Forgotten Elements
Chapter 36

“It’s a real dick move to make an injured woman have to walk all this way rather than be considerate for once and let us make a portal. Fucking asshole,” Jade finally muttered after managing to stay quiet for nearly a minute.

“He’s realized he will have no power in the meeting and the result of which will not go his way. The others won’t be inclined to punish any of you for killing a traitor, no matter who he is or what he does for the Air Court. Sky will want to make an example out of you, but it won’t happen, so he’s throwing his weight around,” Gemini said, glancing at us over her shoulder.

“So, are you going to tell us what’s going on with you and Ander?” I asked, thinking it was best we shift the topic from shit-talking Sky. Even though this wasn’t his territory, he was still a powerful king. He may not be able to do anything to us for shit-talking him, but it was still best we waited until we were home and nobody could eavesdrop. Life would be that much more difficult with a royal as an enemy.

Starling groaned and rolled her eyes, but it was Alora who spoke. “He’s being overprotective—”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Starling quickly said, cutting off Alora’s response and piquing my curiosity as to the rest of that sentence. “I’d much rather talk about the new fated mate bond.” She turned her focus to me, a hint of a smile pulling at her lips. “Harmony? Care to share how it happened?”

“I see what you’re doing,” I said, pointing at her, all the while silently cussing her out in my head.

“Fair is fair. You guys watched me bathe and kept smelling me.”

Gemini let out a chuckle as she glanced back at Starling. “That sounds strange without context.”

“To be fair, you smelled like sex, blood, and Ander,” Jade said with a small smile.

“Called it,” Ari murmured, her voice sounding both tired and amused. “Reed now owes me his dagger.”

Starling frowned as she glanced between Ari and us. “Is she hallucinating?”

“She made a bet with Reed about Parker and Harmony being mates,” Jade explained.

“You fuckers make it too obvious. It’s child’s play figuring out your mate bonds before you idiots,” Ari sleepily muttered.

“I don’t get it, how was it obvious?” Alora asked as she adjusted her hold on Ari when Ari stumbled.

“Parker. Mr. Sex on a stick and playboy of the Blue Moon Court doesn’t have a line of women coming in and out of his house, and you don’t replace that suspicious?” Ari snorted, replaceing the prospect ridiculous. She was far from having recovered from her time with Neven she seemed to grow more drained as we continued walking. Her words were breathy to go along with her heavy breathing.

“I figured this shit out months ago. Men aren’t subtle. Parker, sitting out on his front steps only on the mornings you were out all night, told me everything I needed to know. It’s like when Ander, all of a sudden, stopped having casual hookups suspiciously after our first trip to the creature’s realm. You know, when he met Starling, who he had an immediate dislike of.”

I’d always known Ari was more aware than others gave her credit, but this was beyond observant.

“So, you’ve figured it out based on the guys?” Jade asked, her voice showcasing her disbelief. Our arms were still linked, but now we were leaning into each other. Fighting Acheron had taken a toll on all of us. Even the men, although they were all pretending they were fine to not seem weak—a trait all men seemed to share.

We were lucky to have Gemini with us. Otherwise, this would be the perfect time for someone wanting Alora dead to attack.

Ari shook her head, the movement so small that it was barely noticeable. “Not completely. They were the first indication something was going on because they were the ones to replace out first—or at least have some sort of inkling—but you three each gave off your own signs that I’m not sure you were even aware of. Jade, you kept replaceing excuses to touch Koa and kept watching him. Starling, I saw how aware you were of Ander at all times, and how his careless words affected you. You may have been able to hide it from him, but I watched as the facade dropped the moment he looked away. And Harmony, you were the most obvious. The girl who couldn’t go more than a month without sex was slowly staying out less and less, and when you did, you came back cranky.”

Gemini let out a low whistle as the rest of us stared at Ari in stunned silence. “Just so you know, if I ever meet my fated mate and am unaware, I give you full permission to tell me and save me from the drama.”

Jade snorted. “Ari doesn’t like spoiling the surprise. She thinks it’s best for you to replace it out on your own.”

“If it helps, I don’t think you’ve met your fated mate yet,” Ari added.

“I was joking, but it’s nice to know,” Gemini said with a small laugh.

Up ahead, I could make out the edge of the forest, where we could finally make a portal to get home. We hadn’t seen a tree house for a couple of minutes, but we were still technically in the Tree house territory.

The dirt path leading out of the Tree houses wasn’t empty. A figure strode right toward us. As they neared, I realized I recognized him. It was Seth. His multifaceted green eyes scanned over our group, landing on Ari. His expression was smooth, making it impossible to know his thoughts.

“What are you doing here?” Jade asked, her forehead scrunched as she watched him close the distance. Despite Jade’s blunt tone, she didn’t have anything against the blood mage. He’d helped us on multiple occasions and saved Ander’s life months ago. But even still, Jade had been vocal about her dislike of how he was reticent with information and would only share what he deemed we needed to know.

The only sign of Seth’s frustration at her blunt question was a low sigh. “I heard about what happened.”

Starling began to respond when Ari cut her off. “How?”

“Who told you?” Ari clarified when Seth arched an eyebrow.

If Seth had been the type to roll his eyes, I had a feeling he’d be doing just that. “He did a real number on you,” he said instead of answering, crossing his arms. His gaze flicked between Alora, Gemini, and Ari.

