After searching allthe major places for her, I found Talitha in the Healer’s Hive. Funny, she’d been there all along after I spoke with Valik. If I had known that previously, it would’ve spared me from running into Onyx and now having him forcefully tag along with me.
Talitha was in the air healing ward, speaking to injured Elementals who were associated with the element. I assumed having them on a ward belonging to their specific element allowed them to heal faster. I honestly didn’t know how it all worked, but I tried to make sense of it, nonetheless.
When I found her talking to a young woman in a bed, Onyx piped up beside me. “Aella,” he said under his breath, relieved.
I raised a brow at him as he walked right into the room uninvited.
The woman’s eyes lit up with recognition and joy, igniting a roar of jealousy in my chest. “Onyx, there you are! I was wondering where you went.”
I ground my teeth, annoyed that he not only was forcing himself along with me, but he’d just overtaken me. Not to mention, he’d just brought up so many emotions that I had no intention of ever feeling again. He’d made it hell for me when we’d been teenagers, having kept our relationship secret from everyone. Meanwhile, he’d paradedaround with Royal as his disguise, all while earning his reputation as a playboy.
Now, it had been all of thirty minutes, and here he was doing it again. Fuck that.
I walked into the room behind Onyx, studiously ignoring him as he gently rubbed his hand on Aella’s biceps in a comforting manner, seemingly lost in their conversation.
Talitha spotted me and offered a tired smile. “Cotton, how are you? I’m sorry, with the Elemental’s unexpected arrival, until I can get everyone settled and situated, I won’t be able to help you much at all, I’m afraid,” she said regretfully, a little wrinkle cresting above her brow.
I wasn’t sure how I had connected so easily with Onyx outside telepathically, but I figured I’d try again with Talitha to see if it had been just a fluke or if something had evolved in such a short timeframe.
“I understand, and I won’t keep you long. But I spoke to Valik,”I tried. When her eyes widened, and she smiled, I knew it had been a success.
“Oh, that’s wonderful, Cotton!”
“No, I mean in his sleep. Not even an hour ago. He said I need to get to the Wind Kingdom. Gray is there, and he said that I might be one of the few who can reach her and bring her here. I just need to knowhowto reach the Wind Kingdom.”
Talitha crossed her arms, glancing back and forth between Onyx and Aella and then to me. “Let’s take this out in the hall.”
I nodded and moved to exit the airy and open space.
“Hold on, Aella,” Onyx said before cutting in between Talitha and me. “Look, you don’t have to be secretive with us. I know Chrome. I’ve been his second-in-command with the Elementals for years now. Gray is a close friend of mine. I know I just arrived,” he aimed at Talitha, “and I, as well as the others, am grateful for the hospitality and for offering us your home as a refuge. But we’re on the same mission here. Gray had us headed toward Arcadia…the Celestial Castle, specifically…to find a guy named Valik. Slate told us he’s someone who could help us find answers. So please, if there’s a way for me to help save my queen, let me in.”
I chewed on my lip, contemplating his plea, unsure of what to make of the case he made for himself.
Talitha let her arms fall to her sides, focusing her attention on Onyx as she seemed to analyze the star flecks in his pitch-black hair. “Okay then. Come with me.” Just before she exited the room, she said over her shoulder to Aella, “I’ll be back. Please be comfortable and rest. You’re safe here and will be informed of everything as soon as possible.”
Aella grinned. It was warm, softening the tension in the room with a pure and gentle energy that she exuded. “Thank you. I’ll be fine. Just need to replenish my element. This room is already doing wonders.”
I wanted to hate the woman. She was beautiful. It was obvious she carried a natural grace and elegance about her that was kind. I could see why Onyx liked her. All the reasons I admired her were the same reasons I envied her.
I walked out of the room first, followed by Talitha, then Onyx.
Talitha closed the door, giving Aella privacy. She released a breath before saying, “Follow me to my office. I’ll explain on the way.”
During the trek, Talitha asked Onyx about what had led them here. After explaining how Chrome had gone Infernal and Slate had appeared back at the Hollow with Gray and then armed them with bits of information regarding Arcadia and Celanea, he then detailed what sounded like one shitshow after another. What caught me off guard—but shouldn’t have—was the fact that Elementals and Kinetics were in another all-out war. Blatant blitz attacks, especially now that the Royal Domain had fallen, leaving the rest of the Kinetics to disperse to different domains and band together in an effort to eradicate the Elemental race finally, with no leader.
Onyx then explained how, in the middle of the night, Chrome popped up out of nowhere. My jaw nearly dropped when hementioned that he’d brought Onyx’s pain-in-the-ass ex-girlfriend, Royal, and left her behind. That answered the question of why she’d been with them as a prisoner. One minor consolation was that he seemed quite disturbed by her sudden appearance. Still, I had so many questions.
We reached Talitha’s office. After ushering us inside, she gestured for Onyx and me to take a seat. She waved a hand, and a leather-bound book drifted from one of the shelves on the wall into her palms. While flipping casually through the thick, yellowed pages, Talitha paced behind her desk until she found what she was looking for and then carefully sat in her seat. “Okay. Here.” She flipped the book around so it wasn’t upside down for us.
Onyx and I leaned forward in unison, our forearms pressed against the top of the desk. A hand-drawn map, sprawling across both pages, stared back at us.
“We are here.” The High Priestess pointed to the top right-hand corner of the page. “The Wind Kingdom is down here,” she continued, pointing to a spot on the left page near the center. “It’s quite the journey, and the layout is different now due to the veil’s collapse, but if you follow the perimeters of Terraguard’s land, then you can just go around them, and you’ll still be on track when you get back on Arcadia land.”
I glanced beside me. Onyx’s brows were furrowed in deep concentration as he listened and studied the map. “What are the other threats we need to be aware of? And what can we do to protect ourselves?”
“The threats are endless.” Talitha sighed. “But I think we can provide you with some help.”
“Such as?” Onyx prompted, leaning back in his seat.
