Seven Wardens: Books 1-4

Chapter 4-2

All too soon he pulled away, leaving them both breathless. “We should get to work before the others come back,” he sighed.

“Isn’t this how you’re going to help me?”

He frowned for a second, then laughed. “No, this was just because I like to kiss you. Your lips are so soft, so... kissable.”

“Is that all you can come up with?” She winked and he chuckled again.

“I’m not a man of many words. I’m a man of actions.” He suddenly conjured a large flame in his right hand and she flinched, stepping back. “Don’t worry, I won’t burn you.”

“Until three years ago, I’d never seen fire before. We don’t have flames underwater.”

He huffed. “How do you keep warm? Where do you get your light from?”

“We’re kelpies, we’re warm when we’re shifted. And even in my human form I don’t get cold easily. Especially not in water. And for light, we have bioluminescent plants and fish. I used to have a light-up squid as a pet.”

“Didn’t you grow up in a Scottish loch? I didn’t think they had squid in there.”

She smiled. “He was a present from a distant relative. And besides, most people don’t know kelpies live in the lakes around them, so how would they know about a few squid.”

“Point taken. Is it okay for you to come closer to the flame?”

Not wanting to be seen as weak, she approached him, eyeing the fire warily. When she first came to the surface, her brothers had played a prank on her, pretending the lit candle on their table was there to be touched. She couldn’t remember why she believed them, but she could still feel the pain echoing in her hand. Those bastards, why was she trying to rescue them again? If they needed rescuing - she still wasn’t any closer to finding out.

Macey stared into the flame, somehow feeling a pull inside of her, urging her to come closer.

She lifted her hand, passing it closer to the flame than she probably should, but it was so tempting and the urge to touch was too difficult to ignore. She waved her hand over the top of it, feeling the prickle of heat on her palm, along with Flint’s intense gaze.

“Oh,” she said as she watched the flames turn blue slightly.

“That was unexpected,” Flint said softly and she turned to look at him, her eyes locking with his and revealing a combination of curiosity and desire. Good. She was glad he was still feeling it, or the fire simmering in her blood was misplaced. She gave a short laugh. The fire in her blood? How ridiculous was that when she was a water being. Kelpies didn’t want or need fire, there was no reason for her to be feeling it. Well, no reason other than the tall, handsome man who was looking at her like he could devour her.

“What do I do now?” she asked, definitely feeling uneasy about the whole situation.

“Do it again, but move closer this time.”

She frowned. That wasn’t what she expected him to say, nor was it something that particularly appealed. But then again, she didn’t think he’d let any harm become her. Which was another odd thought. She’d been kidnapped and separated from her brothers, and yet here she was thinking about how attractive one of her captors was? Not only that, but how much she trusted him. Macey shrugged it off, remembering a piece of wisdom her Aunt Nessie had told her once; “Always trust your gut.” Of course, being Aunt Nessie, that hadn’t been all there was to her lesson, it had come laden with stories of her own misspent youth, but the point had been driven home. Sometimes, Macey had to trust her own instincts, even if they seemed wrong.

Which meant moving her hand closer to the flame. Taking a deep breath, she did just that, almost touching the top of it this time, and once again, the flames themselves turned blue. But nothing else happened. She didn’t feel the surge she normally did when her magic was close to the surface, making her sure that it hadn’t come.

“Closer?” she asked before she could stop herself.

“I guess so,” Flint said, a worried note in his voice. She studied the flame, which was almost entirely blue now, but the intensity of it didn’t seem to have waned, and she felt the heat of it against her skin still. She took another breath, knowing she just had to get on with it, or she’d chicken out. Before she could put too much thought into it, she thrust her hand into the middle of the flame.

It was hot, but it didn’t burn, which was completely at odds with what she’d discovered after her brothers played their prank on her. Looking back at Flint, she could see the worry on his face as he glanced between her and the flame, seemingly confused about what was happening. Well, that made two of them.

“What did you expect to happen?” she asked carefully, dreading the answer.

“I wasn’t sure...” he hedged, making anger boil up in her.

“You thought it was going to burn me, right? Why would you do that?” Her voice turned into a shout. “I trusted you!”

The door was thrown open and Cam barged in, looking around for the cause of the noise. “Is everything okay?” he asked, his relief obvious at there being no immediate danger.

“He burned me!” Macey hissed and pointed at Flint.

“What the f**k?” Cam growled and strode towards his friend who held up his hands, the flame still flickering dangerously from between his fingers.

“Calm down, she wasn’t hurt,” Flint defended himself, but he did do her the courtesy of looking a little downtrodden. “She’s fine. But I thought if her body assumed it was under attack by the opposite element, her magic might spring into action.”

“So you burned her to test a theory?” A breeze began to roam around the room, making Macey’s hair flutter in the wind. Cam was getting angry, and so was the air around him.

“Look at her hands, she’s fine!” Flint shouted over the wind that was getting louder. “Macey, show him your hands, he needs to see if you want the house to stay intact!”

With a sigh, she showed Cam her unmarked skin. This was for the benefit of structural integrity. But she wasn’t going to let Flint get away with it. He had broken her trust and he was going to pay for it.