“I’ll live,” Ari muttered, brushing off his comment.

“I can carry her while you create a portal,” Seth offered, looking at Gemini.

“I can walk,” Ari insisted, taking a step back. She sounded winded, and her movements weren’t as graceful as usual. She should’ve accepted his offer, but something had her refusing, and I had no clue why.

Seth opened his mouth to speak, but Alora spoke over him. “Why didn’t you tell us who you were sending us after?” Her tone held notes of accusation and had me frowning. I shared a confused look with Jade. What the hell was she talking about?

“He didn’t know,” Starling began, rubbing her hands down her face.

“Bullshit,” Alora said, cutting her off. Jade’s jaw dropped, and my attention snapped to Alora in surprise.

Not only was Alora not one to interrupt others, but she also didn’t cuss all too often. It had become more frequent the more time she spent around us, but it still wasn’t often. So for her to interrupt Starling, swear, and keep pushing this, there was something serious going on.

“We’re lucky she only screwed with us instead of killing us.” Alora’s voice had an edge I’d never heard before.

Seth sighed as he closed his eyes and muttered, “Fuck this.”

Before I could consider what Alora or Seth said, Seth pressed his bleeding hand—that none of us had noticed hidden behind his back—to his forearm. The wave of magic that rushed over us was powerful as fuck. Everyone but Seth was thrown back as the magic washed over us. The side of my head slammed into a tree trunk as I flew backward, making my vision go fuzzy. A throbbing ache bloomed in my head, and when I touched my temple, it came away red with blood.

When my vision finally stopped blurring, I found the others groaning as they climbed to their feet. The spell had sent the rest of us away from Ari, who was struggling to push herself to her hands and knees. It must’ve been his intention because Seth rushed toward her, moving so fast he was a blur.

Even with his back to us as he picked up Ari by her throat, he still managed to dodge the energy ball Gemini threw at him. “I would say sorry for this, but I’m not,” he hissed at her as she clawed at his hand and kicked at him to no avail.

Despite the failure of her first energy ball, Gemini sent two more, one right after the other. Just like the first one, he managed to deflect them with ease, this time, with a shield. I hadn’t seen him draw any sigils, just like earlier, but he must’ve already had them prepared. The shield was translucent and nearly invisible until it blocked a spell. Alora’s cold magic—that was a different type of cold than Acheron’s magic—seeped through the air as she aimed a blast of dark energy that crashed against the shield.

I was on my knees, staring at the scene before me in shock, my brain struggling to comprehend what was happening. Never once, did I have an inkling that he wanted to cause any of us harm. I’d believed he was an ally.

Jade recovered faster than me and threw several daggers at him in quick succession. At the same time, Gemini threw another energy ball. While Seth managed to avoid the energy ball, his shield no longer in place, he was hit by the daggers. One embedded itself in his lower back and the other in the back of his left shoulder.

The only indication it hurt was a low grunt while he continued holding Ari aloft. Based on how weak her kicks were becoming, she was running out of air. I connected to the air despite my hands shaking as I climbed to my feet. My focus was on the space between Ari and Seth, and I expanded the air in a wave outward, the force separating the two and sending them flying. Using my connection to the element, I slowed down Ari’s descent as much as I could, making her landing less awkward and jarring.

Seth’s landing wasn’t smooth, but he was back on his feet within seconds, only to get hit by a blast of fire in his back. “Why are you doing this?” Starling demanded. Her chest heaved with her heavy breaths as she held her hands out in front of her, ready to send another blast of fire at him.

Seth didn’t answer, his muscles coiling as he pushed himself back to his feet, rolling his shoulders. The back of his shirt was burned, revealing charred skin from the dragon fire. Just from the way he stood and how he’d yet to answer Starling’s question, I knew he was going to make another attempt.

He lunged, closing the distance between him and Ari. When he was within a few feet of her, he slammed into the barriers Gemini, Alora, and I put up. Gemini’s shield was the one he made contact with; the electric magic coating the barrier had his body jerking as he flew back a few feet.

Seth finally took his attention off of Ari—who was struggling to climb to her feet—and turned to face the rest of us. “We can’t let her turn twenty-eight. Let me end the threat while she’s weak.” His gaze scanned over us, and I couldn’t believe he was suggesting we let him kill her. Was he seriously expecting us to be like: you know what? That random and vague statement makes sense. Alright, you can kill our close friend.

“Fuck you,” Ari whispered as she tried and failed to push herself to her feet, coughing and wheezing as she clutched her throat. “I knew there was something off with you the moment I fucking met you.”

Seth drew blood from his forearm again, and before he could draw a single line, Rowan dove out from the trees. She’d been invisible to our senses until she had leaped, but somehow he’d known she was there. He raised a blood-coated hand and caught her by the throat like it was nothing. Jade screamed as he flung Rowan back, charging toward Seth, only to be stopped by Gemini. Rowan went incorporeal moments before she would’ve slammed into a tree, and we all let out a collective breath.

I connected with a nearby tree and had its roots shoot from the ground and aim for Seth’s ankles. Before they could make contact, Seth pressed his bleeding hand to his forearm. I hadn’t seen him draw any sigils, but he must’ve because another shield appeared, stopping the roots and sending an electric charge through them and severing my connection.

“Fine,” Seth said with a sigh. “I’ll kill the rest of you as well.”