“They’re cominghere?” Isla squeaked, from dread or excitement, she wasn’t sure. Finding out that not only did this one powerful being exist right under their noses, but thatmorewere soon to join him? It was almost too much for her mind to handle. “How do you know?”
He sighed and ran a hand along his face. “You know, I did not plan to tell you the story of my entire existence today.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have saved my life and told me I can stay as long as I need.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up slightly. “Fine. I will answer your questions, if you answer mine. A question for a question.”
She let out a huff. “Why would you be interested in anything about me?”
“I’m a man of many secrets.”
“According to you, you’re not human, so can you really be a man?”
“I assure you, I am.”
Isla’s cheeks heated slightly. His response was so quick, so casual, that she wasn’t sure how to take the suggestive words. He did not seem like the kind of being to makejokes.
He gave her an exasperated look when she stayed silent. “So, is it a deal?”
She glanced at him as he sat on the floor, his back against the stone wall, his legs stretched out in front of him. A faint smirk played across his lips as he watched her study him.
“Alright,” she said, looking down and wrapping a blanket tighter around her legs as the freezing night air crept into their little fortress. It was getting dark out, and the fire in the cave was dwindling. “What do you want to know?”
As if he had noticed her movements, Rynn lifted himself off the floor to add more wood to the unconventional fire pit. “Why were you traveling here?”
Isla chewed on her bottom lip. “My father and brother were going south to trade in Karstos. A few days ago, they were attacked on the road, not too far from here. My father was badly hurt.” She cleared her throat. Any mention of her family settled an uncomfortable weight in her stomach. The desire to get back to them was so strong, it was painful. “The men who saved them came to my town to find me and tell me what happened, and I insisted on traveling with them to make sure Papa was okay. They live in Krill, which is where we were heading when we came across that campsite. We were going home to Lockhurt the other night when you—when you found me.”
Rynn raised an eyebrow as he stoked the fire. “You said yes to going on a trip with men you had never met before?”
She bristled. “Yes, yes, you’re not the first person to point that out. But I’ve never really metyoubefore, and here I am. Should I be worried?”
“Yes,” he answered almost immediately. “But not of me harming you.” When she said nothing in response and simply stared at him, he said, “If I wanted to hurt you, I had ample opportunity while you were asleep on my bed.” He motioned to the pile of blankets. “You are safe with me, Isla. I promise.”
She swallowed and nodded. Perhaps she was crazy or far too trusting, but she believed him. After a moment passed of nothing but the crackling of the fire and insects buzzing outside the cave, Isla spoke. “Now, for my question: what did you mean when you said the other elementals are coming here?”
He took a while to answer, as if carefully considering what to tell her. She found him incredibly difficult to read; he kept his emotions locked up tight, righteous indignation being the only one he conveyed without thought. The fire between their bodies flickered and danced through the air, illuminating parts of his face in a hazy glow. Light glinted off of his gray eyes as the flames popped.
“If they received the same message I did, they will be coming to Aataran,” he finally said as he settled back in his spot on the ground by his book.
Isla gaped at him and crossed her arms. “Thatis not an answer. Am I going to have to pry everything out of you?”
He closed his eyes and scratched his forehead. “I apologize. I have…not spoken to another person in a very long time.” He took a breath. “Once, the other elementals and I lived among humans. We had since the dawn of their existence. At least, the four of us who control physical nature, as I mentioned earlier. The one who controls the Aether cannot exist on this plane."
Isla cut him off before he could continue. “I’m sorry, what does that mean?”
“This is going to take a while to get through if you interrupt every other sentence,” he said, exasperated.
He was not the most patient person.Noted, Isla thought. She shrugged and motioned for him to keep going.
“The Aether cannot control things in this world the same way we elementals do. She is beyond the physical and represents that which exists in all of space.” His hand fluttered in the air, as if to emphasize his words. “Over time, she has been called numerous things—the void, the quintessence, the spirit. She has never been able to dwell permanently in corporeal form like we do.”
Isla blinked and rubbed at her temples, trying to grasp all the new information.
“Let me see if I can help you understand better.” He walked away from the fire and knelt next to her broken log. Her body hummed at the proximity, her breath catching and holding when his arm brushed against hers. She tried to ignore the sensation, reminding herself that he was an obstinate and slightly arrogant immortal being whom she would be parting with soon.
Who had eyes like a storm that threatened to sweep her away.
“I can control the air around us.” He moved his hands and wind circled her, lifting the hair from her shoulders and gently kissing her skin. “The other elementals each control an aspect of nature, as well. Water, fire, and earth. Those are all physical manipulations, you see?
