Five (Elemental Enmity Series Book I) (24 page)

I tried my fingers again. There was a twitch, a small insignificant movement that no one other than me would notice. But I felt as though I had just taken first place in a marathon.

She touched my pulse again. “Just as I thought. It won’t be long now. You should be thinking about where you can rest that will be public enough to be safe. You will be weak for at least twenty-four hours. Do not stay in your room alone. Enlist friends to go wherever you do. You have to realize that for the next few years, your life will not be your own. It will not always be that way. Think of the day when you will no longer have to worry about them.”

She sighed heavily. “That was a false statement. You will never be rid of them. Even if you escape the bonding, you will have to worry about your daughters, and the granddaughters you will never see. That is why I have taken my vows. I could not bear to pass on this curse.”

I lifted my eyes gradually. The glare of the fluorescent lights made it impossible to keep them open long.

“You are a quick study. Don’t fight so hard now. Let go, and your mind will take over.”

That was more difficult than it sounded. My vision slowly focused on her angelic face. The many years she had spent on the planet were evident in the pattern of fine lines that looked more like the myriad gossamer webs of aged porcelain than actual wrinkles.

Her bright, white hair was pulled back into a loose bun. Her kind, brown eyes surveyed me without judgment. She gave me a small, measured smile. “Welcome to your new life. Your chances of success are minimal, but it can be done. Come. I will tell you all you need to know.”

I sat up too fast, and the room spun as though I had stumbled from the tea-cup ride at the county fair. To my surprise, she didn’t try to keep me steady. I flung my arm onto the chair for balance. I hated the effects the lords had on me. “Give me a minute.” I held still, waiting for my equilibrium to catch up.

“Take my arm,” she said softly.

Had she experienced this? Did she know the kind of pain stabbing at my skull? Did she know what it was like to shrink from the terror of ineptitude?

She exuded a regal quality I couldn’t quite define. Her hands were surprisingly supple and soft. Just touching her gave me more strength.

She waited patiently by my side while I changed. For once, I didn’t mind so much. When I was finished, she took me back to my dorm, but she led me to an office on the first floor instead of my room. Despite the chill in the air, the starkly appointed space was stuffy. I looked longingly at the window. A fresh breeze would have worked wonders in the stifling space.

She gestured for me to sit. At first, I thought she had read my mind as she walked toward the window. I sighed in anticipation, but all she did was gaze through the glass. Her carriage was that of royalty. Had it come from countless years governing in the fae court?

“I haven’t seen one of you here in a very long time.” She turned and looked at me. “Two in the same year is quite unusual. I try to keep track of every student that entrusts their safety to this institution, and you are no different. You look so like your mother. I tried to contact Grace, but I have not been able to reach her. I couldn’t be sure you were an Elemental until now. Things have not happened in the correct order.”

There was one question I wanted her to answer before all the others swirling in my mind. “Two?”

She smiled. “Didn’t you know? Jessica lives down the hall from you. I thought you were friends.”

Of course the one person in this place that had the ability to get me crazy mad was the only person who might know what I was going through. “She didn’t mention it.”

Her eyes filled with humor even though her lips were stern. “It’s not something you advertise, my dear girl.” She looked out the window again as though some unseen force was calling to her.

I cleared my throat, picking at the tubing on the cushion. “How are things supposed to happen?”

“It’s sad, really. Most Elementals that come here want to be taken. I’ve tried to talk several of them out of it, but…”

What Jett said had me thinking. “Am I different than other Elementals you have met?”

She looked at me, her gaze piercing. I didn’t mind the scrutiny if it would get me closer to understanding myself.

“It’s not much. In fact, you remind me of a girl I once met. My lifetime in Faeresia gave me a sixth sense, if you will. Even though I no longer possess power, I feel it in others. Yours is discernible sometimes, but not others. It is as though you have an inner shield. We could work on developing that gift if it is there. I have often thought that eventually natural evolution would catch up with what is needed within the Elemental community. Perhaps you have such a mutation.”

