I didn’t move. I didn’t attack. I didn’t do anything except try to calm my frantically thudding heart and slowly close the door behind me. The brief flicker of surprise I saw on Adam’s face as I casually grabbed a banana told me I’d made the right choice. I wasn’t sure what his play was, but he’d clearly been hoping to catch me off guard. Perhaps he’d even wanted me to attack him.
“Did you have a nice field trip?” I said, peeling the banana. “See all tourist attractions Cliffside has to offer? We have a knock-off fountain that’s supposed to look like one from Rome. It’s a bit embarrassing, but it’s a classic. The mall’s nice, too. Or maybe you strolled along the waterfront? Took in some of that fresh ocean air to clear your head?”
Adam continued watching me as I finished the banana in a few bites. I hadn’t realized it until now, but I was famished. And thirsty. And so, so tired. Physically, but also exhausted already by whatever BS the Conclave and Adam were doing. The Loft was supposed to be my bastion of safety, and yet here he was, playing stupid games instead of straight up telling me what he wanted.
I held the banana peel out over the sink and incinerated it, letting the ashes fall into the disposal. “Tell me, Adam, what’d you end up doing?”
“I saw your boyfriend,” Adam said.
I tried not to show any reaction, but a slight grin crawled up Adam’s face. Damn. He’d gotten me.
“You talked to Jasper?”
“He’s doing well,” Adam said. “Alive, anyway. But really, you’re dating a vampire? Isn’t he one of those magic-sucking ones, too? How’s that work?”
“My relationships are none of your business.” Creepazoid. “What could you two possibly have to talk about?”
The grin on Adam’s face grew. “So you two are a thing? How cute. He was very eager to get back to you.”
I leaned against the kitchen counter, arms crossed. When I’d first come in, I’d hoped one of the other Outcasts would’ve been down here to help me out with Adam; but now? I didn’t want any other interference. In fact, it’d be nice if he’d cut through the crap and challenge me to a fight. At least then I’d have an excuse to release my pent-up anger and pummel him into the ground. “What did he say?”
Adam waved a hand. “Nothing important. But it does create a bit of a problem.”
“Like what?”
“Liabilities. I know a lot more now about your little trial, the prophecy, and all the things the others say about you and this throne.” His eyes flickered to my right arm. “Is it true you have…”
I turned my arm over and revealed the dimly glowing crown. “Of course. I wouldn’t be much of a queen without that, would I? In fact, I’d say anybody who doesn’t have that and is still vying for the throne is an idiot.”
Adam continued staring at my arms as I recrossed them. “Even still, liabilities. That’s something a ruler, a real ruler, one who will bring real change, doesn’t need. Liabilities like Jasper and your Outcast friends. What if I was to…”
He summoned a ball of ice. Locking eyes with me, he crushed it in his hand.
I didn’t take the bait. I knew, if he was being serious, I’d roast his lungs to ash before he’d made a single move. “Look, I’m tired. You know, from doing actually important things. So what do you want, Adam?”
“I thought it was obvious,” Adam teased. “I want what you have. Not the boyfriend, obviously.” He made a face that had me wanting to punch him all over again. Preferably right in the teeth. “That throne. We’re both elementals. It’s the elemental throne.” He held up his hands, letting me fill in the blanks. “But until the others see that I’m clearly the better choice, I’ll play nice.”
He removed a cup from the cupboard and walked beside me to fill it up with the coldest water possible from the tap. “You know, I spoke with Valencia and overheard Lukas.”
“How nice. You’ve met our resident usurpers. Did they get you a welcome gift bag? A little advice, from personal experience: their warm welcomes come with a lot of fangs, claws, and death threats.”
“I didn’t reveal what I was to them, so they didn’t speak to me much,” Adam said, still smiling. The water in his cup briefly changed to solid ice, then thawed again. “All they talked about was you. Riley this, queen that. It got boring after a while. It’s like there was nothing else in the world they could think of than one stupid elemental and that throne.”
