Fate of Elements (5 page)

I
watched
as his eyes briefly sparked red before going back to the black I had been looking at since I walked through the Skeleton Door. If I had been on the other side of the door, I would have been a scared little mouse, screaming and running away from him. But here, I was strong. I couldn’t explain it, something changed in me as I crossed that threshold into Aimsir. I could feel a power deep within me. Something just under the surface that wanted to boil over.

If what I read was correct, I was the most powerful being in this world. While the books didn’t say my name specifically, they did say whomever walked through the Skeleton Door was the one. They couldn’t hurt me. For once in my life, I didn’t have to worry about pain or retreat into my books.

There was a vibration to this world. I swore I could tune into it, sync the rhythm of my heartbeat to the energy here. Closing my eyes, I let the pulse of Aimsir fill me. I imagined myself lying in the middle of a field, the grass and leaves tickling my skin as they danced in the cool breeze. A small stream flowed over rocks, camouflaging the sound of the birds flapping around, bathing in the water. It reminded me of a simpler time when I was younger. When I could simply lie around all day without a care in the world.

“Is there no room for me in your fantasy?”

I opened my eyes and turned to look at him, lying on the ground next to me.

“What? How?” I sat up and looked around. This wasn’t the same place we had been when I closed my eyes. “Where am I?”

“Relax, lie back down, and enjoy yourself. I’ll tell you as long as you make sure to always keep my warmth around you. I had a hard time finding you since you didn’t take it with you.”

I frowned at him, trying to comprehend what he was telling me, trying not to l give in to the panic making my stomach clench. “I don’t understand.”

“Shh…” His voice soothed me. “You have to calm down. Everything is okay. You are safe here.”

Thunder rolled in the distance, and I could smell the rain on the wind.

“Do you want to stay here, or do you want me to take you to my home?”

“I don’t know.” My mind, so serene earlier, whirled now like the wind beginning to whip through the meadow. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know this land. I didn’t know this person in front of me. What if I died here?

“Raina,” his sharp voice pulled me into focus. “You have to get control of yourself. You’re going to end up causing harm if you continue.”

Lightning struck the field with a sharp hiss, and the smell of sulfur filled the air.

“Screw this,” his deep voice shook with something I couldn’t decipher.

In an instant, I was gathered up in his arms. In a flash, the scene changed as if I had flipped a television channel. Instead of the violence of the storm, we were in a dark, windowless room, the flames from a fireplace illuminating the sparsely furnished room with its warmth.

I tried to act like it was perfectly natural that a strong, powerful man would lift me up into his arms, and I’d still be there while transported from one location to another. This typically wasn’t an everyday occurrence, not for me at least, but I guess in this world it was normal. I could feel myself grow warm from the embarrassment of being pressed up against him. Or maybe it was his heat seeping into me. Glancing up at him through my eyelashes, I saw him looking down at me, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

“Why are you smiling,” I asked.

“Let me ask you a question.”

“Okay.”

“Before today, did you ever believe in fate?”

I frowned and thought. No one had ever asked me that question before. Sure, I read about fate all the time. It was woven into story after story, but did I ever really believe in it? Was something out there waiting for the right time to suddenly happen, and as if by magic everything would be all right in the world? I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I wondered if it was something made up to make people feel like there was a purpose to what they were going through. Like if they just would hang on, something better was coming… when fate said it was time, and not before.”

“What about now? Do you believe in it now?”

Without fully realizing what I was doing, I started to play with one of the buttons on his shirt while I tried to think of what to say. I had the key in my pocket, so I could go home whenever I wanted. Why shouldn’t I live this little adventure to the upmost? Sure, my other life wasn’t anything to write home about, it was pretty boring. But it was safe and predictable. Maybe while I was here, I should throw caution to the wind and live in the moment without planning everything out like I typically did.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve dreamt of you my whole life. When I opened the Fire Element book in my uncle’s house, some of the information I already knew. Like this.” I traced my finger along the scar that ran from his jaw down the side of his neck. “When I was younger, I dreamt of a great betrayal. Where once there were four who stood together, now there was only distrust and anger. You fought with your brother because he wanted her, but she only wanted you. And you wanted nothing to do with her. You knew she wasn’t the one for you, and it made her burn deep inside with anger. But Erion, he was broken because she loved you and not him. And death, so much death. So many powerful people were killed.”

Because I was watching this time, I saw it, and I knew I hadn’t imagined it earlier. His eyes flashed red before changing back to black. Just as I had seen in my dreams all these years.

“No,” I told him. “Don’t hide from me. Don’t you understand what I’m saying? I’ve
seen
you before. For years, in my dreams. I’ve read of your clan and the others. I know everything; the good and the bad.”

“Then you know about me, how I burn for this, but in the end, I’ll only end up with ashes.”

The air around us sparked as the tension he couldn’t control was brought to life.

