Not yet. I want to do something before we leave,” she replied. She moved to the edge, too close for my liking, and I reached out to grab her and pull her back to me, but she moved out of my grasp, giggling.
“What are you doing, Brielle? Get away from there!”
“Do you trust me?” she asked.
“What?” I asked, in stunned disbelief.
“Do you trust me?” she repeated.
“Of course I do, now get over here!” I demanded.
“No, you come here,” she countered calmly.
“Are you crazy, Brie? What if we fall?”
“Just trust me.”
I really didn't want to. Heights was one of my secret fears, and even though this was a small waterfall, it was still tall in comparison to me.
“Please,” she pleaded softly, looking at me with hazel puppy eyes. I scoffed in displeasure as I walked to where she stood.
“Can we go now?” I asked uneasily, the height obviously affecting me.
“Yeah, as soon as we jump.”
“Excuse me?” She did not just say that.
“We can go as soon as we jump down,” she repeated, looking over into the pool at the base.
“I am not jumping! Have you lo
st your mind?!”
“You trust me, right?”
“Well, yeah, but…”
“Then, there's no buts. Jump with me,” she requested as she extended her hand. My heart beat furiously against my chest and my pulse raced as I warred between my choices. I chose to go with my heart, trusting my soul mate, even though my brain screamed that she was crazy and for me to turn around and run back down the incline. I took her hand, intertwining our fingers, and stepped to the edge.
“Ready?” she asked.
I nodded reluctantly. She smiled lovingly at me and squeezed my hand in reassurance. “Trust me, my love. On three—one…two…three!”
We leaped off the edge, falling fast towards what I was sure would be our deaths. After a few agonizing seconds, we splashed into the cool waters at the base of the waterfall. The impact was jarring, knocking the air out of my lungs, but it was also exhilarating. I had never done anything that gave me a rush of adrenaline like that, not even fighting. Our momentum plunged us deeper, almost to the bottom of the pool before we were able to counter it and kick back up to break the surface of the water. We both gasped for air, seeking to refill our depleted lungs. We laughed as we made eye contact, the thrill invigorating our spirits. I felt a burning on the back of my neck that I instinctively reached for. When I found nothing there, I suddenly realized we had just completed our final stage: trust.
Brielle reached for her neck, grimacing before understanding dawned on her face. Then, her face lit up with a huge smile as she said, “Jace, our bond! It's complete now, right?”
I nodded, “Now our connection is at its strongest. We should be able to share our thoughts, and we will feel each other's emotions and pain more. We aren't going to age anymore either.”
She threw her arms around my neck and giggled happily, as we floated in the water. Then, her expression shifted to puzzlement, “Wait—how come I already felt your pain and emotions?”
“You know, I never thought about that. But, I think everything with the One involved is going to be different. Our bond is probably stronger than everyone else's, so maybe that was why we were able to do things before the connection was complete,” I explained.
“And how did you trusting me to jump off demonstrate both of us trusting the other?”
“I think you bringing me here demonstrated your trust since you have never showed anyone else your special place. Then, when I jumped it completed the stage.”
“So, you're mine forever now, huh?”
“I've been yours since before we met,” I answered sheepishly.
“Yeah, that's why you can't remember how many girls you've slept with,” Brielle scoffed.
“Hey, those girls didn't mean anything, but a guy has needs,” I joked. Brielle proceeded to splash me in the face, catching me off guard and effectively flooding my mouth and eyes with water. I coughed out the liquid, then grabbed Brielle and threw her about five feet away from me. She entered the water with a splash, popping back up almost instantly after submerging.
“Oh, you asked for it!' she taunted playfully. Suddenly, I felt myself rising up, a huge wave forming beneath me. It pushed me upward, about seven feet high, then it pushed me backwards, sending me somersaulting into the water. The wave continued to flip me several times under the water before it relented, allowing me to come up for air finally. I choked out water, and then greedily replaced it with air. I put my hands up in surrender as I said, “Okay, okay, you win. But you have an unfair advantage.”
She stuck her tongue out at me before swimming over to where the wave had carried me. As soon as she was close enough, I reached out, and pulled her to me, nuzzling my face in her neck. “I'm going to have to punish you for that later,” I teased.
“Promise?” she teased back, giving me a seductive smile. I didn't reply. Instead, I thought about all of the things I wanted to do to her when we got home. Her mouthed opened into the shape of an “O” and her cheeks flushed cherry red.
“Let's go!” she said, unwrapping herself from around my waist and swimming towards the clearing. I followed her, chuckling from her reaction and enthusiasm for going home. Once we reached the shore, I pushed Brielle up and out of the water before hoisting myself out. She grabbed my hand and started speed-walking back towards the trail. I couldn't wait to play out the thoughts that were running through both of our minds.
