“Charlene is dead,” he said matter-of-factly. He hid his emotions so well. “Her family is gone. Her house was reconstructed, but it’s completely empty. Sienna lives on the same street. She told me what happened when she saw me walking by.”
“Valerie?” Elise asked without a hitch. It caught me off guard.
“Um…I found Holden.”
She waited a few impatient seconds. “And?”
“Oh, and…his father, Curwen, is in charge of Center Allegheny now. Modernists are working with humans in hopes of gradually incorporating Elementals into everyday society. Holden is Curwen’s assistant, mostly working with stats and figures, I think. He also told me there were significant losses after the battle, about a quarter of our people. No idea how many of Nicholai’s went down.”
Elise nodded. “Is that all?”
“I think so…”
“Chase?” she asked, directing her turquoise gaze onto him.
“Like I already said an hour ago, I found absolutely nothing. No one was around anywhere. It’s like a ghost town.”
“That’s because of the curfew,” Sienna said flippantly as she chipped at her fingernail polish.
To spare her Elise’s attitude, I added, “Holden said many of the humans are leery of us, so we agreed to limit our interaction. Humans have the daytime, Elementals have the nighttime, but most of the humans here refuse to leave the house at any time unless absolutely necessary. The battle has them terrified of us—and for good reason, I think.”
“What about you?” Jay asked Elise, jerking his chin in her direction.
“Mom is alive and well, thank God. She, too, reported significant losses from the battle, and informed me about Curwen Michaels being in charge.” She glanced at me. “There’s also some news that pertains only to Valerie.”
My throat clenched and my heart immediately started pounding. What were the odds of this being good news?
She smiled warmly. “Your father is home. He retired from the navy and bought a house here in Center Allegheny.”
An involuntary gasp passed my lips just before my hands shot up to cover my mouth.
“Oh my god!” I shouted through my fingers as relief washed over me and pure happiness exploded onto my face. “That is wonderful news! I’ve missed him so much!” I bounced around like an excited kitten for a few seconds before Elise continued.
“He’s been asking Mom about you, if she’s heard anything or whatnot—which she hadn’t, until now. He lives at one-eleven Atherton Street. It’s a big white house with black shutters and doors and a big wraparound porch. It shouldn’t be too hard to find—I believe you already know the area quite well.”
“Yeah,” I said, agreeing. “Atherton is just across the river from Kensington. They both follow the water.”
“Valerie,” Sienna said, speaking up with a grin. “That’s right across the river from my house! I live at one-fourteen Kensington, remember? I see his house every day from my bedroom window! Well, your house if you plan on living with your dad again.”
“Of course I do!” I practically squealed.
When Dad was home, Dad was home. I only lived with Aunt Marge when it was necessary. It wasn’t that I didn’t love her dearly—now more than ever—but she wasn’t my dad.
Elise hesitated. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
I jerked, taken aback.
“What? Why not?”
She sighed. “You can visit him, but until we know what’s really going on around here, I don’t think we should actually live in this giant trap of a town, not until we know who’s set said trap and what—or who—they’re hoping to catch in it.”
It sounded like good advice, but I didn’t particularly want to hear it.
“Elise, I haven’t seen my dad in months. Elementals have been safely living here ever since the battle, going about their days as usual, with no negative consequences. I’m pretty sure it’ll be fine. I think maybe you’re being a little too paranoid.”
She shook her head.
“In my line of work, there’s no such thing as ‘paranoid’. It’s called caution, and you can never be too cautious.” She looked from me to Jay to Chase, ignoring Sienna. “You all feel this way? You want to blindly settle back into town like nothing ever happened?”
“No,” Jay said, and I immediately wondered if I’d made the wrong decision. Jay was like my external voice of reason. Then he continued, “I don’t want to do so blindly, but I do want to settle back in. I think I need the structure of the old routine too, while I deal with losing…” He trailed off, shaking his head.
Elise pursed her lips. “Chase?”
He shrugged, raising his arms then dropping them to his sides.
“I’ve always sort of been on my own. There’s not really a ‘home’ for me to go back to, and anyway, I agree with you—we shouldn’t move back in until we’re sure it’s safe.”
“It is safe,” Sienna argued.
“And you know this, how?” Chase asked sarcastically.
“Because I’ve been living here, damn it, and there’s absolutely nothing unsafe about the place! It’s just like it used to be, except for the difficult human-Elemental relations and the stupid curfew.”
Chase coughed, almost chuckling. “Still, I’d rather not just take your word for it. I want to determine that for myself.”
“Whatever,” Sienna conceded with a wave of her hand.
Elise ran her nails through her golden hair then re-crossed her arms.
“Go if you want—I can’t make you stay. Chase and I will set up camp just outside the perimeter of town so we can keep a watchful eye on things while still being separate from the potential danger. If it’s not too late and you change your mind, you can rejoin us at any point. Until then…” She reached down and passed me a duffle bag she must’ve gotten from Aunt Marge’s. “Good luck.”
I sighed and smiled faintly. I could feel the rift between us starting to crack open further.
“You too.”
“Oh, and Valerie?” she added. “Before I forget, Mom said she hasn’t seen him.”
