Restless (Element Preservers, #4) (6 page)

Lily was outraged when she heard, but the TV house wouldn't accept any of my excuses. When I insisted I was busy, they simply said they'd reschedule the show. I wouldn't be surprised if the government had its fingers in it. If I did something to embarrass myself on the national TV, my already lame influence would diminish even more.

My hands were shaking as I made my way to the main studio where the show would take place. Unfortunately, every single person except for my two new bodyguards had an element, so I had to calm myself because it was unlikely my bodyguards would be able to reach me in time to stop the catastrophe. The only good thing in the whole situation was that there weren't any hidden carriers in the audience. It would be complicated to explain why a carrier couldn't feel my element while I was using it. In public, I could always say I was using an element-blocking bracelet, but not here.

I took a seat on the large black couch, opposite from the host, who was a middle-aged man with vivid dark blue eyes. His element was water and I could barely feel it. At least there was someone who wasn't having a breakdown because the show would go live in a couple of minutes. I offered him a shy smile, unsure what to do with my hands, so I folded them in my lap. Paula had made two braids on each side of my head to keep my hair out of my face, so I didn't have to worry about any stray strands ending up in my eyes. The dress I had chosen was black with silver flowers on the top. I could only pray I wouldn't ruin my perfect attire with my crazy elements.

"It's going to be alright, Ria," the host said, amusement flickering in his eyes. I was about to say something when someone tapped me on the shoulder, startling me. Turning my head, I saw a brunette who offered me an earpiece. I took it, confused, and the woman came around the couch and removed my microphone.

"Private call," she said. "From the president of the country."

Shit. I put the earpiece into my ear, watching the woman retreat. What could the president want now?

"I hope you can hear me clearly, Ria, my dear," the president said, and I noticed the cameraman turning in my direction, the red light on his camera blinking steadily. The president was watching me at this very moment. Fucking great. I nodded, since I doubted he could hear me even if I said something. It didn't seem like he wanted to hear my opinion on anything.

"Good. Now listen. Your boyfriend is in the backstage." I flinched, panic rising inside of me. What did he mean my boyfriend was here? "I know you were trying to avoid the press and have some privacy, but we think this is a perfect moment to reveal you have a boyfriend. You don't have to bother denying Ethan's your boyfriend because he admitted it already. Anyway, your relationship will be all over the news and that's exactly the distraction we need so we can pass a certain law without too many people noticing. Thank you for your cooperation. Now enjoy the show and make us proud."

The link went dead in my ear and I took it out. What the fuck was Ethan thinking? Just because we went on a coffee didn't mean he was my boyfriend. And what law did the president plan to pass? I started to get up, but the brunette returned and took the earpiece from me, reattaching the microphone to my dress.

"Sit down, please. We're going live in 35 seconds," she said and scurried off the stage. I briefly closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I could do this.

The host faced the camera with a big grin. "Hello, my name is Adam Corbin. Welcome to our newest reality show, The Best Elemental!"

I groaned inwardly at the name of the show. Could they have chosen a more idiotic name? Probably not, because more idiotic ones were taken. Adam went on to introduce the show to the viewers. Apparently, the TV house planned to bring new contestants every week and choose those who could complete the tasks with their element in the best way. The winners of each week would then participate in a big event where the most skillful person with the strongest element would win and get a million dollar check.

Ten minutes and one block of commercials later, Adam turned to me. "We have Ria Milanez, the president of the Element Preservers, as our first guest!"

I waved to the camera, licking my dry lips. Thank God my red lipstick wasn't so easy to remove.

"Ria will help us demonstrate what the participants on our show will be doing. But let's not forget Ria brought someone special with her to help her. Please welcome on the stage, Ethan Marlau!"

