Page 6 of Rescuing Air

“Sounds good.” Dad nodded, giving me one more hug before they left.

Unable to move, I just stood there, staring at the front door, feeling like it might be the last time I saw them. If we went into battle, there was no telling what could happen. We’d made it out of each of these altercations by the skin of our teeth. This next move was going to be the final battle and with the small amount of information we did have, I knew it was going to be the battle of the ages.

Arms wrapped around me. “Sunshine, talk to me. I can feel your pain, but I don’t understand where it’s coming from.”

I glanced at Hudson over my shoulder, knowing he was right. I needed to voice my thoughts or they would swallow me whole. My therapist kept telling me that talking about my fears kept them from having power and ruling in the dark corners of my brain. Grabbing one of his hands, I pulled out of his hold and led him to the couch to sit next to me, so I was safe between Jay and him. Taking a deep breath, I let it all out, not holding any of my many concerns back.

“This is it. When we hunt them down, we’ll fly out there and confront them. Parker and I are broken, but we need him. There is no other option. It will take the full power of the Elementi Knights to end this war between Heaven and Hell here on earth. I don’t know how I feel about that, knowing how much he hurt me and knowing I have to trust him to keep me alive, along with you guys. What if Parker and I can never mend things between us? Do I want to? Does it even matter if we all might die in this fight? We thought it was one source of evil we were fighting—The Dark Lord. Now we know it’s Lilith and the Evil Trinity that we’re up against, and they don’t give a shit about anything but taking over our world so they can rule it for themselves. Let’s say we live through this. What happens to the people who have been dosed with the serum? Will this ever be over? Is there a chance for us to really build a life together outside of this ordeal or are we just slaves to fighting and surviving for the Elementi?”

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop as they absorbed what I’d just dropped on them.

“Lailah, how long have you been holding all this in?” Brayden asked, something in his voice making me look up at him. His face was tight with anger and I didn’t know if it was directed at me or something else, but that wasn’t what I was expecting from him.

Shrugging, I looked down at my hands picking at my t-shirt. “Some things for a while, others after I thought I was going to lose to Lilith. I had no idea if I was going to make it out of that insanity or not. It was a gamble, a stupid risky one, to see if I could trap her in my own body. If that failed, I could have killed us all and ended the world, because that’s what Synergy can do. In the right hands, it can save the world. Otherwise, it can bring the world to ruin. What nobody tells us is if saving it will ruin me... or you guys. I will fight, but I’m not fighting for the world. I’m fighting for us, otherwise it’s not worth it to me.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to do this?” Hudson asked, confused.

“What is this?” I countered.

This made Hudson pause to think as if he wasn’t sure either.

“Just to be clear, you’re not talking about leaving us,” Micah cut in, his voice all but a growl.

My head snapped in his direction at the absurd question. “Absolutely not. The only good thing out of this whole situation is getting you guys. I’m not with any of you because we’re bonded by some magical power or have Heaven’s blessing. I fell in love with each and every one of you without any of that, unable to ever choose between you all. What I’m getting tired of is having to be the people on the front lines sacrificing everything, including our lives, for a fight that might never be over.”

“It’s not just you guys,” Cami whispered. “All of us in the Elementi have given everything to this fight.” She looked up at me, giving me a watery smile as tears fell down her cheeks. “I don’t blame you for questioning their motives though. I do, every goddamn day. It cost me my first love. One of the reasons I didn’t want to come back to Ryevick when they asked. Why would I want to help protect the one person who could put an end to this, when she was already too late to save the woman I loved?”

Over the time that I had been friends with Cami, I knew there was something in her past. Brayden’s parents even hinted at it when we were out there visiting them. The pain I could see in her face told me everything I needed to know—how this story would go and how she still mourned the loss of this person.

“I hope you don’t take what I said as belittling the pain you’ve gone through, or that even you guys have, having lost family and friends. Coming from the outside and looking in, it just seems like no one pushes back or questions things, only pushing forward to keep the promise made to the angels,” I said, feeling the sadness and pain coming from all my men.

