“Alright, so you remember that woman who tried to attack you in the field a few weeks ago?”
“Of course,” we both say in unison. “What about her?”
“Well, do you remember how I told you that if she was who I thought she was, then she had a friend that was a lightning wielder?”
“Yes,” I say, not understanding her point. “What about it?”
“Do you not see where I’m going here?”
“Oh.” Piero looks at me uneasily and then turns back toward my sister. “You saw that friend out on the battlefield.”
“Bingo,” she says, pointing her forefinger at him. “I’d always thought that what I had heard were rumors, but now I have sufficient evidence to believe them to be true.”
“Would you please stop speaking so mystically?” I ask her, bordering on a yell. “I just want to know what’s going on.”
“I know, Selvyn. But you’re not going to like it, and,” she looks down between us again, “Judging by the way he’s holding your hand, and the way he looks at you, I don’t think he’s going to like it either.
“So, the thing is, she’s part of this… group, shall we say, known as the Tri-force. This group is composed of three individuals that can each manipulate three of the nine elements. I’m blanking on their names, but the woman we encountered in the field that day is part of this group. As you’re aware, she’s able to wield lava, earth, and wind. The woman I saw today has an affinity for ice, lightning, and metal — and unfortunately, I only spotted her for a moment before I lost her, so I think she just popped her head in to check on the battle’s status and then left the city. The third member is supposedly a male that can manipulate fire, water, and wood.
“As you can see, the three of them working together have reign over all nine wieldable elements. Evidently, they work together as a group extremely well. The rumors I’ve heard are that they’ve never been bested in battle and that they kill anyone who tries to cross them.”
Piero looks at her imploringly, willing her to go on.
“But,” I say, “We haven’t done anything to cross them. So why have we now seen two of them in such a short span of time?”
“This is the part you’re not going to like.” She raises her head to the sky and sighs before addressing us again. “The thing is, supposedly, they also kill for sport, and at times have been commissioned to kill individuals deemed to pose a potential threat to them, or others, in the near future. Prestoyan has utilized their services in the past.”
“They’re assassins?!” Piero shouts from my side. He pulls his hand from my grasp and raises both of his into the air. “And that woman mouthed she was here for Selvyn… and I swear I’ve felt her presence once before… she was one of the ones that attacked and almost killed me back in Petalsong Forest. I know it! What the actual fuck?”
“Ah… my sentiments exactly, Piero.” Safeyya looks to the sky. “I wonder what they wanted with you… shit. I’ve no idea. They obviously didn’t know you were the Ice Tune at that point because you only had two sets of ice wings.”
I just stare dumbfounded as the two of them exchange expletives. Why would anyone want to kill me, or him? And who, if anyone?
Piero sits on the floor, picks up a few rocks, and tosses them into the distance.
“So, what are we going to do, Safeyya?”
“For the time being, Piero, you’re not going to do anything,” she says. “I have something urgent I need to take care of with Selvyn. It won’t take but a few hours, and it needs to be done immediately. When we’re back, and perhaps after a few days of rest, I’m going to need you to train him in his ice affinity.” She looks up at me, deploringly. “And I mean serious training.”
I guess I do deserve that look after all the half-assed trainings of the past. But those times are no more.
“What’s so urgent that we need to take care of it now?” Safeyya gives me her hand and I pull her up into a standing position.
“You’re taking me to Kryolen, and we’re doing it now, while there are no guards there. They’re all here in the city for a few more hours.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I want that metal box you found, and I want it now.”
We hear a rustling of leaves behind us, and the three of us turn around. Aislynn walks over to us, pushing herself off Talon, showing us that she can function on her own.
“You’re going to need my help,” she says.
“You’re too weak,” Safeyya rebukes. “You need to go get some rest.”
“Let’s be realistic, Safeyya. You’re not going to accomplish anything down there without me.” She pushes her hair behind her ear and stands straighter. “And, I can rest just fine when we get back.”
Safeyya looks between the two of us, and then sighs, knowing Aislynn is right. We’re going to need a metal wielder if we even want to move the box.
“Can you carry the three of us in your current state?”
I think back to how easy it was for me to create and maintain two separate atmospheres down in Kryolen back when I was dealing with the doirenk. Even though I’m exhausted, I can manage this.
I flex my wings to get some life back into them. “No problem,” I answer.
***
As we reach the center of Kryolen, Safeyya lets out a sigh around the two of us.
“This is insane,” she says. “I can’t believe we’re able to do this. Well, I mean you. I didn’t think you’d also be able to support myself and Aislynn as well.”
“Always the tone of surprise,” I quip. “We’re nearly there.”
The city is just as dark and dreary as I remember. I follow the path I took last time I was down here, and we’re at the Council leader’s residence within minutes. Another moment and we’re hovering in front of the trap door, squished from being so close to each other.
