Elementals: The Reunion (Book 2)

Lia held her hands over his chest, willing herself not to be tired, but she would feel woozy after a matter of minutes. She had taken to make her hair to cover her face. Toby, Des, and Roxy had taken off to get food and water, and she was left with an in and out Z during his healing sessions. She figured there would be no one to stop her from doing her most. She felt her hands shaking so she relaxed them, letting them fall into her lap. Moving to lean against the cave wall, Lia looked over his body. His slashes were still so deep, he had mentioned what the pain felt like to even move it. She felt so horrible that it wasn't healing as fast as she wanted. He still had difficulties drinking and eating, and hardly ever had problems breathing, and Lia had to thank whatever gods she could that it wasn't an issue anymore. She had stayed up most nights just to make sure that he wouldn't stop breathing again. Now he was awake more often than asleep, and eating almost the right amount, and she was still trying to heal him, but her powers weren't at their full strength. Every time she had a bit of energy come back she used it on him. Z tried to tell her not to, that he was healing as much as he was going to, and her exhausting herself wasn't making him happy or healthier when he had to stop her physically. It would usually open up wounds by just a few centimeters if he couldn't stop her right away. The twins took turns fake gagging over the couple and Roxy had to shush them a couple times when they actually started to mimic them. It had only been a week since his initial wake up. Water was scarce in the mountains until it started snowing, yet if they waited for that they would all freeze to death. Dragons didn't need that much water to survive, but the twins, on every expedition to find food, made sure to look for a large water source. They hadn't found any dragons, which meant they were nesting somewhere else for the time being. Roxy was sure that the twins split up when they went out hunting. She had told them not to, incase there was a dragon issue they could be able to take it down together. Dragons weren't monsters, just intelligent protective and very territorial.  She would go through the trees to hunt, trying to strike from above. Thankfully, while Z was still out, Roxy had brought back enough deer meat they didn't have to hunt again the next day, which turned out to be a blessing because there were troops searching for them the next day for hours. Since then they hadn't seen any more. All the deer in the forest had some how collectively moved on from where they had been when Roxy found the first. Now they had all gotten tired of eating rabbits and foxes the twins find in their little burrows. Lia was glad that they didn't expect her to hunt too. She couldn't comprehend the idea of actually killing a little bunny rabbit. "Lia..." Z called out when he saw her shifting away from him. "What? You're too hot." She mumbled and he had to take a breath and coughed slightly, hoping more than anything else that he wasn't getting another infection. That would just divert more healing again. Instead of his slashes, Lia would of would focus on the bacteria. "Lia..." He called out and he reached out to her. She sighed and moved onto her back before reaching back out to him. "Do I have a fever?" he asked her and felt his throat go dry, causing him to cough yet again. "No..." She mumbled but still sat up quickly and ran her hand from his head to his neck before going right back to his forehead. "No fever." She sighed and laid back down. "You just need some water." She waved her hand in the middle of them and conjured just enough water for him. Guiding it into his mouth he nearly choked. She pulled his neck up so it would be easier and Z sighed as his throat finally started to feel better. "How is he?" Roxy decided to butt in before there was any more couple things exchanged. "He's healthy despite the... the-" Lia looked over the stab wounds, her memory going right to that moment she saw the sword go through his body, the flash of pain striking across his face, the blood and skin ripping. Lia remembered the moment his heart stopped beating, how she had yelled at the twins to put him down to start it again. "Hey?" Roxy grabbed Lia, shaking her lightly until she seemed to focus on the now. "What just happened?" Roxy asked her and Lia gulped. "Are you okay?" "Yeah." She whispered even though Z and Rox knew she didn't mean it. "You should rest Li. I will make sure Z doesn't try to do too much." Roxy promised and watched as Lia slowly nodded and went to lay back beside him. Z turned his head and watched how easily she fell asleep and he made sure she wasn't going to wake up before turning to Rox. "What just happened?" "She's been doing that a lot lately, She'd also be staring into the fire at night before you woke up." "Why?" "She told you that your heart stopped right?" She asked him and Z thought about it before nodding. "She freaked out. She yelled at Des and Toby. They had to start your heart again half way through our escape." "She yelled?" Z asked wondering how that didn't re start his heart right there and then. "She never yelled, even when we were kids." "I don't think she realized that she was yelling so hard. She yelled and screamed and begged. She cried herself to sleep until you started to make noise. Most of the time she wouldn't eat unless we took her away from you and made her sit outside." Roxy added and thought about that long moment when she was sure Lia would hurt her. She had been fussing over the dressing on his chest, muttering about how it hadn't been clean enough and it would make him worse, and Roxy had decided the only way to get her to rest of eat would be to take her outside and away from him.  