“It was a quick decision,” I said lamely.
She acknowledged that with a quick shake of her head. “Well, come in, come in! I’ll find something for you to wear. You’ll melt if you stay in fighting leathers here. My things will be too big for you but I think I have some of my sister’s packed away. You two are of a similar size.” She gave me an appraising look. “Are you hungry?”
True to her word,Everly found me something significantly less sweltering to wear. The mint-green dress was made of a lightweight material that swirled around my hips as I walked. The fitted bodice had a sweetheart neckline and capped sleeves that wouldn’t trap the heat. Small flowers were sprinkled throughout the pattern, and the brown belt that Everly had supplied cinched it perfectly to my waist.
Feeling significantly cooler, I made my way back down to the main level.
“But to abscond with the princess, Griff? Really?” Everly was saying as I entered.
Griff cut off the conversation and stood as I lingered in the doorway.He had changed, too, trading his usual black for lighter clothes, both in color and material. It was the first time I’d seen him dressed in anything but black. I hadn’t realized until now how much he wore that color like a uniform. The lighter colors softened his features, smoothing away some of those hard lines. His loose-fitting shirt had flowing sleeves and a wide vee at the throat that revealed a hint of chest hair. His eyes ran over me, the glint of approval coming through. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, a door crashed opened to my right.
“Lexie? I thought I felt you!” Finn rushed in and took my hand, spinning me around. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say Thalassa herself just walked out of the waves. Careful, you may have sailors throwing themselves into the sea for you.” I laughed at his silliness as he continued, “What are you doing here?”
I stopped short, not sure what exactly to tell him but also not sure why I was hesitating to tell him the truth. If anyone knew why Griff had been able to teleport to me through the wards, it would be Finn.
Before my hesitation could be noticed or commented upon, Griff jumped in and gave the same vague story he told his mother. Finn clearly knew parts were missing but also didn’t question it.
I stayed silent, moving to the doorway and leaning out the half door that was open to let in the sea breeze. In front of me was a small deck with a few chairs. I breathed deeply the smell of the ocean, mesmerized by the crashing of the waves on the beach. It was so peaceful here. How could anyone leave?
“You want to fill me in here?”Finn’s voice was gentle.
“I assume you asked Griff.”
“I did. He continued with the same bullshit he spun earlier and then slammed his shield down. Care to enlighten me?”
I wasn’t sure why I was hesitating. There was no good reason except that it felt private. Just between me and Griff. But Griff and Finn didn’t have any secrets from each other, did they?
“I was just… lonely, I guess.”
There was a momentary pause before Finn either accepted it or decided to stop pushing.“Then you came to the right place! We can’t have you lonely on Ignistar!”
“Mam, while we’re here, would you mind working with Lexa on water wielding?” Griff and Everly were over in the corner but I could still hear them. I only halfway paid attention, still captured by the ocean. The scent reminded me of Griff. Maybe he had spent so much time here that it just persisted wherever he went.
“That’s a great idea,” Finn said, clapping Griff on the back. “We’ve been working on the internal channels but have only just touched on the elemental ones.”
“Except fire,” I said ruefully, remembering the various explosions that I had caused.
“Let’s see what you can do,” Everly said.
She led me outside and toward the end of the dock. Motioning for me to sit, we sat cross-legged, right on the edge.
“Tell me what you know about water wielding,” Everly started.
“Not much,” I admitted. “I’ve only really felt an affinity for fire. Although back home, I would have said I felt the earth.”
“Elemental wielding is driven by emotion,” she explained. “Fire is fueled by some of the strongest emotions: anger, lust, love. Water is the opposite—it’s calm and collected. Water always seeks balance and serenity. It would rather flow around obstacles than burst through them as fire would. When you approach your water channel with anger and frustration, it will rebel against you. It becomes choppy, unpredictable, and impossible to control.” She skimmed her hand through the gentle waves at her side. “But when you’re at peace, water is at peace. It’s able and willing to do your bidding. Earth and air are also opposites. You rarely see people with the opposites, and for you to have all of them is a strange contradiction.”
I smiled wryly. Strange contradiction summed me up.
“Depending on the combination of someone’s channels, they can do different things. For example, with water and body, you could control someone’s blood as a healer, or a warrior.”
She settled her shoulders into a relaxed position as she waved her hand gently over the ocean, as if she was beckoning for it to come play. There was a faint shimmer of power before the water leapt in a great wave to greet her—not violent and crashing, but a graceful spiral that she twisted into shapes with flicks of her fingers. First a bird in flight, then a blooming flower. Finally, it shifted into a couple, dancing together. It looked oddly like my dance with Griff last night. I felt myself begin to blush at the memory.
“Water wielding is all about partnership,” she said softly, never taking her eyes off the rotating figures. “Water is curious but it prefers harmony above all. Forcing it breaks that harmony. But invite it in…” The water burst into a fountain of droplets that glittered in the sun while hanging suspended, before gently returning to the ocean without a single splash.
“Water teaches us that with the gentlest touch can come the strongest power.” She gestured for me to try.
I wasn’t so sure about that, given that my current way of using my power tended to be more abrupt, but it was probably time to try some finesse. Closing my eyes, I mimicked her motion, and reached down to access that part of me where I knew the water channel resided. I tried to separate out a strand, but that channel was woven tightly together. Dragging it out, Ipulledit upward and directed it at the water, asking it to rise to my hand.