“Hallet, you are the one who asked me about fate. You have my answer, but what about you? Because if you do believe in it, you wouldn’t be hiding your true self from me.” I forced myself to pull away from him, my feet on the ground. I never broke eye contact with him. I was scared, without a doubt. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure exactly what he was, or would become, but I held onto my dreams. In them, he could be fiercely protective, a warrior. But I had also witnessed him breaking down when his parents were killed. Or when he lashed out with his fire in anger and hurt an innocent. I knew that was his biggest fear, that somehow, some way, he’d hurt me.

Slowly he allowed his fire to surface. The pupils of his eyes were an electric blue. I’d been used to the coal black, but that color pulled back, and in its place, red and orange swirled together. He didn’t change much physically. He wasn’t one who tried to hide his scars. Yet there was something else. It was almost as if he became taller, bigger, more imposing, or maybe it was just his power radiating from him. He raised one hand and showed me his palm. I watched in awe as he formed a small sphere of white hot fire that danced to music I couldn’t hear.

“Most people would look at this and all they know is that it is too hot to touch. That if they did, it would hurt. If it were to consume them, there would be no survival. It would burn them alive. What else is there?”

I couldn’t take my eyes off of his fire. Something deep inside of me knew that he pulled this from the depths of himself. This was his soul. “There’s life. There’s warmth. There’s light… and there’s love.”

I brought my hand up, cupping his from underneath. Instinctively, I knew what I had to do. How I was going to it, I had no idea, but this moment felt like it was one of the most important of my life. Digging deep, I pictured what my soul would look like. What was deep inside of me? This world or mine, it didn’t matter; inside I was the same.

I saw colors swirling around each other. Each of them distinct, yet working together. Reaching out mentally, I entwined mine with his. Picturing the two of them entwining together. My body came alive as their magic pulsated around me. Lights moved behind my closed eyes, and I swayed from side to side. My eyes flew open when I heard him gasp, and I froze.

One of the most beautiful things I had ever seen was there in the palm of his hand. As I watched, our souls dance together. His white hot, and mine, multi-colored. They were so beautiful together, I couldn’t explain my feelings. For someone who’d spent hours reading stories and the emotions that were written in words in each of those novels, I was speechless. It was more than coming home, finding your other half, having fireworks go off, or any other cliché. It was such a deep sense of rightness – there was no arguing. I simply knew fate said we would be together. We were meant to be together. There was absolutely nothing I could do except love him. What more could be done when two souls danced together?

His other hand reached out and pulled me in to him. I welcomed the heat of his body and kiss into me like a moth to a flame, knowing we’d both survive. As his lips slid over mine, it felt both new and familiar. I knew him, I had always known him. He was my hero in every single book I’d ever read. He was the one I always pictured. Him and no one else.

“
C
ome on
, that’s it. Hold it right there. Perfect, Raina!” I watched from the shadows as she stood in the middle of the meadow and created a cloud out of nothing, and then made it rain. This was completely different than the uncontrollable storm from the other day. While this was all new to her, she picked up on everything like she’d been doing it for a millennia.

Since we had shared so much of each other, part of me feared she’d sneak off and go back through the Skeleton Door to leave me here alone again. Like some cruel joke the fates would play on me after all I’d done over the years, lashing out in anger. That I’d finally found happiness, to have it ripped away from me, as I had ripped it away from others.

Another part of me worried about what Dayna was up to. She’d been quiet, but I knew the others were watching. I’d seen Erion’s hawk flying overhead. I knew he’d be reporting back to them. I knew both Dayna and Naida didn’t miss anything either, they just were better at hiding than Erion. While there were other creatures Naida could use, and she did, Blue was her whale, her special. Since we weren’t working near the ocean, I knew Naida had to be using something to watch what our visitor was up to. I wasn’t worried about her. She wanted to know what was going on, and wasn’t spying on us to figure out our weaknesses. She would do what was best for everyone, even if it meant giving up her crown.

As I watched Raina move from one element to another, I was in awe of her ability and the beauty she so easily created. As flowers bloomed, their fragrance filled the air as a rainbow surrounded her. Her pure joy filled my dark soul, and I remembered what it was like as a child when I was first learning to harness my power and there was no threat of war.

Raina was like no other woman I had ever known. Yes, she was from a different world, and a god in this one, but there was so much more to it than simply that. I had seen my parents’ love for each other. Not to mention, we had our own tales of love, and the stories Charlie, the Librarian, brought from his world to ours. She fit into this world like she had been born for it. This was her home, I was her home. I would do everything in my power to keep her safe here, to make this a place she’d want to stay forever.

Ronin had found out Naida’s fringe weren’t the only ones who’d gone missing. So far, we had been able to confirm Fire, Water, and Air people were nowhere to be found. Getting any information about Earth had always been hard, but now Dayna had quarantined her people from everyone else. We had no way of knowing if any of her people were missing.

Until we could confirm what was happening, we had to assume Dayna was losing people, too. Her Kingdom meant everything to her, and she’d do whatever it took to keep her people safe. She was our world’s fiercest warrior, and she was almost unstoppable when threatened. Unfortunately, right now she thought we were the enemy.