He shook his head. “You said you needed to train. You said you’d give yourself two weeks. Stick to that. Take your time and be fully set. You don’t want to blow your one and only chance at defeating your grandfather on an ill-prepared plan.”
I wanted to ignore him—especially since he’d referred to that maniacal tyrant as my grandfather—but unfortunately his words had struck a chord. What if he was right? What if I really did need some time before I was truly ready? What if I rushed through and attacked the Elitists but lost? The whole world would crumble…
I fought back a growl and turned to Lilly and Paxton. “What do you guys think?”
Pax shrugged, looking like a deer in the headlights.
Lilly pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes slightly. I could tell she was thinking; I just had no idea what conclusion she was about to arrive at.
Eventually she sighed. “I want to help, and if I’m being honest, I need these next two weeks to train. I probably need more than that, but I’ll take what I can get. If you leave now, I’ll follow you, but I’m afraid I won’t be of near enough help.”
I contemplated her words. “So, you’re telling me you want me to wait, too?”
“Yes,” she said with a small smile. “But I’ll be there no matter what you decide.”
I turned away, staring across the river, across the empty fields, and over at the rolling mountains beyond them. The clouds and the distance lent them an almost dreamlike haziness. It was easy to get lost in your own head while staring at them.
What was the worst that could happen? Nicholai could attack another city—possibly New York—and kill tens of thousands of people.
Then again, maybe he wouldn’t. Now that we’d broken free of the Sect, maybe he’d simply wait for me to chase after him. He wanted me, after all, wanted to kill me and steal my power. So, would he keep moving, keep killing, or wait? Maybe he wouldn’t attack again for a few weeks, anyway.
It was a gamble, one I wasn’t sure I was willing to risk.
Mathematically, thousands versus billions was a no-brainer. If I had to sacrifice one city in order to save the whole world, I should do it in a heartbeat. Ethically, however, it was much more complicated. I didn’t want to sacrifice anyone, except maybe myself and the other demies.
I needed a guaranteed way to keep him from killing any innocents until I reached him. But how?
I suppose I could send him a message, tell him we were going to fight it out, once and for all, winner takes over the world. I could have scoffed at how ridiculous that sounded. Besides, a message like that would give him ample time to prepare, and I didn’t want that.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Holden and Lilly watching me intently as I debated the pros and cons. Neither of them dared to speak in case they tipped whatever delicate balance I’d achieved in my internal battle.
Pax had slipped back underwater and was hanging out amongst the rocks of the riverbed.
I needed more time to think, but if I was being honest, my gut was telling me to wait. I didn’t know if that was some sort of demigod reflex kicking in, if Ida was silently nudging my spirit, or if Holden’s words had just been too true to ignore, but I couldn’t deny my instincts.
I would stay and train for two more weeks—not a day longer—and I’d pray to the gods Nicholai didn’t attack another city in the meantime.
I heaved a massive sigh and nodded. “We’ll stay for the original two weeks.”
Lilly nodded back at me, and Holden looked far too relieved for my comfort. What the hell was in it for him if I hung around a bit longer? Was this some sort of political coup? Was he secretly working with Nicholai and the Elitists? Surely not…
Then it hit me: he wanted more time with me. He wanted us, and now that Cade was out of the picture, he thought he’d have a better chance than ever.
It made me sick to think he was planning to move in on me when Cade’s grave was still warm. What kind of sick bastard uses another man’s death as their gain? And who tries to manipulate a grieving woman when her emotions are as chaotic as ever? If that was the case, he was royally fucked up. It was a big if, though. I didn’t know any of that for sure, so I decided to keep my speculative disgust to myself.
I dipped my head underwater, and the vivid aquatic landscape came to life. This same river ran into Center Allegheny, but it was deeper here, and slower. The bottom was smoother, calmer, and covered in rounded rocks of all sizes and colors. The water itself almost glowed a bright turquoise, despite looking dark green from the surface, and the fish and flora swayed gracefully in the lazy current.
Pax was lying face down in the rocks, snuggling his cheek against the smooth stones.
I rolled my eyes and smiled. “Come on, Pax. Time to get back to training.”
He groaned. “Is that what you decided, then? No suicide missions?”
“Haven’t you had enough of those yet?”
He chuckled and we swam above water together.
Holden and Lilly were already climbing up the bank, the latter having a much easier time due to her control over the Earth, the former slipping around like a fawn on new legs.
“You could help me, you know,” Holden snapped as he lost his balance and dug his hands and knees into the mud.
Lilly chuckled. “And why would I do that?”
Holden raised a brow and shot her one of his famous charming smiles. “I know you think I’m attractive. You haven’t stopped staring at me since we met. The quickest way to get in my good graces is to help me out.”
Lilly’s features morphed from humor into concern. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Here…” She held out her hand. “Let me help you up.”
“Thank you,” Holden said, sounding rather pleased with himself. But when he went to put his hand in hers, she quickly pulled it away and he slipped the whole way down and back into the water.
Lilly laughed hysterically as Holden splashed into the shallows.
“What the hell was that?” he shouted, but since he was already back in the water, he apparently decided to wash the mud off.
