Origin of Angels: Elemental Legacy Book 1 (30 page)

Instead of giving me a tongue lashing, she let out a frustrated breath. “We don’t have time to argue. Are you ready to listen to me now?” I nodded, not willing to risk saying the wrong thing. “Good
… because we need to find Rayla. She’s in trouble. Oh, and your sister has her brother captive at Valen’s stronghold.”

I STARED INTO THE PUDGY FACE of my son, hardly believing I was right. In all my imaginings of this moment, I never thought I’d be sharing it with the man who wanted me dead and the woman who wanted me to bond with her. Valen kept a secure hold on Emily. My heartbeat skipped with the simple thought of her. I had to get her and Blade out of here, but how to do such a thing, given my limited Elemental abilities and general lack of power control, was pretty much beyond me. For now, I’d take what I could get. Even having a moment to hold my child was a gift I would treasure.

I gave him a smile, and he laughed. “Daddy,” he said again.

“Hello, Blade. Aren’t you a big boy?”

He nodded, then pointed at the toys in the corner. I gave a questioning glance to Valen, since he seemed to be the one in charge. He flicked his wrist as if in dismissal. I got the distinct impression he was used to bossing people around. Hell’s bells, he would have a hard time governing me. I’d had fae infiltrate my mind plenty of times, so I mentally strengthened the barrier I’d erected when I realized he was trying to get access to my thoughts. The last thing I needed was him knowing what Emily meant to me. Her face had gone ashen, and she kept peering at Valen as if he would strike her dead. More likely, I would face the brunt of his attack, when he decided to unleash it. I knew it was coming. Anticipation filled the enormous room.

Ainessa’s tinkling tone should have soothed things, but if anything, it set my teeth on edge.
“Valen? A word, please?”

I didn’t bother to look up and instead focused on what was important. I took the opportunity to scan the room. If I had learned to drift, I would have snatched Blade and Emily and been long gone. I could try, but the fae spoke in the hall, only feet away. Ainessa’s voice continued to rise until it was a screech. I shot a look over my shoulder to Emily, who sat worrying her hands.

The two fae tromped back into the room, so I averted my eyes back to Blade. “Travis,” said Valen, putting a powerful compulsion into my name.

Even though my mouth wanted to snap a reply to him, I waited a good five seconds. “Yes?”

Irritation seeped into his words. “Come. Let us discuss the situation.”

I shook my head, smiling at Blade. I made my reply calm, even playful to keep the tension from affecting my son. “I can hear you fine from here.”

Ainessa made some comment about me being disagreeable, but I wasn’t really listening for her response. It was Valen I would have to watch out for.

“Very well,” he said. “We may have opposite allegiances, but I believe we can work together to reach a common goal.”

I frowned, turning to look at him. With his expression relaxed, he seemed serious enough. “How could you possibly think we have something in common?”

He took a seat beside Emily and took her hand. She averted her eyes. “You’ve proven your capacity to beget children. I’m also sure your father has informed you of your responsibility as first of your kind. It is also in my best interest to pursue the lineage
—”

“Why?” Even before I spoke, Emily visibly paled, which was something, considering.

The man showed little emotion, but the slight twitch of his lips did not lend me a bit of comfort. “I have my reasons.”

I squared my shoulders like my sister always did when she was determined to tell someone to get screwed. “You can forget it. I’m not interested in being your pawn
… or anyone else’s, either. You may have a war going on, but I don’t care. I want my child and my ... Emily. We are a family. It is only right for us to be together.”

Valen stood to
come tower over me. I let him think he had an advantage. “What I offer you is one night with my bondmate. If she conceives, then you may see your child, as you have this one. Those are my terms.”

Instant rage filled me. How could he treat Emily like stock to be bred? When I glanced at her, she stared, shock hollowing her cheekbones. I lifted my gaze once again to Valen, who stoo
d tall, apparently trying to intimidate. “I won’t comply,” I said, my voice lowering to nearly a growl.

