by Tamara White
So, the prophecy says that a man born of great power will rise to unite the elementals. This man will be born with the power of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, and something never before seen. His mother will be part human and his father pure elemental. He will be the one to reveal to the human’s that elementals exist, and he’ll be the one to destroy the Shaded. In our world, he’ll be the ultimate power.”
There is a bit of silence where I try to process this before Teddy starts speaking again “Evie, we believe that the prophecy is wrong and you’re the one that it’s referring to. It’s the reason that we need to see original recordings. We don’t want the council to meet you yet because if they see you have four elements and lightning, they’ll know it’s you.”
Um. Ok. Not sure what to do with this information. How could a foresight get the gender wrong though? I’m definitely not ready to unite anyone.
Mike
We’re all pretty afraid for Evie when we leave gym. Evie has been quiet since we told her about the prophecy. I imagine it’s a bit of a shock for her. It’s still surprises me that she’s the one. Yes, she’s powerful but ultimate power? I used to think it was all lies told to us growing up to give us hope, but she could be strong enough. Besides, prophecies are rarely ever wrong even if it is about her gender.
We need the original documents sooner rather than later but asking our parents would tip them off and we aren’t ready to deal with that.
As Evie and I walk off to class I ask her “So are you excited for training? I know it’s not as flashy as the other elements, but it’s just as fun.”
“I’m actually a little nervous. I don’t seem to have a problem with the elements but I keep wondering when that will change and if I’ll embarrass myself when it does.”
I feel for her. “We all went through that stage of feeling like our powers would fail us and we’d end up looking stupid. We don’t all start out as pros, we have to train to get better. You’re doing surprisingly well considering what happened on my first time. I was outside with 5 other air elementals and Ky, Teddy, and Dane. I ended up naked so I doubt it could get much worse than that.”
She laughs which is what I had hoped for. I hate to see her worry.
Chapter 23
Evie
I spend most of art class trying to get a vision to draw, but nothing happens so I doodle on paper and plan my dinner with Ky.
I’ve got training with Mike first, then I’m thinking I’ll cook dinner for everyone but just set a table up outside or somewhere secluded so Ky and I will have privacy to talk.
Since I realized Dane and I had bonded, I’ve wanted to talk to the others about completing the bond, but I want it to be special. I want all of them with me for my first time and I’m not sure if they’ll agree to it, so I plan to soften them all up before mentioning it.
After bonding with Dane, I realized I wanted to bond with not just one of them but all of them. I’m not sure how to bring it up with them though because they seem to be trying to go slow for me. Now that Dane and I have bonded, though, I’m hoping the others might be more agreeable.
I wonder how quick a normal bonding happens. Hey, so I was just curious. How long does a normal bonding take? Like do you meet, bond then work on the rest or is it like a relationship that evolves until it happens? I was going to ask Mike, but the teacher keeps looking our way so I don’t want to risk it especially since I’m not drawing today.
Teddy is the one to answer me. Well, it all depends on the situation. If the people who notice the bond feel feelings straight away, then they can form it then, but most do wait a day or two to get to know the other person. You don’t really want to form a bond the same day in case you end up not liking the other person’s personality. Guess that makes sense but still. It’s been four days and I haven’t indicated anything to them. I wonder if they’ll be ok with all of us bonded.
Teddy
I could feel the other guy’s unease at the question about the bonds and thought it’s only fair to give her some answers.
It’s true that we usually form bonds straight away, but that’s because we pretty much know one another or know of one another. Back in our community in New York, you can turn to a person and find out everything you wanted to know about your potential bonded unless they had never been to the community, which is rare but in Evie’s case understandable.
We all walk to the car and I ask Dane and Ky why they were weird about it. “It’s not that we were trying to avoid answering, it’s just that Evie has already bonded with me even if it was unintentional. She was asking because she feels bad for delaying the bonds with the rest of you, and we just didn’t want to pressure her with knowing most bonds are formed straight away.”
“She may feel guilty for not deciding on who to form bonds with especially if she thought it was normally formed straight away,” Ky is climbing into the driver’s seat, and I join him up front while Dane sits in the back.
“Ok, I get it, but we need to try not lie to her. You heard her earlier. She said honesty was important to her and I won’t jeopardize my chance to form the bond because you think she can’t handle the truth.”
Evie is so much stronger than they give her credit for, and one day them doubting her is going to get them in shit.
Evie
There was a lot of tension in the car on the way home, but I’m too excited about my date later to care. I don’t know when I started thinking of the guy’s house as home, but their house does feel where I’m meant to be.
“Where would you like to do our training today Evie?” Mike asks, grabbing my attention.
I get to choose? Sweet. “Can we go to the forest clearing that Teddy took me to yesterday?” It has better cover in case I screw up and I’m less likely to blow the house down.
“Yeah, ok, that should be perfect. I’ll meet you out there in twenty minutes. I’m just going to get something to eat first,” Mike says walking back to the kitchen.
