Exigency (Protectors of the Elemental Magic Book 2)

by Cate, Marnie

  “Get off me. What would you know about her?” he snarled. “She chose me.”

  “Do you really think that she wants you for your weak water magic?” I said, throwing my head back and laughing. “I control all four elements and my connection only grew stronger in her domain. Why would she need you? I came there to save you but all I saw was how weak you truly are.”

  “Fine. Go ahead. Do what you want. Don't you always? In the end, we know who she chose,” he said, tilting his head back. “She will make you pay for this and I will stand by watching.”

  As I dropped the blue liquid into his eyes, he hissed. Placing some of it on my tongue, I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder. Falling asleep, I woke to the sound of Cole's voice.

  “What's going on, Mar? Are we in Starten Forest?”

  Looking around, I said, “I guess so.”

  “Why are we here?” he said, taking my hand. “I thought we were at the hotel.”

  “I need to show you what happened to us. How we ended up here,” I said. “I need you to remember everything.”

  “Ok, Mar,” he said, in a cheerful voice. A voice I knew would not be as joyous after he saw the last five years of our lives. “I'm ready. Show me what I have missed.”

  Picking me up, he spun me around and kissed me.

  “You need to be serious.”

  “Very serious,” he said, putting on an overly solemn face. “Show me what I must learn.”

  The wind blew, whipping my hair, forcing me to turn my head. I knew exactly where we were now. We were by the entrance to the elementals' world.

  “Come with me,” I said, leading him through the tree.

  “Do you know where we are going? It is so dark in here,” he whispered. “What is that thumping sound?”

  “Shh,” I said, as we entered the Water elementals' cave.

  “We are in Danu's home,” he said. “Are we really here?”

  “We are.”

  “Can they see us?”

  “I don't think so.”

  “This is amazing,” he said. “I want to splash and play in the water with them. Do you feel their energy?”

  “I do but we need to keep moving.”

  His disappointment lifted and his excitement grew as we entered the Fire elementals' cavern. Fiery wisps danced around us. When we climbed the Air elementals' platform, he stared with wide eyes at the elementals in their bird form.

  “This is one of the best parts,” I said.

  “I can see why. They are magnificent colors. Are they really all Air elementals?”

  “Yes, isn't it fantastic? Take my hand,” I said, as I led him to the edge of the platform.

  I said, “What do you see?”

  “Just the top of the trees. Why? What is down there?”

  “We need to get down there,” I said.

  He started to turn around to leave and I stopped him. “No, we have to go down this way. Do you trust me?”

  “With all my heart, Mar.”

  “You will have to take my hand and jump to find out what is below.”

  “Jump?” he said, in a panicked voice

  “Trust me. We are in the home of Danu. We are safe.”

  “Okay, let's count it out. One. Two. Three,” he said and we jumped. As we floated to the ground, he laughed and held me as if we were dancing in the air. His laugh was contagious. When we landed, he said, “That was so cool. We have to do that again.”

  “It is pretty amazing. Better without the mud landing,” I said.

  “Wait, what's that?” he asked, pointing at the little green bulb growing in the ground. “Is this the Earth elementals' home?”

  “Yes, this is where they live. Look in the trees for them.”

  “Oh, I see one there,” he said. “Her hair is yellow. I almost didn't see her there. We should stay and have a picnic with them.”

  “Maybe we can come back and do that another day,” I said.

  “Oh right, you want to show me something?” he said.

  Leading him through the tunnels, we entered Danu's chamber and we walked past the mirrors.

  “Cole, my child,” Danu said, as she appeared on the stone. Her elementals were seated in their chairs.

  “Hi Mara. Hi Cole,” Bay said, in her singsong voice.

  “Bay, can you just be serious?” Breeze whispered. “You can never just be serious.”

  “Fine. I will be serious,” she muttered, as she waggled her fingers at us.

  “Come to me,” Danu said. Sitting down on the stone, she stroked her purring cat.

  “Have a seat,” she said, patting the stone.

  Clasping our hands, she said, “Cole, Mara brought you here to show you the truth.”

  “Is this about her kissing Kai?” he asked. “I am over that…really.”

  “No,” she laughed. “Everyone kisses Kai at some point. Do you recall the night you found Mara at Sparrow Lake?”

  “I do.” Cole said. “Snowystra threatened us.”

  “Yes that was the night my sister began her plan to take you away,” she said.

  “But, I am here. So, she didn't win. She didn't take me,” he said, grinning.

  With a gentle smile, she said, “I am sorry, Cole. You are right. She didn't win but it is time for you to remember the truth. All of it.”

  “Okay,” he said. “How do I see it?”

  The mirror behind the seated elementals began to glow. “Go there,” she said, pointing at the mirrors.

  As I began to stand to go with him, she stopped me. “He needs to go alone.”

  “You want me to walk through the mirror?” he said.

  Blaze stood up, taking his hand. “I will take you there,” she said, using a much kinder voice than I had ever heard come out of her.

  “Ok. Well, let's do it. Help me remember,” he said. “I will be back in a moment, Mara.”

  As they entered the mirror, I turned to Danu. “When we awake, will this Cole return with me?”