Cade. My heart began taking on water, but I couldn’t let it sink; I scooped furiously at my liquid doubt with a rusted bucket. I refused to believe he was dead.
She and Chase then turned and started hiking through the trees, so Jay, Sienna, and I headed back to the East End.
It was getting later in the day, not quite dusk yet, but still silent as ever. The river cracking and shifting and the slight whistle of the icy breeze provided the only background noise. We walked in silence, each of us with very different things on our minds, I was sure.
Jay broke away from the group first, as his house was closest.
“See you guys later,” he muttered dully.
“See you tonight, you mean,” Sienna corrected.
Jay nodded, but didn’t say another word as he turned down his street.
He’d always been relatively quiet, but I hoped he was okay. Learning of Charlene’s death was really taking a toll on him, as was to be expected; he’d been her boyfriend, after all. I didn’t want him to do anything stupid, and I was clinging to the trust that he was hardy and resilient enough to eventually move past this. I wanted to give him space to mourn, but not so much that the weight of his loneliness crushed him. It was a difficult balance to achieve.
I glanced over at Sienna, long after Jay was out of sight.
“You knew about my dad, didn’t you? That he was an Elemental.”
She nodded slowly. “The best sailors are usually Waters and Winds because of what they can do to the ocean. Our fathers were close for a reason.”
“Did you know about my mother, too?”
She hesitated.
“Not exactly, but we suspected when you started showing signs of Elemental potential, like your strange burn resistance, for example. We were never able to find out for sure, though, due to the car accident that took her life. Then when you became an Elemental, of course,
there was no longer any doubt. Your mother had to have been one of us. Otherwise, you’d be human right now.”
“Is that why you moved here?”
“Well…” She laced and unlaced her fingers. “Your father knew he’d be deployed at the time of your eighteenth birthday, and there was no way for him to get around that. So, yes, Jameson asked my dad if he would be able to get orders up here so we could offer you some moral support if you ended up actually being an Elemental.”
My throat felt hot and tingly. I swallowed, but my mouth was cottony and dry. I was suddenly afraid my friendship with Sienna had never actually been real, that she had only been keeping tabs on me as a favor, not keeping in touch with me as a friend. I didn’t know how to go about vocalizing a concern like that, though. What was she gonna say, anyway? And anything she did from thereafter would just feel like she was only trying to prove herself. Basically, there was no way to bridge that gap. It was something I was going to have to figure out on my own.
She smiled knowingly.
“Your dad asked my dad to move us closer to you, Val. He never asked me to be your friend—I decided that all by myself. So, if that’s what’s got your fingernails all icy, you can just chill.”
I quickly assessed my hands and Sienna burst out laughing.
“I knew that’s what you were thinking! You dumbass! You really think I’d pretend to be your friend because someone told me to? Ha! Get real! I’ve been a rebel since I was born.”
“Free as the wind, huh?” I mocked.
It was a little irritating to find I was so emotionally transparent, not that that was her fault. I was also feeling pretty guilty about doubting her like that. Things were just so complicated lately; I could hardly tell the truth from a lie anymore.
I had wanted less black and white and more gray areas, right? Well, damn it, I’d gotten gray areas. I supposed it was true—you really did need to be careful what you wished for.
Sienna shook her head like she was still semi-astounded but mostly amused at my complete idiocy.
“I’ll call you when Holden gets off work, okay?”
I rolled my eyes but grinned. “Sounds good.”
It would be strange to hear the ringing sound of a phone again—there hadn’t been any service in the dense woods surrounding the safe house.
Sienna waved goodbye when she reached her house, and then it was just me, alone with my thoughts and the frigid air. I tapped out a simple beat on my thigh, and my steps kept the tempo. My eyes dropped down to my well-worn footwear, shoes that had taken an absolute beating while I was training at the safe house. It already felt like ages ago…
Honestly, I couldn’t wait to slip into a pair of glittery wedge heels and dance the night away. Was it wrong to long for carefree nights? Maybe not. Was it wrong to indulge in such carelessness in the midst of nationwide chaos? Most likely. I just hadn’t been able to simply relax in such a long time…
Before I knew it, my new home was completely obscuring my view of the river. Stark white and standing tall, it was a truly magnificent structure. I could only imagine how luxurious it was inside. How out of place would my father and I look against a backdrop as posh as this? We were used to military housing. A giggle bubbled off of my lips. Completely out of place.
And what else was completely out of place?
Curwen Michaels’ car parked neatly in our half-circle driveway.
Chapter Five
I walked up to the door and hesitated. Should I knock? It felt like I should, since I technically didn’t live there yet, but it opened before my knuckles could meet the wood.
The look on Curwen’s face when he saw me suggested surprise, but there was something in his eyes and maybe even his smile that suggested he wasn’t actually surprised in the slightest.
“Ah, Valerie, good to see you again.”
Dad’s face came into view after Curwen stepped past me, and it was like I was seeing him for the first time. He suddenly looked so young, despite the silver in his dirty blond high-and-tight haircut. Discerning blue eyes sparkled on his clean-shaven face, assessing me as I was assessing him. Then his lips split into a wide smile, and I watched the happiness trail up to those eyes where crow’s feet might have perched but didn’t.
