Fragile Reign (Mortal Enchantment Book 2) (3 page)

I laughed. “You say that like you’re giving me a choice.”

“I didn’t mean for it to come off that way.” She said with a mischievous grin. “You really have no choice.”

Rowan

Pacing the white sandy beach, I waited impatiently for Kalin. It had been weeks since I had stood on this sand. I had spent so many hours training her here, but it was more than that. This was where I started falling for her. At first, I thought she was annoying as hell. She didn’t seem to take my lessons seriously. But it wasn’t that at all. She was scared out of her mind. It was hard to believe Taron let her grow up as a mortal. Away from other elementals, without knowing how to use her power. She missed so much.

But somehow, she survived. She stood up to the council, managing to rescue her father without their help. And, in a very different way, she even saved me. After I killed my mother and thought I’d lost Marcus forever, I went to a dark place. Except for the loneliness and despair, I just felt empty inside. I spent a year in the mortal world, never talking to anyone about what had happened to me. I trained and—from a distance—watched over Kalin. It got to the point where I hardly recognized myself. Then she needed my help and everything changed. I changed. She turned out to be exactly what I didn’t know I needed.

A few yards away, an oval shaped wind tunnel appeared, swirling like a tornado on the inside. Kalin walked through it, pushing her loose red curls over her shoulder. The wind coming off the ocean ruffled the bottom of her short canary-yellow sundress. In the dimmed light of the setting sun, her skin seemed to glow as she made her way toward me. I swallowed hard. As she got closer, I noticed she was wearing make-up. It was more than she ever wore in the mortal world, which meant Ariel must have gotten her ready.

Suddenly she was standing in front of me. Neither of us said a word. I had the feeling she was waiting for me to say something. And for the first time in my life, I couldn’t think of anything to say. Was I nervous? Why would I be? I had dated plenty of girls. Since when did I get tongue-tied? When in doubt, I was always good for at least one snarky comment. But then she smiled and I lost my entire train of thought. My brain ordered me to kiss her. Pull her into my arms and press my lips into hers. My fingers tingled at the thought. What was this chick doing to me?

I crossed my arms in front of me. “You’re late.”

“Really?” Kalin rolled her eyes. “You have no idea what it took to get here. I have knights following me everywhere. The council has everyone on full alert since the fire court started attacking us in the mortal world.”

I wanted to correct her and say rogue members of the fire court, but since I already sounded like a douchebag, I decided to shift the topic to something less combative. “Looks like you’re handling the portal travel much better.”

I cringed
. Brilliant conversation starter, moron
.

She ran her fingers through her hair. “Yeah…I’m still not crazy about the portals, but I guess I’ve gotten used to them.”

“Good.” If Marcus could see me now, he would be laughing uncontrollably. He would never let me live this down.

“Good?” she repeated, eyebrows furrowed.

I should just bury my head in the sand. “I meant, good you’ve gotten used to them.”

“Rowan, is something wrong?” she asked, genuinely concerned. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“No,” I said, louder than I intended. She took a step back. I grabbed her hands. “You look beautiful. That’s what I wanted to say.”

“Thanks.” She smiled. “You look good too.”

Finally, I managed to get one sentence out without sounding like an idiot.
“Well, that’s to be expected.” I winked.

“Never mind,” she said, shaking her head. “I take it back.”

Oh, it was on. I pulled her into my arms. “You don’t mean that, do you?”

Looking away, she said, “I meant it.”

I leaned in, letting my lips touch the tip of her ear. “I know you’re lying.” I whispered.

“You couldn’t be more wrong. I think you’re barely tolerable.” She wiggled as if she was trying to release herself from my embrace, but there was no force behind her attempt.

“I’m intrigued.” Holding her with one arm, I used my finger to turn her face until her eyes met mine. “What would you do if I tried to kiss you?”

“Push you away.” She said, scowling. For a moment, I almost took her seriously. Then she bit her bottom lip to hold back her grin.

Our faces were only inches apart when I said, “I call your bluff.”

