by Thorne, Elle
“I don’t like it.”
She glared at him. “You have no—”
He raised a hand. “I know. I know. I have no right, but someone should be here to speak on behalf of your family.”
“My siblings wouldn’t stop me, and they are the only family I have.”
“What about your cousin, the one that’s in there, Mae, right?”
“If Mae weren’t willing to have me do this, she wouldn’t have brought Astra here. Anyway, the risk is not that great.”
“Not that great. Right,” he scoffed. “But the results are permanent, right? You could die?”
“Who knows what happens if I get trapped there. Maybe I’ll be alive, but there. Linc, why are you doing this? All I wanted was for you to not worry about things because I could see that once you caught sight of Astra unconscious, you were worried about Dina and what could happen to her.”
“I am.” But how could he tell her he was worried about her, too? How could he tell her that he—yeah, I sound like a damned idiot now. He fisted his hands in his pockets to keep from punching the wall. Or something.
“You’re damned hardheaded, aren’t you?”
She gave him a smile that made him want to kiss her.
His lion roared in agreement with that sentiment.
“I’ve been told I am.”
“Whoever told you was right.”
How the hell did he start caring so much for her? When his lion snarled, he ignored him. His lion had been going on about the whole fated mate thing. Linc wanted to tell him it was bullshit, that it was a fairy tale.
But then, how do I explain how I feel about her?
“How about I play the role of your family, just in case.”
“Oh.” That brow of hers quirked again and was accompanied by a sassy little smile. “You’re my brother now?”
He bit back a response about how the thoughts he had about her were anything but brotherly.
Anything but, by damn.
“So, what is it that you propose to do, as my family member?”
“Well, I can help make decisions that involve you, if you’re not able to.”
She laughed. “It will be fine. Don’t worry. But you’re welcome to sit in, if you promise not to let what you see taint your opinion of elementals or of what Dina needs.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t want you pulling her out of here before I can help her.” She put her hand on his arm.
Linc felt a surge, the same surge he’d felt when he kissed her, a tidal wave of emotions flowed over him.
“Promise you will give Dina the chance she needs not to end up like Brittany did.”
Well, fuck.
When she phrased it that way, of course, he’d do whatever was needed to help Dina.
“I won’t take her away.”
“Promise it.”
“You have my word.”
She nodded and turned to go back to the room.
“One more thing.” He cleared his throat while he sought the words that were evading him. “About earlier…”
She raised a hand to halt his words.
“It happened. We can forget it. I’m sure it didn’t mean anything.”
Oh, but it did.
He’d not muddy the waters with that right now, but sometime, she had to see that it meant something.
Chapter Seventeen
Circe let the lying words fall from her lips.
She’d flat out lied.
That kiss touched her in a way she hadn’t thought possible, in a way no kiss had ever before.
She’d watched Linc walking away.
That kiss between them had given her doubts, doubts about how she’d treated her cousin Mae. If what Mae had with her mate was one-millionth of that, then Circe could understand that the connection she’d had to that shifter had been so unlike anything Circe had ever thought could exist.
But Circe couldn’t tell Linc that.
So, she lied. She let the words come out with the ease of a seasoned con-artist.
Guilt ate at her. She glanced back and caught Linc watching her, his expression unreadable.
* * *
“Tonight?” Jake said. “You want to start tonight?”
“While she’s still unconscious, yes. I think it’s the optimum time to do this.”
Kane shrugged. “I’ll have to yield to your expertise, as I’m in unchartered territory when it comes to this.”
“You’re a medical doctor,” Circe continued, addressing Jake. “You can take care of any needs she or I have.”
“True,” Jake added.
“How can I help?” Mae asked.
“This one’s on me,” Circe told her cousin, walking to the other side of the bed. She took Mae’s hands in hers. “When I am finished, when we get Astra to a stable place, I have an apology to make.”
Tears filled Mae’s eyes. “You don’t. I’ve never stopped loving you. A thousand times I’ve thought to ignore your demand that I never come back. I’ve thought to ignore it and come here and hug you.” As if to drive the point home, Mae wrapped her arms around Circe.
“Wait.” Circe pulled back and put her hands on Mae’s shoulders. “Save this for later. I’ll need all my wherewithal and concentration for this.”
Mae nodded and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you, Circe.”
“I’ve always loved you, Mae.” Circe walked back to the other side and took a seat next to Astra. “Monitor Astra’s vitals,” she instructed Jake.
Jake nodded. “On it.”
* * *
Circe wasn’t the one who would actually do anything. This whole thing was up to Albani. Since learning during her teen years that Albani could traverse dimensions and join other elementals, she’d never endeavored to actually perform the procedure.
She’d been warned that it was dangerous and shouldn’t be attempted unless under dire circumstances.
She’d also been warned that before she did any such thing, she had to be sure she had a solid relationship with her elemental. It had been explained to Circe that if her connection with Albani was at all in jeopardy, there was a risk that she wouldn’t come out alive, or that she’d be stuck in that place forever—which wasn’t unlike death, really.
