Emblazed (19 page)

She slept soundly next to me while I sat in confusion, wondering why she didn’t have
any nightmares through the night.
This can’t be good.
Hades, Hermes, or quite possibly both, were up to something.

I decided to wake Brielle up, just to make sure that she was okay. I worried that
Morpheus or Hermes might have done something that prevented her from waking up. I
gently shook her as I softly said, “
Mi amante
, wake up. It’s morning already.”

I released a breath of relief when she stirred. Her beautiful eyes fluttered open
as she stretched before settling her gaze on me, “Morning, baby. Wait … what happened?
I don’t remember falling asleep.”

“I don’t know. Are you okay? Did you have any nightmares?” I asked with concern.

“No nightmares—I slept great, actually. I must have fallen asleep while reading,”
Brielle replied, looking as confused as I felt when I had woken up.

“Something’s off. Hermes and Hades are up to something,” I speculated.

“What else is new?” she quipped. I chuckled lightly as I reached for my phone on the
nightstand and checked the time, which read 8:51 A.M. I didn’t want to sit in bed
while my imagination conjured up ridiculous scenarios that Hades and Hermes could
be planning at that moment, so I got up and went to the bathroom with Brielle in tow.

I finished before Brielle, so I decided to go downstairs and make breakfast for us.
I grabbed eggs, cheese, bacon, and ham from the fridge to cook omelets. I also made
toast before pouring two glasses of orange juice for Brielle and I.

Footsteps sounded above me in the loft, signaling Brielle had finished getting ready.
I made her a plate and sat it on the table before whisking the ingredients for another
omelet in a mixing bowl.

I poured the mixture in the pan as she whined, “Aw, I wanted to make you breakfast.”

I laughed as I replied, “It’s okay, baby. Sit down and eat.”

I returned my attention to the pan, flipping the omelet over to finish cooking before
joining Brielle at the table. We ate breakfast in silence as Brielle contemplated
various scenarios that Hades and Hermes could be plotting, just like I had when I
woke up.

“Don’t worry,
mi amante
. We’ll handle whatever they throw at us together, okay?”

She nodded as I grabbed our plates and put them in the sink. I went back up to change
and get ready for training since Kimber and Zane would be there shortly. After I dressed
and went downstairs, Brielle was attempting to wake up Kiera so that she could also
get ready to train with us.

She knocked on her door a few times before Kiera finally grumbled, “I’m up, I’m up!
Quit knocking already.”

“We’re training today. Kimber and Zane will be here soon, so get ready! Jace will
make you some coffee, okay?”

“Yeah, whatever,” she replied grumpily.

She had been really moody since we rescued her, which was completely understandable.
I hoped that it wouldn’t affect her too much in the long run. Brielle would never
forgive herself.

I went to the kitchen to start the coffee, the smell of which soon filled the air,
finally drawing Kiera out of her room. She wore a red racerback tank and black yoga
pants with her hair pushed back out of her face by a thick headband.

“How you holding up?” Brielle asked as she walked up to Kiera.

“Fine,” Kiera snapped before swerving around Brielle and heading for the refrigerator.
Guess she doesn’t want to talk about it.

She grabbed some vanilla creamer before pouring coffee into a mug and drowning it
in the creamer. She then sat at the table and sipped the warm liquid while releasing
a sigh of content.

Brielle glanced at me with a look of concern.
She needs time, Brie. Don’t worry about it, okay?

Yeah, right; me, not worry? That will be the day
,
she scoffed in my head.

Just as Kiera finished another cup, Kimber and Zane arrived. “Is that coffee I smell?”
Kimber questioned as she walked into the kitchen. Zane carried the punching bag over
his shoulder behind her.

“Oh, thank Gods!” Kimber enthused as she grabbed the coffee pot and poured herself
a cup. Zane chuckled at her while handing me the bag, “You’re welcome.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks.”

