Elementals: The Reunion (Book 2)

Moving on

Eli woke up the next morning, Emmy and her grandfather had already left, but this morning he wasn't sulking over it. He woke up the girls and they went with him to breakfast. King Ambrose joined them in eating 15 minutes later, and asked once again if Eli would be joining him.

With the affirmative given, Eli turned to the Myra and Joy and made sure that they would keep themselves busy today while he got to sit in on a meeting.

"Will you tell us what they are really discussing when you get back?" Myra asked him, almost begging. 

"I will. I will make sure to ask about how we are going to get to meet up with the others as well." He gave her a kiss before giving Joy a kiss on her temple as well and telling them to behave before leaving with the king.

The walked into the large room, a couple generals, and even some of the elemental elders from the country were present. Emmy and her grandfather were going to be on the opposite side of Eli, while he got to sit next to the king.

The pure shock in Emmy's eyes as he took his seat was evidence enough that she didn't want him to know what they were going on and on about in these meetings. That she didn't think he belonged here. Eli knew it was time to show her that he was meant to be here, playing a part in all of this.

He listened to the battle plans, the strikes that needed to happen to the camps they know about, how they planned on helping the people they freed in another wave rather than the warriors staying around the help for long periods of time. Everything was thought out, but when the meeting started to seem to dwindle down, Eli realized he hadn't heard a single thing about what they were planning on doing to get the others here, with them.

"May I ask, your highness, what the plan in to get the others from our school out?"

"You mean if they're not already caught or dead." A man to the left of Eli asked and he looked from him to the King then right to Emmy.

"We had a plan, a set day to meet at the mouth of the river in Vodina, to get together. I can only assume if they're not caught or dead, they will be there." Eli said with a harder tone before looking to the king.

"We can't risk moving into the lands too early. We already told Emmerson this. If they are still at the mouth of the river we will bring them back at once, but we can't let you guys go ahead of us. We won't risk you guys getting caught or hurt now that you are safe." King Ambrose told him and silently watched Eli work his jaw and thought about it again on his own.

"But other men could go, we could somehow not be put in danger and still get them-"

"And put a whole crew of men at risk. To have one less boat load of men to help fight off the Vatrus army?" Eli looked back to the same man who answered him before and then to Emmy.

"So we leave them there as sitting ducks until when exactly? I haven't heard a time frame once." Eli looked at all the men who now, didn't want to speak up, and were just waiting for someone else to answer.

"We will have to make them wait as long as possible Eli. If it is not safe to get them, it can't be safe for them to be out in plain sight." Emmy told him and she gave him a look that showed she was trying to get him to agree, but Eli recognized a lost cause when he saw one. No one at the table was going to approve of him going to get the others... and that didn't sit well with him.

Neither did the fact that Emmy already knew this and didn't tell Myra, or Joy, or himself about it. 

Emmy knew, with one look from Eli, that she was going to hear about how what she did was wrong. She already knew it, but this was not something the others were going to take easily. Not to mention how Z, Lia, and the others are going to suffer for her not wanting to speak out and demand help for them too.

Z walked around for the first time in 3 weeks, on his own, heading down hill, trying to keep up. The twins were ahead of them all, and Lia was checking on his progress every couple minutes.

He was feeling the pulls of the bandages against the dried blood, and that hurt more than the small twinges whenever his left hand went up to steady himself.

"Let's take a break." Lia called out hearing a small grunt from behind her. Turning she sucked all the water out of the air around her before looking towards Z who was taking deep breaths, his left hand stuck to his side.

"I can keep going." Z told her as she waited for him. Rox laughed and he sent her a look too, and he rolled his eyes as he got stopped by a stool of dirt and she waited along with Lia.

"Take a seat, one healing session, and then we can get back to walking." Lia promised as she moved the water over him already. He hadn't even sat down all the way but she was working her magic. He sent her a smirk and thought about how well he was going to treat her after all of this was done.

He wanted to take her to the nice restaurants in town, wherever they ended up. He wanted to get her flowers and necklaces... even a ring. Lia was all he wanted for his future.

That wasn't going to change, ever.

Lia moved the magic around him, pushing his pain away and making it easier on his lungs to breathe deeply since they needed to keep walking.

She made sure that they weren't filling up with any kind of fluid before saying that they could keep going. The twins had gotten a small break, pulling out some of their old games to keep their eyes sharp. Mostly I spy.

Rox had gotten a nice little rest for her still sore ankle and iced it a bit after taking her own small chunk of water out the air and freezing it for herself.

She enjoyed watching the way Lia and Z looked at each other, like a artist taking their time to see the way a shadow would cover the face, or how their jaw takes a bend, trying to see every single imperfection on their skin, or just being enamored in how the other person looked while trying to look innocent in their looks.

