Chapter Twenty-One
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“What the devil is taking so long?”
Tripp was fit to be tied. It had been over eight hours since Storm had taken Elara into her underwater den, and the wait was killing him. The mini earthquake sent him charging toward the bay, requiring Hermes to restrain him.
“She’s fine,” his cousin had growled. “If you’re that obsessed with the girl, take a hard look at your feelings, why don’t you!”
And with nothing to do but wait, Tripp had. Since the incident, he’d been examining what he felt for her from the first time they’d met in London until now. Considering what he knew of emotions, he’d come to a conclusion.
He loved her.
Perhaps he always had. Her shy glances at his shoulders during their first introduction in Witchmere had sparked his interest, and it had never gone away. Not in over two years. He’d been so busy panicking over those blasted boots that he’d failed to realize he’d fallen deeper than intended this time.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Hermes commented from the comfort of his spot in the sand. “What gives?”
“I was doing as you suggested and taking a hard look.”
“Great. And?”
Tripp cast him a wry smile. “It was a good suggestion.”
Hermes grinned and, for once, remained silent.
“How much longer?” Because he was dying to profess his love to her and didn’t feel he could wait another bloody minute.
“They’re bonding. Give them time.”
“Bonding? Who? Elara and Storm?”
“Yes. They’re sisters.”
Tripp scoffed. “It’s a stretch to call water nymphs sisters.”
“No. I mean, they’re truly sisters,” Hermes said. “They share a father, and if you’d shut up for longer than five minutes, I could hear what’s going on.”
Tripp’s jaw dropped. “Hear… What? You can hear them?”
“You could, too, but you haven’t tried.”
“No. I can pinpoint Elara’s location and sense her emotions, but I can’t hear her.”
“Because you haven’t tried,” Hermes reiterated. “It’s all about frequency and maintaining a calm mind.”
“How?”
“Tune into her emotions, leave off your own, and blank your mind. It should be easy since you’re all looks and no brain anyway.”
“Fuck off.”
Theirs was the type of good-natured relationship that allowed them to dig at each other without getting salty—for the most part. Until Elara, that was. Tripp discovered he was highly sensitive regarding her. It didn’t sit well that Hermes posed as Hex for the length of time he had or that Elara had adored the beast.
But Tripp did as he suggested, blanking his mind to listen.
“I should get back,” Elara said. “Tripp and I need to resolve the issue of Rainier before it blows.”
“What do you owe any of those people? Have they been kind to you?” Storm asked. There was a hint of snideness to her tone Elara chose to ignore.
“Some,” she said. “But either way, I don’t want it on my conscience.”
“You may go if you wish but remember to frequent the ocean when you can. You must swim often to rejuvenate your nymph cells and feed the magic.”
“I’ll remember. Will you visit me? I’d love for you to meet our sister, Payton.”
“I’d be honored.”
“Um, how do I get to the surface?” Elara asked hesitantly.
“You merely think about your destination, and you’re there.”
“Really? It’s that easy?”
“It’s that easy,” Storm assured her. “Look into the mirror. See Enguerrand waiting for you? Imagine yourself beside him, and there you’ll be.”
And there she was. Tripp was never so happy to see anyone in his life, and he hauled her into his arms, holding onto her like a safety line.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he said roughly. “Between the fever, my mother’s abduction scheme, and Storm taking you to the watery depths of her bay…”
Drawing back, she stared at him in wonder. “Are you admitting to feelings, Tripp Nightshade?”
“Yes.”
And because he couldn’t wait, he kissed her. The action was more satisfying, as if acknowledging his love for her, even if it was only to himself, her touch was transformative and drew him in deeper. She tasted sweeter, the air smelled purer, and his heart was lighter.
“I hate to break up this lovefest, but we need to return to Witchmere,” Hermes said. “We have a volcano to appease.”
Tripp never wanted to part from her, but his cousin was right. He drew away and caressed her kiss-swollen lips with his fingertips. “We need to talk. Soon. Just the two of us.”