Great: another person telling me I was a mutant. “Sister.” My tone came out pitchy and frantic. “I have no idea what to do. How can I get rid of them?”

She turned away from me calmly. When she looked at me again, concern lined her eyes. She settled onto the chair at the desk. “As I tried to explain earlier, you will never be rid of them. If you are one of the lucky ones that can escape the bonding, you will most assuredly have to deal with the human monsters that collaborate with the fae.”

I jumped to my feet. “Are you saying there isn’t
anything
that can be done? I am stuck with this life no matter what I do?”

She was next to me momentarily. “Child, I would gladly tell you if I knew of such a thing.” She searched my face, her features ripe with compassion. “Life within the resistance is not something I would suggest to someone so young.”

I needed help, not pity. I stiffened my spine. “There has to be a way.”

She touched my arm. “False hope does no good.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you suggest then? You said you would help me.”

She took my hands. Her skin was cool and smooth. I hoped I looked as good as she did when I reached her age. That was
if
I reached her age.

“You will need plenty of rest before we can test your abilities. I have summoned Jessica to escort you to your room.” She placed steady hands at her side. Her gaze was that of a knowing mother. “We despise in others what we least like in ourselves.”

I crinkled my face in disgust.

The Sister smiled reassuringly. “She is well versed in the troubles that plague you, and she is part of the resistance.”

“What is that exactly?”

She clucked her tongue. “Oh, dear, you really don’t know much, do you?” Pity shone from her eyes. “The resistance has been trying to fight the Order for centuries now. They have made some progress, but I am afraid most Elementals freshly returned to our realm are still taken by them, not to mention those who find their way to the Order without having gone to the fae realm. A select few are lucky enough to escape to the underground before the Order can find them. I do not condone their practices, but I have no right to judge what the resistance does.”

Dizziness fogged my head. I swayed on my feet, so I sat down. “I would like to say I understand what you just said, but I could use a little more information. What exactly does the resistance do with the Elementals?”

“They are sterilized before they are placed back into society.”

I gasped. That didn’t seem like a very good solution to me. Tubal ligation wasn’t completely reliable, not to mention it was reversible. Aunt Grace had it done, and she still had gotten pregnant with Sarah. “How can they be sure that will work?”

She frowned. “When I say sterilized, what I mean is the reproductive organs are removed. It is an extreme choice, but some don’t have the heart for the convent. They don’t want to pass the genetics on, so they do what is in their power.”

“How does joining a convent keep the fae away?”

“They are not allowed to interfere with the endeavors of God, but the Order is what you should really be concerned about.”

“But…”

A knock sounded at the door. Jessica’s pointy chin preceded the rest of her face through the door. She smiled at the nun but didn’t even look at me. “I’ve checked the area. It should be safe to move her. I hope you’re right. I don’t want to lose all I have gained because she’s too stupid to hide from them.”

“Jessica!” the Sister reprimanded.

Jessica smiled. “It’s a sin to lie, Sister. I try my best not to break the commandments.”

Sister Mary Margaret shook her head in a clear scold. “Be that as it may, child. Rayla has not had the advantages of your upbringing. Until recently, she did not even know that she was an Elemental.”

Jessica’s cold gaze landed on me. She took her time in appraising me before she shrugged. “I will attempt to be nice, but she has to do the same. I wasn’t the one that started this war.”

I had no idea that we were at real odds. I thought we just had a mutual dislike of each other. I also had no clue what she meant. To my knowledge I had never done anything to her other than be a bit nasty, but I was curious now.

The Sister opened a drawer and held a small box out for me. “Take this. Put it on and don’t take it off no matter what you do. It won’t shield you completely. Nothing that we know of can do that, but it will diminish your signal. The only way you will be detected is if they are in close proximity.”

I opened the lid, excitement ramping me up. Inside rested a stunning ruby ring. The marquee was inset into the most delicate gold setting, yet the stone was large. Intricate floral filigree wove up the band and around the stone. I held it out toward her. “I couldn’t take this. It has to be worth a fortune.”

