Eternal: Chapter Twelve, Part 3

But that wasn’t everyone. Justin and Angeline were married and started their own law firm together. He had taken my advice, though I had known that at the march. She had said yes, just as I knew she would, and she was the reason he joined Caroline that day. As much as they argued, they loved each other and there would never be someone else they’d want.

If you were wondering, their law firm was one of the most successful in the nation and represented the new government—by Caroline’s recommendation, of course.

Mitchell and Valetta stuck around helping Caroline until just before the first elections. Then they took off to travel the world, just as Valetta had always wanted to do with her love. It only took a couple hundred years, but she was living her dream un-life. There wasn’t anyone I knew who deserved it more.

And Mitchell? Well, he was still Mitchell. And no matter how old I become, I doubt he will ever stop making fun of me. But I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Obviously, the Council agreed I had made my significant impact. All charges against us were dropped and we went on with our un-lives. I had heard, though, because of vampiric support during my campaign and the new government being formed, the Council was considering co-habitation in a hundred years, give or take a score. Once co-habitation was established, after all, they could fully stake claim for their part in the revolution.

Elizabeth, the little girl from the march, didn’t see a doll of me made. In fact, no one ever made a doll of me. They did, though, make an angel of me, and she received that for her birthday—courtesy of Drei, who still found it hilarious. Surprisingly enough, the angel looked like me. Pale skin, blue-grey eyes, blondish brown hair, and arms open to welcome everyone and everything. Of course, she was called Leirba. What I didn’t expect was that she was the angel not of change, or hope, or peace, but of miracles. Another company called her the guardian of the impossible, including a story about how she magically came to earth one day, led a great movement for change against all odds, and disappeared when the people could see the path forward. It also promised she’d return again if they ever needed her.

As cute and inspiring as I thought it was, I hoped they wouldn’t need me again, and should they, I hoped someone else would be there to step up and take his or her turn. Otherwise I would be there, but I can guarantee you whoever was supposed to be stepping up wouldn’t like it.

My parents were reunited again, too. I bought a plane ticket for my mom, and left a message for my dad telling him when to be at the airport, which flight, and everything. It dawned on me I could have been there, as well. But the only thing I could do to right what had gone wrong was to give them back to each other.

I stayed at home and mapped it. I watched as she stepped through security, searching for someone familiar, anyone familiar. My dad searched for me, because I had left the message. The two of them finally saw each other, their eyes locking and everyone else seeming to freeze in place. Then he was holding her, so gently, terrified she wasn’t real. She started crying, wrapping her thin arms around him, telling him she loved him and she was sorry she ever had to leave.

A month later, he was divorced from my mother, leaving her the house and enough money to keep her satisfied for years. I think she had been expecting this as she didn’t put up a fight. She just let it happen, and a year later she was married to some guy down the block who divorced her a few months after for everything she was worth. I wouldn’t say she deserved it, because she didn’t, and I found it somewhat cruel that she had to work after never working on anything but a committee for years. I called Dad, left him a message about Kenzy’s situation, and he helped her get back on her feet, ensuring the next guy she married wouldn’t do the same by making him sign a pre-nuptial agreement.

Mom and Dad, though, they had a small apartment in New York, his favorite place in the world. They were happy and he was doing everything he could to help Mom heal after all she had suffered through. I was proud of her for taking the aid he offered—and found for her—and of him for stepping up and being home to help her. If I was lucky, my eternity with Drei would be filled with just as much love as their time together was.

Looking back, it almost seemed as though that march was where most people ended the movement, though it still technically continued into today. I found it strange and flattering. Though it wasn’t the end, it seemed to be the start of everyone’s future. For better or for worse, we had succeeded.

Finally.

Eternal: Chapter Eleven, Part 2

Speaking of the devil, Caroline and the others arrived in cheerful moods, some of them carrying signs that I didn’t know they were bringing. Ian explained it was his idea, and he’d made almost all of them. Everyone looked great and healthy, and Kora even introduced me to her now fiancé, Dan. He even looked like a great guy, considering the last time I had seen him was at a distance.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for Kora,” he said, hugging her shoulders. “Some days she can’t stop talking about what you’re doing and how great you are.”

