I take a deep breath and follow after the three men. Please don’t let this be another mistake. Because this could probably be the worst decision I’ve made yet.
Who goes and follows three strangers out in the woods in a place they know nothing about? Me, that’s who. I giggle because I feel so stupid. This is a slasher flick in the making.
“What’s got you giggling?” Rush hollers out from in front of me.
I stick my tongue out at his back.
“I saw that, Doll,” Keen says, stopping ahead of me.
I give him a dirty look and keep moving. He falls into step beside me, humming underneath his breath.
“Why do you do that?” I question. He’s been humming since last night.
“It’s the sound of Terra.” He says, “I merely give it a voice.”
“What?” I scrunch my face up, moving away from the spidery black branch that was too close for comfort.
“The soil. The trees. The grass. They all have their own song.”
“You’re mental,” I state, stepping a little faster.
Keen keeps pace beside me and chuckles, “Never said I was sane, doll.”
You got that right. He could possibly be a killer for all I know. This could explain why he doesn’t want to form the bond. But then why have me come with him? And why does it hurt my heart every time I acknowledge the fact, he doesn’t want it?
“Who was with ya?” Keen says, his hand waving towards my pack that I’m carrying in my hand.
My eyes narrow on the boyish smile across his pink lips, “What makes you think someone was with me?”
“Two bags. One person.” Keen quirks, a slim eyebrow at me.
I grind my teeth. “It doesn’t matter now. Does it?” I snark at him.
“Of course, it does, doll,” Keen says, turning around in front of me, walking backward with his arms held out to his side. “Should I be worried?”
I don’t say anything, looking away from him. I feel a nervous sweat start to bead on my palms.
“Well, it’d be nice to know if I need to watch out for someone.” He’s humming again.
How does he know where he’s going walking backward? If it were me, I would have already fallen on my ass.
“How are you doing that?” I nod at him, walking backwards, yet watching me.
“Talent.” He winks at me, turning around and falling into step beside me again. “Are you running from someone?”
“You could say that.” Someone. Fate. A crown.
Should I tell him about Rylan? That I already have an Electus Bond with an Ignis Eligere? That Derrick, the Prince of the Aires Gen, plans on forming one with me also? I shake my head. No, he doesn’t need to know any of that.
“An Eligere,” I mumble, not looking at him.
I feel his gaze burning a hole in the side of my face, “What was that, doll?”
“An Eligere might show up at some point,” I say louder, staring at him and the frown on his beautiful face.
“That’s not good. What did you do?”
I take a page from his book and hum, not answering.
“That’s okay. You’ll trust me, eventually.”
I scoff, “You think so.”
“Yes. Even if we don’t form the Electus Bond, on a deeper level, you know you can trust me.”
“What a load of bull,” I grumble.
“Nope. Not at all, doll.”
I roll my eyes.
“What Gen are you from?”
My eyes widen. My heart is pounding in fear. Should I tell him? He’s obviously Terra Gen.
“I’m not.”
Not a lie. I’m not from any Gen. Sure. I was born into one, then sent to Earth. That’s what I’m going with and what I’m going to keep telling myself.
“I’m a Terra,” Keen chuckles, “Just in case you didn’t know. Rush and Bran are, too.”
I figured as much. The green leather clothes gave them away. I’ve met the Ignis Gen and the Aires Gen. Now, I can add Terra to the mix. Wonder when the Aqua Gen will pop up and with it my fourth Electus, that is if I even want to consider believing in the prophecy. A load of crap if I ever heard one. Only a ridiculous old woman spouting insane words.
One will be born. Four, she shall bind. Two of Friendship. Two of Love. Shall it will be The Aether.
The old woman was short of a few brain cells. How can a few stupid words change my life forever? It was her words that got me exiled to Earth. It was her words that had me hunted down like a wild animal. Everyone thinks that I’m this so-called Aether. Total and utter bullshit. I determine my own fate. I’m doing it right now.
“We're here, doll.” Keen hums, stopping in front of a cluster of boulders.
What the hell?
“What are you talking about? There’s nothing here but a bunch of stones.”
He winks at me and waves his hand in front of the rocks lazily.
My breath catches in my throat.
CHAPTER FOUR
I know they have powers. I witnessed Rylan blow up from a distance, and Derrick used the wind to knock the hood of my cloak off when I first met him. But honestly, it’s just now sinking in as I watch Keen slowly move his hand in front of him and the boulder's part like the red sea for him.
I snap my mouth closed when Keen turns back to look at me with an arched eyebrow.
“Your hot springs.” He smiles, bending down at the waist.
“Thanks.” I move gradually to the narrow walkway between the boulders. “This is amazing.” I gush.
There are two hot springs in the circle of boulders. The steam coming off them has the air warm and foggy. Lush flowers are scattered around the springs in bright yellows and blues. The stems and leaves are white, creating the flower petals, whose vivid colors pop out so much more.
“You can take the spring on the left. The boys and I will take the other one.” Keen says, stopping beside me.
I nod and shift on my feet. Uneasiness blooms in my belly. The springs are maybe six feet apart. Keen smiles at me and waves his hand gently through the air. I feel the earth beneath my feet tremble, and I watch with wide eyes as a thick wall of mud shoots up in the air, separating the two springs.
“That’s handy,” I comment, admiring the newly formed wall.
Keen smirks, “Keep me around, and you’ll find out just how handy I am.”
I blush clear down to my toes.
He laughs, a sweet sound that does funny things to my body.
“Go, Doll. Enjoy the heat.”
I smile and walk around the dirt wall. Keen, he’s something else. I think I could easily fall in love with him, and that scares the shit out of me.
Shaking my head, I drop both packs before raising my arms in the air to stretch out my aching back.
“What do you think?” I ask Prince when I sit down on the ground, pulling off my boots.
Prince grunts, and I smile.
“Yeah, me too,” I mumble.
“You alright over there, Doll.”
I jerk at Keen’s voice, dropping my hands from my shirt. I was getting ready to pull it off.
“Yeah.”
I hear chuckling, and I grin. They seem like they’ve been together for a while. They’re so at ease with each other. I’ve never had that. Not with friends anyway. I was always the odd one at school.