After Kimber finished her coffee, we all traveled outside to start our training. Zane
and I filled the punching bag’s base with sand as the girls stretched. Once Zane and
I finished, we returned to the girls, and I got everyone’s attention before saying,
“Brielle and I thought it would be good for the five of us to practice on defensive
and offensive tactics as a team. Our recent trip to the Underworld may have been our
first mission together, but it will definitely not be our last. We need to learn how
to best utilize our Elements in a way that will complement each other in battle, especially
with everything that’s been happening lately.”

Everyone nodded before Kimber asked, “What are we going to work on first?”

“I think defense is very important, especially since we need to protect Brielle at
all times. We can start with defensive tactics,” I decided.

We started with defensive formations, positioning Brielle in the center with two of
us in front of her and two behind her. She didn’t really care for the formations,
mainly because she felt like she was being babysat, but her protection was of the
utmost importance. She just had to deal with it.

“When we’re being attacked, it would be best if we moved into a circular formation
so that no one can sneak up behind us. Now, can anyone think of combinations of our
Elements that we could use for attacks?” I asked.

“I could use my Air to fuel your Fire,” Kiera suggested.

“Or Zane and I can make mud,” Kimber joked.

“Be serious, Kimber,” I scolded.

Kimber rolled her eyes as Zane offered, “Kiera and Kimber can use their Water and
Air to make a small hurricane. It won’t be anything like Brielle’s, but it’ll still
be effective.”

“You could throw some rocks in there, Zane. That would be even more effective,” I
added.

“We can try. Kiera, create a whirlwind with your Air,” Zane directed. When she complied,
he instructed Kimber, “Okay, babe, throw some water in there and keep it flowing.”

Kimber did as requested, streaming her Water into Kiera’s mini-tornado, which was
about as tall as me, and spanned a few feet in width. At first, Kimber’s Water sprayed
all over the place instead of flowing with Kiera’s Air, but after about a minute,
the girls were able to control their Elements and sync them together.

Once they stabilized, Zane tossed small rocks into the hurricane. Some shot out in
various directions instead of joining Kimber’s Water and Kiera’s Air, but soon he
was able to make his Earth flow with the other Elements.

As the tornado of Elements moved across the backyard, Kiera, Kimber, and Zane watched
with a look of strained accomplishment on their faces. Successfully combining their
abilities in an effective attack was a major step for us.

“Any other suggestions? That one worked out pretty well.” I asked.

“Have you and Brie ever tried to combine your Elements? Like your Fire and her Akasha?”
Kimber inquired.

Huh, I’ve never thought of that before.
I wondered if Brielle had, but her contemplative look suggested that she hadn’t.
“We haven’t tried that before. I guess I always assumed her Akasha would incinerate
my fire,” I answered.

“You never know. Your bond is unique in many ways, so it could be possible,” Kimber
continued.

“Well, that’s something we should try alone. Her Akasha can be very … volatile. I
don’t want anyone getting hurt. We almost blew up the backyard when she was first
trying to harness it,” I reminisced.

“I did not!” Brielle exclaimed defensively.

When I raised my eyebrow in a look of disbelief at her response, she continued, “It
was more like a blast of energy than an explosion—nothing was destroyed or anything.”

“Like I said, she almost blew us up. So we can practice joining our Elements alone.
Any other ideas?”

“Well, my Air can help propel any of your Elements and give it a boost. We could practice
doing that,” Kiera answered.

“That’s a good idea—maybe that would increase the distance our attacks can travel,”
Zane speculated.

“Okay, let’s take turns having Kiera use her Air to help each of our Elements. Zane,
you go first, “I delegated.

Zane, Kimber, and I took turns working with Kiera to boost our attacks. Both Kimber’s
Water and Zane’s Earth were able to travel at least ten feet farther with Kiera’s
Air, but my Fire was more difficult.

Kiera had to add the right amount of air or else the fire would blow out. When we
finally got the hang of it, Kiera’s Air would not only send my Fire further, it would
also intensify the flames, making them larger and hotter.

Once we finished practicing, I commented, “What’s good about this is that Brielle
can also use her Air to do the same thing. We’ll practice with her after a quick break.
Everyone take ten minutes and be back here to start the next exercise.”

Kiera, Kimber and Zane went inside as Brielle walked up to me and teased, “You’re
like a drill instructor. You going to make us do pushups next?”

