Isla frowned and let go of his hands. “I’m sorry, you can dowhat?”
“Tell me what you want to say, and I can get the message directly to your family. I have to have a token or object of theirs to establish the connection, though,” he said.
She scoffed quietly. “So you’re a psychic now, too? What does that have anything to do with your element?”
Rynn sighed. He seemed to hate explaining things in depth, which was unfortunate considering Isla’s propensity for constant questioning. “Remember what I told you about the Aether? How she does not control anything physical, but can affect the mind and spirit?”
Isla nodded.
“Since her element flows through myself and the other three, we each have a minute amount of sway over the mind and spirit, as she does. All of our abilities vary. Mine is that I can create a temporary psychic link, as you put it, with a desired person. It’s a one-way connection, and as long as I have an object related to that person, I can speak into the wind and my words will be carried to them.”
Isla’s jaw dropped. Would she ever cease to be amazed by what these beings could do? “What are the other elementals’ mind abilities?”
He gave her a look and said, “Oh, I am sure they will show them off to you the first chance they get. Except for Jade. She has always been opposed to using any power that can alter someone’s mind. Unless it is convenient for her, of course,” he muttered.
“Why can’t you use this power to send a message to them and find out where they are?” Isla asked.
“Because, as I explained, I have to have a personal artifact that belongs to them. All of the objects we have here are mine, so they would not work on my fellow elementals.”
“So, if I want to get in contact with someone back home, I’d have to have something of theirs with me…” Isla trailed off, disappointment rising as she sat dejectedly on the bed of blankets.
Wait. Shedidhave something.
Rynn gave her a strange look as she jumped up and dashed to her small pile of dirty clothes. Rifling through, she smiled when her hand clamped down on her old dagger. “This was Arden’s—my brother’s—for most of his life until he gave it to me four years ago on our eighteenth birthday,” she explained, her eyes roaming over the sweet note carved into the wooden hilt.
The fiercest huntress in the land.
“Will this work?” she asked, turning and coming face to face with Rynn, her chest mere inches from his. In her panic-stricken haze after waking, recounting the nightmare, and concern for her family, she had failed to realize he hadn’t put a tunic on when he rushed to her side. Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes skirting over the hard ridges of his stomach, the dark hair trailing up a strong chest. She slowly held the knife out to him, ignoring the flecks of dried blood clinging to the serrated edge.
He took it from her, the small space between them charged with electricity. “Yes, it should still carry enough meaning to establish a connection to him.”
She blinked as his words settled around her, a smile breaking across her face for the first time since she awoke from her nightmare. Arden may not be able to respond, but at least she could let him know she was alive and hopefully alleviate some of his concerns.
“However, I cannot guarantee how this message will be received. Hearing a strange voice entering his mind may not bring the comfort you wish; he may not even believe it. But it is all I can offer.”
Her brief excitement dwindled as she tried to imagine howshewould feel if some voice came to her on the wind. Rynn was right: it may not work, or Arden may be more scared than relieved. But she had to dosomething.
“It’s worth a shot,” she said, already trying to figure out what to say. There was no easy way to convey, “I was captured and almost killed by crazy men and then the God of Air saved my life, except he’s actually not a god. But now I’m being hunted by adifferentcrazy man who might also be a danger to you. Stay safe!”
So, with Rynn’s help, she settled on telling Arden that she’d been kidnapped by companions of the men she had shot down but was safely recovering in Krill and would get back to them as soon as she healed. She also urged Arden not to come for her, saying she was in good hands and wanted him to stay with Papa. While it may have been deceptive, she hoped by saying “recovering in Krill,” Arden would assume she was with August or Dorothea. She prayed her words would be enough to convince them, and that they would believe it came from her.
Dagger in hand, Rynn closed his eyes and murmured her words down the “psychic link.” Isla didn’t know what to expect from the whole process, but it was rather…anticlimactic. The wind whipped around their hair as he spoke, and the only indication he’d finished was when he opened his eyes and the air stilled.
“It’s done,” he said, handing her the dagger. Their fingers grazed, and a jolt of heat traveled up her arm. Her eyes jumped to his when he didn’t pull away. He studied her face, his gray eyes swirling inside the circle of blue, making her stomach churn and tighten with unfamiliar nerves. His gaze and lingering touch made her acutely aware of the fact that they would be sharing a living space for the foreseeable future.
She retracted her arm and cleared her throat. “Thank you,” she said, backing away as she wiped her clammy hands along her leggings. “I’m sorry I kept you up so late for this.”
He let his hand fall to his side. “Do not apologize for caring for your family, Isla.”
When he turned back to his side of the cave, she caught a glimpse of a tattoo on his right shoulder blade in the shape of a triangle with a horizontal line going through the top.
“What does your tattoo mean?” she called out quietly.
He froze, the dying fire casting shadows over his sculpted back and arms. “It is the symbol for my element.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
