Page 54 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

“It is,” I agree. It’s not like I can lie to a literal fucking water elemny after that conversation. “But I’m kind of regretting this journey on foot.”

“You aren’t the first. Unawakened elemny risk the path rather than trust the ships on their first time,” Rose says with a bell-like laugh. “But I can guarantee that we haven’t had an incident since May, so staying on the ships would have been fine.”

“May wasn’t too long ago,” I say with an arch of my brow.

“I guess to all who aren’t from here,” she says with a sway of her head. “What brings you here?”

“Distant relatives. My grandparents live here.”

“Oh! Let me guess. Either your mother or your dad was a water elemental, but they were tethered to someone who was not. So, because they didn’t want to part, they went to live in the free city and haven’t returned since?”

I laugh. “Is it that common?”

Rose laughs, too. “Yeah! Staying inside a kingdom is hard unless one has a work visa. The Kingdom of Flesh is the worst.”

I bite my lip and think about what to say next. Rose hasn’t looked at me with a sense of strangeness. I may be able to push further without her feeling suspicious. “It’s been chaotic over there since what happened to King Ragan.”

Rose nods. “My dads were sad to hear about Queen Ji-Sun. I never met her, but they said she was sweet whenever they went to the castle.”

My brows furrow. “Castle? Like…they actually went inside.”

“Yeah. They were close to King Ragan and often did business there whenever the King didn’t want to enter the Storm, and it was important business.”

I glare at Rose, but she’s gazing at the steep steps ahead. “Who are your dads?”

“Lord Bradley and Emery,” Rose says with confidence. “I’m from the royal family here. Did I not tell you that when I introduced myself?”

“No,” I say, and it takes all my strength not to let my tone come out flat, monotone, and lacking emotion, “you did not.”

Chapter 25

Greatest [NEFFEX]

Reen Kyong, July 10th

In a controlled interrogation room, I question the man with orange hair and eyes, as well as two unawakened women. The women lean into each other, and I recall they are marked…tethered—trained to love one another and no one else because that’s where we are in life.

A curse among many.

If I were to tether to someone, I’d take their life, even if it meant the failure of mine. It’s the reason I roam around Eraminia without covering my eyes. I already have an obsolete resolution, and nothing will change my mind.

I shrug away the bitter thoughts and move closer to the elemny of colour and her girlfriend. The woman with shorter hair shifts until her arm moves across her girlfriend’s shoulders. She musters a courageous stare while their male friend keeps his head down and clutches the phone. I told Astin not to take it away. It interests me to know if they would send Pandora Averis a message to warn her of their circumstances and what would likely happen to her when we find her.

“I believe Astin briefed you before I entered the room,” I say as I scrape the chair from the other side of the table and slouch in the seat with my elbows resting against the back of it. “Therefore, we don’t have to go around in circles, jerking each other off into oblivion. We can move forward in the fast lane, shall we?”

“We don’t know where she is,” the woman—Kylie—says in a firm, irritated voice. “Pandora was supposed to meet us for Xavier’s awakening, but she has yet to return from shopping.”

“You have her already, don’t you?” the guy says.

The male is named Xavier. The idiot boyfriend who brags about “fucking Pandora’s virgin pussy” to his male friends whenever he gets the chance. He even spoke about the warmth he felt inside her before their trip to the Kingdom of Flesh. His text logs are nothing less than what I would expect from a hormonal elemny that recently dipped his dick into anything aside from the peanut butter jar hidden in the back of his fucking pantry.

I’m sure Emmerton would get along with Xavier and bring him under his wing if they ever met. They both seem to think more with their dicks and the feeling of the warmth inside of a woman instead of their actual brains.

“I wouldn’t be here if I did,” I say. “You see, I’ve been watching Pandora since I met her at the Ebon Hall entrance. The way she acted seemed fake, and I confirmed it the more I watched her from a distance. She’s a fascinating, unawakened brat, and if she were within reach—as you claim—my hands wrapping around her throat would feel like a dream. But she’s not. So, where the fuck is she?”

“She…” The elemny of colour darts a look at Xavier before turning her attention to me and saying, “She told us she was going to buy some sex toys before meeting us at the Amphitheatre.”

“I’m aware of the story you told Astin, but we have been to every sex shop available in the Kingdom of Flesh. No one saw her. However, we saw her dressed as a water elemny in the castle. And when she left, she was dressed as an earth elemny.”