Just Breathe (50 page)

He arched a brow. “Only sixty-two?”

She shrugged innocently and wiggled her ass against his crotch.

The paper dropped to the couch beside them. A flight itinerary. Brisbane to Athens.

Damn it. Make that eighty-two percent.

Hands slid up the inside of her shirt. He hardened between her legs.

Greece. She never expected him to make good on that one. Or even to remember his promise.

The hunger in his dark blue gaze and the Water racing through her blood made it hard to think.

God, she really did love him.

She rested her forehead against his. The invisible, Elemental strings binding them together tugged at her heart. In a slow motion daydream, his blue surged, a strong but gentle tide. Warm lips embraced her cool ones. His Water glutted her mouth, cascaded down her throat, and crashed over the rocks of her soul, nourishing it. Her body swelled, accepting his gift. She took only what she needed, then pulled away.

But he stopped her, held her closer, deepened the kiss. The Water poured in full spate from his hands, his heart hammering against her breasts, and his metal looped, tattooed lips.

She swallowed one more gulp of the sweet, filling shot of blue and tore herself away from the kiss.

“Okay, I’ll think about it,” she mumbled breathlessly against his mouth. Would she ever.

He grabbed hold of her gaze and didn’t let go. “You do that.”

Burying his face in her neck, he undid a line of buttons down her chest, twisted the shirttails in either fist, and yanked her against him. Goose bumps puckered her skin. So much for her resolve.

On the side table, their little wooden falcon caught her eye from his perch on the birdhouse they’d made for him. The magical threads between it, Gavin, and Zoe glowed brighter than ever. The bird winked at her. It was always so pleased with itself. Zoe smiled, and her Water crested again.

Just breathe
, she told herself as the rising combination of love and desire threatened to drown her in the best possible way.

“Now…” His lips bumped into hers, the deep vibrations of his voice rendering her helplessly giddy against his irresistible charms. “About that hot fudge…”

Glossary of Terms

Aer or Aer Elemental
noun
—An Elemental whose body is composed of at least 50% Elemental Air. Aers tend to be intelligent and manipulative. Their auras are mostly yellow.

Aero
noun
—God of Air. The youngest of the four Elemental gods who rule Earth. He is made of pure Air and represents intelligence, creativity, concentration, manipulation, and focus.

Air
noun
—The Element that keeps humans mentally stable, focused, and attentive. A shortage of Air can cause information processing difficulties. A severe deficit can induce a vegetative state or death. Air manifests as yellow in auras.
Note:
When referring to the Element itself,
Air
is capitalized, not to be confused with atmospheric
air
in general.

Aqua
noun
—Goddess of Water. The third of the four Elemental gods to appear on Earth. She is made of pure Water and represents fluid emotions, healing, intuition, introspection, and wisdom.

Archelemental
noun
—A powerful Elemental who rules a region of the world. There are seven Archelementals affiliated with each Element (seven Wæter Archelementals, seven Fyre Archelementals, etc.). An Archelemental collects and delivers Element tithes to his/her god on the equinoxes. Advised by a Council of Elemental bishops, the Archelemental mediates disputes, administers punishments and rewards, and is the final authority on all Elemental matters in his/her region of the world.

ascension
noun
—An Elemental’s rise to eternal communion with his or her god. Ascension is the ultimate state of perfection that most Elementals strive to attain.

aura
noun
—The colorful energy that surrounds Wyldlings, Sentinels, and Elementals. The hue of an aura provides clues to mental, emotional, psychological, and physical states. Sentinels are trained to interpret auras.

Balance
noun
—The concept of equilibrium within a living thing. Balance is achieved when Earth, Air, Fire, and Water co-exist in equal parts. Sentinels must be well-Balanced to perform their duties. They can shift their Elements to maintain Balance in stressful situations.

breach
noun
—Jumping behavior in which some or all of a whale’s body clears the water. Chin breaches, tail breaches, and full breaches are common among humpback whales.

calf
noun
—A baby whale.

Dreaming, the
noun
—A parallel world that exists alongside the realm of reality
(Realis)
where people go while sleeping, unconscious, or in an altered state. Though the Dreaming is the collective unconscious of the human race, events that transpire there affect people in real ways. Most Wyldlings are unaware of the Dreaming, but some
(see lucid dreaming)
are able to influence objects while asleep. Sentinels consider the Dreaming their home. They fight to protect it and its Wyldling visitors from damaging outside influences such as Elementals.

Dreamsense
noun
—A kind of sixth sense possessed by Sentinels that makes them aware of Element shifts in the surrounding area.

Dreamsong
noun
—The ancient language of the Sentinels.

DTAG
noun
—
A Digital Acoustic Recording Tag
is a device used by marine biologists to collect information on whales and their environment. The DTAG fits in a human hand. Using a carbon fiber cantilever pole, researchers attach the suction-cupped tag to a whale’s back. The DTAG remains in place up to 24 hours. It records audio and tracks the whale’s depth, pitch, roll, and heading. When the tag pops off, it emits a radio signal so researchers can locate it. Data is downloaded to a computer and analyzed.

Earth
noun
—The Element that keeps humans physically stable, grounded, and healthy. A shortage of Earth in humans can cause sickness or disease. A severe deficit can induce outright death. Earth manifests as green in auras.
Note:
When referring to the Element itself,
Earth
is capitalized, not to be confused with
earth
in general (dirt or land).

eclipse
verb
—To exert destructive power of one Element over another. Earth eclipses Water, Water eclipses Fire, Fire eclipses Air, and Air eclipses Earth. Eclipsing Elementals can cause serious harm to shadowed ones. Intense exposure results in death and returns the Elemental to his/her god.