“We can’t stay and chat this time, I’m afraid.” Curwen said, interrupting our homecoming. “Work keeps us busy, busy, busy nowadays!” He peered around my father’s shoulder, back into the house. “Holden, come on! We have that meeting with the mayor.”
Holden rushed out, coat only half on, eyes glued to his phone as he scribbled wildly with a stylus.
“Sorry, I just have to…save these last few notes from the—”
“Write in the car, son. We’re going to be late.”
Holden rolled his eyes but stowed the stylus away and pocketed his phone. Then his gaze found mine. I shook my head because I didn’t want him to get in any more trouble with his dad. As he turned to leave, though, I whispered, “I’ll see you tonight.”
His eyes were tired but hopeful. “Yeah?”
I smirked. “Yeah, now go before he kills you.”
He winked at me and chased after his father. The passenger door barely had a chance to close before Curwen was out of the drive and on to his next political affair.
Poor Holden. He didn’t seem to be relishing his new position as Curwen’s lackey, and I certainly couldn’t blame him.
I turned back to Dad, who was still smiling warmly.
“Valerie!” he shouted, parting his arms like the sea.
I dropped my duffle bag and ran to him, grinning like an idiot. “Dad! I missed you!”
He squeezed me tight and kissed the top of my white-blonde head.
“I missed you too, sweetheart. How have you been? Where have you been? Marge told me bits and pieces of what happened, but not nearly enough. She insisted she had no idea where you were. I’ve been worried sick.”
I took a deep breath and nodded.
“Yeah, I think we both have a lot of catching up to do…”
Dad grimaced, and I knew he was feeling sorry for keeping my Elemental heritage a secret from me. Of course, after discovering firsthand what happens to ‘people who know’—and aren’t supposed to know—about Elementals, I could totally understand why he wouldn’t have risked it. Burning at the stake was no joke.
“It’s all right, Dad. I’m not mad, but I am hungry.” As soon as I brought my attention to it, my stomach growled. It was almost like I planned it.
“Alrighty then,” Dad said, turning and shutting the front door. “Let’s go get something to eat. You know I can’t cook.”
I snorted in amusement.
“Yes, I do recall.”
He laughed and shook his head.
“You know, it’s surprising the amount of shops this little town has within walking distance. I expected the compactness in a city like Norfolk, but not here. You wanna walk downtown and see what we can find?”
“What about the curfew?”
He looked skyward. Pinks and purples spread across the horizon as the sun dipped below the tree line.
“It’s just about nightfall,” he said. “I think we’re okay.”
My only other concern was the weather, but as a Water Elemental, I was pretty sure my father was immune to the cold. Waters created the snow and ice, and were therefore exempt from the ill effects. I was a Water like Dad, but I was also a Fire like my mom had been. This had the unique result of making me sort of thermally colorblind; I could sense the degree of the temperature, but I couldn’t feel it. I was a comfortable lukewarm no matter the weather.
“The cold doesn’t bother you, right?” I clarified, just in case.
“Nope,” he said, shaking his head. He then stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets and started an easy stroll.
“Is this all really weird for you?” he asked.
I snorted gracelessly.
“Not anymore, but it used to be.” I looked over at him as he stared st
raight ahead. “Is it weird for you that I’m Elemental? Because that means you and Mom both were.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed and he nodded.
“Yes,” he said, words barely a whisper. He cleared his throat and continued in a stronger voice. “I had no idea she was like me. She acted so…normal. I never saw her use Elemental power. I mean, how could I miss something like that? Was I blind? I don’t know…”
I smiled one of those smiles that were more of a sympathetic spreading of the lips.
“You weren’t blind, Dad. From what I’ve heard, she didn’t know you were Elemental either.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. She probably wouldn’t have married you otherwise. Neither she nor Aunt Marge wanted Elemental children.”
A frown folded his brow. “That’s odd. Why not?”
I shrugged and crossed my arms as I walked.
“I don’t think they trusted their father very much. Aunt Marge still doesn’t.”
“Nicholai…” Dad let out a feeble chuckle. “You know, I never even heard of him until Curwen Michaels told me, my own father-in-law… Sometimes I feel like these past two decades were nothing but a lie.” He rolled his eyes and licked his lips. “But most of the time, I still just miss her so much.”
My stomach dropped and my heart clenched tight. There was nothing clever for me to say, nothing helpful or insightful. So, I just nodded feebly and said, “Me too.”
“Sometimes I’ll see a woman with long blonde hair walking down the street and I have to do a double take, but of course it’s never her. I think it’s this place, you know? It’s like she’s everywhere, and yet nowhere…” He sighed then smiled at me. “I still want to live here, though. I just paid a very pretty penny for that house, and I have no intentions of leaving it.”
I smiled, and this time it reached my eyes.
“So can I move in then?”
“Sweetheart,” he said, expression astonished. “My house will always be your house. No matter how old you get, no matter how long it’s been, no matter if you’re married with children and living a million miles away—always, okay?”
The Essential Elements: Boxed Set Page 34
