Genesis (10 page)

He actually sneered at me. “Rayla,
there is a reason I have been lord of air more often than any other
man in my realm. I will never accept failure. Not from them and
certainly not from you.”

“
Jerk,” I
muttered.

“
You needn’t speak under
your breath; I already heard you loud and clear!”

I’d hurt his feelings. It was apparent
in the hard tone of his voice. My reluctance to trust him stemmed
only from my fear of drowning. I knew that about myself, but I
didn’t know how to change it.

“
For starters, you can take
my hand.”

I shoved my arms behind my back like
the two year old I was mimicking. “I’m sick of you being in my
head, Taylor,” I shouted. “I haven’t had a normal conversation
since we left Lombarda. It would be nice to not have to defend my
thoughts for once!”

“
Then remove me from your
mind. You have the ability.”

Sure I did. I’d done everything I could
come up with to kick him out of my head and here we were, still,
with him reacting to things he shouldn’t even know. Man I was sick
of this. A week and a half. That’s all I had left.

I knew his game; he was
avoiding thinking about her. He hadn’t mentioned Lily since we’d
had our
talk.
It
wasn’t healthy for him to hold his feelings in like he was, but I
hadn’t been able to drag anything out of him. He was a different
man when he let me hold him while he sobbed over losing her. He’d
assured me he had put her behind him. I was his new focus. Again,
lucky me.

Before I could avoid him, he had me
trapped in a bear-hug. I wriggled, testing his hold on
me.

“
Would you just stop it!” he
hissed into my ear.

I went stiff as week old bread,
preparing myself to be submerged in water. His grip relaxed, and he
stepped back. “I would never do such a thing.”

“
How would I know that? You
won’t tell me what you plan to do.”

“
Fine. If you must know, I
was just about to demonstrate using air to manipulate other
elements.”

Oh. “That doesn’t sound too
bad.”

He shifted his attention to the pond.
“The basic elements may be used together or separately, depending
on your need. Watch closely.”

Him or the pond? Didn’t matter really
because the water came to us, swirling around in a suspended
whirlpool.

“
Air is lighter than water,
but water is moved with force. Think of a hurricane. What drives
the water toward land?”

“
The wind.”

“
I want you to understand
something very important, Rayla. Do you recall the five-fold symbol
the Order is so fond of?”

I nodded. How could I forget it? Roger
had made sure I knew the strange celtic symbol for the elements. It
kind of looked like a four leaf clover tipped the wrong way with a
central circle plopped inside the other four spheres.

The water continued to spin beside us,
suspended in midair as the glowing symbol appeared in front of me.
He pointed at the top circle. “Air.” Moving clockwise, his fingers
skimmed the edges of the remaining circles. “Fire, water, earth,
void. If you notice, fire and earth interconnect with air, while
water only abuts our circle. Water starts the flow of
yang.”

Yin yang. Since I set foot into the
council chambers of the crystal castle a few weeks ago, I wanted to
know which houses were dark and which were light. I didn’t
interrupt him, but I did give him a pointed look.

“
Air and fire are yin. We
release energy to use our power while our brother houses absorb
energy to harness theirs.”

“
What about
void?”

“
They have the potential for
either. As you see, void interconnects with all other
elements.”

Interesting. Did that mean they could
control all the elements? If so, how was I any different than
them?

“
They do have minor
capabilities for manipulating all elements; however, they are
unable to control all elements at once. The most that has been
documented is three being used simultaneously, and that was an
unusual circumstance.”

I bet Zach was the one that did it.
Taylor cleared his throat in a way that made me think he didn’t
want to discuss my once boyfriend. “Which court does the house of
void belong to?”

“
I should think the answer
was obvious.”

“
Neither?” I asked. He
nodded. “But, what does that mean? I thought there was only light
and dark.”

“
They belong to the shadow
court. They oversee the dealings of our main courts.”

I thought back to my time at Lombarda.
There had been ten couples in the council chamber—four on either
side, and two on the main platform. I couldn’t remember which house
was what. This was just so confusing.

“
You are getting distracted
by things that don’t matter at the moment. The problems with our
political system have existed for centuries. No amount of fussing
on your part is going to fix it. For things to change, we need to
have clear leadership.” With a flick of his wrist, the image
dissolved. “Enough talking.”

I frowned at him. “I still have
questions.”

He took a measured breath. “I will
answer your questions when, and if, you have complete control of
air. Now ready yourself.”

I stiffened immediately when the
whirlpool circled toward my head. “Taylor, this isn’t funny.”
Despite my protests, he laughed. I backed up with it still pursuing
me. There was no way I was going to come out of this lesson dry. I
sprinted away from it, but the cool sensation of water doused my
neck. I drifted to the opposite end of the lawn. The blasted thing
came with me. “Stay out of my head!” I shouted at
Taylor.

His laugh sounded distant, yet it was
still clear enough for me to be miffed. I turned, facing the water.
Okay. I could do this. As it inched nearer, I called the wind,
making a wall between it and me. All I got for my effort was a face
full of water, my hair in my eyes, and my wet clothes clinging to
my skin. He might as well have dumped me in the pond by the time
the water completely dispersed.

He was by my side instantly, laughing
uncontrollably.

I wasn’t going to react to him. I
wasn’t.

With gentle fingers, he reached out and
wiped my cheek. He laughed louder.

It took two seconds for me to wish him
wet as a drowned rat. Then he was. I didn’t know how it happened. I
was sure I couldn’t recreate that if I wanted to, but I hadn’t even
seen it happen. One minute he was dry. The next, he was
soaking—even more so than me.