Element
noun
—One of the four basic building blocks of life on Earth. Every living thing contains Earth, Air, Fire, and Water Elements in varying degrees.

Elemental
noun
—A half-corporeal, half-magical being. Elementals can take earthly and pure Element forms, or a combination of the two. They siphon their Element from Wyldlings for sustenance. Any human (or animal) can become an Elemental once his/her body acquires 50% or more of a single Element.

Erthe or Erthe Elemental
noun
—An Elemental whose body is composed of at least 50% Elemental Earth. Erthes tend to be physically strong, dependable, and rigid in their thinking. Their auras are mostly green.

Fire
noun
—The Element that keeps humans psychologically stable, passionate, and lively. A shortage of Fire in humans can cause psychological disorders. A severe deficit can induce psychosis or cause the spirit to die, which leads to physical death shortly after. Fire manifests as red in auras.
Note:
When referring to the Element itself,
Fire
is capitalized, not to be confused with
fire
in general.

fluke
noun
—A whale’s tail. When pumped up and down, flukes propel the animal forward through water.

Fyre or Fyre Elemental
noun
—An Elemental whose body is composed of at least 50% Elemental Fire. Fyres tend to be passionate and short-fused. Their auras are mostly red.

humpback whale
noun
—The fifth largest whale in the world. Humpbacks are baleen whales—filter feeders that eat small fish and krill. They average 40-45 feet in length and weigh about 40-45 tons. These highly intelligent whales are known for their acrobatics (breaching, pec slapping, and lobtailing) and the haunting “songs” the males sing.

Incendius
noun
—God of Fire. The second eldest of the four Elemental gods who rule Earth. He is made of pure Fire and represents passion, chaos, lust, hunger, and violence.

Law of Balance
noun
—Rainbow Serpent’s mandate that the four Elements on Earth remain Balanced. Sentinels are charged with upholding the Law of Balance.

lobtail or tail slap
noun
—A behavior in which a whale hangs upside down in the water and slaps its tail flukes at the surface, creating a loud noise. It may be sign of aggression, a means of stunning prey, or even a way to communicate with other whales.

lucid dreaming
verb
—A state of awareness and ability to control one’s actions while dreaming. Many lucid dreamers remember events from dreams when they wake up.

pec slap or flipper slap
noun
—The act of slapping a pectoral fin hard on the water, creating a loud, gunshot-like sound. Whales may exhibit this behavior to show aggression or to communicate with other whales.

pectoral fin or pec fin
noun
—One of two front, arm-like appendages on a whale. Also called flippers.

Rainbow Serpent
noun
—Though depicted in Aboriginal Australian Dreamtime stories as male, Rainbow Serpent in Sentinel mythology is the mother of life on Earth. She not only shaped the land and seas, but she also helped create humans and continues to watch over them. She employs Sentinels to help her enforce the Law of Balance among the gods and Elementals.

Realis
noun
—The waking world of reality in which people carry on their daily activities; the real world.

scrimshaw
noun
—An art form in which pictures or words are carved into the teeth of slaughtered whales. In pre-industrialized times, whalers often practiced scrimshaw to pass the time on whaling expeditions.

Sentinel
noun
—A “super human” who can control dreams and manipulate his own Elements to either defend against or attack Elementals with Elemental magic. A Sentinel’s purpose is to maintain the Balance between Elements, which requires him to protect humans from excessive Elemental interference. Sentinels are mortal, but they tend to live longer than the average human.

shade
verb
—To be overshadowed or eclipsed by an Element. Earth shades Water, Water shades Fire, Fire shades Air, and Air shades Earth. Prolonged exposure to an eclipsing Element results in death and ascension to the shaded Elemental’s god.

Shadows
noun
—Short-lived but powerful remains of nightmares left behind in the Dreaming when a human wakes suddenly from a bad dream. Shadows can pack physical force and harm other dreamers if left unattended. When the collective unconscious is disturbed or unbalanced, Shadows become common.

Shifter
noun
—An Elemental with the ability to change his/her shape. Very few possess the gift of shifting.

Songline
noun
—An invisible filament found in the Dreaming that contains information about every human from the past, present, and future. Songlines can be followed through time, but the process is extremely daunting. Depending on the complexity of the relationships involved, it can take years or even decades to decipher information gathered from a single Songline.

Terra
noun
—Goddess of Earth and the eldest of the four Elemental gods who rule the planet. She is made of pure Earth and represents physical strength, stability, order, discipline, and inflexibility.

tithe
noun
—Payment of an Element due to the gods. Archelementals collect tithes from all Elementals at the equinoxes. This massive influx of Elemental energy is then sacrificed to the gods, and the one who has the most controls the Balance of the world. Therefore, it is important that all Elementals tithe to their gods.

Wæter or Wæter Elemental
noun
—An Elemental whose body is composed of at least 50% Elemental Water. Wæters tend to be intuitive and emotional. Their auras are mostly blue.

Water
noun
—The Element that keeps humans emotionally stable, content, and adaptable. A shortage of Water in humans can cause emotional problems. A severe deficit can lead to depression or sometimes even suicide. Water manifests as blue in auras.
Note:
When referring to the Element itself,
Water
is capitalized, not to be confused with
water
in general.

whale song
noun
—A pattern of repeated vocalizations produced inside a male humpback’s body that may include clicks, whistles, upsweeps, grunts, drags, and chirps. Humpback songs vary by geography, but all the males in one location sing the same song. Evolution of the song occurs over a season, so the song changes from year to year. Scientists used to believe the songs played a role in mating, but they seem to attract other males rather than females. The purpose of the songs remains a mystery.