Circe hadn’t discussed this with Albani. She wouldn’t. She didn’t want to give Albani access to some of her inner thoughts, the deepest, darkest doubts she had that maybe Albani had not forgiven her for pushing Benithe away when Mae had chosen her shifter mate over the Order.
Circe had swept that under the carpet and avoided the subject all these years. She was going to keep avoiding it and hope that Albani was happy to have her sister with her. Albani had been one of the high priestesses of their people. She’d been one of few. And she’d been the most powerful, Albani said.
Circe looked at Mae, Kane, and Jake. None of them knew what to do if anything happened. Then again, neither did Circe’s siblings, but at least they had elementals that were used to working together, that maybe could help figure out something.
Oh well, she thought. Here goes nothing.
Her panther snarled, not happy with the idea of turning control over to Albani.
Albani and Circe’s panther had an on and off again tenuous relationship. The panther was extremely protective of Circe, and Albani didn’t always agree with the panther’s influence.
In her mind, Circe tried to soothe her panther, to convince her there was nothing to worry about, but she knew what the panther knew—if Albani decided to go rogue, she could easily leave Circe stranded in a place she couldn’t get out of, and by default, the panther would be in the same place.
Circe took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and in her mind wrapped her arms around her panther’s neck, whispering words of comfort. She kept her eyes closed and looked at Albani.
The high priestess was tall, slim, dark-skinned. She wore the robes she’d always worn when she’d been flesh and blood, robes of a crimson color, so
red as to actually be like a river of blood. Albani’s eyes were an obsidian hue, widely placed, and offset her high cheekbones.
She looked at Circe with a haughty regal demeanor, her hands emerging from the robes, tiny sparks emitting from her fingertips.
Circe nodded to her in her mind.
Albani returned a single nod, just a bare tip of her head, acknowledging Circe’s surrender of power.
Circe said a prayer. Here we go, she thought. Here we go.
She took Astra’s motionless hands in her own and laid her head next to her hands, next to Astra’s slightly swollen baby bump.
In her mind, she released herself, yielding to a silence and a floating sensation.
Circe had traveled this way once, long ago, when she’d first learned that she could do this. Circe had been under the tutelage of her mentor, Suzana, a hybrid elemental shifter. Suzana had shown Circe how she transcended and traveled into another being with the help of her elemental. She’d held Circe’s hands in her own. Next Circe felt the tug on her mind, felt herself being pulled. And then, it was as if she was a tiny paper sailboat in a tub of water and the drain had been pulled.
Chapter Eighteen
Circe remembered well the first time she’d ventured into an elemental’s world. At that time, she’d felt herself spiraling, and before she knew it, Circe, Albani, and her panther were walking in a forest, and next to Circe was Suzana, Circe’s mentor, Suzana’s white tigress, and Korabe, Suzana’s elemental.
The six of them were all in a thick forest with a low-lying mist that came to Circe’s knees.
She’d spent that time with Suzana, their elementals, and their shifter animals.
That had been more than a decade ago. That had been before Suzana had vanished, surrendering the reins of the Order to Circe and her siblings.
Now, Circe was going to—hopefully—do that with Astra, what Suzana had done to her. She’d visit her in her elemental’s world. One of Astra’s elementals’ worlds, anyway. She had very little experience with dual elementals.
Heaven help me. I hope I can return to this world.
Her panther snarled softly in the background.
One of Astra’s hands twitched.
Eyes still shut, Circe focused on the sensation.
Then with a sudden swish, without any warning or preamble, she spiraled into a fall and crash-landed into her panther with a muffled whoosh.
Her panther turned around and rubbed her head against Circe’s shoulder.
Flesh. Flesh and blood and fur. Circe had arrived. She glanced around to get her bearings.
Albani stood above them. Circe had forgotten how tall the priestess was. She stood nearly six-foot tall, all elegant neck and slim arms with chiseled features on dark skin.
Albani studied Circe and her panther’s undignified sprawling position with dispassionate eyes.
Circe rose to her feet; her panther did the same.
Being alone in her own body and her own mind was something Circe had very little experience with, clearly. It was a surreal feeling, and clearly not one she was accustomed to. To say that it was normally crowded in Circe’s mind—and body—might be an understatement, but it was something she was familiar with.
So now she felt alone—and maybe a bit lonely. She reached out and put her hand on her panther’s shoulder for comfort and solace, letting her fingertips bury in the thick fur, relishing the feeling of the muscles rippling beneath her touch.
Albani watched the exchange with an air of disdain.
Maybe Circe could understand Albani’s emotions; if she’d been through what Albani had: royalty in a civilization that was conquered and essentially destroyed by a lesser civilization. Maybe if she’d never been separated from her children, maybe if she’d never lost a sister.
There was plenty of reason for Albani’s aloofness, but Circe’s passionate, impulsive nature couldn’t relate to it.
Nor could her panther.
“Where are we?” Circe asked Albani.
