The Essential Elements: Boxed Set

by Elle Middaugh

  He pulled away, brows squeezed tight. “It’s not like that. It’s just…”

  Complicated, I thought sarcastically.

  He hated my entire family, which didn’t leave much room for being with me. Well, guess what? I hated them too! So did almost everyone.

  I was half Prett by blood, though; there was no denying that fact, no way to change it. I was just as hate-worthy as the rest of them. I’d literally killed people, and I’d been the cause of countless other deaths.

  Seeing Henrie had reminded me of that.

  Cade lowered our hands but kept them entwined. “I’m sorry, Valerie. I’m an angry son of a bitch, and I hate an absolute shit-ton of things, but I definitely don’t want to avoid you. I’m just not good at showing that I care.”

  I snorted out a laugh and rubbed at my eye. No tears were threatening to spill—thanks to my water element—but all the other telltale signs of crying were in full swing. My abdomen tightened and trembled, my breaths were short, and my throat was burning with the strain of holding back my emotions.

  “Val…” he said, squeezing me tight. “Please don’t cry. I’m gonna tell you something, okay? Do you want to know why I’m so awful at all of this?”

  I nodded. I didn’t think my voice would work anyway—the tension in my vocal chords was too painful.

  He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m pretty sure I’ve…” He trailed off, regrouping after more thought. “Well, I’m sure it started off as more of an infatuation, but…I think I’ve been in love with you since the sixth grade.”

  Like whiplash, my head jerked back. Immediately, I searched his eyes. What emotions blazed beyond that emerald front? I hoped beyond hope that his words weren’t just pretty lies.

  “A Traditionalist boy falling for a human girl was a very bad move on my part, though. The shit I endured was enough to make me wish I’d never met you. I was supposed to hate you, was forbidden to even look at you.”

  I tried to imagine it. His entire community must’ve risen up against him, and I knew from experience how brutal they could be. What would the punishment have been for such a crime? For Henrie’s heir, their future leader?

  “And then when they tried to kill you, and made me watch, helpless…” He shook his head against my shoulder. His whole body was strung out tight. “I’d never felt fury like that.”

  He swallowed then took a deep breath and relaxed a bit. I could tell his mind had shifted gears.

  “But when you lived, and my mother died, I didn’t know what to do. I needed somewhere to throw all that pent-up aggression. So I chose Nicholai, her murderer. It seemed fitting, and because he was your grandfather, I found it easier than ever to despise you too.”

  He chuckled humorlessly. “I was finally doing the right thing by my kind, but it didn’t even matter. You weren’t human anymore. You weren’t off limits. Resisting you had simply become a sick test of my own willpower.” He brought his attention back to me. “But you know what?”

  I shook my head.

  “I lose. I give up. I don’t want to resist anymore. Is that okay with you?”

  I nodded.

  He pushed away so he could look into my eyes. “Are you sure?”

  I nodded again.

  “I know I told you once, long before all the killing, that I wanted to be more than just friends. I also know I said I was too busy hunting Nicholai to even think about us, but now that I have my brother back…it suddenly doesn’t feel so urgent to track Nicholai anymore.”

  “But it is,” I said softly. “It’s more important than ever.”

  He swallowed hard. “So it’s too late?”

  “No, of course not!” I pulled him back into me and kissed his cheek. “I’ve wanted to be with you forever. If this is finally our chance, then I’m going to take it.” I leaned back, searching his face. “But we have to stop Nicholai. That might mean tracking him, opposing him physically and politically, or even finding a way to kill him, but it has to be done.

  “You were right about one thing: nothing on God’s green earth should keep us from stopping Nicholai, and until that happens…our main focus can’t be us.”

  He nodded. “I can handle that.”

  The roots lifted and tucked back into the Earth, and I was a little disoriented. It looked as if nothing had ever happened. Florescent winter sunlight nearly blinded me, but I pulled myself up onto my feet.

  “You don’t have to worry about my dad, or even Loren,” he said. “I’ve chosen you. This time I’m sticking by it. They’ll just have to deal.”

