Origin of Angels: Elemental Legacy Book 1 (15 page)

Then, he kissed me. Soft yet passionate, my skin tingled to my toes. Just as quickly as he had tipped me back, he righted us. His hand lingered at my back until I was sure on my feet. Into the closet he went, retrieving the shirt I’d given him earlier. The man would walk around without clothes on all the time if he could.

Once he was dressed, we left to find the Lords. If there was one thing I had learned since the fae charged into my life, it was that I needed to trust the men who had risked so much to help me. I knew each of them well enough to realize the depth of his commitment to both his people and mine. Going into battle wasn’t an appealing prospect, but it was a heck of a lot easier to contemplate with them in my camp.

We found Finn and Cassie first. Cassie gave me a meaningful glance before she looked over her shoulder. I followed her line of sight and found her mother hanging back in the shadows. Amy Lambert had never seemed old to me
— until today. The once vibrant woman hunched as if she were ninety years old. She couldn’t be a day past forty-five. Silver streaks shot through her mane of black hair, and the light I had seen in her eyes had been replaced with shadows of sorrow.

I moved past Cassie and Finn, partly to get a better view of her, but also because I worried she would fall down if someone didn’t stabilize her wobbly legs. I moved in to hug her as an excuse to keep my hand at her back. “It’s good to see you, Mrs. Lambert.”

She gave a weak pat to my shoulder. “I’ve told you to call me Amy, and hadn’t you heard? I no longer go by my traitorous husband’s last name.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Cassie didn’t tell me.”

Cassie had come behind us. Her tone was filled with cool indifference. “As if I could get more than a few minutes with her highness.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’ve had better access to me than my husband. Stop your whining.”

She laughed. “Only you would take the truth as complaining. It’s about time you took a moment to see Mom.”

“Now, Cassie, Rayla has a lot of responsibilities. You can’t expect her to stop running the fae realm to check up on me. Besides, I’m fine.” Amy turned to me. “Rayla, tell Cassie I’m fine.”

Lying wasn’t something I was opposed to if it was justified, but in this instance, Amy — “What last name are you going by?”

She stood a little straighter. “Campbell.”

Cassie made a pfft sound. “Don’t get her started. She’ll tell you how her family conquered Scotland, then America.”

Amy smiled. “It’s the honest truth. Campbells have infiltrated every level of government, not to mention royalty.”

“Please,” said Cassie. “You’re talking about people who picked the winning side by betraying everyone else. What are Campbells known as in Scotland … even today?” Amy muffled some response. “Speak up, Mom. No one heard you.”

“The clan we all love to hate.” She rushed on. “First of all, they were following orders. Secondly, no one talks about how the MacDonalds raided and plundered and refused to follow the law.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now. The massacre happened over three hundred years ago. Campbells of today are resourceful.” She leaned closer to Cassie. “You’re a Campbell, too.”

Cassie smiled. “I don’t mind my heritage. I simply don’t want to hear about it every other day.”

Suddenly, Amy’s expression shifted. Serious as the desert in the heat of summer, she stared at her daughter. “Your heritage is the only thing standing between your father and world dominance.”

I shifted to look at Heath, keeping my hand on Amy’s arm. He shrugged, but he kept his gaze on Amy. “What do you mean?” I asked since no one else would.

“I didn’t realize what Nigel was doing until it was too late. I always knew there was something he was keeping from me, but when I found out the extent of his depravity, I started researching my family tree. I met Nigel in college. He wasn’t my first love, or my first choice. I ran out of options, so I let him marry me. He promised to take care of me
… and my child.” She focused completely on Cassie who frowned as if she’d eaten poo soup.

After a moment of silence, Cassie shook her head. “You’re telling me Lambert isn’t my dad?”

Amy smiled. “I never could conceive with the man. You came before him.”

Although Cassie’s lips formed a smile, it was twisted with derision. Finn pulled her close, but she spun out of his embrace and raced to stand in front of her mother.
“If he isn’t my father, who is?”

The air grew thick with tension before Amy answered. “I don’t know his name.”

TAYLOR AND I WORKED THROUGH THE night until the blazing sun cut a path through the darkness. I’d learned a lot about control, but I wasn’t too sure I would remember any of it once I got some sleep.

A figure came into view as I was expanding the twister in front of me. I cut the link
immediately, not wanting to cause whoever it was any harm. When I saw the man, I wished I still had the funnel. I would have sent it to him to swirl him away. Zach hadn’t earned a spot on my buddy list, and I was pretty sure he wouldn’t make it any time soon.

He didn’t waste a moment before he told us what he came for. “Rayla’s gathering the army. We leave within the hour.”

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I even thought of embracing Zach, but it wasn’t like the thought stuck very long. “Where?” I asked, wanting to get this party moving.

“Council Hall.”
He turned toward Taylor, who wore a sober expression. “Gather your men. Rayla also wants those women you can spare.”

Taylor nodded,
then vanished, leaving me and Zach to the silence. Not wanting to be with him a second longer, I took off toward the city center. Before I got out of the park, he loped beside me. Damned long-legged fae. Back home I could ditch anyone in no time, but here, it took a lot more effort.

His smug voice made the situation worse. “There’s something I need to discuss with you, Travis, and I think you’ll want to speak with me alone.”

I wanted to tell him to go to hell, but he’d gotten my attention. I kept walking, but I slowed my pace. “Make it quick.”

I expected him to give me his signature beat-around-the-bush lead in, but he got right to it. “You have a price on your head.”

“Who told you to say such a thing? No. Let me guess … Rayla. She isn’t going to keep me here. I don’t scare easily.”

“She doesn’t know.”

I stopped. “How’d you find out?”

“I sent Gibbit on an errand.”