Lilly smirked. “You’re handsome, yes, but you’re too cocky. You needed to be knocked down a few pegs.”
Just then, Lilly shrieked, and a tornado of Wind erupted around her.
What the…?
Leaves and vines filled the funnel, giving it an eerie green glow. It ripped branches from the nearby trees, lifted undergrowth from the ground, and sucked in nearby clouds. Even some water from the river was drawn into its storm.
She screamed again from the center of the vortex, a look of terror plastered on her face.
“Make it stop!” she cried, and I instantly turned an accusing glare at Holden.
“What?” he asked defensively. “It wasn’t me!”
“You’re the only Wind here!” I shouted back, using my control over the water to keep me from being completely sucked away by the freak tornado.
“Valerie! I. didn’t. do. it!” His expression was wide open and surprisingly innocent.
Shit. He really hadn’t created the tornado in retaliation.
I shot my gaze back to Lilly, who stood completely unaffected in the middle of the chaos. I couldn’t help but notice that her feet were still firmly on the ground, and her hair wasn’t blowing in the torrential wind. Mine sure as hell was, the white-blonde strands whipping my cheeks hard enough to leave pink streaks.
And then it hit me. A memory flashed before my eyes: me, standing as she was, tied to a stake and surrounded by a blast of electric blue fire and frosty blue ice. It was the moment I’d received my Elemental powers—both of them.
“Lilly…” I began slowly, shouting over the gale. “I think it’s you.”
“What?” she screamed, staring at me like I was a freaking lunatic.
I nodded quickly. “I think Meg chose you as her champion.”
“Valerie, I have no idea what the hell you’re saying!”
I glared at Holden as if it were still, somehow, his fault. “Help her! She d
oesn’t know how to turn it off.”
Holden looked as confused as Lilly sounded, but thankfully he held up his hands and helped calm the raging wind. After a few minutes of struggling, the whirlwind finally died down, depositing a thick layer of displaced vegetation on the ground at our feet.
Mine and Paxton’s hair was a blown-out mess. Lilly’s and Holden’s looked perfect as ever.
“You’re a Wind?” he asked her in confusion.
She shook her head fervently. “No, I’m an Earth.”
This time I shook my head. “No, you’re a demigod. I think Meg, Goddess of Wind, chose you as her champion and blessed you with extra power. She’s a bit of a dick, so she probably enjoyed it when you let Holden fall down the bank.”
The thought made me smile, but Lilly was too busy freaking out, pacing across the grass in between the river and the few trees separating us from the street.
“Oh my god, what am I going to do? How am I going to control this?”
I climbed out of the water and patted her back with a perfectly dry hand. “I felt the exact same way when I got my extra power.”
“And you were terrible at controlling it, too,” Holden added as he scrambled back up the bank.
I thought about pushing him into the water a second time.
“But I had Elementals who helped me,” I continued, ignoring him. “Elementals who controlled the same powers I did and could therefore teach me properly.”
I shifted my sly eyes to Holden, and he instantly tensed up.
“What? Me? You want me to train her? I couldn’t possibly.”
“Why not?” I asked, accidentally putting my nose in the air.
He looked flabbergasted. “Well…for one, I’m the Modernist leader. I don’t have time.”
“And yet you’re here now, shirking your duties and training with us,” I said sarcastically.
He opened his mouth then snapped it shut. “For two, I’m a Modernist…I don’t have extensive experience with using my element in practical ways.”
I put a hand on my hip. “Maybe not in practical ways, no, but as a Modernist, you have an endless amount of experience at taming your element and caging it inside.”
“But…” His features contorted, but he couldn’t seem to come up with a good excuse. “But she’s a jerk. She totally just tricked me and let me fall.”
I rolled my eyes. “You deserved it.”
He glared and refused to concede.
I sighed. “Fine. I’ll call Soren. Maybe he’ll be willing to help.”
Holden’s glare intensified, shifting from stubbornness to what I was pretty sure was jealousy.
“Who’s Soren?”
“An extremely skillful Wind Elemental,” I said honestly, still hoping to rub it in a bit. “He’s one of the trainers for the Revolutionists—the head Wind teacher, actually.”
Lilly waggled her brows. “Is he a hottie?”
I smirked. “Of course. We all are, right?”
“Sweet!” she sang out. “I’m ready for my first lesson. Let’s call him now!”
“Let’s not call him now,” Holden decided, crossing his arms. “I’ll train her.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, testing his resolve.
“Completely. We’ll start right now. Let’s go.”
He brushed past us and strolled toward the cathedral with determined confidence.
Lilly whistled and stared at his ass as he walked away.
“I knew that massive ego of his would get the better of him,” she said, shaking her head.
So did I, girl. So did I.
27
Cade
Voices echoed from far in the distance, sharp whispers I could barely understand.
“…not part of the deal.”
“You don’t make the rules, I do, and right now…”
“But it’s not—”
“You’ll have him when—”
“No. Right. Now.”
“Chelsea! Erion! Come and get your…I don’t want to see…again.”
I cracked my bleary eyes open, and the darkened world spun.
