Elemental Shadowed by Helen Scott

25

Dresden

The way everyone turned to look at me felt like I was the villain in a horror movie or something. Tessa's eyes were the worst, though, like I had betrayed her by not telling her as soon as she woke up.

I couldn't help but wonder if she realized how close she was to death all the time. Sometimes it was all I could think about.

First it was the portal, then the attack at dinner, then the fall, then the troll apparently, and now an assassination attempt. The poor woman needed a break.

Although, I couldn't help but admire how she dealt with it all so gracefully and with so much strength. She really was an amazing individual.

When she batted her eyelids at me I realized I still hadn't responded. I cleared my throat. "My people are on the brink of civil war, if they haven't fallen into it already. Vayne Driscoll, a highly respected member of the elite, is gathering forces for an all-out attack against our leadership."

"Can we help?" Tessa asked, and the sincerity behind her words warmed my heart. I wanted to fall into the depths of her mismatched eyes and never surface again.

The brief moment of relaxation let my abilities out to play, and before I had even blinked I knew that Griff and Finn had both slept with Tessa, that she was Griff's mate in the truest sense of the word, and that Kai was doing his best to resist her, but failing.

The queen and her advisers were beyond stressed. In fact, the queen had purposefully called attention to me so that it would be off her and she could take a moment to breathe.

One of her advisers was thinking about how he was in love with her, and two others were both holding hands under the table. They weren't ashamed of their sexuality, just that they weren't ready to disclose their relationship yet. The last one was just hoping for a certain dish and didn't seem to care about anyone or anything else. Lovely.

With a bit of effort, I reined myself in and shut the mental door to my abilities. Since we'd been on the origin realm and then come straight to Atlantis, I felt like I hadn't had time to breathe between my abilities being somewhat usable to completely unusable. The last few days whenever they had the opportunity to break out of my mental cage they did, and it was getting harder and harder to keep them in check.

Maybe the stress of knowing my realm was falling into chaos wasn't helping, or maybe it was because I felt the bonds of our brotherhood shifting to encompass Tessa, but all I wanted was a chance to let go, to be completely free with my abilities and not have to keep them in check for once.

It was following a sigh that I finally spoke and answered Tessa's question. "I'm not sure. I need to go to Hyperborea, to try and rein all this in before it gets too out of hand. Vayne is claiming he has the bloodline to rule. Apparently, the queen has instituted martial law and is executing people who break it. He wants to overthrow the crown in favor of an electoral system, so our government would fall into chaos letting him step up to rule.

"The information I received from my aunt advised me that the people are starving and riots are happening all across the country. She begged me to come home to help her protect our family and her children since her husband was already executed for rebellious thoughts. The only thing I can think of that might help is showing how close we are to stabilizing the four realms. But that would mean taking you to a country that could go to war at the drop of a hat, and I'm not sure that's a good idea."

Silence surrounded the table as everyone took in the news. I knew some of my people would be angry at me for sharing the workings of our kingdom with the Atlantean Queen and her advisers, but I didn't really care. In my opinion, it was better for them to know what was going on in case full civil war did break out.

"How is it legal for someone to be executed for their thoughts?" Tessa whispered.

I told Tessa the same thing I told Kai. "Remember I told you my people can read each other's minds? Well, the only reason I don't know your every thought is because I respect your privacy and the fact that you don't want me to know what you're thinking. It's harder to keep my people out of my head than you'd think."

"Dres' people know what everyone is thinking all the time and the queen is murdering people who don't think she's fit to rule, right?" Kai asked glancing at me

"Exactly."

"Okay, so we need to go to Hyper—" Her voice cut out as the main door to the room opened.

Everyone froze and I knew without having to check that they were all replaying the last time the door had burst open during one of our meals. Yes, the queen had been moving them, but what if that wasn't enough.

A member of the queen's guard walked in carrying something, and we all relaxed a bit. It was only when I realized that it was a small piece of black paper, which was something only Griff's people used, that my heart froze in my chest. The guard bent at the waist in a deep bow to the queen before whispering something in her ear. She gave a slight nod and he turned and delivered the black card to Griff.

"Your Majesty," Griff said, his tone cautious. "I can only read this if I heat it. May I use my powers?"

"Absolutely not!" the advisor that had been thinking about food exclaimed, the outrage in his voice almost overpowering the nod that she gave to Griff.

It was easy to forget that the queen didn't give a shit what her advisers said most of the time and only ever did what she wanted or what she thought was best for her people.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Griff inclined his head.