  I leaned back against the willow and reached for him. Cyprus and evergreen spices danced around my nose as he got close. His natural cologne was practically inebriating; I took a deep breath and my mind buzzed.

  “I don’t want to wait for either of our fathers to call,” I said, pulling him closer.

  “What do you want to do?” He sounded curious, but also devious. It made me laugh.

  His cellphone chose that moment to ring. He glanced at it then shoved it back into his pocket. “It’s Xavier, probably lost on how to handle your friend.”

  I giggled at the thought. Sienna was surely competent enough for the both of them. He was probably trying to run away.

  “I want to go to the grand opening,” I said, getting back on track.

  Cade’s mouth found my jaw, just beside my bottom lip. “You wanna be my date?”

  “It’s not about dates, Cade. It’s about making sure Nicholai doesn’t blow the place sky high.”

  He half growled, half groaned and pulled away. “I understand that, but I can’t stand the thought of sharing you with dick-bag Michaels anymore.”

  “You’re not sharing me,” I assured him. “And Holden’s not a dick-bag. He’s my friend.”

  Cade raised a brow. I was pretty sure it was supposed to look angry, but it was sexy as hell.

  “Friends don’t make out in the woods at night,” he said.

  Ouch.

  I sighed. He was right. I’d made many questionable decisions that fall, especially when it came to guys. Even though I’d since learned from them, I would still have to face the backlash of those choices until things settled down.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, sounding truly apologetic. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I deserve most of the shit I get.”

  “No, you don’t.” He pulled me close and kissed my forehead. “You don’t deserve any of it. I’ll try to keep my jealousy in check, but just so you know, I’ll probably fail.”

  I wished he wouldn’t be jealous at all, but that was entirely my fault. I’d ditched him for Holden at the first hint of trouble. I’d blamed him for everything and had taken none of the fault myself. I’d been selfish and shallow.

  If he needed me to prove my loyalty, then I’d do it gladly.

  His cellphone rang again.

  “Come on,” he said to me. “We need to get ready for this party.” Then into the phone, he said, “Xavier! What?”

  As he listened, his face hardened. He was back in go-mode, I could see it.

  “Okay,” he said shortly. “We’ll be right there.”

  Once he hung up, his eyes met mine.

  “Xavier overheard Dad talking… We need to get to Sol and Lune—now.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  I drove the four of us to that restaurant like a damn racecar driver.

  When I threw the car in park, everyone’s eyes were wide, their mouths gaping open. My competence surprised even me—although ‘competent’ probably wasn’t the word they’d have chosen.

  “Where’s this hidden room?” I asked, slamming the car door behind me.

  Xavier spoke up. “I heard Dad say it was in the basement, so that even if the Modernists dismantled all the other bombs, that one room could still cause the building to fall.”

  “Great,” Cade said flatly.

  My thought exactly.

  “We’re not gonna be able
to just walk in the front door,” I said. “Since it’s not open yet.”

  Cade smiled slyly. “Buildings have codes, and code requires alternative exit routes. If there’s a way out, I can get us in.”

  “Ah yes,” Xavier said. “Cade Landston, lock-picking criminal extraordinaire.”

  “And it’s come in damn handy, don’t you think?” he countered in irritation.

  “Won’t there be an alarm?” Sienna asked, worried.

  “Shit.” Cade immediately glanced at his brother.

  Xavier nodded then held up a finger, thinking hard. He eyed the building like he could somehow see through it. I could practically see the numbers crunching in his mind.

  “The restaurant was built on top of the remains of an old apartment building. With all the recent attacks, though, I bet they included a small control room for security purposes. We’ll need to find a different way inside.”

  “Windows,” Cade suggested.

  Xavier shook his head. “They’ll be on the alarm circuit, too.”

  “What if we pretended to be maintenance workers or something?” Sienna suggested.

  Xavier winced. “I think our faces are too recognizable.”

