Forgotten Elements

Parker followed close behind me as I stormed out of the library. My growing outrage at this whole fucked up situation was at an all-time high. This was supposed to be the time when I strengthened my connection to nature and possibly learned how to open a rift—I wasn’t holding my breath since creating those was difficult. Whoever this fucker was, they ruined my rite of passage, and I was fed up. Not only was my anger aimed at him, but the assholes who turned traitors and hunted down their own kind to save themselves.

“Harmony, where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Parker grabbed my bicep, pulling me to a stop and spinning me around to face him. “You better not be headed to find that thing.”

He dipped his head toward mine so he was closer to my level. At this close distance, I was able to see the flecks of gold in his eyes as he held my gaze. There weren’t any traces of humor or amusement to be found in his expression.

I scoffed as I rolled my eyes. “Do you think I’m stupid? I’m not looking for him; I’m looking for the ones that are still alive. And if it turns out they’re traitorous assholes, I’ll beat the living daylight out of them. They’ll give up information about the asshole in charge, and I’ll have a way to let out my anger. Two birds and all that.”

Parker’s lips twitched as the smallest traces of humor made an appearance. My focus dropped to his lips, entranced by the movement and their fullness. “I don’t know whether to let this happen and see what you’ll do or to tie you down and fuck you,” he murmured, and my blood heated at his words, desire thrumming through my body.

Clearing my throat, I took a step back, hoping some distance between us would help clear my head. The smirk tipping his lips grew and had me wanting to smack him across the face. At the same time, I also wanted to kiss him.

“The first option,” I whispered, unable to hide the breathy quality of my voice.

Parker pursed his lips as he glanced back at the library. I figured he would tell me we had to wait for Wyatt and the others to return, or at the very least, that we bring Koa and Jade, but he didn’t. “Well then, let’s go before they can stop us.”

My eyebrows shot up, showcasing my surprise and making him chuckle.

“Where do you want to start?” He asked as he guided me through the village.

I took a minute to think about all the possible locations when a place came to mind, and my entire body went cold. “Do you have a map?” I asked, silently hoping he did since I tossed mine and he wouldn’t be able to portal to the island without some indication of where it was.

“You’re lucky we were given more than one,” he murmured as he pulled out a white crystal with a slightly green sheen and activated it so a map of the realm appeared. Unlike the maps we were given, this one was all but unmarked, only having indicators of where the villages were.

“There.” I pointed to the oblong island near the southern point of the mainland.

Without saying another word, Parker began making a couple of hand gestures as magic built between his palms, and within seconds, a swirling portal appeared. I stepped through without hesitation, landing on the coarse sand of the beach.

The island had a stronger buzz of magic than the rest of the realm and helped soothe some of my frayed nerves.

“This island feels different from everything else,” Parker murmured after stepping through the portal and closing it behind himself. His gaze swept over the cliff face before us, and he squinted as he tried to find the source of the extra magic.

“This island is made up of caves and tunnels, and within them are untouched crystals. Powerful crystals.”

Parker’s eyes widened as he met my gaze, and I nodded. “If anyone wants more power, they’ll show up here. Other than the lake full of elemental water, this is the purest source of energy in the realm.”

I chose the crystals since they were easier to pull magic from. Elemental water was more temperamental, and the power up you gained from it was only temporary. The further you got away from it, the quicker it dissipated. I heard that if you knew how to harness its energy properly, the water could help aid in the healing process. The only caveat was that it would only work in its pure source. If you were to bottle it up—even in a magical thermos—its healing effects would be nonexistent.

We were on a part of the island I hadn’t had the time to explore, but it was easy to find a path up the cliff to a nearby cave. Buzzing magic greeted us as we entered the cave. It was illuminated by a soft pink glow deep inside the tunnel, where the crystals grew along the walls.

Parker came to a halt as he stared at the crystals up ahead; the pink glow illuminated his face and showed his awe-filled expression. I couldn’t look away from him, even with the stunning view of the raw crystals.

His focus returned to me, probably having felt me staring at him. Tension simmered between us as it felt like the temperature rose in the cave. Or maybe that was just the liquid fire pooling low in my stomach. Parker closed the gap between us, and my body tingled everywhere we made contact. He didn’t say anything as he continued holding my gaze captive and grabbing my hips, using them to slowly guide me backward until my back met the smooth cave wall.

All of his movements were measured, his lips slowly brushing against mine, pulling back when I tried to deepen the kiss. His lips twitched into a hint of a smile, but he still yet to say anything as he trailed his lips over my neck and down to my collarbone.

I was practically writhing against him, far from in the mood for teasing touches. His hold on my hips kept me pinned in place, and that frustrated me to no end. I didn’t need any more build-up from him; my body was practically ready to combust.

After trailing light kisses up the other side of my neck, he began to pull away, but he didn’t make it far with my hands clutching his shirt. I couldn’t even form words at this point, both due to the desire coursing through my body and the outrage at him not doing anything to tame this fire building inside of me.