“In another world.” Albani’s tone was calm, cool, unfazed.
Circe looked around. Whereas when Suzana had joined Circe, Albani, and her panther in Albani’s world—a world of forest and fog, this world was completely different.
Someday Circe would have to ask Albani the logic behind the worlds that each individual had and what determined those worlds.
This world was very different.
This world was mountainous, but of the rocky variety. Crags with sparsely growing shrubbery rose in the near horizon. Sheer rock faced cliffs in canyons surrounded them, flat-topped plateaued hills rose from the canyon floors like stoic sentries.
“Is this the Grand Canyon?” Circe made a complete circle.
“Our worlds are not—” Albani paused, as though searching for the right words. “They are not the worlds you live in.”
“Where’s Astra? And her elemental?”
“Two elementals,” Albani corrected Circe. “Much as suspected.”
“Do you know these elementals?”
“They have not made an appearance yet.”
“Do we go looking for them?”
“We won’t have to.” Albani pointed.
In the near distance, three figures approached.
In the middle, Circe could tell that one was clearly Astra, her light-blonde hair gleaming in the bright sunlight.
She was flanked by two individuals both attired in sapphire-colored robes, both taller than Astra by a good six to eight inches, and both with long ebony hair that whipped about the faces in the brisk wind.
Circe glanced at Albani.
Albani’s face was drawn, consternation etched on her typically emotionless face.
“What is it? You know them?”
Albani’s nod was slight.
“Nevena, the one on the right, is an earth type. The other one, Aje, an electric elemental.”
Something bothered Circe. She couldn’t explain how she felt it, but she was certain Albani was holding back. “What else?”
“They were both high priestesses. When the Barabins took us, they were with me in the same tent. Later, much later, Aje took a Barabin as a lover. Had his child. When the uprising happened, Aje’s child was killed.”
Circe sighed at the horror, then wondered out loud. “Aje saw this?”
Albani nodded. “She did. The Barabin father had taken the child to his own tents and not allowed it to live with Aje. When there was an uprising, the uprising that led to the massacre, Aje’s child was one of the casualties early on. Nevena was the one who killed the child. She’d created a seismic tremor that spawned an earthquake, swallowing up the Barabin tent the child was in, a nursery for all Barabin children.”
Circe gasped. “She killed Aje’s child? And now they are in the same body?”
A body that held an unborn child in its womb.
Could this get any worse?
She learned it could, very quickly.
“When we attacked the Barabins, Aje did not simply fight on our side, killing Barabins. She also killed Nevena’s family. All but the children, who of course, were out of our reach, being held in a secreted place by the Barabins.”
“So now, why this, what…” Circe couldn’t finish her sentence or her thought. She was still trying to wrap her head around the history.
“Aje has been looking for Nevena a long time. And now it seems, she’s found her.”
“Is Aje more powerful than you?”
“I haven’t seen her in ages, she was equally powerful as I. Now, I don’t know who is more powerful.”
There was a tone that Circe couldn’t decipher in Albani’s voice.
“What is it?”
Albani sighed. “I cannot harm her, if that’s what you want of me.”
“But she is harming Nevena, right?”
“She does want to kill her. She’s always wanted that. On occasion, when I was in a different… what was the word you used with Linc?” Albani paused, reflected, then contin
ued. “Yes, when I was in a different host, I had occasion to visit with others of my kind. Aje has one mission left. One alone. To kill Nevena for killing her child.”
“Were you close to Nevena? Did you know her well?”
Albani’s smile was sad, did not reach her eyes. “Nevena was a friend. Aje is a cousin.”
Circe hissed a reply. No words, just a shocked hiss, expelling the air in her lungs, stunned.
“Why is it that you cannot harm her?”
“It goes against the edicts. If Aje kills Nevena, she will be brought to justice. If I kill Aje, I will be brought to justice.”
“Justice? Define, please, because I’m of the flesh and blood world, and for the love of all that is holy, I can’t understand how beings like yourself can be brought to some sort of justice. You have no lives as I know life to be. You can’t be prosecuted.”
“And yet, we too can be killed in the sense that we are forever removed from the ability to enter anyone. We can be locked away in a permanent death, a void, where we cease to exist.” A single tear snailed its way down Albani’s angular face.
“There is no good ending here. To save my Nevena, I have to kill my cousin, which means I will sacrifice myself. If I don’t stop my cousin, Nevena will die.” Her smile was grim. “And now you know why I was reluctant to play the role that Suzana and her elemental wanted for you. I knew this day would come.” Her shoulders rose and fell with a sigh.
It was true. Early on, Albani had been reluctant to join Suzana in another world.
The three figures approached, within yards, now.
At Circe’s side, her panther snarled a warning.
Circe comforted her with a firm hold of the fur on her withers, running her fingers along the musculature in loose circles.
Heavens, she thought, please let my panther keep her temper on a tight leash.
When the three were close enough to practically shake hands with Circe and Albani, they stopped.
“How are you, Astra?” Circe tried to keep things casual and on a low-key level.