“Ok, I’m going to go and unpack my stuff quickly then. See you soon,” I take off up the stairs and run into Dane. He goes to say something, but I don’t give him a chance before I pull him into my room behind me.
“Evie, what’s wrong? Are you ok?” I don’t answer him I just pull his face to mine and kiss him. I pull back and look up at him “Hi! Sorry for dragging you in here, but I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Dane
How am I supposed to think after a kiss like that?
“Sure, what’s up?” I say trying to act casual, but the hard on in my pants is probably totally giving me away right now. I was not expecting that.
“Well, I decided that I want the bond. With all of you. I just figured since we’re already bonded you could help me. I want to know if you can teach me how to read their emotions. I was going to tell them all tonight, but I want to know how they feel before I say anything.” Evie is watching me with her heart in her eyes.
Shit. I know Ky and Teddy are fully invested in the bond, but Mike has been hesitant about sharing her. If she reads him and picks up on that, she won’t bond with the others because she won’t want to hurt his feelings.
“I can teach you but you have to meet Mike for training. How about after dinner I’ll give you a quick lesson?” I ask, hoping she will leave it be until I have a chance to talk to Mike.
“I guess. I was hoping to read him during our training, but I suppose it can wait. Thanks, Dane. Ok, I have to get dressed now so you might want to leave the room,” she says smirking at me.
“Or I could stay and watch.” The idea of watching her undress is really not helping the situation in my pants.
She laughs at me and pulls her shirt over her head before walking back towards me with her hips swaying. “Are you sure about that? Could you handle watching me get undressed without touching me?” She’s running her hands down my chest and almost at my waist when I jerk back.
I need to get out of here before it goes too far “You’re right. I couldn�
�t stop myself from touching you. I’ll leave you to your training and date, just come find me after,” and with that I walk out of the room and close the door behind me.
Leaning against the wall, I take a few calming breaths. God help me but that girl is addictive. I really need to find Mike and make sure he doesn’t screw this up.
Mike
Dane corners me just before I’m about to go down to the forest for my training with Evie.
“Evie wants me to teach her how to read our emotions so she knows how we feel about the bond. You know I don’t read your emotions on purpose and for the most part I keep them blocked out, but I’ve felt your jealousy. Especially the night you were together in the living room.”
That was a good night. I loved watching her come apart under me.
“But I’ve also noticed you haven’t paid her much attention since then.”
I sigh, “It’s not on purpose. We do still talk, but I just think she finds more time for the rest of you. You can read my emotions if you want, but you don’t need to worry,” I think about Evie so he can tell how I feel about her.
“You love her!” Dane is looking at me stunned “I do to.”
He’s lost in thought, but I have to ask “I thought it was just me. You don’t think it’s too fast?”
“Honestly, I did when I realized how I felt, but after the feelings I’ve been sensing from Evie, I think we’ll be fine. She cares so deeply for us, but she just wants us all to be happy.” He’s smiling while thinking about Evie. I’m sure all of us smile when we think of her.
I’m glad we found someone as caring as Evie. Not many bonded elementals with more than two people can make their bond work because they don’t take care of each other. I was afraid that would happen with us too but Evie is so different and I think being abused by her parents has left her heart open for a lot of love.
“Ok, I have to go or I’ll be late and I want Evie to understand her powers sooner rather than later. I feel she’ll need them soon.” Dane nods and I walk outside to the forest clearing she chose.
Evie is standing in the open space with her head back and eyes closed. She looks breathtakingly beautiful right at this moment. I project the image to the guys otherwise they would regret not seeing her like this.
She’s so beautiful. It’s like the light is coming from within her. Teddy’s right, it’s like a light is shining from within her and radiating along her skin.
“I can feel you, you know,” she smiles before opening her eyes and looking at me.
“Sorry, you just looked so beautiful like that and I didn’t want to ruin the moment.”
She blushes and looks at her feet before looking back at me. “Ok, so what are we doing today?”
“Well, Air is both harder and easier to control. What I want to teach you though is how to form a barrier. It will work as a shield of sorts that will protect you if someone was to try to hurt you. It’s similar to how you absorbed the Earth qualities from the boulder yesterday,” I explain.
She’s thinking through everything I said and I hope I explained it well enough. “I think I understand, but I’ll ask if anything gets confusing.”
I spend the next thirty minutes with Evie trying to form a barrier but nothing much happens. She manages to form a thin barrier but my hand can go straight through it.
“Ugh. This sucks. I feel like I have more, but it’s not working,” she’s starting to get frustrated with the lack of progress when I have an idea.
“Ok, Evie I want to try something different. You remember the day your powers released and Dane got hurt? I want you to imagine I’m Dane and if you don’t put a barrier around me the Shaded will hurt me.” When I feel an influx of power, I worry I used the wrong motivation, but then a barrier forms in the shape of a dome all over the clearing. Evie is looking around in awe.
“Great. See I told you that you could do it. You just needed the right motivation.”
Chapter 24
Evie
As Mike and I head back inside, I can’t help the excitement I feel. I was having so much trouble pulling enough power in to form the barrier properly, but when Mike said to imagine what had happened to Dane, my powers pushed forth as if they had a mind of their own.