I gazed at him in shock, realizing something for the first time. “Hold on…you’re…jealous.”
Adam laughed before downing the rest of the water. “Please. Why would I be jealous of someone who was thrown into this life without any choice at all? No thanks. I’m making my own choices. And my choice is that I deserve that throne.”
But I couldn’t shake the idea once it’d taken hold, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. He was another elemental, but the witch’s curse had chosen me. Adam probably didn’t know that’d happened because of what Iris had done, but it was clear he felt slighted in some way. Maybe he didn’t fully understand what he was asking for. Maybe he didn’t need to. I had something he wanted, and he was jealous about it.
“I’ve come to terms with what I am and what the prophecy wanted me to do,” I said. “It isn’t just something you decide you want all of a sudden.”
“And who decided you got all that?” Adam seethed.
I took a slight step back as he stepped closer. “Uh, the prophecy. I just said that.”
The air was growing cold, then frigid. Thin crystals of ice began crawling across the countertop, but I wasn’t in the mood. My own magic surged to the surface, stopping the ice’s advance where it met my wall of heat. Adam’s powers immediately dissipated when they hit mine. Likewise, I could only push my magic so far before it was swallowed by his sheer cold. The walls and counters froze, then thawed, over and over again. For a brief moment, the kitchen was a clash of fire and ice.
He was strong—stronger than I’d expected—but I’d gotten a lot better at controlling my magic. I wasn’t the scared, clueless girl I’d been when I’d first arrived. And I was angry.
“You know, you’re beginning to sound a lot like Lukas, you know that?” I said. “And my relationship with him hasn’t exactly been all sunshine and rainbows.”
Adam searched my face, then slowly leaned back, his power receding with him. Cautiously I drew my own fire back, ready to call on it again if he tried anything.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Riley,” he said, scowling. “We’re both elementals. We’re practically closer than family.”
Okay, way to make this weird.
“I just want you to understand that just because you’ve had everything handed to you doesn’t mean you get to take it without a fight.”
“Everything handed…are you serious right now? Do you have any idea—”
Adam slid past me, waving a casual hand over his shoulder as he sauntered out. “Sooner or later you won’t be able to take the pressure anymore, and when that time comes, you’ll be begging me to take your place.”
Since the gym was surprisingly free of Collette, I changed into my workout gear, got on the treadmill, and proceeded to try to run all my anger out until I was heaving and my sides hurt so bad I felt like I was being torn in half.
I was also still angry.
I yanked a couple of the practice dummies onto the sparring floor and proceeded to wallop them with my fists, feet, fire magic, and wooden staff, which was pretty much the only weapon Ari had managed to teach me how to use, and probably only because it was literally a giant stick. It wasn’t easy to mess that up.
Halfway through my suffer session, I discovered that unleashing my magic had a cathartic effect on my mood. I stopped in the middle of the floor and focused inward, turning my attention to the fiery tiger deep within. It growled as it rose to my call. I opened my eyes to find its flaming visage prowling around me, giving off a low, growling purr that rattled through my body.
“Hey buddy.” I held out a hand and was relieved when the tiger rubbed the top of its head against it. I hadn’t expected it to attack me—it was there as my last line of defense, after all—but I hadn’t had much experience using it. I supposed that was a good thing, but it was also a powerful, untapped part of my magic I’d only just been able to start summoning willingly, and even then only for short periods of time.
As I sat on the floor and stroked its warm, fiery fur, I could feel the strength of my magic leaking out of me at a faster rate. Within ten minutes I was sweating and starting to shake with strain.
“Okay, big guy. Time to go back inside.”
My tiger continued batting around a forty-five-pound dumbbell like it was a wadded-up piece of paper.
“Yo, Rajah or Shere Khan or…Tony, can you please, you know.” I pointed to my hand.
My tiger gave what I could only describe as an eyeroll before padding over and pressing its nose against my hand. In moments it was gone, along with its warmth. The drain on my magic stopped. I was now properly tired and didn’t feel as angry anymore. I still wanted to berate Adam for acting like the child he was, but I wouldn’t be blasting him through walls anytime soon.