He cocked his head to the side as if he was listening for something. I groaned in frustration as I caught onto his meaning, how he was waiting to hear me beg. “You know, you’re the one that keeps bringing this up. Not me. I’m starting to think you’re the one who wants this more.”

A slow grin lifted his lips and had my core clenching with need. Why did he have to look so damn perfect?

“You’re saying you don’t want this? Don’t you want to know all that I have planned for you if you would just give in?” He whispered in my ear, pressing the front of his body against mine so I could feel every inch of his hard body. Emphasis on hard. A whimper slipped free, and I attempted to squeeze my legs together. I might as well toss out my panties after this with how soaked they were.

My throat was dry, making it hard to form words. “And what would you do?”

He pressed a kiss just below my ear, and I could feel his smile. “I’d start at the top and work my way down. First, starting with these beautiful breasts and see if I can make you come from just biting your nipples.” To emphasize his point, one of his hands released my hips and came up to cup my breast. He pinched my nipple, which had me gasping and arching into him, silently begging him for more.

“Then I’d turn my focus here”—he trailed his fingers over my stomach and cupped between my thighs, making me gasp—“finally having my chance to taste your pussy, a real taste. I would have you writhing under me as I eat your pussy and have you coming several more times from my mouth alone.”

A whimper slipped free, and my breathing picked up as he pressed his thumb down on my clit. I could almost feel his tongue sliding against my pussy at hearing his words.

“After I had my fill, for the time being, I would finally, at long last, stick my cock inside of that tight pussy.”

My grip on his shirt tightened as I shifted my hips, trying to find traction against his hand to ease the ache.

“If I didn’t have self-control, I would’ve already fucked you against this wall, but unfortunately for you, I do,” he murmured in my ear. He bit down on my earlobe, and my gasp echoed through the cave.

I was about to ream him out for pulling this bullshit when I felt the power from the cave dim. The burning fire and need cooled as Parker’s body stiffened, his gaze meeting mine. I’d been right: they were here, draining the magic from the crystals.

“Feel that?”

Parker’s eyes narrowed as he stared down the tunnel. “I do. I also sense the presence of another elemental.”

“Can you sense where it leads?” If I focused my magic hard enough, I probably could’ve found them myself. But with Parker being a sorcerer, he was more sensitive to magic and their signatures.

These tunnels were like a labyrinth and easy to get lost in if you didn’t know where you were going or didn’t mark off your paths. I learned that the hard way and spent hours going in circles the last time.

Parker let out a mirthless chuckle as he pulled his hair back. “Easily. They haven’t even bothered to hide their trail.”

“Why would they? Most of those from our retreat are dead, and those who live here know better than to come to the mainland or these islands during this time,” I muttered under my breath as I adjusted my clothes.

“Lead the way,” I said to Parker, shoving off the wall as I gestured down the tunnel.

His lips twitched, but thankfully, he didn’t comment. He kept his steps slow as we followed the tunnel, not faltering when we came across multiple different tunnels. The power of the caves was still wavering as they continued draining its magic.

After walking several miles, we finally came across crystals that no longer glowed with power and held no magic. We soon began finding deep gouges in the wall where crystals used to be.

We were following a bend in the tunnel when out of nowhere, Parker grabbed my hips and yanked me to his chest. As he pressed my back against the wall, several sharp projectiles shot past us.

“They’re onto us,” Parker murmured as he stared at where the arrows were embedded into the wall. “Those arrowheads are made out of all of our weaknesses. Either they’re watching us, or they somehow sensed our presence.”

Each race had its own weaknesses that were common knowledge among our kind. For us elementals, iron burned when it came into contact with us and disrupted our connection to nature. Summoners were like werewolf legends and couldn’t touch silver; it weakened their connection to their spirit animals. Blood mages had an aversion to lead. Sorcerers and sorceresses had their magic weakened by copper. And a necromancer would never be able to wear gold jewelry.

“Fuck, there goes our advantage,” I muttered as I tried to look around the bend in the tunnel, but he wouldn’t let me.

Parker formed an energy ball in his hand and without looking, tossed it toward the elemental. His aim had been dead on, confirmed by a distinctly masculine grunt a few seconds later. Not one to waste an advantage, Parker sent two more energy balls.

The traitorous elemental connected to the elements, and rather than attempt to retaliate, the familiar energy of a rift being formed filled the air. Parker moved away from me, and I was hot on his heels as we took the bend in the tunnel in time to see the traitor leap into the rift.

What the fuck?

The rift remained, but the magic was receding, and soon it would close. If I wanted to question this fucker and find out what was going on, I’d need to channel Jade and jump through that rift. Even though I had zero weapons and no clue how I’d get back.

I raced toward the rift that was twenty feet away, not knowing how long it would stay open, but Parker grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. Before I could protest, he tossed me over his shoulder and began running.

“This is a bad idea,” Parker muttered right before we entered the rift.