Page 4 of Elemental Becoming

I smile and shake my head. Who knew Garrick could be serious?

Then my eyes find Amara again. I could watch her for hours.

She surprises me constantly.

When the Shadow Element touched her, she actually closed her eyes and smiled—as if it weremy handcupping her face. It didn’t seem to be evil. Could she be changing it? Or maybe it’s different being wielded by me? Still so many questions.

She believes we can stop the curse from claiming me too—that I won’t be pulled to the Shadow Realm like my mother was.

My mother was not so lucky. The pull eventually claimed her life.

And Kastiel’s death?

That was the beginning of our family’s unraveling.

She was the heart of our family. The type of woman who was strong, opinionated and impossible to ignore.

Amara reminds me of her.

I wish my mother were alive to meet the woman who’s turned my life upside down in every way. My reason for breathing.

After Kastiel, I lived in a dark, hollow place for a long time. And on the anniversary of his death, the curse that poisoned my mother’s mind finally took her. She threw herself from the highest tower of the castle.

The guards said she was calm—that’s why they didn’t move until it was too late. My mother didn’t scream. Didn’t hesitate.

Just stepped off the edge—like she’d been waiting for that moment her whole life.

I still remember the sound the stone made beneath my boots when I ran to find her. Too late. The fall broke more than her body. It shattered what was left of our family.

Not long after, my father succumbed to sadness of the heart. Now he’s just a shadow of the man I looked up to.

And the burden of the realm?

It landed squarely on my shoulders.

I was only nineteen and suddenly Warlord of the Fire Clan. Leader of the entire godsdamned realm.

Rowena has been a pillar through all of it. I’ve been a pain in her ass more times than I can count—and still, she takes it. She never lets my temper or silence derail her, never flinches from doing what needs to be done when I’m away from Volcaris.

I would be lost without her.

I have to be a better brother. She deserves more than what I’ve given her.

A horse whinnies behind me—probably anticipating an apple once he’s back in his stall. I glance over my shoulder and meet Rian’s gaze.

He’s Water Clan. Darker skin than mine, but a brother in every way that counts. We’ve been that way since Rian knocked me on my ass at the age of eleven.

He nods once, his deep blue eyes tight. I know that look. He’s worried about what we uncovered in the Starlit Chamber . . . and the danger we’re carrying in our satchels.

I nod back, hoping to steady him.

Next to him rides Jarek. Garrick’s blood brother—same straw-colored hair, same warm caramel eyes. But he’s my brother too.

Jarek’s expression is unreadable. No evidence of the weight I know he feels.

We lock eyes. Then—he flashes a grin. Just like that, his whole face lights up.

Jarek can swing from one emotion to another with maddening ease. He can find light in any situation. Just like Garrick.