“I have darkness in me.” Admitting it didn’t scare me as much as it probably should have. Then again, now that I had the power to control six elements—yeah, that’s not crazy scary to think about—I’d use it to my advantage. To my world’s advantage. “I have darkness in me!”
“No, you don’t.” Clay relaxed in the chair, scratching his beard as he assessed me with a brooding green gaze, which didn’t fit his otherwise relaxed, soft features. Brooding was Rob’s look, not Clay’s. “Why would you say that?”
“If you were dark,” Leo jumped in, “you wouldn’t be able to get past the wards at the academy.”
“Or at this place.” Rob glanced around the cabin. “Stace warded the shit out of it.”
“I’m not dark,” I corrected and dropped the empty package of beef jerky onto the coffee table. “I have darkness. Big diff.”
And now that I understood that, it was like a suffocating weight lifted. I drew in a deep breath, resolving myself to the fact I had the power to control six elements. This day just kept getting better and better.
“No more beer for you.” Clay moved his can away from me.
“I haven’t had any.”
He held it toward me in offering. “Then maybe you need one.”
“Don’t you guys get it? I can call on the darkness, get it to answer me.” They all blinked at me in disbelief. “Look, I’ll prove it.”
I focused on the cold in my hand, on the pulsing that no longer ached now that I stopped fighting it. The faint yellow glow appeared just below the surface of my palm. I held it up to show the guys. This time, it didn’t hurt. This time, I didn’t feel the urge to destroy them. I had no desire to clear a path, terminate anyone in my way of taking over our world. I willed it to stop and, to my extreme relief, it did.
“What…” Leo said.
“The hell…” Rob added.
“Was that?” Clay finished.
“A sixth element.” Bryan took my hand, studying it as he ran his thumb across my palm. “I felt it the other night. It’s definitely darkness. My mom felt it too.” He regarded me. “It took a boost to your primary to give you enough juice to control it. Professor Layden figured that out.”
“That’s why the cut healed. Spencer used air to push the darkness in since it’s the opposing element to my primary, so we needed a boost of my primary to close it up.”
“No way, man,” Rob argued. “Darkness isn’t an element. It’s the absence of light.”
“The opposite of light,” Bryan corrected. “Katy controls opposing elements. All opposing elements. It completes the balance.”
“Out of balance.” I recalled Cressida’s message. “This is what Cressida meant. The dark elementals are enhancing the powers of young elementals through spells, just as we thought. Most are able to handle the surge. Some can’t, and the element they forced into the kid consumes them.”
“Now you have the proof you need to expose that British bastard.” Rob rose and moved behind the couch to pace, something he did a lot lately.
“I say good riddance.” Leo picked at the dirt under his nails. “I don’t like that guy.” We all looked at him. He shrugged when he realized how obvious his statement was.
“Does that make Montana a sext?” Clay waggled his eyebrows. The rest of us groaned. “Oh, come on. That was funny.”
“There’s no title for it.” Leo stood and disappeared into the kitchen, returning with the case of beer and helping himself to another. “Because there’s no such thing.”
“And, up until last year, there was no such thing as a quint.” I grabbed a can and popped it open. “I disproved that theory and just blew another one right the hell out of the water.”
“Why are you so okay with this?” Bryan stopped me from taking a drink, his concerned gaze searching my face. “You freaked out when you found out you were a quint last year.”
“That was before I knew what it meant to be the prophecy.”
“And that is?”
“I have the power to fight the darkness, Bryan. Alec thinks the spell Spencer used on me weakened me. They have no idea it only made me stronger.”
“I don’t know about that. They aren’t that clueless.”
“Whose side are you on, bro?” Rob tensed. I didn’t like that look of suspicion washing over his expression. Our earth elemental wasn’t dark and never would be.
Bryan brought his hands up in surrender. “I’m just saying don’t underestimate them. They don’t do things by accident.”
That was a less than comforting thought. I stood and stretched. “On that note, there’s a bed calling my name.”
“Heading back to the academy?” Leo set his beer on the coffee table.
“Nope.” I glanced at them from over my shoulder. “I’m staying here tonight.”
Clay jumped to his feet. “I call dibs on a bed. Preferably one where a very sexy, very naked redhead plans to sleep.” There went those eyebrows.
“What about curfew?” Bryan asked.
“We broke curfew by being in Montana’s room. Let it go, man. This is one bullshit rule you’ll just have to be okay with breaking.”
22
I woke curled up next to Clay, my head resting on his firm chest. Leo spooned behind me, his arms draped across my middle. They were both sound asleep, so I untangled from them and silently crept out of the room, swiping a shirt off the floor on my way out.
As soon as I stepped into the hall, the glorious scent of coffee hit my senses. I padded into the kitchen, helping myself to a cup. Ahhh. There was nothing better than that initial sip of delicious java first thing in the morning.
A shirtless Rob was already up and standing on the porch, his golden skin stretched across that beautiful mass of back muscle. Talk about delicious.
Okay, so maybe there were a few things better than that initial sip of bean water.
It creaked when I pushed open the screen door to join him outside. It was a little cold to be standing out
