Air: Elementalist Book 1

by Rebecca Wolf

  “Wow” was Penny’s only response.

  “Wow is one way of putting it.” I agreed.

  We were quiet as we thought. My brain kept feverishly trying to think of possibilities, only to discard them as heavily flawed. It was too late to run. He was expecting me to run. The surveillance guys were an obvious warning on that front. I needed to do something he wasn’t expecting. I needed an ace up my sleeve. The more I thought about it, the more I resigned myself to the one solution that filled me with both surety and dread. I needed to call Aiden.

  Damn it.

  And then I realized, to my horror, that I didn’t even have Aiden’s number. I never needed it before now. This was going to be so many levels of embarrassing.

  I called Sam up on the phone. He picked up on the second ring, his familiar voice a balm to my shredded emotions.

  “Hi Zephyr! Its so good to hear from you, sweetie!”

  “Hey Sam!” I said trying to muster up a cheerful tone, “how’s your retirement going?”

  “Fantastic!” Sam said enthusiastically, “I can’t wait to show you the pictures! Just me and my boat and the great blue ocean. The occasional beach town visits dotting my travels. I can’t believe I’m finally living my dream!”

  “Wow, Sam, that sounds amazing,” I said, swallowing back salty tears.

  “Did you need something Zephyr, or is this just a pleasure call because you miss me?”

  “I DO miss you, Sam,” I said sincerely, “but I was also wondering if maybe, you have Aiden’s number?” my voice rose warbling at the end with nerves.

  “That boy hasn’t flaked on you, has he?” Sam asked sternly.

  “Oh no, nothing like that,” I reassured him quickly.

  “Good.” he said succinctly, “because I would come back there and whoop his ass if I needed to.”

  “Everything’s fine Sam, I just need his number,”

  “Alright, alright, Let me see if I can dig it up,”

  There was some fumbling noises and then quiet for about ten minutes.

  “Zephyr? You still there?” Sam asked finally.

  “Yeah, did you find the number?”

  “I seem to have misplaced my address book in one of my random paper piles. Want me to call you back if I find it?”

  “You didn’t save his contact in your phone?” I asked incredulously.

  “You can save contacts in your phone?” Sam exclaimed in disbelief.

  “Never mind Sam, I’ll show you how to do that when you get back. I Have to get going now Sam! I'm so happy to hear your finally enjoying yourself. Have a great time! Love you!”

  “It was wonderful hearing from you Zephyr! Love you too!” he hung up. I shook my head quietly to myself. This situation kept getting worse and worse.

  Penny looked over at me with pity, “I take it, that was a dead end?” she said sympathetically.

  “Yup. He doesn’t even know how to save contacts in his phone.” I said, “It boggles my mind how he functions in today’s day and age.”

  Penny shrugged, “well, you can always call Aiden’s family business,” she suggested, “he probably has an office there.”

  “I just don’t think they’ll put me through,” I hedged.

  “It can’t hurt to try.”

  I shrugged. It actually could hurt. But my pride was already trampled, one more beating wouldn’t make a difference at this point. And if he didn’t answer well, that would be it then.

  Penny handed me her phone with his business’s number.

  I dialed and waited until the receptionist answered. “Ember industries, how may I direct your call?” she said with polished fluency.

  “Yes, hi, can you please put me through to Aiden Ember?”

  “Who might I say is calling?” she asked.

  “Zephyr,” I replied.

  “Is he expecting your call?” she inquired, suddenly sounding a little more chilly

  “Um, no...” I said, feeling uncomfortably unsure. Goddamit, where was my backbone?

  There was a tangible pause.

  “One moment please,” she said.

  Elevator music played. A few minutes passed. This was such a bad idea. I should hang up now before he has the chance to pick up. Not that he would pick up. Even if he WAS there, which he probably wasn’t, I had told him never to contact me, and now I’m calling him expecting him to answer? What am I doing?? I was about to push the end button when I heard his voice on the line.

  “Yes?” he inquired.

  “Aiden this is Zephyr,” I said, trying to figure out how to begin this conversation.

  “Yes, I am aware of with whom I am speaking,” he responded.

  “I, uh, I have reconsidered our relationship, and after some deliberation, I have decided that I would like to pursue an alliance with you.” Shit. I had the sudden realization that I should have written this entire conversation out before calling, instead of winging it like an idiot.

  “I see.” was all he said.

  There was a pause.

  “So, are you still interested?” I asked while wondering if I sounded too desperate.

  “And what brought about this change of heart?” he asked voice as cold as ice. “It was my understanding just a couple of days ago that you wanted nothing to do with me.”

  Does he know about Jonathan? I thought wildly, how much should I tell him about my situation?

  “Can’t a girl just have a change of heart?” I asked hopefully.

  “Cut the crap, Zephyr, or I will hang up the phone, and then where will you be?”

  Well, that answered that question, I thought sardonically. Apparently he knew enough.

  “I need this alliance with you to protect me from Jonathan Cole,” I said, dropping all pretense.

  “What’s wrong with Jonathan Cole?” He asked pleasantly. “He seems a nice enough man, and his family is very philanthropic from what I hear.”