Probably.
When I left the gym I could hear the rustle of the few other Outcasts who were up. I passed Maxime in the hall. He gave me a tired smile.
“Glad to see you’re looking chipper!” he said before stifling a yawn. “Er, I want to apologize again for last night. When Collette—”
“You don’t have to apologize for her,” I said.
“But—”
“Seriously, Maxime. Don’t apologize for her. I was just about to go up to see Lucinda.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea! Oh, and next time you’re free, pop by my room. I’ve got a few more pieces I’m working on I think would be simply marvelous for you. Astounding, really, if I do say so myself.”
“That’d be great,” I said. “And…will they keep me alive as well?”
“Of course! I can’t very well continue designing if one of my inspirations is dead!”
I chuckled as I made my way up to Lucinda’s pool. I pushed open the door and slipped into the sauna-like interior. I was greeted with postcard-worthy white sand bordering sapphire-blue water. Palm trees on the single island shaded the shore with their long, lazy leaves blowing slightly in the artificial wind.
I spotted Lucinda floating near the shore. Beside Collette.
I stopped. I didn’t want to hold anything against her. Try as she might to act as uncaring as possible—and she did an excellent job of that—I understood she’d been stressed about her friend.
That didn’t mean I wanted to talk with her.
Lucinda saw me first. Her eyes widened with delight. “Riley!”
Collette scowled at me before continuing to run her hand over Lucinda’s wound beneath the water. Not sure how to interpret this, I casually approached them. “How are you feeling?”
Lucinda’s coral-green hair fanned around her head as she performed an overhead stretch, causing Collette to scowl even deeper. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be, Lucinda.”
“Sorry!” Lucinda sank back down. “But much better. I had a big hole in my side earlier—”
I nearly gagged in shock.
“—but I’m all better now!” She shifted her mermaid flipper to legs, kicked them, then shifted back again.
“You’re. Not. Helping,” Collette bit out. She pulled her hand free. A glow of magic later and it was completely dry. “Whatever. I’m pretty much done anyway.”
Lucinda grabbed her arm as Collette started to rise. She whispered fervently in her ear.
Collette grunted as she removed her arm from Lucinda’s grasp. “Stay submerged. It’s not like you’re going anywhere else.”
She brushed past me. Lucinda was biting the inside of her cheek when I turned back to her. “I’m really sorry about her,” she said, sinking down so that half her face was submerged.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I said. I knelt next to the water. “I don’t really blame her, either.”
“Really?”
“Really. Things were pretty hectic when you got back. She was worried about you.”
“I know. She’s not the best at showing it, but I know she actually cares.”
I tried not to rub the still-tender spot where Collette’s spell had hit me. She did care. Sometimes to an alarmingly painful degree.
“So…what happened?” I asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Not at all.” Lucinda drifted to the edge of the pool and propped her arms on the sand. Her skin reflected the subtle hint of scales. “I discovered what Onora is hiding.”
I leaned over, suddenly listening 150 percent. “What?”
“Yeah!” Lucinda nodded furiously. “They call it…a titan.”
I continued staring at her. “What’s a titan?”
“I don’t know either. But I told Ari and I think she told Sawyer. It’s nothing good, that’s for sure. They kept calling it the sleeping giant and earthshaker. They said…” At this she looked unsure.
“What is it? If it’s something Onora said, don’t worry. I can handle her.”
“Well, one of her shifters was talking about you and how strong you were and how Vulcan liked you and you got the crown, but Onora said that the titan would be able…be able to break you.”
Onora wanted to break me? Yeah, that checked out.
“But not until they’ve awakened it,” Lucinda added. “That’s what they’ve been trying to do. It hasn’t been working but last time I heard her she seemed excited. She said she’d found someone who had what they needed.”
“And she didn’t say what?”
