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“Obviously. Saxon is out there somewhere, and she’s threatened by him.”

Kahn grunted, his mind working and his eyes fixed on Randa.

Feeling the intensity of his stare, she glanced his way and frowned again.

He frowned back.

She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Daven, who was trying to figure out Velcro. Somehow he’d gotten tangled in it.

“When you’re in the Air House, find out how long she was with Parald.” Kahn heard himself say.

“You’d be happier if she only lived with him for a few months? Is that it?”

“No.” Kahn said honestly. “I think the shorter time he had her, the worse it will be.”

Julius squinted, not understanding that. But then he hadn’t spent his life surrounded by women. He’d never held Tonia while she cried. Kahn had. And he was beginning to remember more than he wanted to recall.

Shit.

Chapter Six

O presumptuous man! The compounds are composed of elements, and the elements not.

O presumptuous man! Here is a fine reflection.

We must not say that there is anything which we do not see.

We must then talk like others, but not think like them.

Blaise Pascal

The Reflectionland was not a pleasant place to visit.

Like most kingdoms in the realm, the environment was greatly impacted by the power of the Element. In this dark and hard-edged place, that meant the landscape cast endless Reflections.

The rocky terrain hid obstacles both smooth and sharp, dangerously camouflaged in their surroundings. The moon was always full and high, reflecting the bright, cold light that it stole from the sun. The imposing palace was made of polished obsidian, forbidding and black, and filled with mirrors.

Millions of mirrors.

If a surface could possibly have a mirror attached to it, the Reflection House found a way to make it happen. The resulting interior design was a cross between a kaleidoscope and a funhouse. It played tricks on the senses, because you couldn’t be sure what you were really seeing. …You just knew everyone else was seeing you, endlessly reflected in every direction.

It was designed and built to intimidate.

Job, King of the Earth House was hard to intimidate. Only his Match could truly unnerve him, and that was because Tessie was delightfully unpredictable. He never knew what to expect. Job was the oldest Phase alive and the leader of the Elementals, but Tessie had him wrapped around her finger.

Yuan, King of the Reflection House did not have Job wrapped around his finger.

There were some in the Elemental ranks who complained that Job played favorites. Maybe that was so. He wasn’t a flawless leader. No one could be flawless and still have emotions. His Match had taught him that.

Job accepted that his emotions played into his partiality. He wanted peace and prosperity for everyone. He saw protecting the universe as his personal mission. If he had to, he’d sacrifice his own life to ensure it.

…But he loved his family more than all the rest of the universe combined. He’d lived most of his eleven hundred years without anyone to love. Now that he’d created a family for himself, he was desperate to keep it.

His family was small. There was Tessie, his Match, obviously.

And Cross, Job’s biological nephew. Cross would soon be a father. He’d Phazed with Nia, of the Water House, and their impending child was Job’s pride and joy. The Water Phases --Ty, Nia, and Tharsis-- were all family to Job. He considered their happiness a top priority.

Since Gion, of the Air House had Phazed with Ty, Gion therefore got included on Job’s list of relatives. Although, Gion was a difficult person to care about, at the best of times, and no moments spent in Gion’s company were ever “best.” Still, he was family. Job saw potential in the boy.