We arrive at a small cove, away from the bustle of the port. The sand is coarse and dark, heavy. The water seems deeper in this place, an almost black blue that gives me chills.
“Do you always make sure to stay close to your element to have an advantage?”
Sabina turns toward me with a movement so fluid it doesn't seem real.
“Water is everywhere, Nell,” she responds, extending her arms. “In the air you breathe, in the sweat on your skin, in the blood running through your veins. I always have an advantage.”
“Air too,” I reply, trying to maintain my facade of indifference.
“True,” she admits, coming so close to me I can feel her breath on my skin. “But understanding the element you're fighting with is fundamental.”
Without warning, a whip of water surges from the sea in my direction. I dodge it barely, feeling how it grazes my left cheek. I summon the air instinctively, creating a barrier that deflects her second attack.
“Better than I expected,” she confesses. “But too defensive, just like Sylara said.”
I try to counterattack, throwing a gust of wind at her that barely manages to unbalance her. She responds by materializing a sphere of water that floats between her hands before dividing into dozens of projectiles she fires at me simultaneously and soak my clothes.
“Is your strategy to wet my shirt because I'm not wearing a bra?” I protest.
“You're distracted.”
“You're the one who's distracted looking at my tits,” I reply, though my knees tremble.
It's hard to concentrate when her body moves like that, when every gesture seems hypnotic, when my mindkeeps remembering that damn dream where her hands traveled over my naked skin underwater.
“Are you nervous?” she whispers, winking and biting her lower lip.
I attack again, trying to take advantage of the rage I feel. One gust after another, each one stronger, forcing her to retreat toward the water. For a moment I think I'm gaining ground, but then she smiles, and that smile tells me I've fallen into a trap.
As soon as her feet touch the sea, the water comes alive. It rises around her, creating a barrier that absorbs all my attacks. She extends her arms and a wave advances in my direction at impossible speed.
I try to back up, but it's too late. The water hits me hard, knocking me down. When I try to get up, Sabina has already positioned herself on top of my body, immobilizing me.
“You're too confident,” she hisses. “I let you gain ground to lure you into my trap.”
She presses my hip with her thighs while holding my wrists above my head with one hand. The other coils threateningly around my neck, though without squeezing.
“Never underestimate a water elemental,” she murmurs, her lips inches from mine. “I could evaporate all the liquid from your body with a thought.”
But it's not fear I feel right now. It's something entirely different. Her weight on my body awakens sensations I try to suppress desperately.
I'd swear her breathing accelerates. Does she feel it too? This impossible, magnetic attraction that surpasses any logic?
I shift my gaze to her parted lips, and for an instant I almost give in to the impulse to raise my head and kiss her. Then I remember her coldness, how she moved away from me after the mission at Voronov's house, how she flirted with Cherie right in front of my nose and probably went to bed with her that same night.
Rage replaces desire. I focus all my energy on creating cold, like I did with Althea. The air between us suddenly freezes, forming small ice crystals. A dizziness clouds my vision for a second. Shit.
Sabina lets out a surprised sigh, but doesn't pull away. Instead, she smiles and controls the water particles in the air, neutralizing my spell before it can complete.
“Impressive,” she murmurs. “But water can be ice, vapor or liquid. Remember I control all its forms.”
And then I make a mistake. I get distracted watching a drop of sweat slide down her neck and disappear into her cleavage. That instant is all she needs.
A water whip hits my side with enough force to leave me breathless. She releases me from her grip, but I remaindizzy. My head spins and for a moment I fear I'll lose consciousness.
“Nell!” she exclaims, and this time her voice sounds worried.
She kneels beside me, placing a hand on my back as she helps me sit up.
