Elm
In my twenty-three years of life, not a single person had ever looked at me like that. Not even Emeri.
I stared back in wonder, wishing I could know that was going on inside her head. Rhen was a walking contradiction. Sometimes she hated my guts, others she was almost too kind.
Rhen’s mouth hovered over mine, but only her hot breath touched me. She froze like that, waiting for me to close the gap.
I couldn’t move.
Every fiber, every muscle, every tendon in my body demanded that I bridge the inch between her face and mine.
But I couldn’t budge. Couldn’t escape the horrific feeling that I was going to lose her. That we might make it off this island, but even if we did, something tragic was afoot. I didn’t consider myself much of a prognosticator, yet every moment of my life I’d felt like I was missing something deeply important. And from the moment I laid eyes on Rhen—I’d felt almost whole again.
So why did I feel like she’d been given to me on a temporary basis? That one day, she would either run home with her mother to the human realm or be taken by the goddess Mors in this war.
It was selfish to want more time with her. To pine for a love that I could never have, or be able to give to her.
“What are you doing, pet?” I said against her lips, prolonging the pleasure of kissing her despite the unmistakable scent of desire and longing on both parts.
The quiet meadow allowed my sensitive ears to hear the quickening of her heart. Could have sworn I felt it against my torso with her pressed so closely into me.
The palms of her hands slammed into my chest, pushing me back a step. Her frustration was so palpable I could taste it in the air as she brushed past. Spinning on my heels, I followed closely behind.
“What are you doing?” I asked again.
She twirled. “Don’t. Don’t do that.”
Both brows raised as I dared to ask the question. “Don’t do what?”
“Gods! You’re such a prick!” Unable to look me in the eye again, she stormed through the dying grass toward the thin populace of trees in the distance.
Had she really been about to kiss me? Had I imagined it?
I couldn’t understand her hot and cold demeanor. While I loved playing games, it was as if she had her own set of rules and refused to share them with anyone else. And if I didn’t move my piece right, she got mad that I didn’t know how to play.
I didn’t want to play anymore.
I wanted to win.
Sweat started to gather under the vee of my black tunic, so I wretched it off and threw it over my shoulder. I’d adapted so well to the perpetually cold climate of the mountains that I forgot how fucking hot it was everywhere else.
A sigh pressed through my gritted teeth. I didn’t know how long I’d be without my magick, but I could feel it slowly tickling beneath my skin. Though it was only a spark, it appeared to be growing. Still, it took a lot of energy to glimmer both of us. I’d have to possess most of it before I could get us both out of here.
Rhen disappeared behind a tree, so I carried off behind her but kept a distance between us. She’d been close to kissing me. Too close.
Since her tumble with my brother, I’d spent countless hours thinking about it. I wasn’t angry at her or anything. I had no reason to be. Yet, I couldn’t understand why she’d went to my room that night. Why she’d laid in my bed.
And I couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like to actually have been the one to caress her.
The buzz of electricity between us tingled and made the hair on my arms stand on end. It was no secret that she was beautiful. Long legs, dark features, curvy mouth. I wanted to memorize every part of her with my fingers. My tongue. But I couldn’t.
Because it wouldn’t be casual. It would be all-consuming, like the cottage I’d blasted into in Oread. The unbearable heat at my back had scorched my skin and burned the edges of my hair. Being with her would be like that. I’d be throwing myself in a fire, waiting for the flames to devour me. For a moment, the heat would feel lovely, but shortly after, it would destroy me completely. So, I’d have to douse my heart in cold water every day until it numbed to the heat.
Rhen broke limbs from the smaller trees, cracking the tiny arms and tossing them to the ground. By the time I pressed my back against a tall blossom tree, she’d gathered an arm full and gawked at me, eyes scanning my bare chest.
“You gonna stand there or help me?”
I didn’t want to play anymore, but to win would mean casting myself into the flames. So, I folded my arms across my chest and said, “Mm. You’re all sweaty and hot. I think I’ll watch a little longer.”
She hurled a twig at my face, her own cheeks turning splotchy. “Shut up.”
My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. No. I hadn’t meant to upset her. Not really. “Rhen.”
Shaking her head furiously, she continued ripping limbs from the trees. I reached out to her, but she jerked away. “Rhen, please. You can’t build a raft with little twigs.”
She whirled, sporting red-rimmed eyes. “Then you figure it out because I can’t—I can’t do it anymore. She won. She got to the Heart before us, and she won. We’re gonna die here. And I’ll never—”
Never see her mom again.
I placed myself in her shoes for a moment. This girl had had a rough life. Absent father, ill mother, starved, and sexually abused at such a young age. Now she’d been roped into the middle of a war that she wanted no part of because of my brother’s stupidity, lost both her mother and her childhood home.
Not that I was entirely blameless. I’d gone looking for her myself, hadn’t I? But I couldn’t help thinking if I’d reached her first, maybe Rei wouldn’t be in the enemies’ hands.
The muscles in my legs stiffened as I reached out to her. “It’s okay. She doesn’t have all the Articles. She can’t move forward until she has everything, and we aren’t going to let her get them. Please don’t cry, pet.”
But she was already sobbing uncontrollably, sinking into the still green grass. “No,” she sniffled. “It’s over.”
“Give us some credit, love. We will be fine. I can already feel my magick starting to replenish. In a few hours, we will be out of here. Until then, we should find some shelter. This sun is so bright it’s giving me a headache.”
She wiped her dripping nose with the bottom of her shirt, lifting it enough to show bare mid drift. With a slight nod, she stood and met my gaze. Her dark, tear-filled eyes made my heart ache. It was getting harder and harder to shove my feelings down.
We decided to go separate directions in search of shelter, promising to meet at the stream at dark. I found a small cave entrance about a half mile from the water, collected some firewood and managed to light it so that Rhen could find me easily before heading back to the freshwater pond.
