Caution to the Wind: Book One of the Elementals Series (16 page)

She exhaled and finally opened her eyes. She stepped away from both brothers. “All my life, I felt like I didn’t matter. I was unimportant. Rejected. A freak. Was that to protect me too? Was that something to keep me from realizing what I was?” It seemed ridiculous but Loren couldn’t help but ask.

“I don’t know,” Avery answered. “What I do know is that you are very important.”

“Because my death would ensure Mal succeeds?” She spat the words out of her mouth. “I wanted to be important, Avery.” She glanced at Cal. “I wanted to be important. But not like this. Not for all the wrong reasons. I don’t want to be the one who helps end the world.”

“You won’t be,” Callum said. “Not if we have anything to do about it.”

“That’s why we’re here, Loren. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

“No, apparently I’m stupid.” It was hard to see reason through her anger.

“You’re not stupid.” Callum frowned.

“We’re here to help you, Loren. Why do you think there are four of us?” Avery took her arm. “We all work together. We’re here to help you, to protect you. And vice versa. We’re a team. We’re meant to work together.”

“Castle had all of our powers to himself. He divided them up. He knew that one day we would all be together. The best way to stop Mal and keep him from destroying both worlds is by working together.” Callum fixed his gaze on Loren. “Heiress or not.”

She stepped back from Avery’s touch. A lot of it made sense. She could see that, but she was still mad. She flexed her fingers before she forced herself relax them.

“So we’re saving the world?” she asked quietly.

“
Worlds
,” Callum corrected.

Avery’s mouth turned up in a half smirk. “I told you we needed you to save the world.”

Loren shook her head. “I don’t think I can save myself, much less the world. Or worlds.” She looked at Callum. “I’m still angry at you.” She faced Avery. “
Both
of you.”

“Understandable. While your anger may not be entirely misplaced, I think it advisable to put our emotions aside for the time being and focus on defeating Mal. Levi betrayed us and left us vulnerable. Now Mal knows where to find Loren. We have to make sure she stays protected this time.”

“Levi.” Avery tensed. His hands became fists at his sides and the air heated around him. “I knew that prick was up to no good.”

Callum lifted his head. “We all had our suspicions.” Beneath the hood, his brow furrowed. “We still have to take into consideration the ramifications of Levi’s betrayal.” He paused. “Exposure.”

“Would he do that?” Loren asked. “Wait, no one answer that. Of course he would.”

“He would. He will. It’s only a matter of time.” Callum drew the box of stones closer against his side. “All of our lives are about to change, and perhaps not for the best. We need to keep that in mind.”

“Always do.” Avery set his jaw.

Loren edged closer to him. He drew his arm around her. She rested next to his chest, knowing the embrace couldn’t last for long but she enjoyed it while she can. Anger took much of her energy.

A scowl briefly crossed Callum’s face before he glanced away from them. “We need to focus.”

Avery drew back. “What’s your problem?”

“It doesn’t matter.” He stared steadily at his brother for a while before he stepped back to the fire escape. “Let’s get somewhere safe and have your wounds mended. We have to figure out our next course of action.”

Callum jumped and gripped the bottom rung of the ladder. With one arm, he pulled himself up. Loren watched as he ascended the fire escape with ease.

“Do you need a boost?” Avery asked.

“No, thanks. I’ve got this.”

It only took a second to concentration before she lifted off the ground on waves of air. She grabbed the bottom rung and began to climb.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Hand me the bowl of water.” Callum removed the leather jacket. He smoothed back his mussed hair with his palm. Loren sat and said nothing.

Avery did as his brother ordered before he crouched next to Loren.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Callum explained. He placed the bowl at her feet. “Dip your heel in. Slowly.”

She did as he said. The water was warm, but her wounds still stung. She sucked in a breath.

The office was dark. None of them wanted to chance turning on any lights. As Callum told her when they’d entered through a rear entrance, this store was Morgan property, even if they weren’t managing it. It wasn’t technically breaking and entering.

He gave a quick call to his sister once they arrived, to notify her Loren was with them. Eva had stayed behind, to monitor the manor should someone choose to make a move there. It seemed unlikely. What they sought wasn’t on the premises.

The store was safe. Mal and Ruth wouldn’t resort to searching for them here yet. As secure as it was, Loren agreed when Avery said it wouldn’t be a good idea to stay for long.

Callum cupped a handful of water and ran it over the gash in Loren’s heel. It didn’t hurt at all. The wound slowly knitted itself with each washing. The pain ebbed and she could almost relax.

She didn’t. Her gaze flickered to the door.

“It’s okay, Loren. I have my eye on it,” Avery told her.

She nodded stiffly and stayed quiet. She didn’t want to talk to either of them. She was still upset about them withholding important information from her.

Loren tried to push aside her anger. They had other things to do and being mad at the brothers would set them back. She eyed the box on the table.

