Page 46 of Rescuing Air

Jay didn’t really comment, just nodded his head. “Thank you for the warning, now I’ll be prepared for any changes that might happen.”

“Another thing we found, is that I can work with all of your energies together seamlessly. There is no more struggle or fear of passing out, trying to force them together. I don’t know what all I can do though. Most of it feels like instinct,” I shared.

Jay reached out and cupped my face in his hands, pinning me with his gaze. “Trust yourself. If you feel the need to make a move, don’t second-guess it. We’ll follow your lead without question. You are Synergy and this fight will be won or lost by your choices or actions.”

“Fuck, man,” Parker snapped. “Way to freak her the fuck out.”

Jay glanced at Parker for a moment then returned to me. “I will never lie to you or put you in danger. You understanding the truth of this battle is the best thing I can give you. Lailah, you were born for this and so were we. Together, we will get through this or die with the knowledge we did all we could.”

Fear sat in the pit of my stomach like a stone at his words but I also understood where he was coming from. There was no sense in pretending like this wasn’t a fight for our lives and the rest of the world as we knew it. Giving false hope or platitudes wouldn’t do us any good. Honesty and trust would be far more powerful. “Anything else I should know before we go face the devil himself?”

“Only that I love you with all my heart, mind, body, and soul. I am and will forever be thankful that you showed up in my life and changed everything,” Jay murmured before capturing my mouth in a searing kiss that set my body on fire. I could feel through our connection how his words didn’t even begin to describe how much he loved me.

He pulled back first and stepped to the side as Micah moved to stand in front of me. “No matter what, there’s nothing left unsaid between us, right?”

“Nothing. We’ve never been good at holding back from each other,” I answered, giving him a smile. “Only know that if we live through this, you and Parker have to figure your shit out because I won’t have you guys hating each other for the rest of our lives together.”

“I can deal with that,” Micah agreed, tipping my head back and biting my lower lip before he soothed it with a flick of his tongue. It made me gasp, and he used that opportunity to deepen our kiss, leaving me breathless. He handed me over to Brayden.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and nuzzled into his neck, letting him ground me the way only he could. “Thank you for always being here right beside me since the very beginning.”

“There isn’t any other place I’d want to be, Angel. You have been such a gift to me and my family, it will take a lifetime to repay you,” he whispered into my ear.

“That’s funny, because I don’t ever remember there being a debt between us that needs to be repaid. We are family, Brayden, and I know you would do the same thing for me in a heartbeat, so I call us even,” I countered.

Brayden chuckled as he pulled back enough to see my face, running his fingers down my cheek. “You drive a hard bargain but I’ll allow it.” The kiss between us was tender and full of love, making me feel like the most treasured woman in the world.

Someone coughed and nudged Brayden, making him laugh as he pulled away from me. “I’m sorry, was I taking too long for your liking to express my undying love to our girl?”

Parker scowled at him. “You’ve been able to express your feelings far longer than any of us and I want to get my moment in before something crazy happens. I refuse to go last anymore. It got me killed the last time.”

His logic was hard to argue with and Hudson didn’t seem bothered about having to wait, so I stepped up to Parker taking his hand and drawing his attention. “Alright, I won’t make you go last.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Trouble. You are absolutely worth waiting for, but I’ve got shit to make up for still,” he explained.

“So dying wasn’t enough?” I asked, tilting my head, slightly frowning. “I’m not sure I want to know what else you have in mind.”

“What I did wasn’t nearly enough to make up for things. Trouble, any one of us would give up our life for you, if it meant you would be safe and alive. No, I plan to spend the rest of my life for however long that may be, making sure you never doubt me or my love for you again,” Parker shared, kissing me on the forehead. “Besides, I haven’t gotten a chance to spoil you rotten or make some grand gesture like the old eighties’ movies. What do you think about me hiring a full-time baker so you can have sugar cookies on demand at any moment?”

I snorted at that idea. “Parker, I can make my own cookies.”

“So I shouldn’t tell you that I might be the owner of Ann’s bakery...”

“You did not!” I gasped.

“Look, you love her cookies and she loves you. Besides, she didn’t have anyone to take over once she decided to retire,” Parker defended. “How about we save this argument for later and you can scold me all you want while I try to convince you how this is a brilliant idea.” I pouted at him but he just grinned, scooped me up into a bear hug and peppered my face with kisses before landing on my lips, sending shivers of delight down my spine. All too soon, he set me down and nudged me over to Hudson, who reached out a hand to me.

“Sunshine.” Hudson sighed as he pulled me to his chest, resting his head on top of mine. “No matter how this battle goes, I will forever be thankful for the time I was given with you. Should the heavens bless us with more time, then I don’t ever want us to miss a moment of life together. We will leave the Elementi and start our own adventure. The six of us, just like you wanted. Like you said at the start, we are no longer fighting for anyone but us and the future we want to have.”

“How do you always know what I need to hear?” I asked, sinking into his hold.

“Because you are the other half of my soul, the sunshine that lights up my world,” he answered. “Now it’s time to shine that light over the world and banish the darkness that is trying to take it from us.” Hudson pressed a firm kiss to my lips but didn’t linger like the others had. This was more of a normal everyday kiss for us, and when he saw my expression, he smiled. “I’m not going to say goodbye. I have faith in us that we will all make it out of this.”

My heart melted at his words. Knowing that he had that much trust in us as a team gave me the fortitude I needed to turn and face the others. “Alright, let’s go say hello to the Dark Lord and his army.”

Jay led the way, while Brayden took one of my hands and Hudson took the other, with Parker and Micah flanking us in the rear. We headed to the main room where all the cubicles were and found this is where everyone had gathered to listen to Blessing address the whole group. It seemed that we missed most of it but then again, it wasn’t really for us.

“Know that no matter what happens at the end of this, I am proud to have served with all of you. No matter what, we all persevered and did everything we could to keep the world we live in safe. The heavens have shined down upon us in the gift of having the six Elemental Warriors here with us in our hour of need. Listen to what they tell you. This isn’t their first battle with the Dark Lord, therefore making them experts on the matter.” Turning her gaze to us, she asked, “Do you have anything you wish to share before we all head above ground?”