Chapter 39 Threats and Temptations
THREATS AND TEMPTATIONS
Kai doesn’t show up to echo practice, and Lochlan and Holden are equally agitated, throwing off my concentration. I struggle to hold an echo, earning a dozen glares from Lochlan before he has to leave. After that, Friday drags by.
Kai misses every class, until Elemental Mastery, but I can’t ask any questions because I’m stuck with the other Soul Elementals again. The hour passes painfully slowly, and then Kimber has me regretting every thought of boredom when I make it to D&C, pushing me through an additional circuit.
I’m finally feeling stronger, more toned, but I still leave lightheaded and fatigued.
I step out of the locker room, searching for Kai’s towering form so we can leave, but he’s not waiting for me.
I drift to the end of the corridor to wait for him, but freeze at the sound of low, clipped voices.
Kai and Veronica are crowded in an alcove, their faces close—her posture stiff, his gaze unreadable.
“I’ve barely seen you in months,” she hisses.
“I told you it wouldn’t work,” Kai says evenly, but there’s an edge under his calm.
I shouldn’t be standing here listening, but my feet remain rooted to the stone floor, caught between guilt and something sharper that I don’t have the energy to name.
Veronica scoffs, the sound of hurt that she tries to disguise as anger. “Are you serious right now? I thought I—that we—meant something.”
A quiet beat stretches, and Kai begins to turn. I slip behind the wall before he catches me eavesdropping.
“Hey. What are you doing here?”
Ronan.
He steps into my space before I can move, close enough that the scents of charcoal and something unnamed fill my nose, leaving an unpleasant taste in my mouth.
I still don’t trust the redhead that I changed routes to avoid.
He flashes a wide smile that dims as quickly as it appeared.
His gaze flicks toward the alcove, then back to me.
“You aren’t waiting for Rurik, are you?”
“No. I was looking for Everett. Have you seen him?”
Ronan tips his head slightly, as though he can hear my lie.
“I’ve seen you watching him.” He takes a step closer.
I try to disguise my unease. I won’t even acknowledge to Scarlet that my stomach knots when any male gets too close—any male except those in the Vestra.
“You don’t want to get caught in the middle,” Ronan continues, softer now. “Veronica doesn’t share, and Rurik isn’t the type to stop her when she’s angry.”
I force a laugh, but it comes out thin, fearing he’s right. “Thanks for the warning, but like I said, I’m looking for Everett. We have a class project.”
Ronan’s breath brushes my cheek. “You know you’re different. Rare. And when others realize just how rare…” His eyes glint with something that has my body temperature dropping. “They’ll use you. Break you.”
I meet his stare. “Because I’m a Soul Elemental?” I scoff. “They can try.”
“Scarlet hasn’t told you?” His voice lowers into something almost conspiratorial. “The significance of what you are?”
What I am?
Does Ronan know I’m a Keystone?
When I don’t respond, he leans closer, pressing his palm to his chest.
“I could show you. Unlock you. Wake up your Soul Element. Train you so you can see everything you’re capable of. No one here at Thornhurst will do that for you. They’re afraid of you.” There’s heat in his gaze now—not admiration but hunger. “I could initiate you.”
The air shifts, becoming charged, like a storm rolling in. Kai appears at my side without a sound, his shoulders deceptively relaxed. “Scarlet’s looking for you, Brielle.”
I sidestep Ronan, grateful when he doesn’t try to stop me.
“I thought you were looking for Everett?” he asks.
“We’re in a group project,” I say, hoping he doesn’t know Scarlet’s currently in Southern Lowick.
His head tilts, a frown cutting his expression. “Think about what I said.” He drops back a step, continuing in the opposite direction.
I turn toward the doors that lead to the lot we’re parked in—a different one each day to ensure the pattern and my presence with the Vestra doesn’t pique anyone’s attention.
“You’re late,” Holden says with a heavy sigh as I climb into the far seat. Kai follows.
“Is there something I don’t know about female Soul Elementals?” I ask, pinning my eyes to Kai, who dutifully ignores me, entering Mysthaven’s address and flipping the screen up.
“You said you’d answer my questions,” I snap when he doesn’t respond.
Kai clasps the back of his neck, like he had when arguing with Veronica. I hate the comparison. Hate that he feels the same exhaustion toward me. “What did Ronan say to you?”
“Who?” Holden asks.
“Ronan Yuri,” Kai says, though his gaze remains fixated on me.
“Answer my question first,” I insist. “Is there a significance of female Soul Elementals?”