“I can’t see anything, but I can feel it down there,” Aislynn says from my right.
“I think I can be of assistance,” Safeyya says as her hand trembles on my left.
“Be careful,” I say. “If you hit our bubble, it’ll pop and you two will need to hold your breath until I can get a new one up and running.”
She rolls her eyes at my words.
“It’s fine,” she says. “Watch me.”
Her finger lights up slowly. Beneath the trap door, a light appears and illuminates the small chamber.
“It won’t fit all three of us,” I say, “And I’ve already tried going down there and opening it.”
“I can go alone,” Aislynn replies. “Do you think you can expand the atmosphere down there?”
I shake my head in response. “It’s way too confined. I won’t be able to extend this bubble into there and maintain the connection with such limited mobility. But I can make you a new one. Do you think you’ll be okay with that?”
“Sure — I’ll be alright.”
At her words, I repeat the process I used to escape the doirenk and create a second bubble. They cling together tightly in the enclosed space. I tap the merging point with my wind wing and she jumps through the opening. But I don’t close it behind her.
“Aislynn,” I say. “We won’t be able to hear you when we’re separated. You’ll have to mime anything you need to communicate to us.”
“I understand,” she replies. I close the connection with my water wing. Then, very delicately, I descend her bubble into the trap door.
“Safeyya, be very careful,” I repeat.
“I am, but I need to concentrate.”
I watch Aislynn’s metal wings flutter as she tries a few different things to open the box, but it’s not working. She points at Safeyya’s light on the wall and then points to another spot further down.
“She needs more light, a little lower,” I relay to Safeyya.
Aislynn gives us a thumbs-up and tries something again, but I can’t make out what she’s doing. After a few attempts, she throws her hands up frustratingly. She draws a circle in the air
around her with her finger, indicating the bubble, and then points to the box — she wants me to incorporate the box into her bubble.
Easier said than done. I expand the atmosphere, but I’m not able to get underneath the box completely. I try to signal this to her, but I’m not sure if it comes across correctly.
She grasps the top of the box and tries to pull it open, but is unsuccessful. With one hand, she holds the lid and tries to fly upward, but that doesn’t work either. She shrugs and bends at the knees, then flaps her metal wings and tries to lift the entire box from the base.
It works and she’s able to get hold of it, but water rushes into the bubble from the bottom and I’m only able to seal it just as it reaches her head. Aislynn looks up to me with a ‘what do I do’ expression, and I just hold my hand out, trying to signal to her not to move. I use my wind and water affinities together to increase the air inside the atmosphere while simultaneously expelling some of the water through a process similar to osmosis, though with this process it’s not a fifty-fifty split.
Some water remains from her knees down, but there’s nothing I can do about it for now. I raise her back up to our level and meld the two atmospheres, creating a space for her to come back into ours.
“Sorry about that, not what I expected to happen,” she says sheepishly as she finishes pulling her legs out of the water. Free of the second bubble, I’m able to relinquish my focus on it and allow nature to resume its course.
“What happened?” Safeyya says, taking her mind off her affinity.
“I’m not able to open it,” Aislynn says, regaining some semblance of composure besides us.
“Why not?” I ask.
“I’ve no idea. Look —” She tries to open the box, but again to no avail. “But at least I was able to pick it up. Now we can take it back with us.”
“Alrighty,” I say. “Let’s get out of here; this place gives me the creeps.”
The two of them nod in agreement. It takes me a few minutes to maneuver us back out through the front door and up toward the surface of the Forbidden Lake. Once we reach the surface and we crawl back onto dry land, the three of us shake off the water and then look at the box dejectedly.
“What are we going to do with it, Safeyya?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” she says, twisting her hair into a braid to release some of the water that accumulated in it. “But we’ll think of something soon. In the meantime — Aislynn, do you want one of us to carry that home? You’re still weaker than the two of us right now.”
“I’ll be alright” Aislynn says. “The metal will be lighter in my hands than it will in either of yours, but thank you for the offer.”
We make it home in record time and are greeted by Aethyr and Piero in the garden.
“What is that?” Piero asks me. Safeyya told Aislynn and Aethyr about my trip down to Kryolen, so both of them knew about this, but he has no idea what we’re getting ourselves into.
“It’s a chest of secrets,” Safeyya starts, as we place the chest on the floor of Aislynn’s room. “It belongs… belonged,” she corrects herself, “To the Council of Kryolen.”
“I see,” he retorts.
“So,” Aethyr speaks up awkwardly, “What’s inside?” Seems like he’s still not okay with what happened earlier today, nor being left out of this.
“We’re not sure,” Safeyya answers. “Aislynn was unable to open it.”
Everyone stares at her bleakly, expecting some sort of explanation as to why a metal wielder is unable to open a metal box.
“I don’t know why,” she says. “So stop staring at me. I’m as at a loss for words as the rest of you. What I will say is that I’ve been successful in cloaking it — so no one else will know that it’s here.”