Lucinda’s face fell. “I didn’t hear that. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” I patted her arm. “I can’t believe you learned all that other stuff. It’s way more than we had before, that’s for sure.”
“I would have kept listening if Onora hadn’t found me.”
“How?”
Lucinda’s tail flicked back and forth. “She knew about my power to travel through water. I’d been able to get away with it before, but this time when I came back she was ready. One of her shifters tried to grab me and pull me out of the water. I fought back and managed to escape but they got me.”
Lucinda shrank even further back into the water. I understood. Onora was terrifying. I also wasn’t surprised she’d found out about Lucinda. She’d caught me trying to communicate with her via a bowl of water when she’d taken us prisoner. I suspected she’d put all her lackeys on high alert for any water that looked suspiciously fishy.
“That’s…” I sank back into the sand, my brain going a hundred different directions with this new information. “This helps us. I’m not sure how, but it does.”
“They did say something about the prophecy,” Lucinda said.
“Who did?”
“Onora. She seemed...not scared, but concerned. Apparently she doesn’t like that a lot of paranormals believe it. Or that you’re in it.” Lucinda leaned in closer. “It hasn’t said anything new, has it?”
“Not a bit.” Which now, more than ever before, was starting to irk me. The prophecy’s timing had always sucked, but with the throne in jeopardy (again), Onora working on waking up something that probably shouldn’t be awakened, and a new flippin’ elemental arriving, now might be a great time for it to speak up.
Lucinda could clearly read the thought process on my face. “Maybe you should see if you can get it to speak to you again.”
“You know, that’s a good idea,” I said, standing. “Excuse me, I have to go talk to someone.”
It was only after I’d checked the Gargoyle’s Roost, garage, and nearly all of the open bedrooms, that a tip from Maxime led me up to the movie room.
I stepped inside to find Adam piling blankets in one corner, along with a couple pillows I was pretty sure he’d swiped from the couch downstairs.
“What are you doing?”
Adam spun around like he’d been caught stealing. “When’d you get here?”
“A few months ago since, you know, I live here now.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
I peered over his shoulder at the pile of blankets he was clearly trying to block. “Is this like a grown-up pillow fort?”
“It’s none of your business. Now what do you want? Have you come to give that throne up?”
Boy, when he latched onto an idea…
“Hardly. You know, if you’re going to stick around you could always grab one of the rooms. There’re plenty available.”
“The rooms,” he said through gritted teeth, “won’t open for me.”
Huh. I hadn’t realized the Loft’s magic worked like that. Or maybe it was a new spell Sienna or Sawyer had cast and hadn’t told me about.
“Weird,” I said. “I’ve never had any trouble with them.”
“How nice for you. Now seriously, what—”
“I need your help with something.”
There was a long pause. “…my help?”
I motioned for him to follow. “Real quick. Won’t take more than a second. If you cooperate.”
When he didn’t immediately follow me out, I popped my head back in. “If you think I’m going to attack you or something, I’m not the one who came barging in here. Also, I’ve got bigger things to worry about than you.”
He smirked. “As if you’d dare attack me. I’d send you back to the Ice Age before you could summon a fireball.”
Lame threats aside, he followed downstairs after that.
“You’ve seen the prophecy,” I said, gesturing to the stone above the fire.
He cocked an eyebrow. “Of course.”
“And you have an elemental birthmark. Kinda resembles two football posts someone drew when they were drunk?”
I got a sneer that time. “Of course. Do you really think I’m lying about being an elemental?”
I didn’t. Not one bit. It had become the biggest thorn in my side recently.
Before I could reconsider, I took his arm, pulled hard, and placed his flattened palm on the prophecy stone.
“What are you doing?”
Adam yanked his hand back, but not before I’d rested against the stone for a full second, more than enough time for something to work if it was going to.
“That’s how I revealed the last lines of the first prophecy,” I said, staring at the stone, waiting for new lines to appear.
Adam gripped his wrist like I’d burned him, which I totally hadn’t, the big baby. “Why didn’t you just ask me to put my hand against it?”