Expression troubled, she nodded, and he wondered what he’d missed. Had Storm revealed some tidbit of information that would affect their relationship? He hoped not.
“I want to go home,” Elara said. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Wait!” But she was gone, and it occurred to him she’d learned to teleport in the last few minutes. “Shit!”
“She’s a fast learner,” Hermes said, smiling like a proud parent.
“Stuff it.” Picturing her living room, Tripp teleported. But she hadn’t arrived, and his concern ratcheted up. If she had one stray thought in the process, she might be in Timbuktu.
The apartment door opened, and Payton walked in. “Oh, thank the Goddess! I’ve been calling Elara all day. Everyone has been looking for you—where is she?” She charged into the bedroom and, from there, the small bathroom, then returned to glance out the French doors leading to the porch. “Where’s my sister, Tripp?”
“I don’t know,” he confessed. “She told me she’d meet me here, and when I arrived, it was to an empty apartment. I got here a few minutes before you.” He ran a trembling hand through his hair. “I’m worried, too.”
“We have to find her! Your mother came up with some insane idea to abduct her.”
“Hermes told me. If you give me a moment of silence, I can locate her.”
“How?”
Tripp raised a brow and mimed zipping his lip. Although she scowled, Payton nodded and complied.
Shutting his eyes, he tuned in to Elara’s unique energy and sighed in relief. “Across town. She’s speaking with Harrison Cobb.”
“One day, you’ll have to tell me how you do that.”
“I will. More importantly, I’ll show you when you come into your power.”
She opened her mouth to speak but shook her head and stalked toward the door.
“It’s faster if we teleport. Hold my hand.”
They arrived in the alley across the street from Harrison’s office building. From his vantage point, Tripp could see Elara inside, her arms flailing as she spoke. Other than the occasional startled expression, the therapist nodded and let her vent.
And vent, she did. Thanks to his new ability to listen in, Tripp heard everything and had mixed emotions about what he should do.
“I’ll leave you here,” he told Payton. “Your sister has much to tell you.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the lake. I need to think without everyone in my business.”
Elara exited Harrison’s office to find Payton loitering on the bench outside. She was chewing her fingernail with a restless energy that screamed high alert.
“Payton? What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“Elara!” Her sister hugged her so tightly that Elara had difficulty drawing a breath.
“Loosen… up,” she gasped.
“Sorry. It’s just with Brenda of Messing?—”
“Brelenia of Messia,” Elara corrected.
“Yeah, whoever, whatever. She was concocting mad schemes to kidnap you?—”
“Kidnapping is for children. Abduction is for adults.”
Payton glared. “Why the hell aren’t you listening and taking this seriously?”
“Because I don’t care about all that garbage. You and I need to talk. I have a lot to share.” Elara grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the Mystic Macarons & More bakery. If she didn’t eat something soon, she’d grow hangry and set off the fucking volcano out of spite.
The fragrant smell of baked goods greeted them, and her stomach rumbled louder than the last earthquake.
“A coffee and a dozen key lime macarons, please. Add whatever she wants to my order.” She gestured to Payton with her thumb.
“A dozen?”
“Don’t judge. Shit got real.”
“Fair. I’ll have the same, but lemon chiffon macarons, please,” Payton told the cashier.
Other than a raised eyebrow, the bakery worker said nothing and rushed off to fill their order. Once they’d paid and were seated, her sister demanded details.
“What’s going on?”
“Remember the meeting? The fever and all that?”
Payton scowled. “Of course. It only happened this morning.”
“Yeah, right. Sorry. It feels like it’s been a week.” Elara sipped her coffee, devoured a key-lime concoction, and cleared her throat. “We have another sister. A half-sister,” she said.
Coffee midway to her lips, Payton stared. “What?”
“Her name is Storm Bringer, and she’s a badass water nymph in the Amazon jungle.”
“Elara, don’t take this the wrong way, but what the fuck are you smoking? And where do I get some?”
“I’m serious! Ask Tripp. He’s the one who took me there.” She shook her head and inhaled another macaron. Stress eating was a real issue for her. “Our father’s real name is Rhalassar, and he’s the son of Helios, not the great-however-many-times-grandchild.”
