The Chilling Change Of Air (Elemental Awakening, Book 3) (21 page)

All eyes turned towards me. Sonya looked a little sick that I'd asked, considering the state Isadora was currently in. Mark looked slightly shocked and then contemplative. Aktor and Nico looked amused. And Theo looked angry.

"It might have worked," he said, voice hard, "but the consequences are not acceptable." And just like that, Theo had decided not to pursue reaching for his own Element.

I ignored him and my disappointment. It was hard with those anger-filled
hazel
eyes directed at me. I couldn't tell if he was indignant that I'd shown little compassion for Isadora's state. Or irate that I'd show such disregard for everyone's potential to become like her.

But right now, we couldn't afford to be sidetracked by such weaknesses, and I did consider not pursuing this as a weakness.

I turned to Nico. "Did it work?" I demanded, my voice just as hard as Theo's.

Nico held my steady gaze and nodded. "She kept the fire away from the children until they could be rescued. I believe she would have done more and snuffed the flames out completely, but I refused to let her try."

I looked down at Isadora, who still had her eyes closed and held her body stiff. I wondered if her eyes would blaze gold now. I wondered if she could hear us, or if she was too far gone in agony to comprehend the conversation around her. I didn't let myself acknowledge that she had done something for the humans she only barely tolerated. I couldn't afford to think of Isadora as anything less than a hardened
Athanatos
. Not right now. Not when the world was teetering on destruction.

"So we can reach them," I surmised.

"Cassandra!" Theo yelled, making Sonya jump but the rest of us were used to his outbursts and just cringed. "We cannot proceed with this."

"She's alive, isn't she?" I said evenly.

"In agony," he growled back.

"Are you saying she can't handle a little pain?"

"You think she's in a little pain?" he shot back. "This is not the Isadora I know. She would not allow anyone to see her like this if she was capable. She is compromised."

"Let's see how long it takes her to recover, and then assess our options from there." I had to hope she did recover, otherwise my argument was going to be shot to hell.

"You will not reach for any of your
Stoicheio
," he commanded. "Promise me!"

I looked into his steely eyes and realised the anger he'd displayed was not for Isadora's painful predicament, but for the potential agony that could befall me. Theo didn't want me on that couch, compromised, suffering, helpless. And he was furious that I still wanted to try something so reckless, despite witnessing the harrowing results.

With each moment that passed, he made me fall in love with him further. Made me open my heart a fraction more to this Theo. To the man he now was.

I still wanted my old Theo back, but I was quickly losing the desire to hold out for him. Theo in any form was too much for my heart to resist.

"I'll wait until she can communicate," I agreed, and saw the tension slowly seep from his body.

"Promise," he whispered.

I nodded back, my chest feeling tight, my throat constricting, all because he was desperate to protect me.

"I promise," I whispered.

"She may be like this a while," Aktor announced. "We should take turns sitting with her."

"Do you wish to move her to one of the bedrooms?" Mark asked, stepping forward as though he would offer to carry her.

"It might be best," Aktor conceded, standing up from his crouch beside her sofa and looking toward Theo for guidance.

"Let him take her to the one closest to here," Theo instructed. "That way we can hear if anything changes." I think he might have meant, if anything gets worse. But I couldn't see that happening. I was quite sure Isadora was not using her
Stoicheio
right now.

I was praying that she could, though, as soon as she awoke.

"I'll sit with her first," Mark offered, lifting her rigid body up with the utmost care.

Silence stretched between the men. I'd withdrawn when the argument had finished, making my way over to where Sonya stood, wide eyed, watching the saga unfold.

"Do you think they'll let your brother sit with her?" she whispered.

I shrugged my shoulders, checking out my best friend to make sure she was still in one piece. Not that she'd braved the streets, but nowhere seemed safe right now.

"What's he going to do?" I offered. "Three
Pyrkagia
in the next room willing to lay down their lives for her."

"Three
Pyrkagia
without access to their Elements," she very astutely pointed out.

"Neither has he access," I countered.

Her big doe eyes came up to my face and she whispered, so quietly I was sure no one else could hear, "Are you sure?"

The shock of her suggestion immediately made me scowl and then the lies that my brother, along with my grandfather, had told me settled over that visceral anger and made it fizzle out.

"You've been spending too much time with Aktor," I said instead of the myriad of other disjointed thoughts pouring through my head.

In the end the men must have decided along the same lines as Sonya, because Nico accompanied Mark as he left the room with a still unconscious Isadora cradled in his big arms.

"Tea perhaps," Aktor announced, almost to himself, but clearly desperate to be doing something.

"I'll get the biscuits," Sonya advised, jumping to do a task that she was capable of. I was well aware my best friend was determined to make herself useful. Unable to wield a
Stoicheio
or to see one being used left her feeling the odd man out.

Ironic right now, because she wasn't that different from the rest of us. No
Stoicheio
wielding going on anywhere.

I leaned back against the table where we'd been standing and stared off across the room into the flames in the hearth. The Alchemists who'd been in CERN could still access the Elements, did that have something to do with the way they accessed them, not being born
Ekmetalleftis?
Or was it to do with the place itself?

Theo strode over, his eyes wary, his body held in check as though expecting me to throw a wild punch or kick him in the shins. I wasn't that aggressive, was I?

"Are you all right?" he asked, rather formally.

