Elemental Hunger by Elana Johnson Page B

away from everything. With each step, my anxiety grew. Hanai didn’t seem stupid, and he’d notice certain things at the pool that would blow my cover.
    After ten minutes, Hanai stopped. He pointed down a faint trail. “Down there, a couple hundred feet. You can wash the clothes you’re wearing and change into your dry ones.” He looked at me, then Adam. “Do you have dry clothes?”
    “Adam has some,” I said. “I’ve got some tops—um, shirts—but no jeans.”
    “I can find you something,” Hanai said. “You look about the size—”
    “No, it’s okay,” I said. “They’re not that dirty.” When I looked at my pants, I cringed. Not only were they crusted with mud, bloodstains trailed down one leg.
    “You’ll need shoes too,” Hanai said. “I can’t wait to hear the story of how you lost that one.” He grinned at my bare right foot, and then at me. “C’mon, Adam. We’ll be back in a couple of minutes, Gabe.” He walked off, Adam right behind him.
    I watched them go, my mind racing. Twenty minutes. Ten there, ten back. I had no clean pants. Panic welled up, almost covering my fire.
    A breeze washed over my face. “Just go, I’ll help you,” it whispered, sounding very much like Adam.
    I took a deep breath and turned toward the trail. Steps had been cut into the slope, reinforced with branches and rocks. At the foot of the staircase lay a pool of clear water. Brown and white stones littered the bottom, and a slight ripple disturbed the surface.
    I plunged both hands into the pool, meeting liquid ice. My breath came in ragged gasps as I f-f-forced fire into the water.
    A mist arose as the hot water steamed in the frigid March air. Perfect cover. I undressed quickly, tossing my clothes into the pool. The hot water unknotted my muscles and screamed through my injured feet. After a moment, they settled into the heat as the steam cleared my head. I only allowed myself a short minute of relief. Then I scrubbed my skin and clothes with soap. It smelled faintly of pine needles and ashes—a soft, soothing scent. I wrung out my clothes, heated some rocks and laid my clothes on them to dry. Just as I was rinsing my hair, Adam’s loud voice drifted down the staircase.
    “…take them down. Gabe sort of has a temper…don’t want to interrupt. You stay here.”
    A small smile curved my mouth. His last three words sounded like a command. My smile vanished as I remembered how clear the water was. And the fog had dissipated into the chilly air.
    “Wait!” I cried out. The scuffling of Adam’s steps stopped.
    “Gabe?” Hanai called.
    I groaned inwardly. “I’m fine,” I called back. “Just need another a minute. Adam,” I added as an afterthought.
    I got out of the pool and wrapped the towel around myself. “Okay,” I whispered, and Adam immediately started down the steps again. He appeared only a few seconds later. He kept his eyes on mine, holding the clean pair of pants in front of him like a shield. It might have been funny if I wasn’t naked beneath the thin towel.
    He set them down on a rock a few feet from me, along with a clean T-shirt, a pair of socks and shoes, and the magical cloak. His gaze flickered to where my clothes lay drying and I almost fell backward into the pool. My underclothes…were clearly feminine.
    “Is it hot?” he asked, meeting my eyes again.
    “Hot enough,” I whispered. “I don’t know how to do anything. You know that, right?”
    He walked over to me and cupped my face in his palm. “You’re wrong. Just feel, don’t think.” He trailed his cool fingers down my neck and over my shoulder. Then he turned and bounded up the steps.
    I couldn’t breathe. His touch burned a path as permanent as if he’d branded me—or worse, tattooed himself into my skin.
    I shook away the confusion that came with my mixed-up feelings. Turning back to the pool, I saw another ripple cross the surface.
    I jumped back in and swam to the far side, where the water moved the