Before she had a chance to respond, my lips were on hers. I loosened my hold, giving her a chance to pull away. She didn’t. Then I kissed her harder, wrapping both arms around her waist. She let out a little squeal, then her arms were around my neck. The longer it went on, the more intense it became. Everything around us disappeared. Her kiss tasted like peppermint, alerting all of my senses. I didn’t want to stop. I only wanted more. My fingers clasped the back of her dress while her fingers dug into my hair. Every hair on the back of my neck stood up.

“I missed you.” Kalin said, in between pants.

“I know.”

Laughing, she broke the kiss. Our foreheads rested against each other. “Has there ever been a moment when you weren’t cocky?”

I pursed my lips like I was actually pondering the question. “It hasn’t happened yet, but if it ever does, you’ll be the first to know.”

Taking her hand, I led her to a blanket I had set up. We sat next to each other, watching the waves as they crashed against the shore. I took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. It was the first time I had truly relaxed in a long time. Right here with her, I was completely content. I could almost forget about all of the drama going on. Maybe even pretend we were two normal mortals on a date. I shook my head. No, that would never be us. We would always have responsibilities that most mortals couldn’t even fathom. Soon, we would both be in control of our own courts. Moments like these would be few and far between.

“I wish it could always be like this.” Kalin said, as if she were reading my mind. She pulled her legs to her chest, resting her head on her knees.

Since she seemed to already know what I was thinking, I figured I’d ask, “If we were mortal, what do you think we would be talking about right now?”

“You mean like on a date?” she asked, biting her lip again as if she were trying to contain her smile.

I shrugged. “Yeah.”

Everything got quiet while she thought. “I guess we’d be getting to know each other. You know, talking about our hobbies or what we like to do for fun. That kind of stuff.”

Although I had watched over her in the mortal world, I didn’t know much about what she did with her friends. When she was with a group, I knew she was safe. I gave her privacy. Plus, she had her knights and I had to keep my distance. “What did you like to do in the mortal world?”

“Well, when I was with my friends, we’d hang out at Mike’s diner. They had the best hamburger sliders. We’d get a massive plate of them and just talk for hours. Sometimes we’d go to the mall and walk around. If I was by myself, I liked to paint.” She laughed. “With my mom, we’d have our movie nights. We would compete to see who could find the best romantic comedies. Mom liked the ones from the 80’s, like Sixteen Candles and Say Anything.”

It was nice seeing her so calm, not thinking about all of her duties and responsibilities. I leaned back on my arms. “Which movies did you choose?”

Her eyes widened with excitement. “I was all about the 90’s. I love The Wedding Singer and Never Been Kissed. Basically, any movie with Drew Barrymore.”

The excitement dropped from her face. “You really miss your Mom, don’t you?” I asked.

“Every day something happens and I wish I could tell her about it.” Her fingers toyed with the fringe on the blanket. “I’ve thought about visiting her a thousand times, but I don’t want her to know what’s going on. I don’t want her to worry.”

I wasn’t a big fan of secrets. I had seen firsthand how they can break a family apart. “I might be stepping over a line here, but don’t you think she has a right to know? Aren’t you afraid she will be upset when she eventually finds out? At some point, you’re going to see her again.”

Her back straightened. “She might be upset, but I think she’ll ultimately understand I had my reasons.”

It was better to back away from this conversation. It was easy to see I had hit a sore spot. “How is your father doing?” I asked, changing the subject.

Once her shoulders slumped, I had my answer. “Not good. The iron in his bloodstream cannot be removed. I…I just didn’t get to him fast enough.”

I put my arm around her, squeezing her shoulder. My heart ached at the guilt she obviously felt. How could she possibly blame herself? “Hey, none of that. He wouldn’t have been found if it wasn’t for you. He’s alive
because
of you. Don’t ever forget that.”

“If I had been trained—”

“Exactly. Taron made the choice not to teach you. Of course he couldn’t have predicted how everything played out, but he should’ve been prepared for anything.” I thought back to my mother’s execution. I had begged Taron to tell Kalin the truth. She had a right to know that her life was in danger. If she had known, she could’ve prepared herself. Sought out training. Who knows? If only he had listened to me.

