Elemental Hunger (42 page)

“I don’t want
him there,” I stated. The conference table in front of me was metal and cold, and I folded my arms to contain a tremor.

“Councilman Kilpatrick, he is an invited guest.” Davison sounded like he had run out of patience fifteen minutes ago. Or maybe yesterday after my panic attack. He’d announced the changes in the law I’d insisted on. In fact, he’d met every one of my demands, right down to the color of robes we wore. I’d requested green, though I would’ve taken anything but the navy blue we’d been assigned in Gregorio. I fingered the emerald silk along my arms.

“Well,
un
invite him.” I glared at Adam, who continued to stare out the window.

Davison exhaled through pursed lips. “He’s severely injured, and he’ll be chained. He won’t bother you.”

“Just having him here bothers me. Knowing he’s in the building….” I shuddered.

“I need to see him,” Adam said quietly as he turned toward me. “I have to look my brother in the face and have him see me as an Airmaster. A chartered Councilmember. Not a sentry.” His eyes burned with an intensity I’d never seen.

We stared at each other, the tattoo still wedged between us.

“Fine,” I said.

“Fine.” Adam turned back to the window, his hands clasped formally behind his back.

I hated this chasm between us, but I didn’t know how to bridge it. My nerves seemed even more exposed than usual. I felt dangerous, desperate, unsure. My fire surged and quelled as I attempted to make sense of the mess in my life.

“Councilman.” Davison had to say it twice more before I realized he was talking to me. He stood in the doorway, clearly waiting for me to accompany him to the ceremony.

“Sorry,” I murmured as I followed him into the hall. We headed outside and up the steps to a platform in the center of the town square. The evening sun had dipped below the horizon, bathing the city in pink light. Lanterns had been set up in the streets, illuminating the horde of people clustered in the square beneath the flickering firelight. I remained close to Adam, wanting to reach out and grip his hand. He’d squeeze back, helping to calm my raging insecurities.

Oh, how I wanted to. Instead, I existed with my own nerves.

Special seating for invited guests stretched in front of the platform. Felix’s heavily bandaged face stood out, and the air left my lungs. Two sentries stood behind Felix, and the petering sunlight glinted on the silver chains binding him to the chair.

Before I could reach for him, Adam laced his fingers through mine. My nervous energy only increased.

“People of Tarpulin, people of the United Territories.” Councilman Davison stood before the throng of people, his arms raised, welcoming them. I’d never seen anything like this in Crylon, but Davison said in Tarpulin, all new Councils were presented to the people.

“We present the re-opening of the Elemental Academy, and the first Council that will reside therein.” He gestured to me. “This is Gabriella Kilpatrick, a new female Firemaker and Councilman, as well as the girl responsible for the displacement of Alexandra Pederson.”

The babble in the crowd only increased as they all whispered to each other. I had no idea what they might be saying. And I found I didn’t care.

I was who I was. Gabby Kilpatrick, girl, Firemaker, Councilman. I didn’t know how to be anyone—or anything—else.

“You don’t have to be,” Adam whispered, nudging me forward.

Davison motioned for me to join him, a mask of confidence thinly veiling his frustration. I stumbled forward with Felix’s laser gaze burning into me. Then I straightened my shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.

I suddenly understood Adam’s desire to have his brother see him for who and what he really was. I wanted the same thing. I wanted Felix to see me as more than the girl who begged. I wanted him to see me as a Firemaker—and a blazing good one at that.

I didn’t know what emotion swam in his eyes. By the time Davison declared, “Councilman Kilpatrick is an excellent Firemaker,” it didn’t matter what Felix thought.

“I am a Firemaker,” I whispered only to myself. Well, Adam probably heard. After Davison’s words, I lifted my hand in what I hoped was a wave of gratitude.

“May I introduce her Airmaster, Tarpulin’s own Adam Gillman.” Davison stepped back, and Adam strode forward. His magnificent emerald robe billowed around his legs. He wore black pants underneath—a hint of his past life.

Like me, he raised one hand in a general wave, but a dash of wind crept through the crowd. Faces brightened. They turned toward each other, smiles in place.

Everyone except Felix. Even through the bandages and the blistered skin, he glared with a loathing so strong it pierced my heart.

Adam arranged his face in the same chiseled disdain as his brother. I placed one hand on his forearm, and the emotion dissolved into relaxed lines around his eyes and mouth.