It was torture to keep the smile on my face. That law better be something good. The audience applauded as Ethan came on the stage, his lips spread into a charming smile. He looked incredibly handsome in his black tuxedo. I fought the urge to scoot over as he took a seat next to me and reached for my hand. His dark brown eyes met mine and I had a feeling he was trying to tell me I should go with whatever he planned. Hell, I wasn't even sure if he planned something or the government did. Maybe I shouldn't blame Ethan for being the government's puppet, especially when I was in nearly the same position.

"Hi, Ethan. Let's chat a bit first. I heard your element is fire," Adam said and narrowed his eyes at me. "President, does this mean the genetic manipulation doesn't work as well as you promote it?"

"Love cannot be ruled by elements or politics," Ethan said before I could open my mouth. "Everyone should be able to have a family with the person they love, regardless of their element. Genetic manipulation can help us achieve that, isn't that right, sweetie?"

"Yeah." My fingers twitched because I was seriously considering to strangle Ethan with my own hands. Sweetie? Really? He was enjoying himself way too much in his role. "Genetic manipulation has been perfected recently so the child can have an element only from one parent. If the parent has a pure element, the child will have a pure element too. However, if the parent has a weaker element, the child's element will be stronger because our scientists discovered a way to eliminate some of the bad genes that make an element weaker."

"Wow, impressive." Adam turned to the audience and raised his hand, which caused a wave of applause to break out. "Do you want to win a million dollars? You can do it, but you need to sway the jury with your elemental skills! If your element is strong enough, I'm sure you can get far in our competition. If not, you might want to increase your child's chances and choose his element because I’m sure this show will be on air for years to come. Now let me show you what exactly we're going to do here!"

I wasn't sure the show would promote the pureness of elements as much as it would get younger generations to take an interest in elements. If people saw all the cool things we could do with our elements, maybe they'd decide to keep them and stop thinking of them as a burden. Ethan got up and pulled me out of my thoughts, offering his hand to me.

"Please come here." Adam was standing in the middle of the stage and pointing at the spot next to him. Ethan and I joined him, and I bit my lip when Ethan's hand brushed against my lower back. "Ria, your first task is to create as many fireballs as you can." We were in a secure part of the studio, so our elements couldn't get to the audience or to the cameras even if something went wrong. I wished they had made the protection two-way so I couldn't feel the elements from the other side, but no such luck.

I stepped away from Ethan and concentrated on my fire. Warmth rose inside of me and fire erupted in the air above my head, balls of fire forming in quick succession one after another. I wasn't sure how many of them there were, but the audience was clapping their hands.

"Hold them right there, Ria," Adam said. "Ethan, you do the same. Let's light up the studio!"

Ethan's fire joined mine in the air, but our fireballs didn't touch. Sweat started to trickle down my back. I wasn't sure for how long I could keep the fireballs up and stay in control of my disease. My energy was draining very fast. Faster than I expected. Ethan kept smiling at me, which was a clear sign he could do this forever.

"Excellent!" Adam cried. "Now turn those fireballs into any shape you want."

I pulled my fire together, avoiding Ethan's. What could I turn my fire into without too much effort? Closing my eyes, I pictured a huge number one in my mind, rearranging my fire to fit the shape. When I opened my eyes again, I nearly whooped in delight because the shape my fire had made in the air closely resembled the fiery number one. My happiness was short-lived because Ethan had made a perfect heart.

"Amazing!" Adam laughed. "You're his heart and he's your number one!"

Ethan's dark eyes sparkled with emotion I couldn't identify.

"Now bring your fire together and extinguish it!" Adam took a couple of steps back to make space for us. I tried to mask the look of utter horror that must have crossed my face. There was no way I could let my fire make contact with Ethan's. Even if I had fire, I still craved it. Unaware of the danger, Ethan closed the space between us, his fire following closely above his dark head. Coldness seeped into my fingers and started spreading all over my body. I needed fire to warm myself up or I'd die.