  I sucked in a breath. That was a low blow. I wanted to hang up on him so badly it was a visceral need. This conversation sucked.

  “You know exactly what is wrong with him, Aiden, don’t pretend that you haven’t figured it out.”

  “Why don’t you just tell him you’re his half-sister? Have a nice little family reunion.”

  “I will not be beholden to that family,” I gritted out, inwardly seething.

  “Well, it sounds like you’re in a real bind, Zephyr. In fact, it sounds like you might even be desperate.”

  “Don’t act like you won’t be getting anything out of this alliance, Aiden. How old are you? Twenty-four? It’s not like you have very many options.” I exclaimed, “and time is not on your side.”

  “That may be,’’ he answered, “but I can easily form an alliance with at least two other air elementals. I don’t need you specifically to ensure that I survive. You, on the other hand, need my protection if you want to get out from under Jonathan’s thumb. Jonathan will undoubtedly drop the charges rather than go to war with my family over you.”

  I was quiet. It was all true. At this point, I needed him a lot more than he needed me.

  “What do you want, Aiden?” I asked.

  “I want an apology,” he snapped, “I want you to admit you were wrong and sound sincere about it.”

  GRRRRRR

  “I’m sorry Aiden,” I said, each word feeling like I was pulling teeth. “I was wrong.”

  “Excellent. Apology accepted.”

  Oh my God his arrogance knew no bounds.

  “Here’s how this is going to go.” Aiden directed, “you will meet with me and my lawyers at my office within the next twenty-four hours to discuss an alliance. If you do not appear, I will release the exact same footage that Jonathan has acquired to the enforcers myself. Either way you won’t have to worry about dear Jonathan anymore.”

  I was so angry I saw black. How dare he make me apologize, and then have the audacity to blackmail me as well????”

  “I hope you die miserable and alone!” I spat out bitterly,
unable to control my rage.

  “I know. You made that pretty clear the other night. It's surprisingly heartening to know that hasn't changed.”

  “Twenty-four hours is barely enough time to get authorization to leave my jurisdiction, let alone travel to your place of business!”

  “Not my problem, sweetheart,” he said, his tone smug. there was a click. He had just hung up on me.

  Penny looked at me with concern. “That really didn’t sound good.”

  “ He’s blackmailing me, Penny! With the same damn information that Jonathan is using about my smuggling operation! That phone call was probably the biggest mistake of my life!” I started to hyperventilate. This was much worse than I ever thought possible.

  Penny put her hands on my shoulders and put her face directly in mine. “Breathe, Zephy. Look at me and breath.” I met her stare. Her eyes were warm and comforting. “ I got your back, Zephy. We will figure this out, I promise.” Something about the way she said that made me believe her.

  “You don’t need those authorizations to leave the No-Go Zone,” She reassured me. “ This is just like your smuggling gigs. fly over their security border. Make sure Jonathan’s men don’t see you leave. Just another day at the office, right?”

  “Yes, but Penny, my smuggling operations always take place at night. It’s not the same during the day.”

  Penny gave me a look, “Girl, please. You are so much more talented than you let yourself believe.”

  “Can you help me distract Jonathan’s men?” I asked

  “Sure thing,” she said, giving me a hug. “They won’t even know what hit them.”

  Chapter 14

  Aiden was sitting at the conference table together with his lawyer, Stevens, when I walked in, a glacial expression on my face. “Please have a seat.” Aiden said politely. “Can I offer you any refreshments before we begin?

  “No thank you,” I replied. There was an uncomfortable silence for several minutes, as though Aiden was waiting for me to say more.

  Given the awkwardness of the whole situation, there was nothing more that I really wanted to say. Honestly, I just wanted to get this whole thing over with. Finally, Aiden turned to the lawyer and nodded for him to begin.

  The lawyer placed a folder in front of each of us. “Before you is the classic elemental marriage contract with a few slight moderations customized to your specific circumstances.”

  I looked down at the contract, resigning myself to pay attention. Just then the door banged open and a fierce elderly woman marched in, followed by two hulking brutes. “Not another word!” the woman barked as she sat at the table and fixed Aiden with a piercing stare. “As a member of the Anemos family household, Zephyr is under our protection, and will not be signing or even negotiating terms without our express approval." I stared at her, in blank minded shock for a second before my brain thankfully kicked back online. “Umm, excuse me, but is this the same Anemos family that tried to off my mother as an infant when they found out she was a cripple? The same Anemos family that has never ONCE reached out to me until now? I am a grown woman over legal age. You cannot strong arm me into a seat at this table just because suddenly you realize I could become an asset.”

  “We are trying to help you, you ingrate," the woman said condescendingly. “The Ember family will devour you without the legal help and backing of your family. You should sit down and let the adults talk.”

  Aiden leaned towards me with an intense expression on his face. “I may be ruthless, but I am not underhanded. I would never make you sign something without you knowing the full ramifications.”

  “Do NOT make an enemy of us, girl.” The woman warned coldly.

  I didn't even hesitate. “I don’t want to make an enemy of you, that would entail me having an emotional investment in our relationship. I would much rather continue having nothing to do with you.” I responded; my voice equally chilled.