Walking inside to prepare for my dinner with Ky, I see Dane walking to the kitchen. I run and jump on his back and clasp my hands over his eyes. “Guess who?”
He laughs and grabs onto my legs “Whoa, Mike, you’ve really slimmed down in the last hour.”
I hear Mike laugh before walking ahead of us into the kitchen.
“Ok, let me down. I need a drink of water,” I wait for Dane to drop my legs so I can get down but he does some complicated twist, and I end up in his arms facing him with my legs still wrapped around him.
“Hi, sweet girl.” He’s smiling so wide at me and I can feel his happiness. I lean in for a quick kiss and he grasps a hand into my hair. I moan into his mouth when his tongue brushes against mine.
I sigh and pull away “As much as I want to kiss you forever, I have a date to get ready for. I’m going to cook dinner for everyone, but I wanted to see if you might want to help me?” I unwrap my legs from his waist and keep myself tucked against him. I just don’t want to let go.
“Yeah, I’ll help cook and I’m going to make Mike and Teddy set up a private area for you, so it feels more date like. Do you want to go up and tell Ky yet? Or do you want it to be a surprise and wait until dinner is cooked?”
I’ve been thinking about this all day, and I think I want to surprise him. I even have a pretty sundress picked out to wear. “I think I want to surprise him. I’d like to get dressed up and surprise him so I’m going to need you guys to help me keep Ky away from the kitchen and my room while I get changed.”
“Yeah we’ve already got it planned out and it won’t matter if he comes in the kitchen because we can just say you’re helping.” Dane and Mike are exchanging cheeky grins.
Awesome. I can’t wait to see his reaction. I’m so glad the others are helping me make tonight amazing.
Kylan
The guys must all think I’m stupid or something. For the last few hours they’ve been keeping me out of the kitchen and the study. I keep hoping I’ll see Evie, but since we came home, I haven’t seen her once. Maybe I should just go hide out in my room until dinner.
Guys, I don’t know what’s going on but I’m going up to my room until dinner. Let me know if you’re finished whatever you’re doing before dinner and I’ll come back down. How much longer could they be?
It’s been about 30 minutes since I started on my homework when I hear a knock at the door. “Coming,” I call out.
When I open the door, I’m blown away. Evie is standing at the door looking absolutely stunning.
“Hi. Sorry for all the secrecy, but I wanted to surprise you. I wanted us to go on a date, but with everything going on I thought we could have the date here. I cooked us dinner and we’ll be eating in the study away from the other guys.”
Wow. I don’t know what to say. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I rarely get time alone with you, and I want to get to know you.” I ask her to give me a moment so I can get changed before following her downstairs.
How did I ever get lucky enough to deserve someone as special as Evie?
Evie
Ky was pretty surprised to see me, but he seemed happy about having dinner with me. He insisted on getting changed before coming down, though, not that I minded.
He was wearing a grey singlet and board shorts, but he changed into a pair of black slacks and a pale blue button up t-shirt. We go down to the study together, and the other guys have already placed dinner on the plates for us.
I made a lasagne and served it with a salad. We both have water to drink, because I still have stuff to discuss with the guys after dinner and I didn’t want them to get drunk and not hear what I had to say.
“I hope you like it,
” I say as he lifts the cover off his plate.
“It looks great, Evie. Did the guys tell you lasagne was my favourite?”
“Yeah. I wanted it to be special. I was going to ask you but kind of thought it would ruin the surprise if I asked.” The guys were understanding when I asked what Ky liked. It was a tie between lasagne and pizza, but we had everything for lasagne without having to make a trip to the shops so it was the obvious choice.
“God Evie, that was amazing! I haven’t had lasagne that good in forever. Don’t tell Dane I said that though because he’d probably get upset,” He winks at me and leans back in his chair.
We sit for a while just chatting about small things. He tells me that Basketball is actually his favourite sport, and he tries to get on the teams when they move. He also tells me the car they have is actually one he helped rebuild himself. It was dropped off at a garage he was working at when he was 16 and the owner gave him the chance to fix it up himself if he was willing to pay for the parts.
“It took 7 months to get it in working condition and another 3 months to get it looking new. That car is my baby.” He really loves his car almost as much as I love mine.
“Would you mind having a look at my car and showing me stuff to keep it running? I love it, but I feel like it’s one drive away from crumbling to dust.”
He laughs at my lame joke “I would love to teach you how to look after your car Evie.”
“Thanks. Do you want to come to the living room? I kind of want to talk to everyone.” I get up and wait for him.
“Not so fast, princess. If this is a date I believe I’m allowed to kiss you at the end of it?”
I smile at him “Of course you should kiss me. It’s what a prince would do.” I go to make my way out of the room when he swoops in and lifts me into his arms. He’s carrying me like a groom carries a bride which gives me just the right height to kiss him. We’re walking somewhere and I don’t want to break the kiss but Ky does for me.