“And now?” Piero asks.
“And now, we sleep, and think about it tomorrow.” Safeyya yawns and stretches her arms over her head. “We all need to recover from the stress and exertion of the day’s activities. Goodnight, Selvyn.” She nods encouragingly to my sister and brother. “Goodnight, Piero.”
We say our goodnights to each other and Piero and I make our way over to my room. Alone. I’m suddenly aware of this fact on an extreme level and become self-conscious of my personal space. I haven’t shared it with anyone before — but I know that I’m ready to.
“Do you want to sleep here?” I ask him.
He rubs my shoulders affectionately as he looks into my eyes in the mirror.
“I don’t know, I don’t want to overstep any boundaries. Are you sure you’re comfortable with me staying the night?”
“Yes,” I mumble. I realize I’ve never even been close enough to someone to introduce them to my family. After what we’ve been through today, I’m so happy to grasp that I already feel comfortable with Piero being a part of the discussion with my siblings.
“I’d really like you to stay,” I continue. “I’m exhausted, a whole lot of shit happened today, and I think it would be nice to wake up next to you tomorrow morning.”
He smiles into the mirror and rubs his cheek up against mine, before tilting his head and kissing me on the temple.
“I’d like that too.”
I can’t help but smile back, and I see a tinge of blush creeping into my cheeks as we look into each other’s eyes in the mirror.
“I’m going to go wash some of the craziness off, and then I’ll be ready for sleep. I have something you can sleep in.” I point toward the top dresser drawer as I head off into the lavatory. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
I close the door behind me soundlessly, elated. I didn’t know that being involved with someone could feel this gratifying.
I hear him rummaging around the drawer for a moment, and then the noise stops. I don’t hear the drawer close, and the silence flummoxes me. I peak my head out of the door and see him staring at a piece of paper, or what looks like paper.
“Is everything alright?” I ask him.
“Sort of,” he says, not looking at me.
“Piero?” I say. “Are you thinking about the Tri-force too? I’m worried about them.”
His head snaps up. He looks dazed.
“Where did you get this photograph?” He turns the paper around. It’s the photograph I found in Kryolen and took home with me. The one with the dual wood wielder who seemed to be separated from his family.
“I found it in Kryolen a while ago. I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to that man, so I took it with me. I haven’t thought about it much since then.” He stares at it for a moment longer. His eyebrow arches and his eyes widen in shock. “What’s going on? Do you know who that is?”
He places the photograph face down on the dresser and walks over to the window ledge. He takes a deep breath and looks over at me.
“That’s my father.”
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Acknowledgments
I’d like to start off by thanking my mother, Susan, for believing in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. Not only that, but for raising and nurturing me, accepting me, and for putting up with me through all the tantrums and nonsense I went through before becoming an adult. Thanks for being the first person to read my book and to show faith, even when it was only five chapters and a lot of ideas, and I didn’t know I would finally fucking finish something I started. I could never have accomplished this without you.
Thanks to my father, John, who will never get to read this, for all that you did, and for keeping a roof over my head. Even though I didn’t grow up in the way you had imagined for me, I
think you would have been happy with this. And thanks for trying to understand me.
Thanks to my sister Arielle, who has showed me that sometimes you just have to do things on your own, but also for knowing when to ask for help. Thanks for being an inspiration to LGBTQ+ youth, even though I may not understand a lot of the stuff you do. As my protagonist is gay, I think this is my way of trying to do something similar.
Many, many thanks to my editor, Paul Ryan from Fiverr. Doing this alone has proved to be more time-consuming, and also crazier, than I anticipated. I cannot count how many times I self-edited before reaching out to you, and I am glad that I did. Thanks for all the comments, corrections, and suggestions. You truly helped me get the book to where it is now. I could not have finished this without your help.
Many thanks to my cover designers — Humbert Glaffo (white background) and Benjamin Roque (sunset background). I was extremely hesitant about this entire process because I was afraid I would be unable to find the right cover for my book. I went to the 99designs website after a suggestion from Ellina Litmanovich (thanks Litmanovich!), and was so impressed with the quality of work I found. I liked both of these designs so much that I decided to go through with two cover options. Between the editing and cover design, I was wary of doing this on my own. I am very grateful that I found the two of you! Between you two and Paul, I think that I made the right decisions.
Many thanks to my friends Stephanie O’Neil, Jennifer Rosati, and Suzanne Sherbell.
Suzanne, lady, thanks for starting to bring me out of my shell within the first thirty minutes of meeting you. Or, as we quote, “Are we getting out of bed today Camille?” Well, lady, I can definitively say that Camille has gotten out of bed. We may not now be where we were a few years ago, but you have left a lasting impression on me that I will always appreciate and treasure. Now put the camera away and say goodnight, Gracie.
Underestimated Affinities Page 24