I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against my body as I rumbled in her
ear, “I can think of other things I can do to make you break out in a sweat.”

Her cheeks flushed from my words as her voice took on a seductive tone, “How much
time do we have?”

I lowered one of my hands to grab her ass, while the other traveled under her shirt,
grazing the sensitive skin of her stomach. “Don’t tempt me. I’ll take you up against
the side of the house right now if you don’t stop.”

“Then take me,” she challenged in a throaty whisper.

Fuck … me.

I growled as I grabbed her legs and hitched them around me before walking us towards
the side of the house. We didn’t have a fence or anything, but there was a cluster
of palm trees to conceal us. I really didn’t give a fuck at the moment, and based
on her enthusiasm, Brielle didn’t either. I pinned her against the exterior wall of
the house before crushing her lips with mine and roaming my hands over her body.

We only had a few minutes at the most, so I frantically repositioned myself to pull
my shorts down enough to uncover my length. Thank Gods Brielle was wearing shorts
that stretched. I easily moved them to one side so that I could enter her, sinking
myself deep in her pussy in one hard, blissful thrust.

She groaned and grasped my shoulders as I began to pound her against the wall. My
mouth traveled from her lips down to her neck, my teeth grazing along her fevered
skin as I continued to thrust into her.

My hands moved to grip her ass, pulling her closer and forcing my length deeper inside
her. Her hands knotted in my hair as she arched into me, the change in position tightening
her walls against my cock. My strokes increased, becoming harder and faster with each
thrust until we both came undone.

Brielle’s body trembled with her climax as she moaned out with pleasure. Immediately
following, I grunted out as my release shot into her. I collapsed to my knees on the
ground with our bodies still intimately tangled as we caught our breath.

Brielle unwrapped her legs from around me before standing and straightening her shorts.
I smirked at her before kissing her deeply one last time and entwining our fingers.
We walked back around the side of the house into the backyard, where Kimber, Zane,
and Kiera stood waiting.

“Really?” Kimber accused, trying to stifle a smile.

“What are you talking about?” Brielle defended poorly, feigning innocence.

“Don’t act like you guys didn’t just fuck on the side of the house. We totally heard
you,” Kimber retorted.

Brielle blushed as she glanced at me, and I couldn’t hide the broad smile on my face.
“Don’t hate because we thoroughly enjoyed our break time,” she joked.

“I should have Zane fuck me on your couch. We could’ve spent our break doing that,
but we’re not insatiable whores like the two of you. If we gave in to every sexual
impulse like you guys, your whole house would be christened by us by now.”

The laugh Brielle was trying to suppress burst out at Kimber’s blunt comment. Everyone
else started laughing with her, including Kimber, who tried to fight it as long as
possible.

I brought everyone back to order by saying, “Okay, okay, enough about sex. Let’s get
back to business.”

“Whores,” Kimber quipped playfully.

I gave her a pointed look before continuing, “I want to simultaneously have Brie and
Kiera each work with one of us to coordinate a double attack using the tactic we just
practiced. Okay?”

They all nodded their approval of the plan before Kimber walked over to Brielle. “Let’s
go, slut.”

Brielle laughed and shook her head as Kimber formed her Water into a ball. She tossed
it at Brielle, who used her Air to catapult it through the air, sending it flying
out of the yard towards the beach. She did the same with my fireball and Zane’s rock
attack, giving both more force and a farther trajectory than normal.

We spent the rest of the day performing various attacks and defensive maneuvers. Sometime
in the late afternoon, we took a breather to discuss our weaknesses in battle.

“Okay, I know the girls haven’t had much experience with fighting, so I wanted to
take the time to talk about what weaknesses you’ve noticed,” I stated.

“Fighting Air Elementals is my weakness. They’re the hardest to defend against because
you can’t always see their attacks, and they can practically move anything with their
Air,” Kimber stated.

“Same here—they are the most difficult to fight for me, too,” Zane agreed.

“For me, Earth Elementals are the most difficult. You can’t really defend against
the ground shaking and throwing you on your ass,” Kiera said.