10
1127 Words
At dinner that night, I tried to follow my mother’s advice.
“Let’s all try to get to know each other better,” I said, once we were eating. The chefs had made one of my favorite dishes from the Air Realm, with chicken, bell pepper, lemon, and cheese, layered on thin pasta. “Which meal is your favorite: breakfast, lunch, or supper?”
“Dessert,” Carth said, with a lazy grin. “I like to get right to the good stuff.”
“Breakfast.” Erroh tilted his head. “No, lunch. No, breakfast. I can’t decide.”
“How is this supposed to help us get to know each other better?” Zain asked.
“Just answer the question,” I said.
He shrugged. “I don’t really have a favorite.”
I sighed and turned to Parin, who had been especially quiet ever since he arrived. “And you?”
He gave me a warm smile. “Supper. I like salty foods, and the more pepper the better.”
Erroh made a gagging sound. “Parin is obsessed with pepper. He puts it on everything. I’ll never forget when Daka and I were sick and Mom and Dad were out, so Parin made us some soup. He put so much pepper in it we nearly gagged.”
“Pepper soup!” I laughed. “I remember that.”
“Oh,” Erroh said, his face falling. “Of course you do.”
“My favorite is supper too,” I said quickly. “Followed by dessert.” Silence hit the table as we all continued eating. I wracked my brain for another question. “Favorite animal?”
“Owl,” Erroh said.
“I’ve always been partial to dolphins,” Carth said.
Zain waved a hand. “These questions are silly. We already know everything about each other.”
“Not everything,” I muttered, but I had to admit it did feel silly asking these questions.
“No? What’s the next one—favorite childhood memory?” Zain snorted. “Most of our memories feature each other, I bet.”
I leaned forward. “Well, what is your favorite childhood memory?”
Zain looked at me with his intense blue eyes. “The four of us—you, me, Carth, and Erroh—sneaked away one afternoon and headed into the woods. I’m sure it was your idea, Sora.”
“It always was,” Erroh muttered.
“Shush.” I threw a bread roll at him.
“We found that one large, gnarled tree, and Carth challenged us to get to the top first. I was determined to win, but I fell and broke my ankle.” Zain paused and something smoldered in his eyes. “You climbed down and healed it.”
I remembered the moment. We were young then, but I was right at the age when I was beginning to realize they were boys and I was a girl and that meant something. I turned to Parin, who had gone quiet again. “And then Parin came and found us.”
Carth chuckled. “Yes, if I remember correctly, he made us all go back inside.”
Parin ducked his head. “I was simply trying to keep you out of trouble.”
“That’s your favorite memory?” Erroh asked. “Getting injured?”
“I think he probably enjoyed the healing part the most,” Carth said with a wry grin.
“I enjoyed being with my friends,” Zain snapped.
“I love that memory too,” I said. “The best times were when we were all together.” Zain has grown up in the Fire Temple or the nearby town of Sparkport, while Carth spent much of his time at his parents’ estates in the Air Realm. All my favorite memories were when they came to visit Soulspire with their families.
“Exactly my point,” Zain said. “You already know us, better than anyone.”
It was hard to argue with that. I did know them, through and through, and there was no way to force the change in mindset from friends to lovers. Only time and togetherness would do that.
I knew Mom said not to rush, but frankly I was already tired of being patient. I wanted to bond with my mates and to gain my elemental powers and my dragon form. Especially if the Death Goddess was rising again.
I set down my fork and looked at the men one by one, even Parin, though the fact that he was one of my mates still hadn't fully sunk in. "We should leave for the Air Temple tomorrow morning.”
“I agree,” Erroh quickly said.
"Of course you agree," Carth said with a snicker. "But the sooner we head to the Air Temple, the sooner we can go to the others too.”
Zain looked as though he was about to speak, when we heard shouting outside and the sound of running footsteps. We all exchanged a worried glance and shot to our feet, then headed out the door to see what the commotion was about.
The guards were all heading outside toward the front gates, where a large number of soldiers crowded together. Erroh pulled a female guard aside at the door, and asked, “What is this about?”
“They caught the criminal Varek trying to enter the palace!” she said.
My stomach dropped. Varek was the most notorious criminal in Soulspire, leader of a gang called the Quickblades. He was incredibly mysterious, and although the guard in Soulspire had been trying to capture him for years, he’d always eluded them. I’d never seen him before, only vague sketches from the few witnesses of his criminal activities. Witnesses who usually went missing later. Why was he here?
My mates and I pushed through the crowd to where the soldiers surrounded a tall man with long, black hair and muscular arms covered in tattoos. As soon as I laid eyes on him I jerked to a halt, my heart lurching.
He was the man in my dreams.
Jasin moved forward and leveled a sword at Varek’s throat. “Explain your presence here quickly, before we slap you in chains and drag you to our prison.”
Varek appeared unphased by this, and way too calm considering dozens of soldiers surrounded him. “I’m here to speak with her.”
His head turned and when his eyes landed on me I sucked in a sharp breath. As our gazes met, I felt that spark, that connection, that something I had with the other men too.
There was no denying it. Varek was my fifth mate.
- Writer