Lia had turned on her, throwing rocks the size of her hands at her, pushing the twins arms away, loosing control. If it hadn't been for Des telling her that she would hurt Z she wouldn't of stopped. Lia cried in her arms outside of the cave for two hours before falling asleep in the afternoon sun for a few hours. The entire time it was like walking on eggshells. They still felt that way. Lia had gone from protective lover to irritated sleep deprived healer. "She loves you Z... and if you hurt her again, I will kill you myself. King to be or not." Roxy told him and she noticed him take in her words before he laid back down flat. "I already apologized to her, and I know I have to apologize to you and the twins. I am sorry Rox, for everything I said. I didn't mean it, I just wanted you guys to stay away from me and stay safe." He was going to explain more but Rox shook her head and smiled at him. "You think we didn't know that. My question is... did you really think it was going to work?" She asked and laughed lightly and sat back against the cave wall. "I thought you were shocked over the whole future king thing." "I can't be King... remember the rules to being an Elemental? No one who has our powers could be king." He laid back down, working his neck a bit and wincing as his chest stretched as well. "Well... I am sure I read somewhere your little sister is only 13... so it's either you, a general, your mother if it's allowed, or her. She wouldn't be ready to take control of a country in desperate need." "And I am? What do I know about being king?" Z laughed lightly and took a deep breath. "Well... until we get this guy in the ground... don't worry about it." Roxy told him and leaned over her hands and picked at her nails. She had been thinking a lot more about her mother these past couple days, what she would do to the man who killed her if it were to happen. She would probably take him one on one like Z did in the palace. Des would never let her though. She had learned just how protective he was the past week as well. He wouldn't let her go on watch at night, it was strictly for him and Toby. Not that she got much sleep anyways.  The ground was hard, the fire kept the cave uncomfortably hot, and if they had to close the mouth of the cave, it got smoky. Lia was always too exhausted to notice, Z had been passed out for most of it, and the twins were in just as much pain from the smoke as she was. They needed to find water and gather as much as they could so Z would heal quicker and they could make their way back to Vodina and wait out the others. Counting the days had been harder and harder the more they lacked on sleep and right amount of food. Des had mentioned that they all needed to get moving soon because he guessed that there was going to be more troops coming around very soon, elemental troops that might be able to figure out where they would hide out. They all knew they all had to be careful, to hide their tracks, to keep as quiet as possible, even at night. Getting caught would be worse than dying of starvation. Eli looked around, the grounds of the palace were quiet, the maids and servants all were off doing what they usually did, and he felt more out of place than ever. Every morning when he woke up Emmy was off, leaving a note to enjoy breakfast with the girls and that she would be back for lunch. It was only half true, she never made it for lunch, not in the past 9 days she's been in meetings with the king, her grandfather, and his army generals. Emmy had taken it upon herself to get close to the plans, find out when and where they were going to strike, and pray to the gods that the others were safe and already waiting for them. Myra and Joy had taken to reading some of the books and scrolls around Emmy's grandfathers house. Gabriel didn't seem in mind, actually encouraged them to keep busy during the day while he was away in meetings. Eli was mostly working on the last couple things they learned in school. Keeping a flame just right. He hadn't really done a great job, but he was improving. It was hard for him to keep his emotions in check as he kept thinking about how Emmy didn't think he was good enough to also be in the meetings. He didn't want to bring it up either, he didn't want her to say what he knew she would if he asked why he didn't get to go. And he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of her grandfather either. The man didn't know what Eli's strengths and weaknesses are. He would wait up for them on the nights that the meetings ran long, and he would ask what had happened, and while Gabriel told his granddaughter to tell him, Emmy was always vague on the details. Saying that they were just thinking about ways to go in, how they would provide food and all that once they make it inland some more. Eli would just lay there, in a cot next to Myra and Joy at night, making sure they were asleep and dreaming good dreams before heading out for a walk. He didn't want anyone following him, and he sure didn't want anyone handling him with childish words and phrases. "What are you doing?" Eli turned at the familiar voice and bowed to the king. "I am just out for a walk your highness." King Ambrose smiled and walked to stand beside him.  "You can't sleep either?" He asked Eli and he gulped before nodding. "After todays meeting... I am surprised Gabriel is." "I wouldn't know." Eli muttered and the king turned to him and looked shocked. "You haven't been told what we are talking about?" King Ambrose's surprise made Eli  all that more uncomfortable. "Emmy, Emmerson, she doesn't tell me all the details I guess." He told him and they both turned to keep walking down the path side by side. "Why are you not interested in coming?" King Ambrose asked him after a moment and Eli shook his head. "I was never invited. They are so quiet in the morning when they leave most of the time I guess I sleep past the start." "Non sense, we start after breakfast. I have seen you before I ever go in the meetings." Kind Ambrose told him and Eli touched his shoulder. "If you would accompany me tomorrow I would be glad to go over everything you might have missed from Emmerson and Gabriel." He told Eli honestly and before the offer was all the way out of King Ambrose's mouth Eli was nodding. "That would be amazing your majesty." Eli told him and Ambrose laughed one last time. "Stop calling me that. Just call me Ambrose." Eli didn't know how well that was going to work, his manners were already drilled into his mind from a young age, but the better he got to know King Ambrose on their walk, the easier it was to think of the King as just a man, a nice, interesting, smart man who ruled an entire country.