We landed on top of the water as if he’d planned it. We didn’t sink, which I had fully expected. The weather was unstable enough for the waves to carry us to a secluded cove out of the way of any prying eyes. No one was out on any of the jetties on this cold, dreary, drizzly day anyway.
“Take my hand.” Leo stretched out his arm.
Gladly. Water was my weakest element and not my biggest fan. Couple that with the weight of the waterlogged jeans and the fact I wasn’t all that strong of a swimmer, and I’d be a goner if the bay decided to drag me out to sea.
He positioned me in front of him, his hands on my hips, his body pressed against mine, and called the water. The wave rose beneath our feet, lifting us and gently pushing us forward. My stomach fluttered in a good way. This was actually fun. I called and created a surfboard of air, giving us a platform to balance our weight. The wave carried us a few more feet before dying down.
“Again,” I said eagerly and had the air board float us out. Leo called a bigger wave that we rode all the way back in. The butterflies returned and erupted inside my stomach. “Again.” I giggled.
Leo laughed and held me closer, keeping me warm with his overheated body temp, reminding me of his unstable new element. We repeated the motions, me having the air board float us out, him calling a rolling wave to push us back to shore. It was awesome, more fun than I’d expected.
“Ready for something new?” he asked after we’d floated out and positioned ourselves for another ride in.
I nodded and braced myself. When he called a huge wave that curled over our heads, my jaw dropped. “Leo?” I squeaked out. If that thing came down, I’d be a goner for sure.
He wrapped his arm around my waist and held my back to his hard chest. “Relax, babe. I’m right here. Now, reach up.”
Reluctantly, positive the wave would eat my arm, I slowly pushed my fingers through the water barrier and back out. It didn’t crash down on me, so I did it again, this time moving my hand around, gently petting the surface. It was soft. Cold, but soft.
I continued to run my fingers through the water as we rode the inside of the wave to the shore. My heart beat so fast by the time we reached dry land again, I felt dizzy. Leo called the water to gently carry us all the way up the jetty and set us on the rocks.
“Wow,” I breathed. I held my hand over my stomach as it settled. “That was actually fun.”
“I’ve been coming here since I was a kid.” He quickly dressed as I stood watch. After combing his fingers through his crazy blond curls, he led us off the jetty. “It was how I stayed sane after my parents, well, you know. Anyway, my element has always been there for me, keeping me calm, giving me an outlet when I needed it. I figured after your mom didn’t show, you needed a distraction, a way to find your calm.”
He sounded so Zen. “Thank you. I did need that.”
“I know.” He took my hand and squeezed.
“Let’s head back to the academy.” Even though the barrier was still weak, it was better than nothing. I might not be the prophecy any longer, but dark elementals were still gunning for me. I’d rather not be off campus longer than necessary. Besides, I wanted to tell Cressida about my latest adventure. She’d not gotten any better, but she hadn’t gotten any worse, either. She couldn’t leave the school grounds for obvious reasons, so she lived vicariously through me. It’d become our nightly ritual, me going to the ruins to pay her a visit and tell her about my day, her sharing something similar about her time.
At least I had one mother figure willing to spend time with me.
As we walked away from the jetty, a crisp wind lifted my damp hair and bit at my ears. Ah, crap. When did my stocking cap fall off? I’d already called air and blended it with fire to dry my clothes, completely forgetting about my favorite part of my outfit. “We have to go back. I lost my hat.”
He nodded and did an about-face. We walked out onto the jetty and searched the shoreline below. I pointed out the green lump of soggy yarn gently lapping against a rock whenever the water lifted it. “There it is.”
I called air and had the element bring the hat to me, blending my call with fire once again to heat the air and dry the material so by the time the hat fell into my hands, it was dry. I pulled it onto my head and tucked my ears under the gloriously warm protection. Turning to face Leo, I grinned. “All better.”
His eyes were as wide as the dinner plates at the dining hall. I didn’t get the chance to ask why before he yelled, “Katy, look out!”
The wave came up behind me and crashed down, dragging me off the jetty. I bounced off the sharp rocks as I fought against the element. My hand smacked against a rock. My head slammed into something hard, and I saw stars. I couldn’t breathe and panicked, flailing my arms to push my face to the surface. I did and sucked in a breath right before another wave pulled me back under, thrashing me against the rocks.
“Katy!”
I barely heard Leo. Why wasn’t he calling the water? Why wasn’t he helping me?
My lungs burned in protest as the water refused to allow me to surface and
