Chapter 13
Nell
The next morning, a tiny drop of sweat slides down my temple as I wait for Sabina at the pier. And I'd rather be anywhere else in the world, with anyone else before her.
The siren appears at the end of the dock, moving forward with that impossible beauty no human could imitate. It's not Sylara's perfection, but I have to acknowledge it's something hypnotic. Each step seems like a dance, as if at any moment she might jump, slip under the water, and disappear.
“You're late,” I growl as a greeting, not bothering in the slightest to hide my anger.
“You know? Time is a different concept underwater,” she responds with that tone that drives me crazy and at the same time makes me want to push her body against a wall to kiss her.
“Okay, whatever,” I huff, crossing my arms. “Can we get this shit over with as soon as possible? I have better things to do.”
Sabina rolls her eyes and shakes her head. The green of her irises seems more intense today.
“It's not like I feel like being with you, sweetheart,” she declares, taking out a small flask from her bag and sipping the salt water it contains. “But Sylara and Althea insisted.”
I prefer not to respond. The air around me stirs slightly, showing my anger. Small whirlwinds of sand begin to form at my feet. Sabina looks at them and sighs.
“Follow me,” she orders, gesturing with her head and turning toward a more secluded area of the pier. “We can't practice where people can see us.”
I walk after her reluctantly, cursing Kaelisar, these three elementals and my own stupidity for letting myself be dragged into this mess. Why do I have to learn from her? I've already trained with Sylara and Althea. It should be enough.
We arrive at a small cove, away from the bustle of the port. The sand is coarse and dark, heavy. The water seems deeper in this place, an almost black blue that gives me chills.
“Do you always make sure to stay close to your element to have an advantage?”
Sabina turns toward me with a movement so fluid it doesn't seem real.
“Water is everywhere, Nell,” she responds, extending her arms. “In the air you breathe, in the sweat on your skin, in the blood running through your veins. I always have an advantage.”
“Air too,” I reply, trying to maintain my facade of indifference.
“True,” she admits, coming so close to me I can feel her breath on my skin. “But understanding the element you're fighting with is fundamental.”
Without warning, a whip of water surges from the sea in my direction. I dodge it barely, feeling how it grazes my left cheek. I summon the air instinctively, creating a barrier that deflects her second attack.
“Better than I expected,” she confesses. “But too defensive, just like Sylara said.”
I try to counterattack, throwing a gust of wind at her that barely manages to unbalance her. She responds by materializing a sphere of water that floats between her hands before dividing into dozens of projectiles she fires at me simultaneously and soak my clothes.
“Is your strategy to wet my shirt because I'm not wearing a bra?” I protest.
“You're distracted.”
“You're the one who's distracted looking at my tits,” I reply, though my knees tremble.
It's hard to concentrate when her body moves like that, when every gesture seems hypnotic, when my mind keeps remembering that damn dream where her hands traveled over my naked skin underwater.
“Are you nervous?” she whispers, winking and biting her lower lip.
I attack again, trying to take advantage of the rage I feel. One gust after another, each one stronger, forcing her to retreat toward the water. For a moment I think I'm gaining ground, but then she smiles, and that smile tells me I've fallen into a trap.
As soon as her feet touch the sea, the water comes alive. It rises around her, creating a barrier that absorbs all my attacks. She extends her arms and a wave advances in my direction at impossible speed.
I try to back up, but it's too late. The water hits me hard, knocking me down. When I try to get up, Sabina has already positioned herself on top of my body, immobilizing me.
“You're too confident,” she hisses. “I let you gain ground to lure you into my trap.”
She presses my hip with her thighs while holding my wrists above my head with one hand. The other coils threateningly around my neck, though without squeezing.
“Never underestimate a water elemental,” she murmurs, her lips inches from mine. “I could evaporate all the liquid from your body with a thought.”
But it's not fear I feel right now. It's something entirely different. Her weight on my body awakens sensations I try to suppress desperately.
I'd swear her breathing accelerates. Does she feel it too? This impossible, magnetic attraction that surpasses any logic?
I shift my gaze to her parted lips, and for an instant I almost give in to the impulse to raise my head and kiss her.
Then I remember her coldness, how she moved away from me after the mission at Voronov's house, how she flirted with Cherie right in front of my nose and probably went to bed with her that same night.
Rage replaces desire. I focus all my energy on creating cold, like I did with Althea. The air between us suddenly freezes, forming small ice crystals. A dizziness clouds my vision for a second. Shit.
Sabina lets out a surprised sigh, but doesn't pull away. Instead, she smiles and controls the water particles in the air, neutralizing my spell before it can complete.
“Impressive,” she murmurs. “But water can be ice, vapor or liquid. Remember I control all its forms.”
And then I make a mistake. I get distracted watching a drop of sweat slide down her neck and disappear into her cleavage. That instant is all she needs.
A water whip hits my side with enough force to leave me breathless. She releases me from her grip, but I remain dizzy. My head spins and for a moment I fear I'll lose consciousness.
“Nell!” she exclaims, and this time her voice sounds worried.
She kneels beside me, placing a hand on my back as she helps me sit up.
“I'm sorry,” she sighs, leaning toward me to kiss my forehead while caressing my left arm.
It's a gesture so tender, so unexpected, that I freeze.
“You can't lose concentration,” she suddenly growls, jumping up and leaving me without the kiss I expected to receive at any moment.
I blink, trying to process what just happened. Am I imagining things? Is she playing with me, manipulating me? They say sirens do that with sailors, don't they?
“I've had more than enough for today,” I growl, standing up with difficulty. “I'm not in the mood for more lessons.”
“We're not finished,” she protests. “Voronov's party is in two days.”
“Go to hell,” I respond sharply, shaking the sand from my clothes with the palm of my hand.
I turn on my heels and leave. I need distance, I need air, I need to think.
Because something isn't right. This attraction I feel for Sabina, for Sylara, for Althea... it's not normal. It's as if my body responds to a call my mind doesn't understand. It's too intense, too sudden, too overwhelming. I'm not like this.
It's not a simple whim. It's like something inside me needs them. Each one of them. And that terrifies me more than Kaelisar himself.