Page 13 of The Lost Elemental

Mom’s mouth fell open. “Y-you what?”

“I had no idea what I was. But you did. You could’ve warned me. Let me know that this was a possibility.”

“I’m sorry. I know. I just didn’t know how to say it. I kept putting it off and then this morning—”

“You should’ve found a way.”

Charlie poked his head out from behind the door. “Why are you guys fighting?”

My chest cracked at the hesitancy in his voice. I climbed the rest of the stairs and pulled him into my arms. “We aren’t fighting.”

“It sure sounds like it.” He peeked around my side to stare at Kai and Riven. “Who are they?”

Kai put on his best charming smile. “Hey, you must be Charlie.”

I fought the grimace that wanted to surface. Of course, the elementals had to know my little brother’s name too.

“Yeah, who are you?” He stepped between the guys and me and my mom.

There was a burning in my chest where the cracks had been a minute ago. Such a little man. So determined to protect.

Golden God’s smile didn’t falter, and for the first time, I was glad he’d perfected that mask. “I’m Kai. I’m a friend of your sister’s.”

“I’ve never seen you before.”

“We’re new friends. We go to her new school.”

Charlie looked up at me. “Community college?”

I shook my head, searching for the right words. I had to go with the straight truth. “Turns out I’m an elemental. I have to go to one of those academy deals.”

Charlie’s eyes widened as his head snapped towards our mom. “Am I one too?”

“No, honey.”

“Aw, man.”

The crestfallen look on Charlie’s face tugged at my heart. He had always wanted his father to have some epic tale to accompany him. Something other than being killed in a car accident when our mom was eight months pregnant with him.

Charlie’s disappointment quickly morphed into excitement. He tugged on my hands as he bounced in front of me. “You’re going to have the best time. You have to call me every day, tell me every detail.”

“There are no cellphones at Kingwood,” Riven said with zero emotion in his voice.

I sent him a look that should’ve made his balls retract on the spot. “I’m not going anywhere I can’t have communication with my family.”

“You get a call every other weekend,” Kai assured me.

“We’ve never gone that long without talking. The longest is when you went with Lainey’s family on spring break, but that was just five days,” Charlie said quietly.

I pulled him in for another hug, bending to whisper in his ear. “You know me. I always find a way. I’ll bribe someone or run away or…” I didn’t know what, but I wouldn’t let my brother be sad because of me.

“Or I’ll break in and live under your bed! I’ll learn all the elemental stuff and they’ll have to let me stay.”

Kai chuckled. “I like that plan.”

I tamped down the urge to send him a dirty look. Kai didn’t get to have our inside jokes and these sweet moments with my brother. Not when he was taking me away from the person who needed me most. I ignored Kai and took Charlie’s hand. “Help me pack?”

He nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll make sure you have everything you need. Maybe you should take my nunchucks. I heard they do battle at the academies. Only the top of each class makes it through each semester.”