It had been a couple days since Jace and I had fully bonded that I tried to harness Akasha again. Not because I didn't want to, but because Jace insisted that I practice controlling my Elements better since I almost blew us up. Whatever.
As I was getting dressed for training, eager to try to harness Akasha after so long, my phone beeped, letting me know I had a text. My phone was lying on the bed, and I scooped it up as I flopped myself down on the comforter. It was from Kimber:
9:12 AM Kimber: Hey, can we come over? It's kinda urgent
9:13 AM Me: Yeah, is everything ok?
9:14 AM Kimber: Be over in a sec
“JACE!” I yelled downstairs.
“WHAT?” he yelled back from the living room.
Get your ass up here now, I told him with my mind. I was still adjusting to dealing with hearing someone else's thoughts along with my own, as well as having someone else hear my private thoughts. I was learning to control what I wanted Jace to know. A girl needs her secrets, right? We were both working on putting up some kind of barrier in our minds, which we added to our daily training schedule. A few seconds later, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. This mind-reading thing did have its perks though.
“So, what did you make me come up here for? You should be downstairs bugging me to go outside and train.”
“Kimber send me a text saying she and Zane were going to come over. They had something urgent to tell us.”
“Of course they do,” he joked sarcastically. “Never a dull moment with you involved.”
“I resent that,” I said, feigning offense. “None of this is my fault.”
“I know, I know, I'm only teasing you,” he said plopping himself down on the bed next to me. He bundled me up in his arms, his warmth wrapping around me like my own personal blanket. Our bond responded stronger ever since we completed the last stage, and it was pleasantly tingling over my skin, causing me to close my eyes in bliss.
“I don't think this will ever get old,” I remarked. “Even for all of eternity.”
“I think you're right. I never thought I would get to experience this with anyone. You have truly been a blessing in my life, mi amante.”
“I don't think you'll be saying that in a few months,” I joked. He chuckled, and his laughter was infectious, causing me to join mine with his.
The doorbell rang, interrupting our joy. I looked at our security feeds on the wall to see Kimber and Zane standing on our porch. I ran down to greet them, Jace following closely behind.
“Hey, what's up,” I asked as soon as I opened the door. I could see the strain in their faces, something obviously troubling them. Fuck, what now?
Kimber hugged me as she said, “Let's go sit down and talk.”
“Don't tell me you're breaking up with me Kimber,” I joked, attempting to lighten the mood. She smiled weakly, probably for my benefit, before I turned to make the way to our dining room.
“What's going on, bro?” Jace asked worriedly.
“Well, I got a heads-up from my contact in the community. They heard that the Elders are planning to summon you and Brielle.”
“So? What's wrong with that?” I asked, confused as to why this would be so urgent.
“You are not exactly popular in the community, Brie. Anyone who even talks about the Prophecy is whipped, so what do you think they would do with the actual One?”
“Well, we don't have to go, right?” I asked, looking at Jace. His stern expression told me otherwise. “Jace, what does this mean?”
“Nothing. We won't be going,” he replied, his jaw tensed.
“You know you can't do that. They
will come for both of you,” Zane said.
“I don't care. I will kill them before they take her!” Jace seethed. “You know what they plan to do to her—you told us yourself. I will not let that happen!”
We sat in silence for a few strained moments before I broke the quiet, saying, “I appreciate you telling us. I don't know the politics of the community, but I'm sure you could get in serious trouble for relaying the information to us. Thank you.”
“No problem. I'm really sorry to bring such bad news, but I wanted you guys to know. We are here if you need us,” Zane offered.
“No, you've done enough. I don't want to endanger you any more than you already are,” I replied.
“I insist, Brie. If you need anything, do not hesitate to contact us. You guys are our best friends. We are with you through thick and thin,” Kimber added.
Jace still hadn't said anything. His emotions were all over the place, ranging from angry to worried, from worried to frustrated, and back again. The one that affected me the most was fear. He was deathly afraid of losing me. His fear choked me, causing tears to pool in my eyes. I didn't want him to see my reaction, so I took a deep breath and willed them back, only a few escaping from my lids. I quickly tried to discreetly wipe them away, but Jace had already seen, and his angry look intensified.
“On a brighter note, Jace and I completed our bond,” I said, changing the subject to something less depressing. Just the thought of eternity with him made me so happy, and I would be damned if anyone was going to take that away from me.
“That's awesome! I'm so happy for you, Brie!” Kimber said, giving me a hug. Zane slapped Jace on the back, pulling him in for one of those weird guy hug/handshake things.
“Well, we better get to training,” I said, standing up from the table. Kimber and Zane followed suit, and I walked them to the door. Just as they were exiting, I thought of something I had been wanting to ask Zane. “Hey, Zane, can I ask you a question?”
Envisioned (The Elemental Prophecy) Page 17