She frowned thoughtfully. “I suppose you could sell it, but the power that ring holds cannot be purchased. If I were you, I would keep it close at all times.”

I reverently slid the ring onto my finger and waited. I didn’t feel any different. “Are you sure this one works?”

Jessica yanked my hand. “There’s only one way to find out. I’m going to be late for class if you don’t get moving.”

Sister Mary Margaret dismissed us and told me to come see her in a few days. I had no idea if I had that much time. Jett would not give up, and I was sure he wasn’t going to wait long before he came for me, with or without other people around.

Jessica and I walked in silence to my room. How could she be an Elemental? I didn’t see anything special about her. In fact she seemed rather plain, although, I had to admit. She did have good bones. Her hair was what made her look less than ordinary. It didn’t have a style. It just lay there limp as if dirty brown spaghetti was plastered to her scalp.

She scowled at me. “I don’t like this any more than you do.”

Yeah, I was the one that started this. “You can leave if you want to.”

She sighed. “I hoped Cassie was the Elemental. I was so excited to have someone to talk to…” She hesitated a little too long.

I laughed. I knew exactly where she was going with this. “Until you found out it was me.”

She smiled. It brightened her features and made her momentarily pretty. I hadn’t seen her smile very much. Was that part of the disguise?

“So what did I do to piss you off so badly?” I asked.

She seemed shocked by my question. As though I should have known how I had ruined her universe. “You took my job.”

I grunted. “How was I supposed to know you applied for the position?” Cassie had told me that Jessica came from wealth. “Why would you want to work anyway?”

“It’s why I’m here. I was trying to infiltrate the Order. I haven’t been able to get anywhere near the recruiters, and it sucks.”

“I’d gladly give it to you. In fact, take my shift tomorrow night.”

As if she read my mind, she asked, “What do you know about the Wayne brothers? Cassie told me that you went to the mansion. Do you think you could get me in there?”

Alex was difficult to gauge. She hardly seemed like Roger’s type. Besides, he seemed really into Cassie. Jessica was tall and lanky with not much in the way of curves. Her hair was absurdly dull as though she washed it daily in mud. In this light the shadows under her eyes looked fake. The color of her eyes seemed off at this distance, too. Did she wear tinted contacts? I had never spent so much time studying a girl before. She looked artificial and not in a good way. “You might stand a better chance if you worked on your appearance.”

She laughed as though what I had just said was the most absurd thing she had ever heard. “It takes me hours to get ready as it is.”

I knew it. “It is a disguise.” I walked over to her. “What do you really look like?” I yanked on her hair, but it didn’t come off like I expected.

“Ow. You twit. What are you doing?”

I backed up a few paces. “I thought it was a wig. How do you get it to be so ugly?”

She glowered at me. “What if this was my real hair?”

I raised a lock from her shoulder. “No one has hair this bad.”

“I may have overdone it a little this time. Notre Dame is a hot spot, and I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.”

I sat on the couch and pulled a pillow onto my lap, crossing my legs. “Jessica, how do I get rid of lords?”

She sighed and plopped next to me. “That’s the golden question Elementals have been asking for centuries, but to my knowledge, no one has found the answer. I am sorry for you. I wish there was something we could do to hide you. We are pretty much useless to you until you are beyond the age of power.”

“What about the sanctuaries?”

She shook her head. “You came from the only one we have. Grace asked me to look out for you. I’ve been trying, but you haven’t exactly made it easy.”

So much for plan A. Grace knew Jessica? So who was Sister Mary Margaret?

I was sick of asking for explanations, but I needed all that I could get. At some point I wasn’t going to be clueless. I longed for that day to come. I had to remind myself that she grew up learning about this. “How does the age of power work exactly?” I ignored the ‘you poor thing’ look she gave me and waited for enlightenment.

“It is the only time your powers can be harnessed. When a fae bonds with one of us, they get to share our control over the elements. Once bonded, the fae has heightened power. That’s why they search for us, and it’s why a lot of us run from them. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to cause a tornado or some other disaster that kills people.”