Rhen
I had no luck in my search for shelter, so I was relieved when I saw Elm’s smoke signal. Following the lure of the whispering white cloud, I noticed a patch of gray soil leeching life from the surrounding plants. Daphne had slowed her drinking of life energy as much as she could, but it was still catching up to us as we moved through the still lush woods. The earth cracked, reminding me of how Elm had once described the vision the seer had given him if Xandrea won the war.
He was nowhere around the cave by the time I got there, but I heard running water nearby. Sweaty and hot in my training gear, I took the time alone to bathe in the waterhole for old time’s sake. It had been months since I’d submerged myself in a creek. Though I loved the heat and convenience of the showers, I missed the feel of algae under my feet.
I dropped my pants at the edge of the pool and dipped my toe in. It was surprisingly warm still, though the sun had set more than an hour ago. The grass around the pool remained lush and vibrant, so I knew we still had plenty of time.
I ripped off my shirt as well, placed it gently on top of my pants, and stepped into the water to wash away the sticky sweat from my body.
It wasn’t as warm as I’d originally thought. Chills crept up my arms, down my legs until I shivered. Even through my bra, my nipples stabbed through the material in protest.
Already dripping, I held my breath and dunked my head under the water, letting the small ripple from the stream wash away every thought and fear. When I emerged, I gasp for air. For warmth.
Elm’s low chuckle of amusement caught me off guard. I turned, eyes wide, to see him leaning back against the hovel of a moss-covered tree. The way its roots splayed into the pool looked like arms of a throne. And the fey prince sat in it wearing a feline grin.
“Looks like we had the same idea.”
“I’m not getting out,” I said between chattering teeth.
He laughed again; the water rippling with his movements. The seven-point star tattoo on his chest taunted me. “I didn’t say you had to.”
I growled. “Then you get out.”
Elm shook his head, then released his grip on the tree’s roots, letting his entire body suck beneath the surface. Bobbing back up, the weight of the water pulled his hair down. I hadn’t realized how long it truly was. Even with his torso level with the water, his hair swam in circles around him.
“You’re cold.”
I wrapped my arms around myself instinctively. “No.”
Another crooked smile. “Come here.”
His finger coiled, beckoning me toward him. And the water whisked me away, pulling me toward him. Before I could protest, he’d already wrapped both arms around me in a tight embrace.
“Let go!” I demanded, but my body relaxed against the warmth of his chest.
Our eyes met, and the sheer look had wings flapping inside my tummy. It was as if I’d eaten Kol, and he was slamming himself against the walls of my insides screaming, “Let me out! Let me out!”
Elm cleared his throat and released his grip. “There. Better?”
I nodded, still unable to pull my eyes away from his. It was the only safe place to look. His bare body glistened under the starlight, and the wings thumped harder.
“Um, thanks.”
“Rhen?”
“Hm?”
He inhaled a long deep breath, released it, then met my gaze again. He seemed to be fighting himself the way his blue eyes danced back and forth. “Please.”
I started to ask, but his fingers grazed the skin on the back of my arm, and he reeled me toward him again. His firm grip told me he wasn’t keen on letting go this time, and it made the wings soar up my throat, blocking any sound from my lips.
“Please,” he said again, and I saw the muscles in his arms shake violently, “don’t kill me for this.”
And he kissed me.
His lips were softer than I remembered. Like the press of water against my skin; refreshing and sweet. And I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was until he gave me a drink. And I couldn’t stop gulping it down, like I’d been dehydrated my entire life and his kiss replenished everything I ever needed. Wanted.
My tongue swept over his soft lips, and they opened like an invitation. I drew him into me, pressing my mouth against his harder because he was thirsty, too. Deep and desperate were our mouths, like they’ve been searching for each other and finally—finally found what they’d been missing.
His hands were everywhere, trailing across my arms, back, neck. Fingers found my hair, tugging gently. Another hand dipped beneath the band of my bra, and I unraveled at the seams. He found the invisible string that held me together, and he pulled.
Pulled.
Pulled.
Until I was barely before him in the pool.
Unsteady breaths lay between us as he broke his mouth from mine. His eyes searched for answers I didn’t have, and he kissed me again. More thirsty, more urgent. In that moment, I didn’t care if Daphne sucked the life from us both. Didn’t care if Xandrea crumbled the entire world in her hands. Because I’d finally lived.
One hand cupped my breast, a thumb tracing idle circles around my nipple. The blissful sensation ignited a shared desire. My fingers curled in his wet hair, tugging urgently. As if he could get any closer than he already was.
He broke away again, only to press kisses to my jaw. Another on my collarbone. Every single place his lips brushed against my skin tingled.
“Rhen,” he whispered into my neck. “I—”
Sharp nails dug into my calf and yanked me free of his grip. I gasped, his name on my lips as I plummeted down beneath the surface of the water. I sucked in a lungful of water but couldn’t release it. Couldn’t spit it out because if I did, I’d drown.
I’m dead. I’m dead. I have to be dead.
But I could hear the distorted echo of Elm shouting my name overhead, and I clawed at whatever had hold of my leg.
Scales.
I touched something with a thick layer of scales, and I remember the warning I was given about water creatures that drown people for fun, then maim their dead bodies, ripping flesh from bone before devouring it.
Kelpie.
The word rang through my body, and I tried and failed again to unlatch its grip from my ankle.
Mothergod, please. Please don’t let me die like this. Not after I’d finally felt what it was like to be alive.
I inhaled again, taking in more water, and coughed. Panic tumbled as I made one last attempt to free myself before darkness seeped through the cracks.
As if she’d heard my prayer, I felt another set of arms clasp around my waist just before everything turned black.