  “I think it will take a while, Mara. He will need to accept what happened. He is going to see everything in there. He will see things that he wasn't able to share with you. You will need to be there to help him heal.”

  “But, will the darkness be gone from inside him?” I said, not hiding my frustration.

  “I don't know. I really don't have all the answers. There are too many factors. Gifts are given and how they are used are out of my control. You control how you use my elemental magic and the winter magic inside you. My sister has returned to us and she will no longer be able to harm anyone. Now while we wait for Cole, let's think of the joy not the sorrow.”

  Breeze said, “Let's talk about your wedding. Kai told me that you were a beautiful bride.”

  “He was there?” I said in disbelief.

  “He said you didn't recognize him in his glamour,” Breeze said.

  “I didn't.”

  “He was happy for you,” Daisy said. “He said you were so happy despite everything.”

  “I was happy there with Cole for a small amount of time,” I said, thinking about the times that were good. “Is Kai here?”

  “He is with the Miezitari. He said he will come see you soon but right now he is helping them rebuild,” Breeze said. “He is also babysitting one of the guards that is very angry about being taken.”

  “Jameson?” I said. “Will he be ok?”

  “I am sure he will,” Daisy assured. “Kai is very good at helping people figure out what they really want.”

  “Jameson is dealing with his pain from being a small child taken from his mother and raised by Snowystra,” Danu said. “He will need time.”

  “Will the children be okay?” I asked.

  “They are young. They will have a chance to grow and learn. Faramond has already taken several with him to escort the dead,” Bay said.

  “They will have a purpose now,” Daisy said. “It is how it should be again. When you are well, you will need to go see them and see the lost king
dom rebuilt.”

  “Now you need to focus on taking care of yourself and reconnecting with your family,” Daisy said.

  “And having fun with your sister,” Bay said. “She is the fun one.”

  “Fun one?” I questioned.

  “We learned from you and we never gave her the chance to get too serious,” Bay said. “Don't worry. We keep our eye on her. She will be fine.”

  “And Miles?”

  “He learned his new magic must faster than I expected,” Breeze said. “He is quite the student. He is really happy with your father and Essie.”

  “I missed so much,” I said.

  “A brief blink of time but you are back now and you will have so much to share with them,” Danu said. “I was informed of your acting skills. Kai said it was quite a powerful performance in the snow.”

  Blushing, I said, “I may have over done it.”

  “Possibly a tad, but you were able to restrain Jameson and lead the Miezitari home,” Danu said.

  Blaze stepped through the mirror with a serious look on her face. “Mara, please go to him. He's a bit shaken.”

  As I entered the mirror, I found Cole crumpled on the floor sobbing. I had never seen him cry like that before.

  Going to him, I said, “It's okay, Cole, I am here. Talk to me.”

  “I was horrible, Mara. How can you forgive me for all of the horrible things I did?”

  “Cole, I know that wasn't you,” I soothed, stroking his hair. “I know that wasn't your heart.”

  “But, all the things I did…all of it.”

  “Were not your fault,” I corrected.

  “I sent them to die.”

  “No one died. They all came back. Some battered and bruised but they lived.”

  “And the way I treated the women. I hit that girl and I let them fight over me thinking that I would make them my queen.”

  “You cannot dwell on what happened there,” I said. “If you need to apologize, you can go to them but you need to move on for us. I was there and I wasn't kind either.”

  “You were pretending,” he said, sitting up. “I was cruel and heartless.”

  “You have to think about the good parts of being there,” I begged.

  “The good parts? What good parts? The part where I encouraged them to beat and degrade each other? The part where I killed things to feed her magic? The part where I betrayed you?”

  “I am not going to listen to this,” I said, furiously. “I know who was there. I know what happened. I don't need a play by play to forgive you. I need you to just come home with me. We will get through this together.”

  “How can you forgive me for everything I have done?”

  “I forgive you. Can you forgive me?” I said, making him look into my eyes.

  “You didn't do anything wrong,” he said, his blue eyes shining with tears.

  “I did. I let her take you. I knew that night that there was something wrong with you before we went to the club and I let her take you. We are both at fault.”

  Wrapping my arms around him, I hugged him tightly. “I can't make you forgive yourself but know that I forgive you for everything. Please just come back with me. We have lost enough time already. Let's not lose more.”

  “I love you, Mara,” he said squeezing me tighter

  The room around us began to glow. A white light filled the room and then burst into millions of small white lights. As the light softened, I found myself on Cole's lap in our home in Starten.

  “Mar, can you untie me,” he said. I could see the pain in his eyes.

  Removing the binding from him, I stood up and held out my hand to him.

  “Mar, you look so—”

  “I know,” I said, leading him to the mirror. “We both look a little rough, don't we? But, we are home.”

  “I am sorry Mar,” he said, kissing my cheek. “I am so, so sorry.”

  “There will be no more apologies, Cole. None. We said our sorries. We have forgiven each other. No one is blaming you. Stop blaming yourself. You are home and we have a lot to celebrate now,” I said, trying to lighten the conversation. “I am informed that since we have been gone for five years we have many birthdays to catch up on and there will be a lot of celebrations. When you are well enough we will see everyone and let them see that you are back.”