I nodded, a half smile on my face. Better to keep him on his toes.

"What do know about CERN?" I asked, making those eyebrows rise up his forehead again.

"Only what the popular public impression is; one I am sure the Alchemists have manufactured. It could all be a ruse," he offered, recovering swiftly from his surprise. "You don't trust him either, do you?" he asked, softly.

I let a long breath of air out, eyes back on the fire.

"I've learned the hard way how trust can be misplaced."

Aktor dropped a cup, shattering the relative quiet in the room. I noticed his hand shook when he bent to pick up the pieces. I closed my eyes and hung my head. It was clear the butler still carried enormous guilt over what he'd done. But how could he? Sonya stood next to him helping clean up the mess. I have no doubt she wouldn't have been if Aktor hadn't done what needed to be done.

Theo's hands landed on my shoulders, his thumbs rubbing in circles above my collarbones. I opened my eyes and looked up into his face as he kept slowly massaging the stiffness away.

"Congratulations," he murmured. "You're officially an
Athanatos
. Mistrust being our number one tenet."

My eyelids closed again in sadness at that thought. It was not a way to live.

Theo pulled me closer and then wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pressing my cheek into his chest. He kissed the top of my head, inhaling my scent.

"I wonder," he mused, "if you'll obey the rules of history or just forge on despite precedent."

"I do have a bit of wild streak," I deadpanned.

"
Oraia
," he purred, ignoring the tongue-in-cheek tone of my words. "You are Fire itself."

God. How could I not love this version of Theo?

How could I have been so lucky to have him fall for me twice?

Isadora hadn't awoken by dinner. Even I was beginning to worry. If she didn't come-to soon, I was going to have to break my promise to Theo. The Moreton Bay Fig Tree had somehow miraculously survived the earthquake, and I knew I'd start my attempts there.

Gi
had been the first Element to Awaken, it would be the first I reconnected with.

Dinner was a subdued affair. Without being able to connect to the outside
Athanatos
world, and with the repetitive and rather inadequate announcements on the Civil Defence radio station, we felt extremely cut off and ineffectual. There was only so much tidying of rubble about the place, stacking of provisions and organising a ration system, that you could do.

By the time the sun set and no further Genesis threat had appeared we all decided we'd hit the sack and get as much sleep as we could, knowing tomorrow could bring another disaster. Theo offered to take first watch, with Aktor moving into Isadora's room to keep an eye on her, and Mark being locked out of either duty altogether.

I was up for third watch, after Nico took over from Theo, so I crawled onto the big mattress, covered myself with the blankets Aktor and Sonya had salvaged, and waited for sleep to arrive.

There was no reason to think my grandfather would appear in a dream visit, I hadn't had another Awakening, but as I finally drifted off to sleep I kept hoping that he would. If he was in CERN, he had access to whatever Element he could steal, and might have an answer for us on how we could reconnect with ours.

I wasn't sure whose side he actually was on. One of the first things told to me when I became a
Gi
was that the Alchemists were the enemy. Of course, that was laughable when the
Pyrkagia
and
Gi
had proven equally as deadly to me. The
Aeras
not so bad, but quite frightening. I hadn't met a
Nero
yet, and I wasn't in any hurry.

So, who to trust? I'd chosen to put my faith in Theo. As my
Thisavros
he was compelled to protect me. Above all else, even his beloved
Pyrkagia
. Now, he was no longer my
Thisavros
, and yet I still found myself sure of his loyalty. But my brother, who as family should have gotten an automatic vote? I couldn't decide. And that left me in turmoil.

I knew another Genesis moment was approaching and I felt off centre, powerless, afraid. Not sure if I could trust any advice given by either Mark or Gramps. Not sure we had enough knowledge ourselves to get out of this mess without their aid.

It made for a fitful sleep, and definitely no dream visit. By the time Theo slipped into the bed beside me, in a move that felt more natural than it should have, I hadn't made progress on any front. Still lost. Still unsure. Still scared.

He pulled me close, kissed my forehead, and murmured in a tired voice, "Go back to sleep."

Thankfully with him there the next few hours seemed to be far more restful. When Nico came to wake me for my shift I almost felt whole enough to face Genesis blind, hog-tied and at a definite disadvantage. Almost.

I slipped out from under Theo's arms and legs, catching the smirk on his cousin's lips in the dim light of the candle he held out to me once I was free. We closed the door before he spoke.

"There are fires burning all over the city," he whispered as we walked into the living area. "Some are certainly out of control and no doubt intentionally set. A few have ventured closer in the past hour."

"You think we might have to handle an approaching horde?" I asked.

He snorted. "I'm picturing pitchforks and flaming torches."

Well, I had been.

"I think they'll stay back," he finally said. "Aktor and I placed some traps around the property, but if they get too close, it would be best to wake us all up."

"OK," I agreed.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, eyes scanning my no doubt pale face.

"I've had better adventures."

"Yes," he said softly. "I dare say you've had a few to date."

Silence. He seemed reluctant to go to bed. If Sonya was sharing it, I wondered why he'd delay.

"Has he remembered?" he finally asked and I realised why he wasn't rushing into my best friend's arms. It's hard to get amorous when everything was so upside down and 'round the wrong way.

"No," I murmured.

"But he seems so..."

"Attentive?"

"That's one way to put it. I would have said possessive. Acting like a
Thisavros
with his mate."