“We'll be fine, don’t worry. There hasn’t been news of many attacks in weeks, and we've had no trouble crossing any other time.” Her father’s green eyes, which she and Arden had inherited, sparkled as he kissed her forehead, his beard scratching her skin.
His words offered little comfort. They hadn’theardof many attacks lately, but that didn’t mean they weren’t happening. It took a while for news to reach their little village of Lockhurt; it was entirely possible merchants were being attacked left and right without anyone knowing for months. Word traveled slowly, and even slower when one was dead.
She swallowed her worries and squeezed his arm as he released her. “Still, try to be careful,” she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“What of me, little sister? No warnings of safety for your brother?” Arden held a hand to his chest, feigning hurt, but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Isla shrugged. “You’ll be alright,dearbrother. And if not, I’m taking your bedroom,” she said with a smirk. Arden’s booming laughter filled the air as he ran to her, grabbed her by the waist, and threw her over his shoulder. Isla squealed and smacked his back while their father chuckled as if watching toddlers wrestle.
Arden finally set her down and pulled her into an embrace. “Keep him safe, Arden. Don’t do anything foolish,” she whispered, no longer in a joking mood. She pushed away to hold him at arm's length, anxiously studying the features that mirrored her own. A heart-shaped face with forest green eyes, a scattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks, and short-cropped, dark copper hair that contrasted with his fair skin.
While her papa was convinced the roads through Evonlea were safe for now, the growing unrest between their kingdom and Karstos still unsettled Isla. She hadn’t remembered there being this much tension between the kingdoms when the late King of Karstos was ruling; he and his court had cared deeply for harmony and prosperity among the people. But over the past couple of years, it had become more and more dangerous for merchants like her father and brother who traveled to trade with their neighbor, ever since the king had passed and his son had taken the throne. Nobody expected such cruelty from the once publicly applauded young prince. Isla’s people were angry with Karstos and its new king for imposing unfair taxes on merchants from foreign kingdoms such as hers, and the true radicals viewed anyone who continued to trade with the corrupt king as traitors to Evonlea. These rebels showed their frustration by taking it out on passing merchants.
Violently.
Isla could not lose anyone else to these attacks.
“Speaking of safety, I should be more concerned about you here on your own,” her papa called as he stepped into Buttercup’s stirrup and threw his leg over the saddle.
“Yes, whateverwill you do without your strapping older brother to protect you? The men in this village are an immature bunch.” Arden winked at her, leading Bella, their black mare, from her stall.
“You would know,” Isla shot back. “Besides, I won’t be alone. Bri’s staying with me, remember? She’s probably more than happy to call one of those other strapping, immature boys to come protect us,” she said fondly of her bold and flirtatious best friend.
“Is that what they call it these days? Protecting?” Arden sniggered from atop Bella.
“Alright, that’s quite enough ofthat,” their disgruntled father called as he loudly cleared his throat. Isla hid her laugh behind her hands, already missing her older brother—if two minutes could be considered “older.”
Papa removed his old, bronzed pocket watch from his cloak, checked the time, then gathered Buttercup’s reins in his gloved hands. “You and Brielle take care of yourselves. Don’t hesitate to call on the Bristolls if you need anything.” He nodded his head toward their neighbor’s house. “I know you trust this town, Isla, but unease makes people act out of character. Don’t let your guard down.”
She knew he would always worry over her, even though she’d been staying at their house alone for two years since her mother had passed. The last few times Arden and Papa had left, her best friend had stayed with her—although safety was not the first thing on her friend’s mind during those extended stays.
“I know, Papa. You better get going if you want to make good time,” she said as she hitched a wagon to Buttercup’s harness. It was filled with their wares to sell and trade in south Evonlea and Karstos: handmade snares, replaceable arrowheads, and a myriad of other hunting tools her family excelled at crafting. Papa and Arden thanked her and promised for the hundredth time to be careful.
Watching them ride away was the worst part, not knowing if it would be the last time she would see them. She put on a brave smile as she waved, but her insides were wracked with anxiety and fear. She kept envisioning a moment like this from two years ago when she had waved to a different retreating figure, never suspecting that it would have been her final goodbye. Her eyes burned from holding back a fresh wave of tears, a sob on the tip of her tongue.
As they rode off into the dawn, she whispered, “I love you both.”
Chapter Two
Jade
Onagaspingbreath,her eyes fluttered open.
Jade’s heart pounded in time to her racing thoughts, practically echoing off the cavern walls. She could feel her pulse in her chest, her head, her core.
Trying to get her bearings, she took in the space around her. The ancient cave domed above her head, dimly lit from the far-off sunlight creeping in through the tunneled entrance. Everything came back to her in a rush, and she instantly knew what lay beyond that opening: the beautiful island of Iona, the only place she and her fellow elemental beings had ever felt at peace.
Jade glanced down at the raised platform of rocks she was laying on, which was pushed up against the cave wall. Closest to the walls, the ceiling sloped low before rising higher as it reached its peak. She could barely see, but her other senses could feel the earth and rock around her. Its steadfastness, its strength, its beauty. The earth had been her resting place for lifetimes, a comfort and home to her soul while her body was dormant. She remembered choosing this mountain as her refuge after the humans waged their war and rebelled against the forces that gave them life, that sustained them. She could never have left this island, even when things ended the way they had.
It had been centuries—longer, perhaps—since she had last roamed the earth. The fact that she had been summoned now meant something terrible was coming. This was the vow the elementals had all made after the war: that they should no longer abide among the living but could be called upon in times of dire need.
Her eyes and heart burned from the memories that flooded her. The tranquility she and the other elementals had once known. How the humans had loved them, worshiped them, even, because of the powers of nature they wielded to help the kingdom prosper.
But Jade and her companions had taken this power for granted, slowly turning their kingdom of solace into a breeding ground for control. The elementals had sought to rule the people, thinking that their great power meant the humans should bow tothemand them alone. And some of the people had agreed.
Many had not.
She had learned how love and devotion such as the humans’ could quickly turn to obsession, and obsession bred violence. Flashes of that great civil war, the frenzied actions of oppressed humans clashing with those who staunchly supported the elementals, shot through her mind. It was she and her fellow elementals who had made them feel powerless enough that their only choice was to lash out, even against their own kind.