The world faded around me and I wanted Ethan’s fire so much that I tried to reach for it, but I hit something solid. Someone clasped his hands around mine, trapping them between me and the fire. A groan escaped my lips because I couldn't force my way to the warmth. Maybe if I opened my mouth, the element would seep into me. I wanted that fire so badly that I was shaking all over. Something soft pressed itself against my lips, but the fire remained out of my reach. Why couldn't I free myself? I was so close to the element...

The roar and applause of the audience snapped me back to the reality. I found myself only a couple of inches from Ethan, his knuckles white as he tried to keep me in place, his hands covering mine. Our fires were gone, his element locked deep inside of him.

"Now that is true love!" Adam said, facing the audience. What the hell had I done? I stared at Ethan's dark eyes. A small smile hovered on his lips, but suspicion and wariness filled the dark brown depths. Adam seemed oblivious to what had happened to me, but I wasn't even sure myself what I'd done. I could only hope the audience hadn't noticed anything strange.

"Thank you for your demonstration, Ria, Ethan." Adam extended his hand in our direction, an unwavering smile on his face. "Did you like that? If you want more, stay with us after the commercials!"

I breathed out a sigh of relief when the commercials started. Hurrying across the stage, I found my way out of the studio. My bodyguards were at my side almost immediately, but I waved them off. If they touched me now, God knew what would happen. I was glad that I'd managed to break out of the disease-induced fantasy in time all by myself, but I didn't like not knowing what had happened between Ethan and me.

"Are you alright?" one of my bodyguards asked.

"Yeah." Elements were buzzing in my head like bees, but I didn't want to cling to my bodyguards like a broken doll. I couldn't show any weaknesses until I was far from everyone's sight. "Please someone tell me what the fuck I did with Ethan."

"You don't remember?" The guard frowned at me in surprise. "Your fire melted with his and it disappeared when you kissed him."

"I what?" I gaped at him. "Are you completely sure?"

"Yeah." He nodded, his lips twitching. "It was all very romantic. You reached for him and he held your hands in his in between you. Then you stood up on your toes and kissed him."

"Fuck!" This couldn't be happening! I'd been trying to kill Ethan and take his element, not kiss him. How was I supposed to explain the whole thing to Adrian? Oh, God.

"Ria! Wait," Ethan yelled behind my back, and I froze. Did he think I'd gotten carried away because I liked him or did he know I'd wanted to suck his element into me? No matter how much I wanted to escape from Ethan and never see him again, I couldn't exactly run away without finding out what he thought. I turned around to face him, raising an eyebrow.

"That was amazing." He grinned.

"Uh huh." I couldn't really agree with him.

"You were amazing." He took a step forward, reaching out for me. I backed away and he let his hand drop, a perplexed look on his face.

"Who gave you the right to introduce yourself as my boyfriend?" I said, putting all of my anger and frustration into that one sentence. "What were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry." He lowered his eyes, licking his lips. "The president himself called me and said he knew about our relationship. I told him we had just been on one date, but he insisted. He told me you knew about this and that you wanted me to appear on the show as your boyfriend. Did he lie to me?"

I frowned, observing Ethan's dark brown eyes. If he was lying, he was good at hiding it. Or maybe I was bad at spotting a liar. Had the government played us both? There was no way for me to tell whether Ethan was in the league with the president or only an innocent victim. "I... There must have been a misunderstanding because I never agreed to such a thing."

"Oh God, Ria. I'm so sorry. I didn't know you'd be upset. I thought..." Ethan went pale, his eyes wide. "But you kissed me..."

"It's ok." I twirled a strand of my dark brown hair around my finger, trying hard not to take a step forward and squeeze my hands around Ethan's throat. One of my bodyguards stepped forward, brushing his shoulder against mine. The world of elements disappeared for a moment and I relaxed.

"What do we do now? Everyone thinks you're my girlfriend." The color started to return to Ethan's cheeks now that he saw I wasn't mad at him. "We did go on a date, and I really like you, so... Would you like to go on another date? A real one this time?"