I had to give him credit. The troll got around. “How do you know he’s telling the truth? Wait a minute. How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

His eyes were about the freakiest things I’d ever seen, and I hated it when he stared at me
— like he was doing right now. “Travis, you seem to be under the misconception I desire your death. On the contrary, I want nothing more than to protect you. As I understand it, you may be the key to our future.”

If he thought I was going to be happy about his confession, he was a few cards short of a full house. “The last thing I want is you hanging around me twenty-four seven. I can take care of myself.”

He laughed — a full-on belly roll. My fist curled until he put up his hands as if in surrender. “It isn’t Lambert who wants you dead.”

“Dead?
You were being literal?”

He shook his head. “I would never joke about something this serious. As I understand it, Lambert wants you taken alive.”

“Who is behind this, then?”

A gusty sigh shot out of him. “I don’t know. At first, I thought it was Valen, but even he wouldn’t be stupid enough to take out an angel’s son.”

“Why?”

He gaped. “No matter who he is allied to, we all have to follow some rules. We still don’t know the extent of your power. He has to be curious, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“Every child inherits characteristics from his or her parents. Rayla has the ability to wield every single element on Earth to the point of rearranging our realm in an instant. Power such as hers is unheard of. She’s still learning control, but one day I believe anything will be possible for her. You could have inherited the same trait
… or others.”

His answer was meant to intrigue, but my insides boiled with curiosity. “Like what?”

“We have yet to learn the full capacity of what an angel can do.”

Off in the distance, a man raced toward us. Before I could make out who it was, Zach swore. “What is it?”

He leveled a hard look at me. “Don’t say a word to anyone of our conversation.”

THE BOY WAS TOO MUCH LIKE his sister for his own good. It seemed Luke had come for Travis, as well. Unlike me, the Lord of Water was eager to get Travis into the mortal realm. It was unfortunate Luke didn’t have the same intel as I did, but I wanted to keep things quiet for now. Until I was sure who was behind the movement, I couldn’t let on I knew anything about Travis’ death warrant.

I’d like to think my best friend would tell me anything, especially if he had a plan to kill Travis, but after he kidnapped Rayla and tried to force her to bond with him, I wouldn’t be surprised at anything he would do to gain power. He’d been a different person when he thought he could change the realms. Despite his failure to keep Rayla, he’d gained his ultimate goal: the Altasians no longer had to live in the clouds. They’d existed in the machine he’d built, but the lack of contact with other elements had left his people forlorn and somewhat freakish. I couldn’t blame them for wanting a better life. What I could fault them for was their tactics to make change happen. Luke had followed orders from his queen to force Rayla into a union. He could have refused, but it would have meant losing his position and power.

If it had been any other person heading our way, I would have taken Travis to our rendezvous without an-other thought. Somehow, I wanted to see what Luke had to say. He bounded to us, a huge smile plastered to his face.

He gave me a cursory glance before he focused his full attention to Travis. “Well,” he said. “You’ve either got to be the ballsiest man on the planet or the stupidest.”

Had he gotten word of the threat, too? Perhaps I wasn’t the only one with feelers in the mortal realm. I waited for Travis to respond, not wanting to show a reaction either way.

Travis tilted his head, peering down his nose at Luke. “You don’t talk much like a fairy.”

Luke’s face reddened, despite his continuous smile. “My dear boy, the fact that I am fae does not make me a fairy. I am Faeresian … as you are American.”

“I meant no offense,” said Travis, trying but failing to be serious. “Hearing you use mortal terms is odd. The others speak as if they’ve been locked up in this place since the world was created.”

Luke gave a sharp laugh. “Not too far off for most of us, I’m afraid. We haven’t had full reign of the mortal realm in a few millennia. Not for the lack of trying, I might add.” He gave another flash of a smile. “Rules and all.”

Travis folded his arms. “From what I hear, you aren’t one to follow rules.”

Before things could get out of hand, I opted to steer the conversation to the topic I was most interested in. “Luke, have you been spying on the mortals again?”

He cocked his head in his impish way. “Not personally.”

If he hired Gibbit, too, we were going to have words. I should have never let on where I was getting information in the first place. Once word got out, it’d been impossible to keep the troll to his word. “Who?”

Luke’s eyes lowered to the grass. “I have my sources.”

“As long as they are not my sources, we have no problem.”

“You don’t have the lockdown on spies, Ammon.”

Hearing the name I despised from my so-called friend shot my temper soaring. “You, too? My name is Zach … Luthais.”

He shrugged, giving me a cheeky grin. “To be honest, I prefer Luke. Seems I’m moving into a new age, too. I think I finally understand what you’ve been telling me for years.”

It was about time someone did. “Are you going to give up your source, or not?”

“Sorry, but I’ve made promises.”

We were wasting time here. Since he wasn’t in the talking mood, it was time to get moving. “I was about to take Travis to meet the others. Would you care to join us?”

Luke’s brows furrowed as his jaw clenched. “You aren’t still thinking of letting him go, are you?”

I gave a casual shrug. “The boy is set on leaving our realm. It is better he does it with us than on his own.”

Travis piped up, his tone brimming with irritation. “The boy is standing right here, and I don’t appreciate you two trying to make decisions for me. I don’t care who is after me or why. Since I’ve got to die someday anyhow, I’d rather it be on my terms. If I go out fighting, I’ll be happy.”

Luke frowned. “You should have been born Ignisian.”

It was fitting Travis had most control over fire, but the matching temper wasn’t a great thing to take into a battle. Level heads win the day. Those who barge in unprepared rarely come out victorious. Sometimes, they don’t even end up keeping their heads. Immortals might be hard to wound, but we all had our vulnerabilities. Healing from a beheading could take decades, which was not fun to live through. Travis had much to learn about warfare and strategy, but I had a feeling he would be okay.