He spun on his heel, throwing over his shoulder.
“Very well. Good day. The next time we meet, do not expect it to be on agreeable terms” He lifted Emily from the couch and directed her toward the door.

“Wait!” said Ainessa, jumping to her feet as if to stop him. When he glared at her, she froze.

My heart plummeted at the thought of not seeing Emily again. They made it to the entryway, and every piece of me wanted to chase after her. Instead, I set the bait. “What happens if Emily does get pregnant again? Will you want another child after? How many will be enough?”

He halted a few feet from the exit. “We do not have a specific number in mind. It will take a few years to see if your children have power. There are too many variables to make a guess as to the outcome.”

Icy words shot out of me. “She’ll be mine no matter what. You have to know you can’t keep her forever. Once her power is gone, you’ll have to return her to the mortal realm, where I’ll happily take her. We’ll have children then. Lots of them. You might as well let her go now. She can’t have much power to offer you.”

As if someone else lurked under his skin, for a single instant, his face moved unnaturally. I’d heard stories of how he’d absorbed people before Rayla stole his power and returned him to a normal fae. Before, he’d been legendary. Now, he was no more than ordinary. He couldn’t even keep his true form when he was angered. I probably should have been cowering before his magnificent show of ability. For all I knew, he’d been trying to scare me. It wouldn’t work. I’d already been through hell. He couldn’t take anything more from me than he already possessed.

As quickly as his show of temper came, it melted into a puddle of calm. The fae who had brought Blade into the room returned to retrieve him. I let her carry him away, knowing if I let Valen see how much I cared, I would lose any edge I could gain. Once again, Valen swept Emily into his embrace. “We have nothing more to say to one another.” His cold gaze connected with mine. “You are wrong about one thing, my boy. I never intend to let Emily go. I no longer serve the Creator. I have a new master, and he has made no terms concerning Elementals. From now on, we take what we want ... as it should have been from the beginning.”

Emily gasped, staring at Valen with the purest look of horror I’d ever seen.

HEATH JUMPED TO HIS FEET, BRINGING me with him. I called my power immediately, and my hands lit up the corridor. I should have known Alex wouldn’t come without real backup. He had a devious mind, regardless of how harmless he looked.

I scooted in front of a group of Elementals while Heath covered the others. Finn came to fill the gap be-tween us, blocking the views of Cassie and Amy.

“Now, Rayla,” said Alex. “There’s no need for violence. We can come to an agreement easily enough.”

As he reassured me, the dark fae crept closer, power burning from their hands, as well. “We both want the Elementals, Alex. There’s no compromise I’m willing to make regarding them, so if you don’t want a battle, you need to leave.”

He shook his head as if I were a naughty child. “Haven’t you learned yet? You’ll never win. You are out-numbered. We also have no restrictions in our use of power, unlike you. I would have thought your time with us would have given you a healthy understanding of your insignificance.”

My brows lifted. Arrogant little putz. Heath was already in my mind making suggestions. We should get as many out as possible. With all of us, we could transport most of them.

I mentally growled. We’re not leaving a single one to the Order or to your dark comrades. We take them all at once, or we fight.

To my surprise, he simply telegraphed: Okay. We’ll do it your way. Given his origins, I shouldn’t have been shocked.

Not wanting to lose a bit of advantage, I attacked, focusing my power on the fae. My lightning bolt slammed a tall blond guy in the chest, throwing him backward into the iron wall where he convulsed with the electricity. When others around him cried out, I smiled. Chaos erupted, as did an earthquake. Finn went to work solidifying the damage, but our iron cage would end up as our tomb if we didn’t improve the situation.