It was my turn to laugh. His eyes held
contempt plus something else not quite tangible. “You have been
able to manage your way out of dire situations using such
techniques, but you are better off learning the mechanics of
control.”

I tried to straighten my smile. I
really did. I just couldn’t. I hadn’t laughed this hard in forever,
and I needed the release.

Before I could blink, I was in the
middle of the pond with Taylor playfully shoving my head under the
water. When I came up, I splashed him a few times then made for the
shore.

“
Oh, no you don’t,” he said,
swimming up behind me as if he were part fish. He grabbed my waist
then hauled me against him.

His body was warm pressed to mine, his
arms keeping me put. Neither of us moved other than to stay afloat.
An awkward moment passed between us before the impossible happened.
It wasn’t much, a twinge really, but it was unmistakably there. A
spark of attraction ignited in my belly. “Well,” I said, letting
out a sigh. “Damn.” He let me twist in his arms so I was now facing
him. I shook my head, giving him a look. “Okay, you can stop
now.”

He donned an innocent mask. “I do not
know what you mean, my lady.”

Like I was going to buy that. “Don’t
you ‘my lady’ me. You’re trying to compel me right now, and I don’t
want you to.”

Dark brows shot up. “I am doing no such
thing.”

“
Whatever,” I said, pushing
away from him. I made it to the shore, hating the feeling of my
clothes clinging to me. Then I remembered I didn’t have to wait to
get back to my room to change. I was dry in a nanosecond. I still
didn’t understand the mechanics of switching clothes with just a
thought, but it was really convenient so I wasn’t about to
complain.

Taylor appeared beside me, eyeing my
new outfit. He looked like he was going to say something, yet he
just shrugged. “I was not compelling you, Rayla. I realize now I
missed the perfect opportunity, but I hadn’t thought that far
ahead. I was too caught up in enjoying being near you.”

“
Oh, come on, Taylor. You
must think I am the most gullible girl on the planet.”

He looked away from me. “Believe what
you wish.” Before I could answer, he spun on his heel, calling over
his shoulder, “It is time for lunch.” Then he bounded
away.

I’d pissed him off. That was for sure.
Was it possible that he hadn’t compelled me?

There was only one way to find
out.

I caught up to Taylor in the courtyard.
The intense fragrance of roses swam around us. Even with him
standing away from me, I could tell how upset he was. His fingers
worked furiously, deadheading the bushes as if each little bud had
been stamped with my face. I placed unsteady fingers on his rigid
shoulder. “I’m sorry, Taylor. I wasn’t trying to insult you. I had
only hoped to be able to avoid more compulsion. When I thought you
were compelling me, I jumped to conclusions.”

His muscles tensed under my touch. “We
are wasting our time here. You will never give me a chance to win
you. I should have stayed with Jessica.”

Taking a deep breath, I inched around
him. “Help me understand this…these feelings I have inside me…they
are all consuming at times.”

He spun on his heel, giving me a casual
once over. “Why should I? Your mind is apparently set where I am
concerned.”

Was he right? I didn’t know anymore. In
fact, I didn’t know anything anymore. Confusion over everything
that had transpired threatened my sanity. “I feel like I’m crazy. I
don’t know what’s real. I know you tried to explain it to me, but
it still doesn’t make much sense. How can I feel this deeply for so
many men?” If I could have a do-over, I would have picked someone
instead of running away from Tabitha. No matter what, my life
wouldn’t have been worse than it was now. But then I would have
never known Heath. I immediately kicked him out of my
mind.

I couldn’t allow myself to feel
anything for Taylor. It was better this way. I was bound to hurt
two men as it was when I made my choice. I didn’t want there to be
a third. It was easier to see Taylor as someone too distant to
connect with.

If Taylor was so different than I
thought he was, did that mean Jett was too? Jett had been right
about one thing. I had vilified him. It was easier for me that way,
too. He had been overbearing, but that was what these men were used
to. How was I ever going to make a decision that would be best for
everyone involved? How was I going to deal with this?

Taylor nudged my chin higher. His honey
eyes were soft, his compassion for me clear. “I know why you have
come to me, but are you sure you want this? Are you sure you want
to know?”

I swallowed hard, my heart already
beating so loud I would have sworn he could hear it. What if he
could compel me? What if I would never be able to know what my true
feelings were? Did it matter anymore?

“
I don’t have to do this. I
will help you understand. You were right. I’m not sure I am ready
for a new relationship, Rayla.” He tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Besides, you aren’t the easiest person to get along
with.”

I chuckled, the sound coming out
nervous. “Yeah, I’ve been told that once or twice in my
life.”

He stepped back a bit then began pacing
in front of me. “When Tabitha first uttered the prophecy, none of
us believed it would happen. The idea of having an Elemental born
with the capability to control all elements at once seemed
impossible. Even from the beginning, we had to split the power.
None were strong enough to successfully harness the full capacity
of such power.”

“
Are you saying some of you
tried?”

He nodded, taking a deep breath. “The
concentration it takes to master one element is hard enough to
manage even for the gifted. Don’t you see, you are the catalyst for
changing that? The thought of being able to harness that much power
is more tempting than you can ever imagine.”

He would know. He was in my head. I
could feel him there, gauging my reactions.

“
Why would you want it?” I
grimaced. “I certainly don’t.”

The hollows of his cheeks flushed. “I
owe it to my people. I was the one that chose this life for them. I
was the first to choose a house.”

“
What do you
mean?”

He laughed. “As it turns out, I have a
bit of luck. When it comes to casting lots, at least, I almost
always win.”