Mortal Enchantment (10 page)

No wonder the other elementals feared him. Not only could he kill with his crazy sword fighting skills, but he could also turn someone into a freakin’ pile of ash. ‟Well, fire boy, I'm glad to see you've kept your mojo. Now, please tell me what you're planning to do with that thing?”

He cupped both hands beneath the flame, and it doubled in size. ‟Provoke your anger.”

‟Keep talking, you're bound to piss me off in no time.” Would he burn me to prove a point? He edged toward me. I backed up. ‟Stay away from me, Rowan.” I tried to sound stern, but my voice shook.

‟Stop me. Push me away like you did yesterday. Find your center and focus.” He took another step closer. ‟Come on, Jelly Bean. I know you can.”

My eyes squinted. ‟I told you not to―”

‟Do something about it.” He waved the ball of flame so close to my head that I felt the sting against my ear. ‟What's the matter, Princess? Am I too much for you to handle?” He bounced the ball between his hands. ‟I'm not surprised. I wasn't expecting much from you anyway.”

Anger boiled in my chest. ‟You weren't, huh?” If he wanted to irritate me, mission accomplished. My power surged from my shoulders down to the tips of my fingers. ‟I'll show him what I can handle,” I mumbled under my breath. Pointing at Rowan, I released a surge of energy from my fingertips. The sheer power knocked us both backwards and I landed on my back in the sand. The gravel scraped against my skin. I tried to stand, but my arms and legs were as limp as a wet rag.

He grabbed me under my arms, pulling me to my feet. ‟You're still using too much energy because you’re not keeping your emotions under control. This is why the meditation is important. To master your power, you have to learn to quiet your mind.”

I wiggled my arms, trying to shake off the numbness. ‟Sure, Yoda. I'll get right on that.”

Rowan rolled his eyes. ‟Be serious.”

I made a disgusted face, but I had to admit, I did lose my focus. ‟I’m trying, but I feel like I'm never going to be able to make this work. Like I'm doomed to fail on an epic level.”

‟That's not going to happen,” he insisted.

‟You can't predict—”

‟We need to keep working.” He pointed to three pink seashells lying on top of a sand mound. ‟I want you to move them. Push them off the hill.”

They couldn’t have weighed much more than a feather, but my hands ached from the last time I tried to use my power. I didn’t want to try, but there was a determined look on Rowan’s face. He wasn’t backing down so I relented. ‟All right, fine.” I closed my eyes, envisioning the three shells flying off the hill. I held out my hands, pointing in their direction. I felt a spark like a static shock.

‟Open your eyes,” he whispered, sending a warm tingle down the side of my neck.

My eyes flickered open. I had to hold back from squealing and jumping. The mound was empty. The shells were lying close to the water's edge. I had finally managed to do something right. ‟I did it!”

‟Yes, you did,” he said, eyes searching the beach. “Now, let's go for something a bit bigger.”

I twirled around, noticing a boulder bigger than both of us in the distance. ‟I think I found something.” I pointed to it.

‟I was thinking something about the size of a basketball. You're not ready for something that big.”

‟Oh, come on.” I gave him a wicked smile. ‟We're only days away from the Ball, which means we've got to speed these lessons up.”

He scratched the back of his head. ‟This isn't a good idea.”

I wanted to do this. I had to do this. ‟Afraid I'm going to show you up?”

‟No, I—”

I didn't wait for more of his disapproval. Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths. My mind was dark except for a faint yellow blinking light. I had never seen the yellow so pale, and I wondered if I had used too much power. My arms were sore, numb at my fingertips. I thought about taking a break for a second. But if I had used too much power it wouldn’t work, so what's the big deal in trying? I pictured the boulder, imagining it rolling toward the ocean. I reached my hands out as if I was attempting to roll it.