A woman stepped forward from the enemy camp. As all fae are, she was beautiful. Her long flaming red hair marked her as Ignisian. It pained my heart to think we’d lost a single fae to Valen after what he’d done. She didn’t give me time to consider further as she attacked. The metal beneath me heated, singeing my rubber soles. The air was already ripe with the taste of electricity, and the toxic mix left me eager to cover my nose, yet I couldn’t shift my attention at all. I hadn’t realized how strong fae women are when it comes to fighting. I’d thought the lords more powerful because they had been the ones to come get me from college. No delusions remained. There were two women in Alex’s group. The other joined this one to advance on me. Good to know I posed such a threat.

Heath had taught me to create a shield against power, so I focused on protecting the Elementals behind me. The first woman spoke, “You claim to be queen and are willing to attack your own? How can you wonder why so many of us fled to our brother? You are not fit to lead.”

Her words were like ice darts to my heart. I wasn’t doing a great job, but I was trying to learn. When the other woman came into better view, I gasped. It was one of the Altasian women who had been so kind to me my first day in Faeresia. She’d attended to me to get me ready for a bonding ceremony I’d had no intention of joining. What was her name? Why was I so horrible at remembering? For a moment, I let my mind go back.

Grindell.
That was it. How could she have defected?

She didn’t attack at first. As storms of battle raged around us, she stared. “I thought you would unite our people, but you split us apart. We waited eternities for you ... the great Nexus. And what we got was a simple girl who cannot use her power and will not give it to her bondmate.”

If the other woman’s words cut, these tore. Every insecure thought I’d had raced through me again. I shouldn’t let these fae affect me. They were trying to wear me down so they could win, but I couldn’t refute her accusations. “Being the Nexus didn’t come with a manual. I hoped you all would help me create what you wanted. I can’t do it alone.”

“Valen could. You’ve transformed our noble race to nothing more than a common community. There are reasons we separated. Our powers are strongest when we are joined within houses.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before? I could have split the realms again, if it was the desire of the majority.”

Her mouth turned in disappointment. “A queen does not ask her subjects for guidance. She makes the best choice based on input from all sides. Majorities are not always right.”

“Neither are minorities,” I said, stiffening. “You’ve given me no time to adjust. I thought everyone wanted the realms together. I thought it would be good for you to live among the others. Distance creates enemies out of family.”

The other fae rolled her eyes and slammed me with a fireball. My shield held, but it drained the control on my power. Grindell joined her companion, sending shards of ice to ping into the barrier. Each attack weakened my protection. My brain clamored for a way to distract the two women or to ou
tright defeat them, but all avenues led to potentially hurting those I had vowed to guard.

A tangy scent lingered in the air, stronger than it had been before. For not the first time, I wondered what these tunnels used to be. Heath sent an urgent command to me: We have to vacate this place. It’s about to blow.

Something Uncle John said to me years ago resurfaced. When I’d come home from school complaining of a boring history lesson about World War II, John proceeded to explain how all around us was a vast landscape of uranium. I hadn’t realized at the time, but the atomic bomb was created using uranium, and it was still being used in nuclear power plants all over the world. Could using our powers start a nuclear reaction? I could hardly wrap my head around the idea, but I wasn’t going to take the chance.

I thought one word to everyone on our team. Drift. I grabbed the women and two guys behind me, shout-ing at them to hold onto each other. My protective bubble was starting to crack, and if I didn’t have enough strength to carry this many people, we’d all be dark fae dinner.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Finn steal away with Cassie and Amy. He took a couple of Elementals. I concentrated, but nothing happened. I was too freaked to connect the elements in the right way. Maybe I lacked the faith in my abilities. I croaked out a groan when Heath vanished with his group. Sweat trickled down my forehead and stung my eyes, but I didn’t dare wipe it away. Alex yelled at the fae, calling them every form of the word stupid.

In my recent Shendo training, Heath taught me the power of breath and the false notion of time. He said the universe was created between breaths. I’d mocked him, but a tiny spark of hope lit my mind. I could do this. I’d recreated an entire realm for heaven’s sake. What was transporting a few people compared to such a feat?