“Just checking to make sure he was okay.” She barely eyed me, then returned her attention to Leo, lying motionless in the bed, so many wires and tubes attached to him, it pained me to see. The steady beep of the various monitors filled the otherwise silent room. I’d done this. I’d called my hellfire or wherever that purple fire stemmed from. “He’s going to be okay.”
“Are you sure?” I asked hopefully and stepped into the room. “You’re not just saying that?”
She took his hand and squeezed. I stared at the gesture, unsure how I felt about that. It was her maternal instincts kicking in, it had to be, and not any number of alternative options. “He’s strong. The magic inside him will protect him.”
I took a step closer to the bed and rubbed my sweaty palms on my skirt. Blisters still covered Leo’s gorgeous baby face. His skin was red and angry where the blisters didn’t cover. I wished I could say he looked peaceful there in his sleep, but no one would be peaceful with that much damage to the body. “You say that like you know.”
“I do.”
“How?” I desperately wanted to know. Maybe if she explained it to me, I’d feel better.
“This one…” She rested her hand on his forearm and patted it gently. “He likes to touch. He’s maybe not so connected emotionally, but physically, he is. And he loves you. I feel it.”
I ignored the embarrassment over her comment and inched closer. How’d she know that much about him? Sure, he was detached with his feelings, but he more than made up for that in so many other ways. I wasn’t about to admit that to my mom. I took another step, not understanding why I was so hesitant to approach, and yet, I was. Something about this situation didn’t sit well with me—probably because my boyfriend was lying in the hospital bed thanks to me. “What else?”
“There’s something inside him, something he can’t fight.”
“He’s been running a fever.”
Syd walked in cleaning his glasses on his shirt and froze when he saw me. He replaced his glasses. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to check on him.”
“You could have checked in with me. I would have told you how he’s doing.”
Why was he being so mean? I hadn’t done this on purpose. “I wanted to see for myself.”
“I’m going to need you on the field today.” He checked on Leo before facing me. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“No.” I refused to let his attitude push me away. It wasn’t my fault he woke up in a bad mood. “Are we having a problem?”
“We?”
“You and me.” I purposely avoided my mom’s gaze. She’d probably just encourage me to tell off yet another one of my mentors. I still hadn’t forgiven her for pushing me to say such terrible things to Stace, who still wasn’t talking to me because of it. Gee, thanks, Mom.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand. Are we having a problem?”
Was he being serious right now? I couldn’t tell, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt as payment for him getting Dean Carter to postpone my tribunal.
“You seem, I don’t know…annoyed.” With me.
“I am,” he answered honestly. “I’ve not slept. I’ve barely eaten. I can’t figure out what’s happening here.”
My heart skipped. “With Leo?”
“With Leo,” he agreed. “With two other water elementals that have odd fevers. I don’t usually get water elementals with fevers. Their element keeps their body temp down. Usually.”
Now my heart raced. “What do you mean?”
“He’s hot.”
“How hot?”
“Like he-should-be-dead-if-he-didn’t-already-have-powers sort of hot. His fever is something I’d expect from a fire elemental, not a water elemental.”
I blinked back tears. “H-he’s not…” I couldn’t finish and swallowed thickly. The blisters looked angry, as did the glowing red in his cheeks. “Is he going to be okay?”
“Let me give you a bit of advice.”
“I don’t want your advice. I want answers. What’s wrong with him?”
“Katy,” he said softly, gently, as he kept his head down. “We can’t save everyone, no matter how much they mean to us.”
“I don’t believe you.” I clenched my teeth and turned away, refusing to let him see my emotions. Healers didn’t show emotions. Prophecies, both current and past, didn’t show emotions. I had to remain detached like my water elemental. That was how I’d get through this without completely losing my shit.
“Katybug,” my mom said softy. “Go ahead and go. I’ll stay here with him.”
How wildly inappropriate. What right did she have to stay here over me? I might not be the prophecy any longer—not like that had granted me any special favors anyway—but I was his girlfriend. If anyone needed to stay here with him, it was me. “I’m not going anywhere. This is my fault.”
“Well, yes.” My mom shrugged when I nailed her with a glare. “It is.”
Way to make me feel better. Mom of the Fucking Year, everyone.
“She’s right.” Syd agreeing with her didn’t help the situation. “You lost control out there, called fire while you were still in contact with a water elemental. You’re lucky you didn’t kill him.”
I darted my wide, shocked gaze between the two of them. Were they seriously ganging up on me right now? I backed away, shaking my head. “It was an accident.”
“Was it an accident when you set Trina on fire? She’s a fire elemental and couldn’t counter your attack, that’s how strong it was. It’s no wonder Leo’s in the state he’s in.”
My mouth fell open as I staggered back as if he’d physically struck me. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
“That’s not how it looked from my angle,” my mom said, her tone dripping with accusation. “There’s another reason why I took