“Any news to report from the mortal world?” she asked, obviously trying to change the subject. She must have sensed this was a sensitive topic for me.

I scratched the top of my head. There had to be a way to tell her in a positive light. “Well, I did find out most of the fires are not igniting from the unbalanced elements.”

Her eyes lit up. “That’s good, right?”

Nope, there was no positive way to spin this. It made more sense to just come right out and tell her the truth. “It seems Valac has been encouraging other fire elementals to attack the air and woodland territories. He has apparently declared himself king.”

“No, he can’t do that!” She said, her tone filled with venom.

I understood her anger. Valac had no right to claim the throne. “He can say whatever he wants, but he cannot be crowned king. Not until I’m dead or I concede the throne to him, which I will never do.”

She put her hands over her mouth. “Please don’t go back to the fire court. He’ll kill you.”

I started to wonder if she really could read my mind. “You know I have no choice. These attacks will not end if I don’t. The elements cannot stay unbalanced.”

“But you have no army to stand with you.” Kalin said, frantically. “Do you even know how many members of your court support him? You could be walking right into a trap.”

I cupped her face in my hands. “You may be right, but it doesn’t change what I need to do. The longer I avoid this, the worse it will get. I am leaving in the morning.”

Kalin put her hands over mine. Her touch sent a wave of heat through my arms. “I understand, but you need to make me a promise. You have to come back here at sundown every other day. It’s the only way I will know you are safe.”

“I promise. I will be here.” I kissed her again. Softer this time. Tenderly. The way you kiss someone when you really want it to matter. The first time I kissed her tonight, it was all about need and want. The fierce desire I felt for her deep down in my bones. This kiss was totally different. It was me saying everything I couldn’t get out in words. How much I cared for her. How much she meant to me. I would die to protect this girl.

I couldn’t say how long the kiss lasted. But when it was over, I was lying on the ground with her head on my chest. I stared into the night sky while she slept, running my fingers through her soft curls. I smiled each time she giggled in her sleep. She must have been having a great dream. I probably should’ve attempted to sleep, but there was too much on my mind. Everything Kalin had said about the fire court was true. I didn’t know if there was a trap waiting for me. Or if Valac had amassed an army to stand with him.

But I will not stand by idly while he destroys the world. I should have killed him long ago when I had the chance. I have to make up for my mistakes now. I will return to my home in the court of fire. And even if I stand alone, I will defeat him.

Kalin

The night had passed too quickly. The moment we said goodbye, a dull ache formed in the pit of my stomach. I had a bad feeling about Rowan returning to the fire court. He hadn’t been there since his mother forced Marcus to tear off his wings. Prisma deserved what she had gotten. I just wish Rowan hadn’t been the one to end her. Had the other fire elementals ever learned the circumstances surrounding her death? I doubted it. Valac has had plenty of time to fill their heads with lies, gaining supporters for his army. We had no idea how much of the fire court already supported him.

During the night, Rowan told me he had depleted all of his energy trying to put out a massive forest fire. He had no idea how long it would take before he was back at full power. Or if he would need to go back to the mortal world and help the younger elementals. Was this all part of Valac’s plan? Was he trying to weaken Rowan before he returned to the fire court? My only solace was knowing Marcus insisted on going with him. The hounds were the strongest of all the fire elementals. If it came down to battle, he would protect Rowan.

As I approached the stone archway, I noticed a collection of elementals just outside the castle entryway. Thunder crashed in the skies while lightning flashed within the clouds. This didn’t look natural. Cheers rang out as I pushed my way through the crowd. Then I saw the reason for the uproar. My father stood in the center of the commotion with his hands raised toward the heavens. His long blonde hair was tied in the back, his pale skin visible under the sun’s rays. I could clearly see the new wrinkles beneath his lavender eyes. Had the other elementals not noticed how much he had aged?

All of my concerns washed away when I realized he was using his powers to control the weather. A sliver of hope grew in my chest. Had something changed overnight? Maybe I was right all along and he just needed time to recuperate. When I reached him, I threw my arms around his neck. “Dad, I can’t believe it. How are you feeling?”