Because I wasn’t sure you would. “You’re making it a bigger deal than it is. I just wanted to check something.”
Adam continued glaring at me until the stone eventually drew his eyes. “Whatever you wanted to check, it looks like it isn’t working.”
I bit my lip, waiting. He was right, as much as I hated to admit it. It’d taken the letters a few seconds to change the first time I’d done this, but it was clear as we stood there, the awkward silence increasing exponentially, that it wasn’t happening this time.
“I’m not surprised,” Adam said, the usual drawl creeping back into his voice. “That thing reveals prophecies about elementals. We’re the only ones and we’re both here, so what else does it need to say?”
“You really think we’re the only ones?”
“Do you?”
“I used to think I was the only one.” I remembered back when Sienna had gone over the first prophecy, line by line, before the trial: They ascend the ancients’ throne. Normally that wouldn’t have stuck out to me, but now, with Adam’s arrival, the punctuation made sense. Ancients’, not ancient’s. The apostrophe indicated multiple ancients—any number—not just me.
That left a question: just how many were there?
“I don’t know how many,” I said. “But it seems strange the prophecy would set itself up to pit us against one another.”
“Not strange at all.” Adam crossed his arms. “We’ve got old blood in our veins, back from when the earth first began. Things were brutal back then. I bet the prophecy wanted us to duke it out. They only want the strongest to rule.”
“And it chose me for that,” I answered, glaring at him.
A sneer. “Maybe they chose wrong.”
Deep breath. Strangling him would only prove his point. “Be honest with me, Adam. When you found the Loft and discovered I was an elemental too, how’d you feel?”
“Like my life just got a million times harder.”
I resisted groaning. This guy and Jasper must have taken the same class on giving snide remarks. “You said you felt drawn to this place. Like it called to you.”
Adam shifted to his other foot. “I…might have said something like that.”
“Admit it, like me you probably felt, at least a tiny bit, a small sense of relief. Like, we’re surrounded by paranormals with crazy magic, but there are none quite like us.”
Adam was silent. I looked over to see him gazing into the fire, a contemplative frown on his face.
“Tell me I’m wrong,” I said.
“What’s your point?”
“How can a prophecy, or any sort of force that wants us to beat each other to a pulp for a throne, leave us feeling like that? Wouldn’t it be better to make us unable to stand being around each other? Not that you aren’t doing that just fine by yourself,” I added when he opened his mouth.
His frown quirked into a grin. “You beat me to it. I’m not saying you’re wrong.”
My hopes soared. Finally, a little cooperation—
“But I’m not saying you’re right.”
And…we were back to reality, ladies and gents.
“Then what are you saying? You aren’t going to help me?”
“Take that throne from those other guys? Not a chance. I meant what I said: I want it. Unlike them, I have a prophecy that could very well have been referring to me.”
“And…” I swear I let out a bit of my tiger’s growl when I spoke.
Adam jerked his head to the prophecy. “What’d you do to get the second prophecy to reveal itself?”
What had I done? Oh. I’d sat on the throne in the Dead City’s palace. At least, that was what I think had done it. Maybe if I did that again…
Adam was looking shrewdly at me, and I did my best to hide what I was thinking. He could very well know exactly what I’d done. He could very well be saying that to lure me back into the hands of the Conclave who had control of the Dead City. I wouldn’t put it past him.
Still, I couldn’t shake the idea. If you could kill two birds with one stone then traveling to the throne and the Dead City would take out an entire flock and their extended relatives. I could check the Conclave situation myself. Possibly find Valencia. Maybe even free Jasper, prove Adam wrong, and get a new prophecy as a bonus gift.
It also had the great potential to blow up in my face disastrously.
Yeah, that was more likely. I shouldn’t do it. I knew I shouldn’t.
Who was I kidding, I was totally going to.
“Thanks, Adam,” I said. “I’m glad we had this little chat.”
I excused myself. I needed to prepare to infiltrate the Dead City.