Page 6 of Liberating Water

Lailah

Huddledon the roof of the hotel, I took in the helicopter that we were going to take back to the cabin and then to the airport. The perk of having a secret, well-funded organization at your back was the convenience of travel. I wasn’t afraid of heights, but all I could think of was every war movie my dad and brothers watched where the helicopter was always the first thing to go down.

“You look concerned,” Hudson commented as he stood next to me. “The pilot is very experienced, and we would never put you in danger.”

Turning to him, I wrapped my arms around his middle, soaking in his comfort. “I know. I’m more worried about what it’s taking us to.”

“Lailah, you don’t have to keep putting on this brave face for us,” Hudson said, pulling me into a tight hug. “I understand not wanting to look weak in front of our parents, but we are in this together, and none of us are prepared for what is to come. The six of us are a team, and we’ve already proven that we are far stronger together than we are apart.”

I couldn’t help but think of Tabitha’s face of shock and horror as she realized that she wasn’t going to take us down with her. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be standing here on the edge of a war with the Dark Lord, only the five of us able to stop him.

“Alright, everyone in!” the pilot called, waving an arm at us.

Tucking low like he instructed us to earlier, we piled into the helicopter, and Jay slid the door shut. He waited for everyone to get buckled in and came over to double check mine before he settled himself. Jay grabbed the headset that was on the hook by his shoulder and motioned for us to do the same.

“Brayden, is the plane ready?” Jay asked.

“Yup. They will be waiting for us once we get there. Hudson, have you talked to your mom yet?” Brayden questioned.

Hudson nodded. “She is sending a driver to meet us at the airport with a company car. My siblings will be home and can get us settled.”

“Shouldn’t we be going right to the lab?” I interjected.

“I figured it would be best to drop our stuff off before we head over. The driver will be available to us whenever we need,” Hudson said.

We fell into a comfortable silence as I peered out the window, taking in the snow-covered mountains. I was a little sad that I didn’t get to see very much of it, but I knew that I could come back any time. Once we landed and hurried into the house to begin packing, I was assured by them all that we didn’t need to worry about anything else, that cleaners would come in and set the house to rights once again. There was a procedure with safe houses, and we just needed to lock up as we left.

Finally on the plane, we were able to relax for a little while, seeing as it was an almost six-hour flight. Micah promptly passed out on the couch and Jay pulled out a book and started reading while Parker, Hudson, and Brayden kept me company playing card games. After a few rounds of rummy, I started to get sleepy.

“Come on, Trouble. Let’s get you laying down before you pass out on the table here,” Parker said, scooping me up before I could argue.

I gave the other two a wave as I was carried off to the back of the plane. Expecting Parker to just drop me off and then head back out, I was surprised when he curled up against me. His large, warm body wrapped around mine was solid and grounding for me. Falling asleep on the plane was making me nervous, seeing as the last time this happened I almost crashed the plane.

“You’re safe with me here, Trouble. I’ll know if anything happens to you and I’ll wake you up,” he said, nuzzling the top of my head.

Shifting slightly, I looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“My element isn’t the same as the others’. It’s not one that you can see or touch; it’s all about feelings. I can give or take away certain emotions from people, but the other part of that is I can control that emotion. Let’s take fear, for example—I can take away your fear or I can make you become afraid. Then I could take the fear and turn it up and force someone else to become terrified.” Parker paused, taking a shaky breath. “I can do it with any emotion, so if I feel you falling into whatever the Dark Lord uses to mess with you, I’ll know. He seems to play on your fear and insecurities, turning them into a reality for your dreams.”

His fear of my reaction was written all over his face and the fact he couldn’t look me in the eye. If I was anyone else and didn’t know him the way I do, it might have worried me that he could play with my emotions, but I wasn’t.

Reaching up, I grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him down to me so I could kiss him. “Thank you for watching over me.”

Parker grinned at me. “Trouble like you should never be left alone.”

Snuggling against him, I drifted off to sleep with him running his fingers up and down my arm soothingly.

* * *

“Little Synergy,did you really think you could hide from me?” The Dark Lord’s voice swirled around me in the darkness. “Oh, your Knight is trying very hard to remove my hold on you, but he isn’t strong enough yet. So it seems I have you at my mercy for the time being. Isn’t that fun?”

Panic started to rise as I felt the Dark Lord’s clawed hand run down my back. I’d been trapped in this void before, and the guys always seemed to be able to pull me out with their powers. I tried to call on my golden energy, but the spot where it sat in my chest was empty and cold.

“Do you think they can save you in time? My darkness in you is spreading, and your fight with Tabitha only increased the hold it has on you. It nearly killed you when she tried to call it out of your soul, but it wouldn’t give up on such a prey as yourself. Your Knights are but foolish boys trying to protect you from me. If they truly wanted that, then your Fire Knight would have taken the Oath and Bonded with you. Selfish, that was, on his part—how can you trust a man who wouldn’t put your best interests above his own? Ah, but be wary of your Spirit Knight. Things of the heart can be so... fickle.”

“Shut the hell up,” I growled, my anger pushing away all my previous fear. “I trust them with my life. I would do anything for them, and I trust they would do the same for me.”

“Is that so? What if I told you that I would spare them if you gave yourself to me?” the Dark Lord taunted. “Once I have the world under my rule, you would be free to rejoin them and live happily together.”