The two exchange a look that has my muscles straining with annoyance.
“There have been very few female Soul Elementals,” Kai says slowly, as though tiptoeing into the conversation. “And like most rare things, it has created lore.”
“What kind of lore?”
Kai runs a hand through his dark hair. “It ranges. We’ve been trying to learn all of them, but they change by region and time period.”
“Exactly how rare are female Soul Elementals?”
Kai holds my stare. “You’re one of four. The first that we’ve seen in over two hundred years.”
Surprise has me pulling my chin back. “Four? What about Willow?”
“She was the last one until you arrived,” he says.
“What do the theories include?” My breath catches, waiting for them to tell me it’s destruction and harm.
Kai glances at Holden, where I turn my attention.
Holden looks reluctant, but as the glider begins to move, he starts talking.
“Some believe a female Soul Elemental can read futures, like an oracle,” he explains.
“Other stories claim you can siphon elements from others. In the southern regions, they believe a female Soul Elemental can give her element and those she siphons from to them during sex. The west believes you’re a siren, creating a soul-deep pleasure, and that female Soul Elementals were used during initial wars to distract and deter enemies.
Some believe you can take a person’s will and thoughts, creating your own minion army.
But knowing Ronan’s narrow intellect, I’m guessing he’s heard that a female Soul Elemental can intensify physical sensations during intimacy. ”
My nose scrunches with disgust before I can train my features.
“What did he say to you?” Kai insists.
I shake my head, trying to recall the conversation. “That he could unlock my power and train me.” I shake my head. “Initiate me?”
Holden’s eyes flare. “Is that what he said? Verbatim?”
My heart hammers, knowing I’m missing words as I shake my head. “I think so.”
Holden swears, reaching for his crystal link. “Fucking pain in my ass.”
“What?” I ask.
Kai’s hand fists on his thigh. “Some believe a mating bond can be forced with female Soul Elementals if it isn’t formed Cosmically.” He swallows. “Initiating is the term they use to mask the depravity of the action.”
My stomach hollows as fears take root. All the promises of safety are forgotten. “Would shielding stop him?”
“He won’t touch you,” Holden says as we slow in front of the gates of Mysthaven before breezing past them, down the long driveway.
The air feels different as I step out of the glider. It’s not as sweet, safe, or freeing after the past couple of days.
I’m the first to reach the front door, my focus on training holding a new level of priority.
“You should soak,” Kai says, catching my twinge as I roll my shoulders.
I shake my head. “I’m fine. I want to practice shielding.”
“Brielle,” Kai says my name softly but firmly. “He’s just trying to get in your head. He learned this bullshit from his father. They’re all talk and no action. I promise, he won’t touch you.”
“Let’s practice,” I insist.
Kai’s reluctance is so palpable, I can practically hear him reminding me how I should be healing faster and need more nettleleaf. “Change and we’ll practice while soaking.”
“I can focus better in here.”
“We’re not practicing unless you soak.”
My shoulders slip slightly, but I stop them from dropping too far, refusing to lose my composure and reveal another fear. “Do you guys ever tire of being so damn bossy?”
Amusement shines in Kai’s eyes. “Not so far.”
I flip him off, but there’s a smirk on my face as I head for the stairs.
It takes only a few moments to locate my preferred black bathing suit and pull my long hair up.
When I step into the hall, Kai’s waiting for me, wearing a dark purple pair of shorts that deepens the caramel hue of his flawless skin.
“What happened after you fell into the lake?” he asks as we keep to opposite sides of the long hall. “You’ve never shown me how you got out.”
I can’t tell if we’re playing our game. Usually, he never asks me about my memories.
Instead, he asks about my life on Earth.
About Vermont, college, or obscure questions I’m never prepared for like what my deepest regret or biggest pet peeve is.
He peppers in questions about my favorite things to lighten the mood.
These questions sometimes take the longest to answer, because I’d never considered what time of day was my favorite, if I preferred morning or night, or even my favorite song.
No one had ever asked and survival mode made me forget things I once enjoyed.
“My dad dove in and got me. He grew up on one of the Great Lakes and was a strong swimmer.”
His light eyes look over me, likely hearing the words I don’t say. “Is that why you never learned to swim?”
“I was being honest when I said I didn’t grow up near a public pool. Our town was small. Not like something you see in movies with small towns—I mean one stoplight, and thirty-five miles to the nearest store—kind of small.”
“Do you think they kept you away from the water because they suspected something?”
“Are you asking if they thought I could influence water?”