An odd feeling settled between my shoulder blades. It was a pressure like I had pulled a muscle. A massive muscle. I ignored it, keeping my focus on the boulder. Something changed suddenly. I was spinning except I stood still. Dizzy, I fell to my knees. I was weakening. It was like my energy was being sucked right out of me.

With arms wrapped around my stomach, I grimaced. My eyelids were heavy and I collapsed completely. The sand scratched against the side of my cheek.

‟Kalin!” Rowan shouted.

Everything went black.

When I opened my eyes, my head was nestled in his arms. ‟Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes were wild and panicked.

I rubbed the side of my head and tried to sit up. ‟What happened?”

Instead of helping, he pulled me into his chest with his arms wrapped around me. His embrace was like a winter coat during a snowstorm. I was safe and protected. If only I could stay here forever. I didn't want it to end. ‟You passed out for a few seconds.”

‟Did I move it?” I whispered.

Shaking his head, he replied, ‟It wobbled. That doesn't sound like much, but it was. You should have never attempted something like that. You're lucky it didn't drain you completely. A power drain could put you in a coma or kill you.”

There wasn’t an inch of my body that wasn’t aching with pain. ‟I may not be in a coma, but I feel like I was run over by a herd of elephants.”

He chuckled, releasing his hold slightly. My head settled into the crook of his arm. Tenderly, he brushed the sand off the side of my face. His dark blue eyes bore into mine with a fervor I didn’t understand. I had to remind myself to breathe. Even after the muck was removed, he continued touching me. First, he followed my jawline with the tip of his finger. Then, he slowly traced my mouth. I swallowed hard when he licked his lips. His eyelids were at half-mast as he leaned in closer. I was overwhelmed with excitement. He was finally going to kiss me. My nerves caused me to tense up for only a second, but it was enough to ignite a change in him. It was like watching someone wake up from a daydream. Before I knew it, he was moving me into a sitting position.

Dammit!

He was all business with his tone. ‟I warned you this might happen, but it seems to be impossible for you follow to my instructions.”

‟I was listening.” I barely grated out.

‟Of course you were.” He moved farther away, staring out into the distance. The rejection was like being punched in the gut. ‟This seems like a good time to end our practice for the day.”

No, he couldn’t leave now. ‟Really, I'm fine. We should keep going.” I stood on my own. Another wave of weakness flowed through me.

Then, everything went black again.

I stood in a darkened room lit by a few candles in silver metal sconces. When I took a step forward, a few round, multi-colored poker chips scattered across the hardwood floor. My foot slipped and I glanced down. An ace of spades playing card was stuck on the bottom of my shoe. I picked it off, flicking it away. The scent of burnt ash wafted into my nostrils.

An urgency buzzed through my limbs that I couldn't explain. I had the sense that something I desperately wanted was close.

‟Is anyone here?” I yelled.

There was no response. Nothing about this place looked familiar. My nerves shifted into overdrive. I was about to turn around and go the other way when I heard a tiny whimper. I took a few steps forward, noticing something large crouched beneath a sliver of light. My adrenaline pumped as I went to my knees. Whoever it was had their face covered by a dirty wool blanket. Their body was curled into a ball. I reached my hand down. ‟I won't hurt you.”

‟Kalin?” He winced.

The cover pulled back. My father's lilac eyes stared up at mine. His face was covered in dirt with dried blood stained across his cheek. ‟Dad? What happened?” I attempted to pull him up, but he only groaned. ‟We've got to get you out of here.”

‟There's no time. We only have moments.” He reached for my arm. His frightened expression nearly brought me to tears. ‟Do not trust them,” he choked out. ‟They aren't who they seem.”

My mind raced along with my accelerated heartbeat. ‟Who, Dad? Please tell me.” The room started to change shape around us. Everything turned gray. The walls melted. I looked down at Dad who was fading away. I tightened my grip of his arm. ‟What's going on?”

‟They've found me.”

I opened my eyes, screaming. ‟Dad!”