Pain ricocheted inside my skull and unconsciousness threatened to pull me back under, but I fought like hell to stay awake. As the blackness faded away, a light came into view, a fuzzy orange ball that slowly focused into the flames of a burning torch. I blinked and studied my surroundings, but it was difficult to make anything out in the dark. A hard, jagged wall stood tall and strong behind the torch. It shined in the dim light, making me think it must have been wet.
Am I…am I in a cave?
Something in the back of my mind told me I was right, but how the hell had I gotten here? And where the hell even was “here”?
I tried to roll over so I could push up onto my hands and knees, but it was too fucking painful. My whole body ached. Everything hurt. I hadn’t felt pain like that since I’d taken a fireball to the chest.
Had I somehow suffered another similar blow?
I looked down, surprised to find myself shirtless and peppered with cuts and bruises. The yellowing of my skin suggested that some of these wounds were days old, possibly even weeks. Where had they come from? Why couldn’t I remember?
“Ah, I see you’re finally awake.”
The voice was much louder now, deep and smooth, like honey. I would have flinched or tensed if I’d had the energy, but I was having a difficult time even breathing without severe pain. I’d have bet money I had a few broken ribs in there.
Turning, I finally laid eyes on the bastard the voice belonged to. He stood some distance away with his arms crossed. His face was hazy, but I still recognized him.
“Fuck you,” I spat, but my words came out in a slur.
He moved closer, and his lazy smirk came into focus. “Come now, darling boy, you must know you’re in no position to be dishing out threats.”
I said nothing. I wanted to ask what he wanted and why I was there, but I already knew those questions would get me nowhere. If he wanted me to know, he’d tell me. He was cocky like that.
Sighing, he slowly paced the cavern floor, his footsteps echoing loudly off the walls.
My brain pinched. For some reason, it seemed like that wasn’t supposed to happen. I was sure his footfalls almost never made a sound.
“I really had hoped you’d be out of here by now,” he said, feigning disappointment. “Perhaps we overestimated her feelings for you.”
My eyelids squeezed shut. Was he talking about Val? Or maybe Loren? There really weren’t many people who cared about me. I’d made it too difficult over the years.
“Then again, the fact that she thinks you’re dead is probably part of it.”
What the fuck? Val thinks I’m dead? Who would have told her something like that? And why?
“Oh well,” he continued with a lighthearted sigh. “I guess that just means we have more time to spend with you.”
For some reason, my heart raced, and my limbs started to shake. Sweat broke out across my forehead and trickled down my temple. I had a very bad feeling about the words he’d just uttered, like some foggy, suppressed memory was working hard to stay suppressed.
Two more figures entered the cave then, and my heart thundered wildly in my chest. I needed to run, needed to get the fuck out of there immediately, but I couldn’t move. I was too exhausted and in too much pain.
Nicholai smiled, flanked by a man on each side. “Draven and Erion have a few questions for you.”
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving me alone with the psychotic Skyden brothers.
Draven, the darker-haired older brother, sauntered over to me first.
“Where are the other demigods?” he asked. There was no hint of emotion in his voice. No anger, no suspicion, no excitement.
“I don’t know,” I said, speaking for only the second time since I’d awakened. And I really didn’t know. Val and the others could’ve been anywhere. Hell, I didn’t even know where I was. I also had no idea who the other four
demies were. Nik, Meg, Taj, and Eve hadn’t seen fit to divulge that particular info. Assholes—not that it was a bad thing, considering the situation I was now in.
“I think you do,” Erion said, following his brother’s lead and strolling closer to me. He looked so much like Loren. It made me want to spit in his arrogant face.
I tried to call on the Earth, but nothing happened. It was like it couldn’t hear me.
Draven chuckled. “Forgotten again? That’s the fifth time this week.”
“The cave is element-proof, dumbass,” Erion sneered, removing a set of brass knuckles from the pocket of his jeans. “We’re stuck doing this the hard way.”
“I’ll ask you one more time,” Draven said, squatting down so our faces were level. “Where are the other demigods?”
I swallowed hard and braced for the impact. “I…I don’t know.”
Erion chuckled and pulled back his armored fist.
All I could do was close my eyes and wait.
Please, Val. Hurry.
28
No two weeks had ever passed slower.
Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat.
It was almost like the safe house all over again, except this time, I cried myself to sleep for hours on end and dreamed of a place where Cade was alive, where we could exist together in harmony. Waking was the nightmare.
I’d had my shit packed for days: clothes, weapons, food. I’d contemplated having Lilly craft us some armor but immediately nixed the idea when I realized enemy Elementals could use it against us. Fires could heat the metal into melting, causing third degree burns or worse. It wouldn’t affect me since I controlled Fire, but it would hurt my friends. Earths could manipulate it, maybe even use it as a magnet to draw us closer against our will or simply crumble the material away. In the end, it just wasn’t worth the hassle. We would have to use our own means of defense and have faith that it’d be enough.
I hefted my duffle bag onto my shoulder and spun around the empty house, imagining the once smiling faces that had occupied the space. I saw Sienna, Xavier, and Kendrick playing video games in the living room. I saw Dad drinking coffee and watching the local news from his reclining chair. I saw Kale reading a book as he lounged on the couch.
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