  Cade immediately perked up. “If we can get into the basement of a nearby building, I can tunnel us through.”

  “That would be perfect!” Xavier said.

  We studied the surrounding buildings; I was a little doubtful that their basements would be any easier to access. There was a law office to the left, a hotel to the right, a bank across the street, and a slew of other government offices out back—post office, DMV, police barracks.

  Hotel it was.

  We walked over to the glass front doors, our silence making the air feel thick. I didn’t know if anyone else had a plan, but I did.

  I took Cade’s hand and glanced behind us. “Follow my lead.”

  Sienna caught on and grabbed Xavier’s hand, too.

  Once inside, we strolled over to the front desk. The office attendant’s eyes bugged fearfully and I knew she assumed we were Elementals.

  “Excuse me, ma’am,” I said pleasantly. “We’re traveling from Maine to North Carolina for our friends’ wedding.”

  I pointed to Sienna and Xavier. She beamed, as intended. He looked like he’d just seen a ghost. I only barely contained my laughter.

  “We decided to stop halfway, and I suggested we come here.” I leaned in close and whispered, “I heard you have a ton of Elementals in this town. I thought maybe we could catch a glimpse of one.”

  The office attendant sat back in her chair, cocking her head. “So…you’re not Elementals, then?”

  I tittered sweetly. “No ma’am. They need to give us humans more credit! Beauty isn’t just for those strange creatures, you know what I mean? I’m sure you’ve been mistaken for one before.”

  She really was pretty, but she was middle-aged and a little rough around the edges.

  She chuckled, relaxing even further.

  “Sweetheart, maybe back in the day, but certainly not now.” With a smile on her face, she clicked the computer mouse a few times. “May I have your names and credit cards, please?”

  “Oh, we’ll be paying in cash,” I said quickly. “We always use cash when traveling. It forces us to actually stick to our budget.”

  Cade handed over a large bill. He, of course, had the ability to make paper out of nothing.

  She shrugged and took it. “That’s a good idea, actually. Two rooms?”

  “Yes,” Cade said from beside me. “We wouldn’t want to impede on the newlyweds-to-be.”

  Oh my god! I wanted to laugh so badly.

  Xavier was red as a rose in June.

  “Of course not!” the attendant said knowingly. “I just need your names to put into the system, then I can get you the room keys.”

  I smiled. “If you could just put them under Smith and Martin that would be wonderful.”

  “Alrighty,” she said, clicking away. A minute later we had our keycards and our change. “Have a wonderful stay at our hotel! And I hope your wedding day is as beautiful as you are, sweetie.”

  Sienna was in her glory. “Thank you so much!”

  We quickly walked to the elevators, giggling under our breath.

  Cade kept a hold of my hand. Energy passed between us, sparking like electricity, and he was still smiling. It was my favorite part of his face, tied with those gorgeous emerald eyes. I had the sudden urge to kiss him while we waited for the doors to shut, but I managed to resist.

  It was funny how happiness often directly correlated with passion.

  Our fun at the desk was over, though, and we had a job to do.

  Instead of going up to the fourth floor where our pretend rooms were located, we went down to the basement level. There was a small gym with a few patrons sweating it out on the machines, and a little farther down the hall was an indoor pool. The chlorine and humidity got thicker the closer we got to it.

  Sienna raised a brow at us. “Wanna swim?”

  I dropped my head. “We don’t have time for that.”

  “We don’t have suits, either,” Xavier added.

  Her smile widened almost malevolently. “Who needs suits?”

  Poor Xavier. He was either going to adapt quickly, or he was surely going to die of embarrassment. Sienna was definitely a predator in the dating game, and she was really laying it on thick.

  Cade’s fingers slid seductively along mine. He said nothing, but I suddenly had a very vivid image of skinny-dipping in my mind. I had to literally shake my head to get a grip.

  “Xavier,” I said, trying to change the subject for both of us. “Did your dad say why the Traditionalists wouldn’t be helping?”