‟It's me.” Ariel stood beside my bed, patting a wet cloth over my brow. ‟You passed out while you were training. Rowan brought you here.”

‟You don't understand.” I sat up, still shaking from what I’d just seen. ‟I saw my father. He was weak and a prisoner somewhere.”

‟Kalin, it had to be a nightmare.” Ariel rubbed the side of my arm. ‟You were drained of all your power. There's no way he came to you. If he had, it would have killed you.”

Why didn’t Ariel believe me? Panting and covered in sweat, I shifted my gaze around the room. The scent of ash had been replaced with a warm caramel. I was in my bedroom inside the air court castle. The skies outside my window were dark. Had I slept through the day? The vision seemed to only last a few seconds.

‟No, it was real,” I insisted, putting my bare feet on the cool floor. When I tried to stand, I couldn’t hold my own weight, landing back on the bed. ‟I have to find him. He's in danger.”

Ariel sat down next to me. ‟You can't go looking for him like this. Now is the time to rest. Jarrod sent out more knights to search for him.” She put an arm around my shoulders. ‟I have faith they will find him.”

The vision was real. Dad was in trouble, risking everything to warn me. He said
they aren’t who they seem
, so there must be at least two elementals working together. Unfortunately, I had no idea who ‘
they’
were. It could be any one. Ariel smiled, trying to lift my spirits. I wished I could believe so blindly, but the council had done nothing to make me feel they could help. No, I was going to have to rescue my father alone. First, I needed to check out the area where he was last seen before he was taken. There had to be clues that they missed somewhere.

‟You're right, I should just get some sleep.” I hated lying to her, but there was no other way to get her to leave.

‟Of course.” Ariel collected the wet rag and water basin. ‟I'll be back in the morning.” Her eyes brightened. ‟Tomorrow, we'll get fitted for our ball gowns.”

I tried to muster a smile. ‟Can't wait.”

She clearly wasn't fooled by my faux excitement. ‟I promise, I'll make it as quick and painless as possible.”

‟That's more like it.” I winked.

She playfully rolled her eyes, closing the door behind her.

The moment the door creaked shut, I stood. The dizziness wasn’t as bad as before. Maybe I just needed some fresh air. I got dressed into a pair of dark jeans, slipping a black t-shirt over my head. I glanced around the room. ‟What's a girl gotta do to get a weapon around here?”

By some miracle, I managed to slip out of the castle without being seen. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as lucky in the artillery department. Two palace guards secured the room. There was no question that one of them would have followed me or reported me to Jarrod since he commanded the knights. I didn’t want him involved in any way. Who knows? Any of his knights could’ve been one of the elementals Dad was referring to.

Once I reached the stone archway, the mountaintop winds whipped all around. The cool nighttime air made me shiver. Jarrod hadn’t been specific when he spoke about Dad's last known location. He did say he was meditating on the hillside of the mountain. Since most of the peak was capped with snow, he could have only meant the southern side where I’d gone after my first practice with Rowan.

I dug my hands into my pockets, heading toward the grassy hillside. Gusts of air blew my hair in every direction. I pulled it up into a ponytail to keep it out of my face. The distance to the hillside was short, but all I had for light was the incandescent
moon. With most of the landscape in shadow, why had I not thought about bringing something to illuminate my way? I rolled my eyes at myself as I kept trudging forward.

The terrain descended the farther I went. The dizziness I had felt earlier gave me the illusion I was falling. I was running on pure adrenaline, with only the worry for Dad pushing me forward. Dark clouds surrounded the mountain, I could barely see the thick elm tree a few yards in front of me. I made my way in that direction. Every other tree on the mountain was part of the forest and at least a mile away. I guessed that the single tree existing in the middle of a barren field would be a good place to meditate.

Once I reached the tree, I leaned against it. The sturdiness helped me regain my balance. I closed my eyes, exhaling deeply. A warm sensation came up behind me. I jolted.

‟What are you doing out here?” A stern voice asked.