“No, Lala, I didn’t think that at all. I’ve been where you are. Hell, who am I kidding? I’m still there if I’m being honest with myself. Of course, my opinion changed when I met you and realized you had no idea that any of this was going on and you just got chucked right into the fire without a chance to question if this is what you should be doing. No one asked any of you if you wanted to be the Elementi Knights and put your life on the line to save the world. It was just assumed and expected, because you’re the only people who can do it.” Cami sighed.

Each of us took a moment to just sit there and think, knowing that I’d called attention to something that seemed taboo to even talk about. For generations, the Elementi had been training the next generation of knights when the others pass away, without question. Now here I was, the element that was supposed to save the world, questioning what we needed to do and the reason I was brought into this world. What I wouldn’t give to have an angel appear and explain to us what the hell was going on.

“Then we change the story,” Jay stated, breaking the silence.

I looked at him, brows creased, not sure where he was going with this.

“A mad man on his deathbed was visited by an angel who told him that Synergy was coming when we needed you the most. I agree that now is that time, but what they said is it was the weapon that would turn the tide for whoever was bonded to them. Lailah, you chose us, and we chose you. So, I say we choose each other again and we don’t fight for the Elementi or the world around us that has no idea the sacrifices that happen every day. This fight—this fight is for us. You want a future where we can settle down and make a life for ourselves, really get married, maybe have kids, watch them grow up ignorant to this darkness. If that is what we want, then we need to make that world for them. Take down the evil once and for all. Let them know if they dare to come back, we will smite them once again, because we have something precious to protect. Fuck the Elementi. Let’s do this for us and the future we deserve,” Jay proclaimed, surprising the shit out of all of us.

Micah shot to his feet, forgetting about his leg and came crashing back down, missing the chair, swearing. “Fucking hell, goddamn leg!” Once back in his chair, he glared at us, daring us to comment on his actions. “Jay’s right. Fuck everyone else. We do this last battle and when we live through it, we’re done. That’s it. No more Elementi, no more fighting or dealing with demons. We will live our own lives.”

“I agree. This last battle will take everything we have and once it’s finished, so are we. They can’t ask us for more than that,” Hudson commented, nodding in agreement.

Cami snorted. “I mean, they can and will, but I think you have the right idea to do what you have to for your future and I’ll do the same. Once this is over, I’m out as well. Maggs has been wanting to branch out and see the world, not be trapped at the school, working underground her whole life. I know she’ll come with me. You guys are my family too, and whatever kids you end up having need a crazy aunt that will help them get into the best kind of trouble.”

“There is one glitch, guys,” Brayden cut in. “What do we do about Parker?”

All eyes turned to me. Rubbing my face with both hands, I buried my fingers in my hair, knowing I had to make a tough call. “We need him for this fight. I don’t know about anything past that, but he needs to be a part of this. I’m sure there will be fights and moments where I’ll need to walk away, but that isn’t an option if we want a future. One thing I don’t question is needing all six of us fighting together to make it through this. They have worked so hard to keep us from completing our bonds, it has to be important. They wouldn’t waste the effort otherwise. Lilith was extremely worried when it looked like I’d bond with all of you before she could get to one of you.”

“Fine, he can come to help with shit but I refuse to let him stay in the house,” Micah bit out. “I also can’t promise I won’t beat the shit out of him again.”

“Works for me, but when we head out to wherever we’re going, we can’t risk him being separated. He’s not bonded to me. They can kill him and then we’re fucked on a whole other level,” I reminded them.

They all grumbled an agreement before I looked at Cami. “Would you mind being our go-between? Personally, I don’t want to talk to him just yet, even though I need to.”

“Of course, Lala. I’m not happy with the bastard either, and I get not wanting to be cornered into talking to him on the phone,” Cami assured me. “I do think it would be better for me to head back, though. I’ll be more help working with Beth since I know everything and I’m not as blinded by the organization as she is about who to trust or. How about I stay for a week, see where we are with things and then I head back and have information to share firsthand instead of over the phone or email?”