“I do not,” she said quickly, her cheeks flushing.

“Thank you for making her happy,” I said, touching his shoulder, smiling.

After listening a while to him insist she was the one who made him happy and their following playful banter, I excused myself. Jake and Mikael both hugged me, giving their thanks, while Caroline and I laughed some more over the doll comment. Xenia had brought her friends and introduced me—Katie, Michelle, and Erin were all earth, but Emily and Lisa were regular people who loved and supported their friends—and all of them hugged me.

Other people, of course, kept coming up to say thanks or gush or talk about other things, some asking questions about myself personally or the movement in general. A few more excited children told me and Caroline about their favorite parts of our previous orations and we performed small tricks to entertain them. Drei, at one point, came up behind me and pointed out several people—most of them in groups off to the side here or there, some looking over their shoulders at everyone else—informing me we even had vampiric supporters. Before I could ask, he promised Mitchell and Valetta were going to keep tabs on them so I wouldn’t have to worry.

It wasn’t all happiness, though. There were plenty of protestors, people calling me a demon, a witch, a whore, a devil, among other things. I was even spat at a few times, but I simply smiled at them. I didn’t understand why these individuals felt so much hate and fear when we had done nothing to harm them; I knew we had detractors and I had seen them before, but it still depressed me knowing there were people who would support treating us as less than human.

One of the protestors stopped a foot in front of me and began yelling obscenities in my face, her face turning a purplish red. A woman from Nick’s team stepped between us and calmly asked the woman to step back. Soon, three others from our security detail arrived and escorted the woman and the other protestors away from the area.

“Hey,” Nick said, smiling and appearing at my side. “They didn’t harm anyone, did they?”

“No. They handled it really well.”

“Good. We’ll try to keep anyone else like that back,” he said, looking off in the direction his team had led the detractors.

“How have things been going so far?” I asked, unsure if I should be worried about him or not. There was something strange about him, and it wasn’t just that he looked tired. It was something else; something I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

“So far, it’s pretty smooth. That’s only the second group we’ve had to remove,” he said, turning his bright green eyes to me, smiling easily. He glanced down at his watch just as Drei reappeared.

“We should begin the march,” they said in unison. I couldn’t help but laugh; I couldn’t remember ever thinking the two could be in sync.

After exchanging a smile, Drei nodded and Nick finger whistled, the sound shrill in my ears. “They’re all yours,” he announced, smiling once more before running off to his position.

Turning to face the quieting crowd, their eyes were all watching me, waiting for me to begin. I noticed that not only had the group grown exponentially large in an hour’s time, but a good half of them had signs in their hands, not all made by Ian. Smiling, I opened my arms to them and allowed my voice to carry on the air all the way to the back. “Welcome to the start of a new tomorrow. Shall we begin?”

A cheer erupted through the crowd. I waited only a moment before turning around and starting down the street, Drei beside me, most of my council a step behind us, and so much running through my mind I could have sworn my heart was beating at breakneck speed. There we were, tens of thousands of people, if not a hundred thousand or more, following me. Following me into a future we could only hope would be better.

Eternal: Chapter Eleven, Part 1

Chapter Eleven: Unstoppable, Unalterable

Mitchell, Valetta, Drei, and I arrived at the starting location, approximately two and a half miles from the reflecting pool. Even an hour early, there were quite a few people waiting—about forty or so. Nick had left the house a few hours before us to ensure everything was ready, review instructions with his men and women, and then post them at various locations around the start point. They would follow the crowd to the reflecting pool, where they would take predetermined surveillance positions.

The whispers started as we approached. I told myself the whispers had been there before we neared; they weren’t for us and certainly not for me.

But they were all about me; all that I could hear anyway. It was strange. The last time so many people had been whispering about me, I had lost control the day before at school and had an entire school paper dedicated to my freak out. That it was happening again made my heart race and my breath catch. I forced myself to breathe deeply and reminded myself this time the whispers were good.

“Thank you,” a woman said, walking up to me, taking my hands in hers and smiling. Her blonde hair was down, floating around her face in the gentle breeze of the day. “Thank you for fighting to give us normal lives.”

“Thank you for bringing it to our attention,” a dark skinned man with a thick southern accent said, smiling at both of us. “We never would have known what was happening, or that we could even do anything about it, without you.”

“She’s over here, Mommy,” a little girl shouted, tugging on a woman’s hand, her brown hair pulled back and her hazel eyes sparkling. Her mother looked nervous, though her daughter didn’t stop pulling her along. “It’s Leirba, Mommy. I told you she’d be here.”

“Of course, she’s here, darling;” her mother glanced apologetically at me.

Crouching down so I was eye level with the girl, I asked, “What’s your name?”

“Elizabeth,” she said, digging a foot in the ground. “My mommy and I saw you once when you were talking to people and then you were flying and it was so cool!” She looked up at me with large eyes, bouncing on her toes. “And I told her I want a doll of you for my birthday, because if they make dolls of TV people, then you should have a doll, too, right?”

Smiling, sensing Drei trying to hold back a laugh behind me and Valetta swatting his arm, I replied, “I’m not sure how the doll thing works, but if you ask your mommy really nicely, I’ll let you fly for a little bit.”

Gasping, she turned to look up at her mom; “Can I? Oh, pretty pretty pretty please, Mommy? Can I?”

Her mother asked, “Are you sure it’s all right. I wouldn’t want to be a nuisance.”

“It really isn’t a problem if you don’t mind,” I said, still smiling.

Glancing down at Elizabeth, she smiled, nodding. “Sure, sweetie. But don’t whine when she tells you it’s time to stop, okay?”

“I won’t, Mommy, don’t worry.”

Stepping back from the crowd of people around us, Elizabeth followed and asked what she had to do.

Holding out a hand to her, I said, “Don’t let go of my hand, and when I say jump, just jump a little into the air, okay?”

Taking my hand, she nodded energetically. I started up the circle of air beside her, keeping it slow and low to the ground to start. “Okay, jump.” In the second she was off the ground, I slipped the flow of air under her feet and circled it around me slowly, lifting her only about a foot high.

At first, she wobbled forward and backwards, trying to catch her balance. Then she kept glancing between me and her feet, as if trying to understand what was holding her in the air.

“Don’t move too much,” I warned her, “you might lose your footing.” After a while, she was holding her other arm out and waving to her mom, smiling and talking about how cool it was and how jealous her friends were going to be when they found out about it. She was having so much fun I couldn’t help but smile. And yet there was a small pang of sadness as I was reminded that my mom wouldn’t be there. Instead of burying the emotion, I embraced it, channeling it into motivation for what was coming.

When I told her it was time to stop, she didn’t complain. Elizabeth jumped down when I said to and took only a moment to regain her bearings before running to her mom and hugging her fiercely. She couldn’t seem to stop recounting the details and her mom just smiled, laughing with her and listening avidly.

“Thank you,” she said to me before they walked away.

Elizabeth ran back for a second, hugging me around the waist, saying, “Thank you! It was the bestest present ever!” I watched as she ran back to her mom and they joined a group of people they knew.

“A doll?” Drei said into my ear, a smile in his voice. He was struggling not to laugh, his lips twitching slightly in the effort.

“Why is that so funny?” I asked, hitting him lightly on the arm. “I thought it was cute.”

“It was very cute;” he smirked, his fingers smoothing the loose hairs around my face back toward my ponytail. “I just cannot imagine you, my love, as a doll.”

“What? You don’t think I’m cute enough?” I pouted, knowing it wasn’t what he meant at all, but enjoying teasing him.

“Now I never said that;” his lips curled even more. “I find you positively gorgeous.”

