Page 34 of The Lost Elemental

A whoosh sounded and a piece of paper slid under my door.

I was on my feet in an instant, tugging the door open. No one was there, nor was there any sign of a living, breathing soul in the hallway. I stared down at the folded-up note. Someone could’ve used air magic to direct it.

Slowly, I shut the door and flicked the lock. I bent and picked up the letter. Unfolding it, I scanned the page.

You don’t belong here. Run while you still have the chance.

19

I tossed and turned, the blankets tangling around my legs. I was too hot, then too cold. And my mind just wouldn’t turn off. The events of the day circled round and round, never actually draining out of my brain. That damn note wasn’t helping either.

Kerry’s deep, relaxed breathing sounded from across the room. I envied the ease with which she seemed to drift off to sleep each night.

I kicked at my blankets, sitting up. I felt around for my slippers and grabbed a hoodie from my dresser. Slowly, I eased the door open and peeked down the hall.

There weren’t any signs of another soul. I stepped out and shut the door softly behind me. My quest for the stairs wasn’t frantic this time. But the core yearning was the same. To grab hold of a little bit of peace. To breathe free and easy.

I climbed the two flights of stairs and eased the door open. My gaze instantly began searching for Phoenix. A pang of disappointment lit along my sternum when I didn’t see any sign of him.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. I didn’t need to be disappointed that a torturing royal with the darkest eyes I’d ever seen wasn’t waiting for me in his secret hangout.

I pushed thoughts of those hypnotizing eyes from my brain and started for the edge of the roof. Dangling my legs over the side, I breathed deep. The air here was unlike anything I’d ever smelled before. Clean. Fresh. As if there had never been a vehicle driven in the elemental realm ever.

And the sky. I tipped my head back to take in those beautiful stars. They dotted the inky-purple canvas like the most gorgeous painting I’d ever seen.

I had to hold onto these precious moments. The ones that reminded me there were things to be grateful for, even in the midst of my life being turned upside down.

I felt him before I saw him. It was a change in the air, the very atmosphere. One second, I was breathing easy and the next, everything around me was charged.

My gaze pulled to the right. Phoenix sat on the edge of the roof a few feet away, staring at the horizon. I couldn’t help but study him. That chiseled jaw. The tattoo peeking out from the collar of his shirt and climbing his neck. My fingers itched to trace it.

“Do you not sleep?” I had this burning need to know what kept Phoenix returning to this place night after night.

“Doesn’t look like you do either.”

I let out a huff of air. “I guess not. I used to.” I’d dealt with the nightmares for as long as I could remember, but there was a long period where they were few and far between.

“I don’t know the last time I truly slept,” Phoenix said softly.

His voice was like wisps of smoke, sifting through the air and wrapping around me.

“It sounds like there are plenty of girls around here that would love to help you sleep.”

I snapped my mouth closed the second the words were out, my face heating.

Phoenix arched a brow as he turned in my direction. “Jealous, Kitten?”

“Annoyed with what seems like a large percentage of the female population here.”

In truth, I was both. I just didn’t want to examine the former too closely. Why I could feel those tendrils of jealousy for someone I didn’t even know. Why they seemed to flare to life around so many different men since arriving at Kingwood.

Phoenix leaned back, bracing himself on his palms. “I don’t have any interest in the royal chasers here.”

“I don’t blame you for that.”

He chuckled, the rough sound skating across my skin. “They’ll all move on. Get over it when they realize they have their pick of guys for their bonds.”

Bond. It was the first time I’d heard the word spoken here. But I’d seen the groupings around campus. Girls who had two or three guys they were clearly involved with.