The stones were in there. Callum assured her they were secure in separate compartments. He was unsure how the tablet might form together and instead of accidentally having the stones touch, he made it so they couldn’t.

Loren was incredibly uneasy. Those four stones were now in one place. It would be easy for Mal, Ruth, or anyone aware of the stones mystical properties to steal the box. She didn’t want to let it out of her sight.

She had so many questions, but one struck her as the most relevant. “It you weren’t going to give in to the ransom, why did you bring them?” She didn’t understand.

Callum grabbed a towel to dry her now healed foot. He looked up at her. “A ruse.”

Avery stood and stepped over to the door. He paced in front of it, arms folded across his broad chest.

“They’re fake?” she asked.

“They’re real. They would’ve known if they were fake.” Callum gently took her other foot and placed it in the water. Loren brought her lips together in discomfort. He continued. “When they took you, we all figured a ransom would come. We began to discuss it.” He glanced at Avery. “At least, Eva and I did.”

Avery kept his back to them, head bowed as he walked.

He cupped more water and allowed it to drip through his fingers over the cuts on Loren’s foot. “I immediately got in contact with a few associates. They delivered the stones. The plan was Avery and I would bring the stones. Eva would stay at the manor. We would meet at the designated spot to make the exchange. Once we had you and knew you were safe, Avery and I planned an attack.”

“Levi has inhibitors. He would’ve taken care to make sure all of us were dosed with it so we couldn’t use our powers,” Loren pointed out.

Callum was silent, concentrating on healing Loren’s wounds. The smaller cuts were already gone, so his attention focused on the larger gash along her toes. “We realized that.”

“We weren’t planning on using our powers at all.” Avery finally spoke. “We were going to use force. Whatever it took to get the stones back.”

“And then what? Destroy them?” Loren shifted in her seat. “Why haven’t they been destroyed before? Save everyone the trouble by getting rid of the thing that can open the portal and be done with it.”

“None of us possess enough strength to do it. Castle broke the stones apart all those years ago, and he’d used a considerable amount of power to do that. It can’t be destroyed here.” Callum pulled back, sighing. “If it can be destroyed at all.”

Loren eased her foot down onto the towel. She dried it herself. “How do you know all of this?”

“My father and Castle. From their first-hand accounts. My father kept records. When he died, they came to me. Well, all of us.” As he spoke, Callum took Loren’s hand to heal another cut.

“Dad was thorough, if nothing else.” Avery sounded bitter.

“He was,” Callum agreed.

Loren chewed her lip and looked to Avery.

“I hate this,” he said.

“I’m not overly fond of it myself.” Callum stood and emptied the dirty water in the sink.

“We should’ve known Levi would pull some stunt like this.”

“Levi always walked a thin line. He fooled us all. I always assumed his deception would come in the form of exposure to the media. I had no idea he was in any communication with Mal.”

Callum crossed his arms, mimicking his brother’s stance. Glancing between the two, she debated before she finally spoke. “I met him. Mal.”

They both looked at her. Loren’s gaze dropped down to her hands. “And Ruth. I met them both. Family.” A strange laugh came from her. “He’s my uncle. Castle’s brother. My uncle.”

Loren allowed herself to think about it. It was a huge shock and the gravity of it now weighed in.

“I thought my parents died in a car accident. I was eight. But they weren’t my real parents. I never knew that.” Her voice was thick. Her gaze stayed on her hands. Her real mother was Castle’s daughter. She died when Loren was born. She had brown eyes. That was all Loren knew of her real mother. She knew nothing of her real father.

Everything she’d thought about her life had been a lie. Her anger melted away, replaced by sadness and hurt. “You didn’t tell me.” 

Callum frowned, but Avery spoke. “I’m sorry.” It was clear he had more to say. He stayed quiet and looked down to the floor.

Apologies weren’t enough. Loren stood. “I think I need to be alone.”

“That’s not wise,” Callum said.

“For ten, fifteen minutes. I need to be alone. I can’t look at either of you right now.” She held up her hands in a helpless gesture as she stepped to the door. Avery stood before it.

“Please move.”

“Loren, don’t.”

“
Move
.” She pushed out hands, sending enough forceful wind to push him to the side. She entered the forefront of the shop.

It was dark, but she left the lights off. Carefully but quickly, Loren navigated her way through the bookshelves. When she was far enough away from the backroom and hidden by the stacks, she dropped down to the floor, pulled her knees up to her chest and cried.

She let out her frustrations and anxieties. The tumult of emotions bubbled up and she sobbed. She didn’t care if either of them heard.

Her face burned, eyes stung. She choked but didn’t stop. She cried hard. Soon, her tears stopped and she went silent. She hugged her knees close to her chest. Her gaze focused on nothing and her mind drifted.

She was Castle’s granddaughter. That made her one-quarter god. She had some of his power. He had given them to her himself. She was the heiress to Kahsh, an alternate world where they had been strong, powerful gods.