Every eye caught our exchange, and now heads were bent together, surely discussing our assumed betrothal, old law or not.
We should probably talk about it at some point,
I thought, looking at Adam. He glanced at me, a glint of something bright in his expression.

“Isaiah Hawking, an exceptional Earthmover, has accepted his position on Kilpatrick’s Council.” Davison gestured to Isaiah.

Thunderous applause erupted, filling the square, the sky, the entire world, with appreciation.

Isaiah bowed low in his vibrant robes. “My people,” he bellowed in his huge voice. The crowd quieted as he began to sing. After a few bars in Isaiah’s baritone, Cat linked her arm through his and joined her voice to his. As she sang, rivulets of water fountained from the cracks in the sidewalk.

Something that felt like a smile pulled at my mouth.

Adam caressed my fingers with his before holding them tight. “Whatever I have to do to erase this distance between us, I’ll do it.”

I looked up into the soft, loving glow in his eyes. A tiny flame sparked inside me. Could I love him back? Enough?

“I’ll be whatever you want,” he added. “Whoever you want.”

I sighed. “I just want you to be the Adam I hope you are.”

“I’ll never stop trying.”

I blinked, and for the first time, saw the real Adam. The one he wanted Felix to see: The Airmaster.

Not the sentry. Finally, the tattoo meant nothing. I reached up and traced one line of it, from the corner of his eye to his chin. I tried a smile, and it felt okay on my face.

Cat and Isaiah’s song drifted into silence. A moment passed before applause erupted through the square.

Councilman Davison held up both hands. When the people had hushed, he continued with the introductions. “You just met Catherine Browning. She has demonstrated her vast expertise with water.”

I glanced at Cat, and she pulled me into an easy hug, like she used to in the dorms in Crylon. A bit of my former self awakened with her familiar friendship.

“Councilman Kilpatrick has chosen another friend from Crylon to be her Unmanifested,” Davison continued. “I present Elizabeth Nox for the completion of this Council.”

Liz stepped to my side, her nervousness obvious in her stiff posture. I put one hand on her arm, trying to infuse her with a sense of confidence I didn’t quite feel myself.

I closed my eyes in a long blink, and the image of Chief Tavar formed in my mind. His face radiated the parental pride I’d expect to see when he looked at Hanai. The Chief bowed his head, forgiveness blinking in his golden eyes before they closed momentarily. “Firemaker.”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, the words skimming across my tongue.

“Serve well,” he responded before fading into the darkness of my mind.

I opened my eyes and looked at the people below.

“People of the United Territories, your newest Council.” Davison swept his arm toward us.

Pushing my ache for Hanai deep inside, I stepped forward to take my place as the Councilman. I spread both arms and shot brilliant sparks of colored fire into the night sky.

The crowd gasped and cheered. They accepted me.

I finally belonged.

Elana Johnson is the author of the
Possession
series, which includes full-length novels POSSESSION, SURRENDER, and ABANDON, and short stories REGRET (ebook only) and RESIST (free). She is also the author of ELEVATED, a young adult contemporary romance novel-in-verse.

Her novella, ELEMENTAL RUSH, began a new futuristic fantasy series. ELEMENTAL HUNGER, a full-length novel, is the second part of the story. The series concludes with ELEMENTAL RELEASE, the final novella.

Elana wishes she could experience her first kiss again, tell the mean girl where to shove it, and have cool superpowers like reading minds and controlling fire. To fulfill her desires, she writes young adult novels. She runs a personal blog on publishing and is a founding author of the QueryTracker blog, a regular contributor to The League of Extraordinary Writers, and a co-organizer of WriteOnCon.

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ELEMENTAL HUNGER

an ELEMENTAL novel

by Elana Johnson

Copyright © 2014 by Elana Johnson

Published by AEJ Creative Works

All Rights Reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Cover Design by Erin Summerill Photography

Fonts used: Cinzel, Kontrapunkt, and DISCO - Fontsquirrel.com

Cover photograph © mycola - Shutterstock.com

Map drawn by Mikey Brooks - www.insidemikeysworld.com/

PhotoShop Winter Breeze Brushes © Axeraider70 - Brusheezy.com

PhotoShop Fire & Flame Brushes © nada-images - http://graphicriver.net/

Interior Design by AEJ Creative Works

Chapter headings done in Cinzel.

Table of Contents

Map of the United Territories

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen