Isla hesitated, uncomfortable with how quickly the image of the man came to her mind after days of suppressing the memory. “He wore all black and had fair skin and short, pale hair. Almost white.”
“Was it like…like he was everywhere around you? Like you couldn’t breathe when he touched you?” Kai asked.
Isla swallowed and nodded.
“You did not tell me that he—”
“Hold on, hetouchedyou?”
Rynn and Aidan spoke indignantly over one another at this revelation. Aidan’s eyes smoldered, and Isla could’ve sworn the air around them heated several degrees.
“Men,” Jade muttered under her breath.
“Not like that,” Kai said exasperatedly. “He just lightly touched my skin. I think it was supposed to be intimidating. A power move.”
“Right,” Isla nodded in agreement. “It was small things, like he’d touch my neck, or my collar, or cheek. Almost as if he was trying to prove that he could.”
Aidan flexed his hand. “Alright. I’m going to kill him.”
Rynn didn’t say anything, but the muscles in his neck were rigid, and his knee brushed against hers under the table.
“What did he do to you?” Isla asked Kai, who still seemed shaken.
“When we were on the ship crossing the Strait of Pyr to get here, there was a bad storm. I was keeping it at bay until the man showed up.” Kai paused, and Aidan tightened his grip on her hand. “He appeared out of nowhere and used some sort of mind manipulation on me to make me strengthen the storm and almost capsize the ship. He knew who I was and made it clear that he’s not going anywhere.”
The five of them sat in silence for a moment, and Isla tried to wrap her head around what it might mean that she and Kai had seen the same man—a man who could control someone as powerful as an elemental.
“This was actually not the only time I’ve seen him,” Isla finally said. They all turned to her with varying expressions of confusion, except for Rynn. “The first time was a couple weeks ago. He followed me outside a bar in my hometown to talk, said he was curious about me and wanted to see if I was ‘worth all of this trouble.’ And he knew my name.” She involuntarily touched the mark on her wrist where the dark god had kissed her. It sent a shiver rippling through her that had nothing to do with the cold.
“Did he say anything else about us?” Jade urged.
“Not that first time. The second time, all he said was that you would be coming soon and that I’m supposed to go with you because it’s in everybody’s ‘best interest.’ His, mine, and yours. He also sort of…threatened me.” Isla rubbed the back of her neck nervously. She hadn’t told Rynn this particular part of the conversation.
Sure enough, his body went as stiff as a board in the seat next to her. “What did he say to you?” he asked, his voice icy.
“Nothing that dramatic.” She put a hand on his arm, then jerked it back when she realized the others were staring. She wasn’t even sure why she’d been compelled to touch him in the first place. “I asked if he was going to hurt me, and all he said was ‘not yet.’”Alright, perhaps it was alittledramatic.
“Isla. Look at me,” Rynn said, and she met his gaze. He wasn’t as angry as she thought he would be. He peered into her eyes intently, a surprising softness lining the blue edges, and she felt like she was melting into them. “We will protect you. He will not be able to hurt you, I promise.”
“That’s a nice thought, brother, but consideringshe’sthe one with the immunity to this fellow’s powers, not us, that might be a difficult claim to back up,” Aidan said.
Isla caught Kai glaring at Aidan. “What he means is that ofcoursewe’ll help protect you. If this man is going after you as well as us, there must be some reason. Something we don’t know yet.”
All four elementals looked at Isla, examining her as if they might find answers beneath her skin as to why the man placed such importance onher, a human girl from a small town who had no business being mixed up with this mess. She shifted her legs, uncomfortable under their scrutiny.
Rynn’s knee touched hers again, as if he sensed her unease. “Perhaps we should go back to the caves for the night. It has been a long day, and we are not going to discover anything else this evening.”
The others nodded, and Aidan kept glancing slyly at Rynn and Isla. “We’d be more than happy to get another room for you here, little island. It’s probably much more comfortable than those caves,” he said.
“Oh—well, I—”
As Isla stammered over her response, a mischievous grin spread across Aidan’s face, only growing with Rynn’s next words.
“She stays with me, Aidan,” Rynn said firmly.
It took every bit of willpower to stop herself from smiling.
Chapter Twenty-Three