  The door opened and Christina entered.

  “You have been quiet for a long time,” she said. “Is everything okay?”

  “Better than okay,” I said.

  “Cole?” Christina said.

  “Yes, it's me, Christina,” he said. “I am sorry for the horrible things I said to you. Can you forgive me?”

  “I lived with Snowystra for forty years. The things you said were pure compliments in comparison,” she said with a laugh.

  “How can I make it up to you?” he asked.

  Offering him the glass that he had refused before, she said, “Drink this. This will help. This will remove the years of damage from the tavi, tumma and kanakala. It will take you time to feel better. It will take time for you to forgive yourself and heal. You are with your family now. That is what matters.”

  “Will you stay with us?” he asked.

  “For a while but I need to get to the Miezitari,” she said, patting his hand. “Laura will have her hands full with all of those babies. Now that the Miezitari are free, I have a feeling there will be even more children.”

  “I would like to see that. I would like to see them very happy,” he said, taking a long drink from the glass. “This is actually good. Warm and sweet like honey.”

  “Yes, Arianolwyn does make a wonderful drink.”

  “If you are finished, I think we have had enough talk of Snowystra for the day,” I said. “Let's go see our family. I am sure Meg is out there with Dunn. If we aren't careful, my little sister might convince him to run off and marry her.”

  “Yes, she is there but I can assure you that he was a gentleman,” Christina chided.

  “I am right here and I hear you,” Meg said, stepping into the room.

  “Meg?” Cole said, “You were just a little kid when we left.”

  Sighing, she said, “Yes, Cos, I am fourteen now. This is going to be so tiring if I have to keep promising it is me. If you both can get it together, dinner is ready.”

  “Come on, Christina,” Meg said. “Let's see what Mile's needs help with.”

  “We won't be long,” I said. “Cole needs to get cleaned up.”

  When they left, I wrapped my arms around Cole's neck. “I think I owe you something,” I said.

  “What could you possibly owe me?”

  “I believe that you had a raincheck for a bubble bath. So let me make it for you.”

  His eyes widening, he said, “Would Gram approve?”

  Waggling my wedding ring at him, I said, “I am sure that she would completely. We have been married for five years.”

  Kissing me, he said, “I love you, Mar.”

  “I love you, too,” I said.

  Now that we were home, I would have to accept everything that happened in the past and together we would build our new future.

  Chapter 64

  When we arrived in the kitchen, we found everyone sitting around the table eating their salads. When Essie saw us, she got up and hugged us both tightly. Before we knew it, we were bombarded by our family.

  “Okay, guys,” my father said. “Give them some breathing room and we need to get a meal into these kids. They look like they are fading away.”

  “Come sit by me, Mara,” Miles said, setting a salad down. “I made it the way you like it.”

  Taking a bite of the green salad with strawberries, feta cheese, glazed almonds and a raspberry vinaigrette, I smiled. “Mmm, it is my favorite. Breeze told me how proud she is of you. She is amazed how quickly you have learned to use your Air magic.”

  “She is a good teacher,” he said, beaming with pride.

  “There is so much to catch up on,” I said, soundi
ng sadder than I planned. “We have missed so much time.”

  “But, there is so much more for us to share together,” my father said.

  As I looked around at the smiling faces of my family, I knew he was right. There would be many more occasions to share.

  “Hey you guys are not eating,” Miles said. “Do you not like it?”

  Cole and I locked eyes. Raising my eyebrows telling him to answer, he responded. “No, the food is great.” he said, taking a bite. “We are just…We haven't…We are…” he stumbled over the words.

  “We aren't used to eating very much anymore,” I said, finishing for him. “We thought we were only gone for three months but it was so much longer. We were not consistent on eating meals when we did.”

  “You didn't eat?” Meg said. “I could definitely never live there.”

  “Well, we did eat but it was different there,” Cole said

  Taking his hand, I said, “There is a lot to adjust to I guess. It will take us time to get used to normalcy again.”

  “Now that you are back, it is very important to not make you feel different or ask too many questions. But, all we did tonight was make you feel out of place,” Miles said, with a serious expression.

  “Not at all, Miles. Please don't worry about hurting our feelings. We are a little different right now. How lucky are you?” I said, using my Vizier voice “One does not often get the chance to dine with the royal Shah and Vizier of Snowstrum.”

  “It is our lucky day,” he said, laughing.

  “It is okay to ask us questions,” I said, kissing him on the cheek. “Really. Ask anything you want.”

  A child's cry sounded interrupting any further questions. Hopping out of his chair, Miles said, “Charlie is waking up. I will go get her.” Miles quickly ran out of the kitchen shouting, “I will be right back.”

  “Charlie?” I questioned.

  “Caterpillar, you have a baby sister,” my father said. “Charlotte Mae Stone.”

  “We named her after my father and your grandmother,” Essie said. “I hope you don't mind?”

  “Of course, I don't,” I said, feeling overwhelmed. “Gram would have loved to have another baby in the home.”