“What?”
“And he was a player! With as many women as he’s stuck it to, we might have enough siblings to start a colony.”
“That sounds extreme.” Payton frowned and consumed two cookies as she processed the information. “He seemed devoted to Mom.”
“I thought so, too. Storm seemed to think Mom was the only reason he ended the wild oat sowing.”
“Do you think it’s why they left Witchmere? Were they on the run or something?”
Elara shrugged. “How the hello-fuzzy would I know?”
“I think we need to question Granny Flo and find out what the hell she’s hiding.” Payton’s chin was raised in challenge as if she expected opposition to her idea. And in the past, Elara might’ve put the brakes on interrogating Florence, but she was done with people lying to her.
“I agree. Finish your coffee, and let’s go.”
“You seem different,” Payton said during their short walk to Never Too Many .
“I’m just tired of others meddling in my life and making decisions without my consent.”
Like the damned boots.
She glanced down in time to see the sun catch one of the jewels, and the colorful purple burst eased some of her anger. They were beautiful, and it was hard to be pissed at inanimate objects, though it could be argued that they had a life of their own. Primarily, she was furious at Hermes and Brelenia. At all the Gods in general for their games. Unfortunately, Tripp fell under the subheading of a god, and it was difficult to be around him in her current state.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that he, like her father, had been around for hundreds of years and might’ve been careless with hearts along the way. In her earlier incarnations, he was kind and caring, but he never mentioned love. Yes, he’d admitted to feelings before kissing her at the bay. But again, was it love or affection? Because the two were vastly different.
“Tripp said he was going to the lake. I got the impression you knew which one,” Payton said. There was a gentle understanding in her voice, indicating she was sensitive to Elara’s feelings.
How many times had she missed the nuanced tone in the past? How had she failed to credit Payton with empathy?
She halted and placed a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry, Pay.”
“For what?”
“For being a shitty sister. For not seeing you were hurting, too, and on a deeper level because of our parents and the situation with Dailey. I only saw your actions through my crappy-life-tinted glasses.”
Tears filled Payton’s large, lovely eyes, and a sad smile curled her lips. “Thank you, but you were never a shitty sister, El. You were the best. When I needed support, you gave it without fail. Don’t place the blame for my failures on your shoulders. That’s not fair to you.”
“I’m not, but I could’ve been more understanding and less surly when you needed space to be you.”
Undiluted love shone back from Payton’s beautiful face. “You were dealing with demons, just like me. The endless hours you’ve spent with Harrison Cobb was your outlet. One I should’ve copied. Maybe Dailey and I would’ve worked out.”
“It would’ve been hard to talk to your fiancé’s brother in a professional capacity,” Elara said, crinkling her nose. “I couldn’t have done it.” She hugged Payton. “Thank you for your forgiving heart, Pay. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Embarrassed by the outpouring of emotion, she looked down. The stone that had flared to life earlier was glowing brightly.
“Do you see that?” she asked.
“Yeah, it’s weird, isn’t it?”
“I think I’ve figured out what I need to do.”
“Which is?”
“Resolve all my issues. Past and present.”
Payton shrugged. “That shouldn’t be hard, considering how enlightened you are.”
“It might be. Mom and Dad would be on the list, and finding them after all this time could be tricky.” Another stone flared and died out. Excitement built inside her. “That’s it, Payton! That’s the key to stopping Rainier from blowing!”
“I don’t understand.”
“Watch.” With each name she listed, a different stone lit then dimmed. All but two. “I don’t know of any other unresolved situations or relationships,” she said, disheartened she hadn’t figured them all out.
“Harrison might have an idea. And as annoying as I find Florence, she might, too.”
“She’s closed-mouth when it comes to our familial relationship. I won’t count on her for much.” Elara huffed out an irritated breath. “But let’s get in there and hold her feet to the fire.”
Payton’s evil grin didn’t bode well for their grandmother. “With pleasure!”