Once Lia had been done with her magic, she had moved back, letting Z up and they walked side by side, making Rox take up the back this time. She saw Z almost make the move to hold her hand and almost laughed loudly.

How much had they seen, and done and they were still teenagers, trying to navigate crushes and relationships for the first time.

There wasn't a single doubt in Rox's mind, nor the twins, that Z was with Lia now. For good. The three had seen the looks and hidden mouthed words. They spent a good two weeks in a cave and if they hadn't been able to get out when they did, love would have pushed the three intruders out. 

It had been time to get moving. They would be ate to their meeting the others at the mouth of the river, but hopefully Eli and Emmy would calm Joy and Myra down and they would find a place to hide out, and wait for them.

Toby had wanted to head out early, tell the others what had happened, tell them that Lia and Z would be staying behind and Rox and Des would be around the help them as much as possible. That way if the others had found help, they could head to the caves and find them, get them out safely.

Des didn't want his brother to leave, not on his own. Then and there they all agreed no one would leave the others. There was safety in numbers, and with Lia there would never be another death blow.

With Z down for the count Lia had taken a small role of 'Mother Hen' and would tell the boys what to get, what to look for, and to be careful. They never left the cave without her telling them they better be careful or else.

All of them being the same age, it didn't have much impact when they were in school, but in the real world, when they knew it was dangerous, they took more care. THey all did, and the twins, while not really admitting it to anyone, not even each other, they did it for Lia. 

They had all seen the way she screamed and cried over Z when his heart stopped. Des didn't want to see that face ever again. Toby never wanted to hear her beg and plead for someone's life again. He almost broke down crying from her sobs.

Once, while hunting after Z woke up, they had a small talk. Lia was their family, just as much as Z was. They grew up together, every year, every birthday, every disappointment when it came to their blood family. As soon as Z was all better, they were going to have a serious talk with him.

They even rehearsed it. Now though, once on the move, another nightfall and early morning, Lia and Z were finally holding hands.

It was time to have a bit of that talk with him now. At lunch they would try and find a creek, a water source, and since Lia was the one who wanted to clean the water, the best at cleaning it, she was head off, leaving Z to them.

Lunch didn't pan out well, but they stopped for an early camp when they did come across a small river. Z crouched on a boulder and touched his sides gingerly like they were getting hurt all over again.

"Hey." Des said as he and Toby moved to stand in front of him, blocking him from seeing the way that Lia went.

"What's up?" Z asked, somewhat worried they were still angry about what he had said when they were at the last school.

"When you got hurt... Lia couldn't handle it." Toby told him and crossed his arms.

"What do you mean?" Z asked, he had known Lia cried over him, when he woke up her eyes looked like she had been crying for days.

"She screamed and sobbed and begged. I will never be able to get that out of my head." Toby added and looked to Des.

"Your heart stopped Z. And she almost lost all her control."

"I bet. I would do the same thing if it had been her." He told them and waited for more, they didn't seem done, not the in least.

"It would never be her. She isn't so stupid to go running into a castle looking for a maniac just because they killed a father she never knew." Des said and licked his lips when he saw Roxy coming back. She was watching them with a curious intent as she set down the firewood.

"How was I supposed to know-"

"That's our point Z. You didn't know the first thing about this guy. How many times in history class did we hear about someone dying because they thought they were better than a wiser opponent? How many times did we laugh over a regular guy picking a fight with someone like us? How many times did we hear about Elementals thinking they were high and mighty like the gods only to fall faster then the damned?" Des shook his head at the repetitive questions, but it had to strike deep in Z's head.

"And we're not full strength yet. We don't know all we need to know to take on someone older than us. If he had somehow been an Elemental, he would have killed us all." Toby added and for the first time they saw the point hit Z, hard.

"I get it." He whispered and bowed his head. "I was stupid, and you all should hate me for even wanting to go. For actually going through with that plan." Z looked between the twins. "I am sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry anymore Z. You have to learn your lessons. Next time... maybe you're not the one that gets hurt the worst." Des said and looked around as he saw Rox lighting the firewood she had stacked.

"That's why I didn't want you guys going in the first place. Why I said all those things." He explained and they nodded and brushed it off quickly.

"We know that, we aren't stupid. Not like your anger makes you. Control that anger, that's what we have been told since we were 5 years old. You might not lash out with your powers anymore Z, but words and actions hurt just as much."

"Next time you hurt Lia, she'll have to move on. I don't think scared and dismembered is her type." Toby laughed and looked to Des and then to Z. "We know you have her heart and she has yours. That's been plain as daylight for years. But now that you're showing it off, take care of her. The right way." He added and just in time because Lia was walking back, looking at them with narrowed eyes and Des laughed.

"You get what we're saying Your Majesty?" The twins laughed, bowing at the waist and making Z roll his eyes as the two began moving on to talk with Roxy.