Even with my powers under lock and key, I could feel the intensity in the room ratchet up moment by moment. The advisers were not happy with her choices, and neither were the guards that were standing by the doors.

Small flames danced above Griff's fingertips as he ran them under the card. As the paper heated it turned an ashy gray color with the exception of where the writing was, which remained black.

I wasn't watching the paper or trying to read it, like everyone except Tessa was doing. The two of us appeared to be the only ones who were more interested in Griff's body language than the paper that was gently fluttering in his hand.

He swallowed a few times as he read, and I could see the vein in his neck pulsing rapidly as his heart rate kicked up. His eyes darted over the page again and again as though he was reading and rereading trying to get a different message from the script on the card. It was no use though.

Finally, he set the card down. "My people have declared a conclave to elect a new king, something that hasn’t been done for hundreds of years. The conclave chamber was thought to be destroyed, but evidently, people have been searching for it. Once they found it the representatives from each district barricaded themselves inside. It has been requested that I return to El Dorado as I am the last member of my family who can serve in the conclave for our district."

"Shit," Kai whispered next to me, a flash of guilt crossing his face as he realized he'd just cursed in front of the queen.

There was no discussion as the doors from the kitchens opened and the servants brought the next course out. I wasn't sure if their timing was on purpose or if the gods were laughing at us as we played their games. Either way I knew there needed to be a discussion about where we go first, and though my vote would always be for Hyperborea I couldn't deny that Griff had a valid request as well.

The charred fish that had been brought out was one of my least favorite dishes, and I had no desire to eat after everything we had been discussing. It appeared I wasn't the only one either. The queen, Tessa, and Griff all picked at their food, while Finn and the queen's advisers dug in with gusto.

It was supposed to be a favorite among the Atlantean people. I preferred the lighter dishes of my home instead of the heavy food the other realms served, but I couldn't complain too much as they were at least feeding me.

Everyone around the table seemed lost in their own thoughts, but there was a tension in the air that was undeniable. I didn't want to invade anyone's privacy, but I also wanted to get a read on the room before I voiced my thoughts. I relaxed the death grip I had on my abilities for a moment and they shot out, absorbing all the information in the room in a matter of seconds.

Tessa felt sick at the changes that were happening in Atlantis and that were bound to happen in the other realms and was blaming herself for kicking everything off. She was also feeling guilty about her feelings for the four of us, which was a side note I found very interesting.

Finn was concerned with the sea beasts dying, as was the queen. There was a flicker of hope in Finn's mind though that came from Tessa and her conviction that they didn't know for sure the beasts were dead.

Griff was wishing he'd paid more attention in history class so he could remember how the last conclave went. He didn't want to be king, but he knew it was a possibility with his family's background.

The advisers were all thinking about fairly mundane things like their jobs or relationships. No surprise there really. They always seemed to be more concerned with themselves than the other realms.

Kai was the only one I was having a hard time deciphering, and I knew that was on purpose. The man was singing battle songs from Agartha in his head before transitioning to reciting the engineering principles of his people.

Kai. I need your support to get to Hyperborea and figure out what's going on. Can I count on you?I asked, focusing my thoughts on him.

I knew he'd heard me because the repetition in his head stopped. You really could get past my shields all this time, couldn't you?

Yes, but I would never invade your privacy that way. Can I count on you?

Of course, brother. From what I know of the history of El Dorado, conclaves are generally peaceful, whereas your people are dying. It's an obvious choice, but Griff won't like it.

I know.

Whatever you two are talking about, you should share with the rest of the group,Tessa shouted in my head.

I had to suppress a chuckle as I realized she was more observant of mine and Kai's body language than I had thought.

As you wish, ladybird. I tried not to smile and make our exchange obvious.

When I looked at her I saw the smile in her eyes as much as on her face. The sudden urge to kiss her rose within me and I had to squash it down.

I didn't need to complicate things any further between our little group, and I could tell she was already struggling with her emotions and attachment to each of us. What I hadn't realized until that moment was how much I had allowed myself to become attached to her.

This fierce woman with her blue and brown eyes, her spine of steel, and her quick wit and sharp mind had found her way under my skin somehow. I may not show it or act on it, but I'd come to realize that I cared for her more than I would ever admit aloud.

The simple fact that she'd shown up to dinner with the queen after almost dying, in her own clothes after the queen had given her a dress to wear, was the perfect example of what I admired about her. She was willing to compromise but only to an extent. Once she was pushed past that boundary line, she wasn't afraid to assert herself, even to royalty, even to caretakers apparently.

She left me breathless and all I wanted was to protect her from the attacks we all knew were coming.