Episode 4 + 1 - Moonlight Under Skin
969 Words
The tree stopped. Literally.
One second it was falling. The next it hung in the air, branches shaking, trunk groaning, almost crushing her.
Suspended.
And then it was forced away as though with telekinetic force. But it wasn’t that. In reality, it was air manipulation.
A blast ripped sideways. Wood cracked against other trees like bones breaking. The sound was violent. Final.
Debris rained down around us.
Ayla stumbled back, eyes wide. Wet hair stuck to her face. She was breathing hard. Like she just saw a ghost. Or worse.
She was like, "Marvu?"
Me, from behind her, dripping and furious and relieved all at once. "Uh-uh. Just someone cooler and useful. You owe me."
She was still a little angry from our last war of words. I could see it in the tight line of her mouth.
But at the same time she was grateful too. I saw it in how her shoulders dropped. Just a little. The fight leaving her body.
Slowly.
Next, she said like it was unfair that I’d saved her. "You did that on purpose!"
I made no bones about it. Water ran down my face and into my collar. "Of course I did that on purpose. Thank me."
Her voice went sharp. Cutting through the rain. She took objection to that as fast as she could. "I don’t thank people who throw commands around. Show me your right shoulder, I command you. Pathetic."
Fine. I deserved that.
After everything. After the things I’d said to her.
But she made it sound extremely bad.
Thunder rumbled high above us. Not distant. Right on top of us.
The rain got way worse than expected. It fell like knives now. Hard and endless. It stung where it hit skin.
But the necklace pulsed again. Stronger this time. I was sick of that thing. Couldn't comprehend the signs. Sudden lights.
The chain burned against my throat. White light flickered under my collar for half a second.
Enough for her to behold for awhile.
She went still. Motionless.
Eyes on my throat. Then on my face. Confusion replaced the anger in an instant.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," I said too fast. My hand went up to cover it. Too late.
Thunder answered for me. It rolled directly overhead, so loud the ground vibrated under our feet.
The sky flashed white. In that split second of light I saw it — her right shoulder, bare from the sleeve slipping down.
No mark. No scar. But the skin looked... different. Paler. Like there was a mystery under it. Like moonlight lived under it. Like it wasn’t reflecting the storm, but making its own light.
My chest tightened until it hurt.
Recognition dawned on me. That wasn’t normal human skin. That was land-touched.
What’s wrong with me? The question came back. Louder. Because if she was land-touched, then what did that really meant?
The necklace cooled against my skin finally. The storm didn’t.
Not for a second.
She stepped closer despite herself. Rain dripping from her lashes. "Your necklace. It does that around me?"
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
Because if it did... then Icelynn was wrong about one thing.
Ayla wasn’t just human. She was something the land recognized.
And if the kingdom found out, the kingdom would burn for it.
At a point Ayla couldn't stand being trapped under the rushing raindrops that hit the skin hard and she screamed through the din, having to shout over the rain. "You’re Elemento, right? Hold off the rain!"
Honestly? Why does everyone assume I’m omnipotent? It didn't make sense in the least. Elemental control could be awesome and all but I was merely the best. Nothing more.
I said, adhering to the law first because my father’s voice was in my head. "I’ve never attempted it! Moreover, the law of the land prohibits me from defying nature!"
She acted incredulous. Water ran down her face and she didn’t even wipe it. "Just do it."
I complied when I could no longer endure her suffering. When I saw her shivering.
I raised my hands. I ordered the wind to cease. I commanded the clouds to break. I called to the fire in the sky to burn it away.
The rain refused.
It kept falling. Harder. Colder.
Worse.
I was nonplussed and swallowed with difficulty. Elemental failure had never occurred before. Not to me. Not once.
Fire invariably answers. Water and air invariably bends. Earth invariably shifts.
That was the rule. That was me. That was who I was.
Now? Silence. From the elements. Like they couldn’t hear me. Like they were choosing not to.
I stared at my hands like I’d misplaced something. Like they belonged to someone else. "I... I can’t!"
The admission tore out of me. Raw.
She was indifferent on the outside. But her eyes weren’t. "Fine. We’ll run. Humans do it constantly."
Her dwelling remained visible through the trees. A faint luminescence flickered through the deluge. Warm light. Within reach. Maybe 50 yards. Close enough to save us.
So I consented after one final glance at my hands. Barren. Powerless.
No choice now. The sigil was gone. The connection was gone. The storm didn’t know me anymore.
And we bolted.
Feet striking mud. Lungs searing from the cold air. The Elemento sprinting like any mortal would.
Humiliating. Terrifying.
I couldn't understand. Fear washed over me. But I hid it. Making like I could handle it.
A branch whipped across my face. I didn’t flinch. Couldn’t.
Another tree groaned behind us and fell. The ground shook under our feet.
"Left!" I shouted.
We veered. Mud splashed to my knees. Rain blinded me.
The necklace at my throat pulsed. Not with power. With portent.
Three beats. Pause. Three beats.
Like a warning. Like a drum.
The land had averted its gaze.
- Writer