And Mal, her uncle, wanted to return there with her. She was to be an example; a lost figurehead for a dynasty Mal would destroy to regain his full power. He would use the tablet to return to Earth and rule it as well.

They couldn’t destroy the tablet to prevent it. Mal knew of her now, knew she was in hiding. He would send Ruth to hunt her down, perhaps for the rest of their lives. If Mal died in the meantime, would Ruth continue the quest? Would she assume control? Somehow, Loren felt she would.

They had to put an end to it somehow. And how they could possibly do that was the true puzzler.

Loren wiped at her eyes and face. She was certain she’d gone beyond her fifteen minutes, but she couldn’t bring herself to return to the backroom with Callum and Avery.

She didn’t stir again until she heard footfalls. Loren lifted her head, expecting to see Avery. Instead, it was Callum. He sat down next to her.

“Avery stepped outside to check the perimeter,” he said, his tone soft and even. There was a small pause. “I believe he wanted a few moments to himself too.”

She shifted her position a bit to rest her head against a shelf.

Callum was silent for a time before he spoke in the same quiet voice. “I truly am sorry.”

“I don’t want apologies,” she muttered.

“I understand.”

“Do you?” It came out more biting than she intended. The question hung in the air between them.

“I like to think I do. Perhaps, I understand nothing at all.” He sighed softly. “I know everything has been thrust upon you suddenly. I forget, sometimes, you didn’t have the advantages we did. We’ve had years to come to terms with everything. You’ve barely had days, and your burden is so much heavier than ours.”

Burden. The word fit.

Lines etched along his forehead when his brows came together. “It hasn’t been easy for us either. We were children when we gained our abilities. I was barely fourteen. I wasn’t ready for such responsibility.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I want you to know I don’t have it all figured out. I don’t have it together all the time. This face I put on? The stoic, stern façade? It’s for show. Inside, I’m always terrified. When my father died, he left the company to me. That’s a kingdom itself. And I was the heir. Believe me when I say I understand how you feel. No one wants to wake up and learn they have so much to live up to, so many burdens and responsibilities, with the fear of failure and disappointment looming over you.” He looked at her. “I live that. Every day.”

Callum seemed so cool and collected all the time. It was unexpected for him to express his own fears, to see them so sincerely on his face.

“I’m… sorry.”

He shrugged it off. “It wasn’t fair of me not to tell you those things. I should’ve. I would’ve. Things became complicated.” He paused. “There is one other thing you haven’t learned yet. Eva and Avery don’t know. It's a document.”

“What is it?” Loren was afraid to know.

Callum took a deep breath. “It was written in Castle’s handwriting, with his and my father’s signatures, with Castle’s seal burned into the paper. It was a contract.” He shifted a bit, drawing his knee up. He rested his hand on it. “It came to me upon his death and I kept it hidden. It wasn’t relevant at the time. I had honestly hoped perhaps it never would be.”

“What sort of contract?”

“I don’t know how to explain it, or how I was to proceed with it.” He kept his gaze steady on her. “It was a marriage contract.”

Loren stared at him blankly.

He leaned back against the bookshelf and drew his gaze forward as he explained. “In the contract, it stated Castle’s granddaughter—you, but unnamed in the document—would marry my father’s eldest son. Me. To secure the continuation of both bloodlines, to hold the power and privilege, to join two great dynasties in both worlds.”

Loren couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t speak. All she could do was stare in disbelief.

Callum’s head fell back against the shelf and he closed his eyes. “It was meant to be me. Not Avery. I guess I would’ve been happy to let that happen. I never wanted any claims to any kingdom. When you told me you had a date with him, though, I realized I wasn’t happy with it. It had less to do with securing bloodlines and dynasties and more about how I feel for you.”

Loren tightened her arms around her legs and bit down on her lip.

              At her continued silence, Callum opened his eyes and looked over. “I told you it was complicated.”

“I had no idea.” Her voice barely rose above a whisper.

“Neither did I. I’m a petty man, apparently.”

“You… feel something for me?”

Callum shifted his weight and moved to stand. “I can’t tell you what it is I feel, but it’s something.”

Loren understood that. She understood it well. “What—What do we do?”

“We do nothing. I fully intend to keep to myself and stay out of your way. I won’t get between you, no matter how I feel. Whatever tension remains I will take full credit for.” There came a pause. “I thought you should be aware since my obvious lack of decency prevents me from revealing important details to you. You have expressed dislike for that. I’d hate to get on your bad side.”

So many secrets. So many lies. Loren had a difficult time keeping up with everything. Things would’ve been marginally better if emotions didn’t play a factor. Unfortunately, they did.

Callum observed her in silence. He brought his hand down. Shy of touching the side of her face, he stopped. “I should’ve healed the bruise for you too,” he said. He took in a breath and abruptly changed the topic. “We need to keep moving.”

He looked uncomfortable. She didn’t blame him. She wasn’t entirely certain how to feel about it herself.