  His chest heaved and fell as he breathed out nervously. “Not outright, no. I was only catching bits and pieces here and there. It seems to me that Exis and the Traditionalist leaders sort of want Modernists and Elitists to destroy each other. That might be their M.O. for securing the win.”

  I frowned. “And what about human casualties?”

  Xavier shrugged apologetically. “They must not care who gets sacrificed in the crossfire.”

  “Then they’re no better than Elitists,” I said, practically spitting. Then I remembered Cade and Xavier were Traditionalists. “No offense.”

  Xavier lifted his hands. “It’s cool. No group seems to be optimal anymore.”

  “That’s what I’m saying!” Sienna agreed.

  I glanced around as we walked. Cade had been trying to find the side of the hotel that was parallel to Sol and Lune, and it seemed like we were getting closer.

  “We should form our own political group, you guys,” I said.

  Cade raised a brow. Xavier raised both. Sienna smirked.

  “I wondered if it’d come to this,” she said. “All that hero talk at the club…” She then glanced at my hands, still clasping Cade’s tight. “And this,” she said, gesturing to us. “I definitely wondered if it’d come to this.”

  For a moment I considered dropping his hand, but he only squeezed tighter.

  Xavier looked pleasantly surprised, like he’d finally been handed the answer to the equation and suddenly the steps to solving it seemed obvious.

  “So it was a double date,” he said. He cocked his head and eyed Sienna curiously. “Did you enjoy our date?”

  She nodded. If that wasn’t enough, her heavy-lidded eyes totally gave it away.

  “You want to, like, go on another one sometime?”

  “Absolutely!”

  Cade glanced at me with wide eyes then shook his head. Carefully, he touched the wall.

  “This is it,” he said.

  Since Cade was an Earth, he simply put his hand out and the wall and ground opened up into a tiny dirt-packed hallway. My heart soared up into my throat, thumping wildly, but I swallowed and forced my feet to move as we filed in one by one. The farther Cade went, the farther the path extended. It wasn’t long until we came across some concrete,
thick and smooth.

  “What are the odds that there are people on the other side of this wall, Xavier?” he asked.

  Xavier blinked. “I have no idea where we are, bro.”

  Cade rolled his eyes. “We should be…” He glanced up at the dirt ceiling. “On the right-hand side of the building, near the back.”

  Xavier closed his eyes and muttered to himself. I figured he was looking at blueprints in his mind.

  “Assuming the restaurant’s kitchen is at the back on the ground level,” he muttered, “directly under that should be kitchen storage—freezers, nonperishables, extra tablecloths and napkins…”

  Cade rolled his eyes again, this time with a smile, and waited for his brother to continue.

  “But we need to be sort of subbasement level, don’t we?” Xavier asked. “Or else we’ll be bumping heads with Modernists searching for bombs.”

  Cade nodded and dug a little deeper. When he was satisfied, he directed his power at the concrete. It didn’t seem quite as easy to manipulate as the dirt had been, but not too difficult. He poked a small hole and peered through. It was dark and quiet on the other side, so he chiseled farther, creating an even bigger hole. We all stepped out in a single-file line.

  The space down there seemed old, and I supposed it probably was if it’d been a part of another building previously. Spider webs draped in every corner. Dust collected by the inch on crates and storage shelves.

  “All right,” Cade whispered. “We’re in. Now what?”

  “Can you track the bomb?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “There’s no movement at all in the earth down here.”

  I glanced at Sienna. “Can you?”

  She raised a brow and crossed her arms. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Xavier looked equally confused.

  I turned back to Cade. “Is that an advanced power thing?”

  “I don’t know. I never really thought about it. No one actually educated us on it, though, so maybe.”

  “How’d you learn?” Xavier asked his brother.

  Cade shrugged. “Taught myself I guess.”

  I focused on Sienna. “Pretend your power is a super stretchy rubber band. Keep a hold of it on your end, but let the other end stretch out as far as it can reach. You should be looking for things associated with bombs, like…” I glanced at Cade for help.