  “Ahha,” Aiden said smugly, “now I see the family resemblance.” Both of us turned to glare at him.

  “Stevens, does the Anemos family have a legal claim to any part of this contract?” Aiden asked in a bored tone.

  “Not unless Zephyr acquiesces to their involvement,” Stevens replied.

  “Well then, Sherry, while it is always lovely to see you, and experience your sunny personality, we must ask you to leave,” Aiden said, his eyes gaining an unnatural glow in warning.

  The woman stood, and then turning to me said partingly, “you are making a fatal mistake doing this without representation of your own. Do not come begging to us when you find that the terms you signed are not in your favor.” She swept out of the room, her goons trailing after her.

  I waited until I was sure they had really left. “Not underhanded, hmm? You must have a different definition of the word. I wonder what you would call the way you manipulated events before now.”

  “Those were unusual circumstances,” Aiden answered stoically.

  “And what about the way you coerced me into this meeting?” I countered.

  “Blackmail isn’t manipulation, it’s a recognized business tactic,” he stated in an incredulous tone. "You should be grateful that I met with you at all.” I shut up.

  After a brief pause Stevens continued. “As I was saying about this contract, both of you please take the time now to peruse it and highlight any key points that you would like to discuss.”

  I began to read.

  “Where is your legal counsel?” Aiden asked, ignoring Steven’s pointed glare.

  “You didn’t give me enough time to GET legal counsel, what with your demanding twenty-four-hour timeline! Everyone who I could afford was already booked.”

  There was a pause as Aiden took this in. Finally, he offered, “Stevens can give you legal counsel as well, right Stevens?”

  “It is ill advised to have both parties represented by the same legal team,” Stevens intoned.

  “I’ll pay you double,” Aiden cajoled.

  “Fine. But let it be noted, this is against legal advice. I don’t want your mother coming after me later if things don’t work out.”

  Aiden sat back in satisfaction. “You see,” he said pointedly to me, “it’s better to work with me.” The papers started to flutter about, but Aiden was ready for me and his fire ate up all the wind. “Done throwing tantrums?” he asked calmly “We all have our little parts to play Zephyr, the only thing we can do is play our parts well.”

  The problem was that I didn’t want to play the game at all, I was just trying to survive it. I glared at Aiden in frustrated confusion. Why the hell was he offering me his legal counsel? I thought the whole point of getting me to come within twenty-four hours was so he would have the upper hand.

  He met my glare and then rolled his eyes. Letting out an impatient huff, he continued, “Zephyr, quit stalling. If you don’t go through with the contract, the enforcers will find out where the little bird lives that keeps stealing their medical supply.” I hissed in frustration. This was stupid. As they say, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Turning to Stevens, I asked, “As my legal counsel, can you lie to me about this contract?”

  “No,” he said, “That would go against client-lawyer privileges,”

  “Good. Is there anything in this contract that puts me at a disadvantage?”

  Stevens hesitated before giving Aiden a pointed look. “The only thing I can think of is the clause regarding children. Without having Aiden’s children, you will be left destitute upon his death. Also, it is important to note that elementalists are physically unable to divorce. When you are married, your air magic is used to stabilize his fire, which is caused by a certain amount of elemental melding that cannot be undone. Even by death.” I paused as I tried to take in the finality of signing the contract. Never mind, I thought, as I felt the flutterings of a panic attack. Now was not the time to have a meltdown. I tried to refocus on what I could control.

  “Is there anything else you think I should know or request as p
art of this contract?” I asked.

  “I think you should probably negotiate a joint checking account,” he said glancing at Aiden, “Done.” he said.

  “I think you should write a clause that you both won’t hand incriminating evidence against each other into the hands of the law or to third parties that would use this information to harm one another.”

  “Done." said Aiden.

  “This means once we’re married you will not be able to use evidence of smuggling or other illegal acts to coerce me,” I reiterated.

  “Yes, sweetheart, I understand the ramifications.”

  “I think you should negotiate a stipend upon spousal demise,” continued Stevens, ignoring our exchange.

  “No,” said Aiden emphatically. “I need insurance that she will try to have my children, and writing in sexual clauses is invalidated in court proceedings.”

  “What, you don’t think your man enough to make me want you on your own?”

  “Sweetheart, right now NOBODY is man enough to tempt YOU.”

  I huffed, “it’s fine. I don’t want his money.”

  “Good, then let me call in witnesses and we can all sign and get this over with.” Stevens paused before adding,

  “There is one last thing I wish to address before this contract is finalized. The marriage, and therefore this contract, is invalidated without both parties attending all ceremonial affairs and fulfilling their roles in them to their fullest capacity. In fact, from the moment of signing, this contract goes into effect in full.”

  we both nodded in understanding.

  “Good,” said Stevens. He called in Tweedledee and Tweedledum, both in somber black suits and business haircuts to bear witness, and everyone signed the documents.

  “ My mother has arranged our engagement ceremony for two weeks from today, and the wedding is being planned for two months from now,” Aiden said, “I’ll send you a card with the details.” I turned without acknowledging him and left.