neutral as possible, unlike the Shadow Walker and others who would try to bend him to their will.”
It hit me that Caleb was likely one of those the elemental was talking about. In my gut, I knew he’d been using me to find Jonathan and I’d fallen for it. Probably for that fucking vampire he’d mentioned. Even so, that didn’t mean the kid had to go with the elemental, no matter how close I’d come to being the siren’s lackey.
Lark’s father started toward us, and I pushed Jonathan back, but he resisted.
“It’s okay, Rylee. I will go with them. I’ll see you again.” The kid stepped around me and walked toward the elementals. The one I’d cut the leg off scooped up Jonathan and was in the air before I could say or do anything.
And then it was just me and Lark’s father, the King.
“You shouldn’t punish her; she saved us both, you know.”
He let out a heavy sigh, his beard trembling. “She has the heart of a lion, but it is not for elementals to interfere. I have been lenient with her in the past because of the pain she’s been through. But I can’t afford to be lenient any longer.”
“She shouldn’t be punished.” I knew I sounded like a broken record, but nothing I could say would bring her back. I knew it and it already ate at me.
“One day, perhaps things will be different. But for now, this is how it must be. Go home, Tracker, Blood of the Lost, savior of the world. Go home and forget you were ever here, that you ever met Lark. That you ever heard of elementals.”
His words bounced around in my head like metal ping pongs and I dropped to my knees, the words slamming into my brain. My composure shattered as the pain spiked, driving deep into me, and I fought to keep at least something of Lark with me.
“I will find you,” I whispered. My knees ached, and I slowly lifted my head and lowered my hands from ears. Who was I supposed to find?
A small plant caught my eye, struggling to grow in the desert, though how it grew at all in Death Valley in that heat was beyond me. A deep, indigo blue stalk of flowers beckoned to me. In the center of each flower rested a pale splash that resembled a splotch of paint. I reached over and plucked one of the flowers from the stalk, the dainty petals drooped but it was still alive.
I frowned at it. I didn’t know flowers, or plants for that matter, but I knew what this was. “Larkspur.”
The name sunk into me and I tucked the flower behind one ear. “Larkspur.”
All around me was desert, but in the distance the sound of vehicles beckoned. How did I end up in Death Valley? I knew I’d come here for a reason, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. Was I going crazy?
Again, I put a hand to my head and let out a slow breath, trying to force my brain to tell me what I was missing. Only thing was, I couldn’t recall the last day at all. I’d come to Las Vegas, looking for a kid… the image of the missing child poster hit me hard and I Tracked Jonathan.
Nothing.
Like he never existed.
My shoulders slumped and I fought tears that welled up in me. I’d lost the kid. Giselle was right, I wasn’t ready to be out on my own.
Putting one foot in front of the other, I started toward where I heard vehicles. The heat seared the tears from my face as I trudged along the barren landscape.
But no matter how hard I tried to pull up the events of the last day, I got nothing. The last thing I remembered was walking down the Vegas strip with Caleb, Tracking Jonathan… after that, nothing. Damn it, what happened to me?
Finding a ride into Vegas was easy enough and I headed straight for the parking lot where we left Caleb’s motorbike. With the way my luck had been turning, I didn’t expect it to be there.
The bike, miraculously, was still there and I had an hour before the parking time was up on it. Of course, I vaguely recalled that Caleb paid something ridiculous like a full day. So had I been gone twenty four hours? I shook my head. No time to
It hit me that Caleb was likely one of those the elemental was talking about. In my gut, I knew he’d been using me to find Jonathan and I’d fallen for it. Probably for that fucking vampire he’d mentioned. Even so, that didn’t mean the kid had to go with the elemental, no matter how close I’d come to being the siren’s lackey.
Lark’s father started toward us, and I pushed Jonathan back, but he resisted.
“It’s okay, Rylee. I will go with them. I’ll see you again.” The kid stepped around me and walked toward the elementals. The one I’d cut the leg off scooped up Jonathan and was in the air before I could say or do anything.
And then it was just me and Lark’s father, the King.
“You shouldn’t punish her; she saved us both, you know.”
He let out a heavy sigh, his beard trembling. “She has the heart of a lion, but it is not for elementals to interfere. I have been lenient with her in the past because of the pain she’s been through. But I can’t afford to be lenient any longer.”
“She shouldn’t be punished.” I knew I sounded like a broken record, but nothing I could say would bring her back. I knew it and it already ate at me.
“One day, perhaps things will be different. But for now, this is how it must be. Go home, Tracker, Blood of the Lost, savior of the world. Go home and forget you were ever here, that you ever met Lark. That you ever heard of elementals.”
His words bounced around in my head like metal ping pongs and I dropped to my knees, the words slamming into my brain. My composure shattered as the pain spiked, driving deep into me, and I fought to keep at least something of Lark with me.
“I will find you,” I whispered. My knees ached, and I slowly lifted my head and lowered my hands from ears. Who was I supposed to find?
A small plant caught my eye, struggling to grow in the desert, though how it grew at all in Death Valley in that heat was beyond me. A deep, indigo blue stalk of flowers beckoned to me. In the center of each flower rested a pale splash that resembled a splotch of paint. I reached over and plucked one of the flowers from the stalk, the dainty petals drooped but it was still alive.
I frowned at it. I didn’t know flowers, or plants for that matter, but I knew what this was. “Larkspur.”
The name sunk into me and I tucked the flower behind one ear. “Larkspur.”
All around me was desert, but in the distance the sound of vehicles beckoned. How did I end up in Death Valley? I knew I’d come here for a reason, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. Was I going crazy?
Again, I put a hand to my head and let out a slow breath, trying to force my brain to tell me what I was missing. Only thing was, I couldn’t recall the last day at all. I’d come to Las Vegas, looking for a kid… the image of the missing child poster hit me hard and I Tracked Jonathan.
Nothing.
Like he never existed.
My shoulders slumped and I fought tears that welled up in me. I’d lost the kid. Giselle was right, I wasn’t ready to be out on my own.
Putting one foot in front of the other, I started toward where I heard vehicles. The heat seared the tears from my face as I trudged along the barren landscape.
But no matter how hard I tried to pull up the events of the last day, I got nothing. The last thing I remembered was walking down the Vegas strip with Caleb, Tracking Jonathan… after that, nothing. Damn it, what happened to me?
Finding a ride into Vegas was easy enough and I headed straight for the parking lot where we left Caleb’s motorbike. With the way my luck had been turning, I didn’t expect it to be there.
The bike, miraculously, was still there and I had an hour before the parking time was up on it. Of course, I vaguely recalled that Caleb paid something ridiculous like a full day. So had I been gone twenty four hours? I shook my head. No time to
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