The wind died down almost as quickly as it had arrived. Cam took her hands into his, examining them closely. When had he become so protective?

“How are you not burnt?” he asked under his breath, more a statement than a question. It was clear that none of them knew.

“Does that mean that Jared’s magic can hurt you? Even though he’s your opposite?”

Cam laughed grimly. “Oh yes, he can definitely hurt me. We weren’t always friends. When we found him, he was... broken. He drank too much, and when he did, he got violent. Strangely enough, it was after our biggest fight that he finally began to trust us.”

“But maybe that’s because we’re not sure if he actually is your opposite,” Flint mused. “With fire and water, it’s clear. Earth’s opposite could be wind, but it could also be air, or lightning. So maybe we haven’t met your match yet.”

“Why are you assuming there are pairs anyway?” Macey asked. “If there are seven elements, it doesn’t work out.”

“It’s something Malan said according to the legend, just before he foretold the Prophecy of the Wardens. That he knew that six pairs were going to come, led by one who was different. In the prophecy, Air is mentioned as joining on its own, last, so we assume that it’s the leader who will tell us what to do.”

“Ehm, who’s Malan?” she asked, once again annoyed at her own ignorance.

“A prophet who lived a long time ago. Maybe two hundred years? Or has it been longer?” Cam replied, deep in thought.

“It was just after we met. Three centuries, perhaps?” Flint said, and Macey gasped. Then giggled. Then gasped again.

“Did you just say that you met three hundred years ago? How bloody old are you?”

Cam shrugged. “Not sure. It never really mattered in the Mists. Only when we left and started exploring other worlds did we notice how fast time passes for other beings.”

“So I’m just a quick blink in the passage of time?” she asked, the words sounding less bitter than she’d expected, and just coming across a little sad. They’d already affected her a lot, and this was the most excitement she’d had in, well, ever. But if all she was to them was the fleeting moment of yet another year, then really, what was the point for her? She shouldn’t let herself fall too deeply, or she’d just end up hurt, and they’d be the ones laughing all the way to the ends of the earth without her.

“Hardly, weren’t you listening to the prophecy?” She glared at Flint, not appreciating the way he was talking to her. He’d better stop or he’d soon find himself in a wet heap on the floor.

“Yes I was listening, but unlike you, I haven’t had centuries to get used to the idea,” she snapped. She spun around, almost losing her balance until normal temperature hands caught her, resettling herself on her feet.

“Whoa, Macey, calm down.” Cam pulled her closer. Reluctantly, she went with it.

“Calm down?” she shouted. “Calm down?! You’ve taken me from my home, kept me here, told me some stupid prophecy that has no real explanation, burned me, then revealed that I’m nothing but a nanosecond in the immense span that is your lives. And now you expect me to be calm?”

“I didn’t burn you,” Flint said from behind her, sounding much like a spoiled child. She ignored him, it was that or end up ripping his head off with her bare claws.

“Erm, Macey?”

“What?” she snapped at Cam, no longer able to contain her anger even if she knew that she should. After all, it wasn’t Cam’s fault she’d nearly been burned.

“Your hair’s turning green.”

“Eurgh.” She took a few deep breaths, trying to regain control of her shift. That was twice in as many days; accidental shifting had never happened so often. Maybe she needed to do a full one? Get some of the pent up energy out of her system, that way, she wouldn’t keep doing it by accident. “Do you have a swimming pool?”

“What?” Flint responded before Cam did. Though Cam’s confused face reflected Flint’s tone.

“A swimming pool. You know, big, filled with water, you can swim in it?” She turned around, not moving away from Cam’s arms, and his hands trailed over her in a tantalising way she almost couldn’t ignore.

“I know what one is, just not why you want one.” She raised an eyebrow, wondering how long it’d take him to catch on. “Oh.” Understanding dawned on his face.

“So, do you have one?” she repeated, just about refraining from tapping her foot with impatience. He really was trying his very best to wind her up.

“Yes, we have a swimming pool,” he answered eventually.

“Great, where is it?”

“Down the hall, I’ll take you in a second,” Cam whispered in her ear, and she nodded.

“Can I watch?” Flint said hopefully, referring back to his desire to watch her shift.

“No.”

“Why not?” he demanded, his voice firm and more than a little inviting if she was honest. A part of her wanted to take him up on the promise there, but the rest of her squashed it down, reminding her that she was still mad at him.

“Because I’m not shifting in front of anyone,” she responded. Maybe one day, she’d feel comfortable shifting in front of them. But the last thing she wanted was for the men she was so attracted to to see her in her rather ungainly form. Kelpies weren’t the most elegant of species.

“But—”

“No,” she said firmly, and to her surprise, Flint nodded, finally accepting her decision.

“Come with me.” Cam linked his hand with one of hers and pulled her down the corridor that headed in the opposite direction to where the bedroom she’d stayed in was. How big was this place? And how hadn’t she noticed how big it was before? It was like a labyrinth. Which just made her wonder what else was hidden about here.

She followed him without saying a word until he directed her into a room smelling strongly of chemicals. She wrinkled her nose, already hating it, but knowing she needed the water to shift. Technically, being underwater might unlock her powers again too. She didn’t actually know, this would be the first time she’d shifted since leaving the loch.