“Besides, a doll could never capture your essence,” Valetta added, patting Drei on the shoulder as if to tell him to shush now.

“And it would make you seem more…plastic,” Mitchell added, tapping his chin. “That sounds slightly inane.”

“Because it is?” Valetta offered, hugging him and kissing his cheek.

“I think I know what he meant,” I said, smiling, thinking of what Caroline would say when she heard about it.

Eternal: Chapter Ten, Part 1

Chapter Ten: Counting Down

Though I knew I wouldn’t use a pre-prepared speech, I still sat with Caroline while she wrote it. If nothing else, I could use it to go over my main points and wing it, as that seemed to work for me. Besides, if I wasn’t there, she might have switched it into her style of speech, the kind to attract people through anger, not through informed choice. Yes, that meant fewer followers, but that was how I wanted it. Level-headed people were easier to lead and talk to than hotheads.

When I toured the second time, Drei came with me. He was doing better and took his directive seriously. I slept every night—long enough for it to be considered sleeping—and ate regularly…well, drank. He was never overbearing about any of it—except maybe the sleeping thing. It still felt like we were in a romantic relationship, which was important.

Afterwards, both Caroline and I had several requests to speak at universities and various other forums. We accepted what we could handle—Drei and Ian both having a strong word in the decision as they knew our boundaries better than it seemed we did, at times.

Everything was looking great, even if there was still a huge chunk to do yet. There were also still the vocal naysayers and the bounty hunters shadowing our travel. We always had to be cautious when returning home, trying to shake any who may be following us before nearing our neighborhood. It seemed we were successful at this, but I suspected their directive had changed from capture to something potentially more sinister. My schedule kept me busy enough, though, my brain hardly had time to fall down that dark rabbit hole of guessing.

Over the next five and a half months, we didn’t have anything specifically planned except preparing for the march. It was Nick and Ian’s idea that I take a few more speaking engagements over those months so it didn’t feel like we had abandoned them, which Valetta and Mitchell supported.

Valetta and Mitchell were preparing to leave on rounds again, ensuring everyone still felt content and comfortable now that the main message was well circulated. We even had air time from our second tour and extra engagements. The site was publicized for free on news stations; although not all of what they said was positive, enough people had seen the commercials or heard us speak that a little bit of bad publicity didn’t hurt us much.

It was interesting to read what people wrote on the forums about the different views of the networks. While some found it outright hilarious, others were really upset by it, venting their anger in long-winded rants. They made a lot of good points—some of which could be found elsewhere on the site—and I found those touching. People cared enough to be angry, and that was a compliment. A huge one.

During the days, Nick was selecting his security detail, interviewing a wide variety of individuals to ultimately choose thirty people. Drei was helping him as he had been on Caroline’s muscle squad and had a way of reading people, as well as intimidating those who weren’t up to the challenge. Although Nick sometimes complained, I could tell he was somewhat grateful. Fifteen—out of 18—that he had already interviewed had cracked under Drei’s gaze, and Nick had liked them as well. Considering Nick had cracked under that same gaze only once that I could remember—mostly because Drei had bared his fangs—none of those 15 were asked back, for the time being.

While they were busy with that, Caroline, Xenia, and Kora were collaborating on the speech—Kora and Xenia mostly through video conferencing. Most days that’s where I was. Since I would have to follow the speech this time, it was important I actually knew what I was supposed to say. The first part was, again, about elementals, this time with demonstrations as I spoke. From there, we segued into what the government was doing in their hidden facilities, then moving into our rights as people and a need for liberation. Caroline and I spent several nights, just the two of us, trying to figure out how to end it. Part of me wanted to just tell her I wanted to hand everything over to her at the end since that’s when it stopped being so idea based and real action would need to be taken. That was her forte.

She probably would have turned me down if I had brought it up; not because she wouldn’t want to accept but because she might still think she wasn’t strong enough after what had happened to me. Caroline was strong, though. But even if I had told her that, she wouldn’t have believed me.

Eventually we decided to leave the end up to improvisation. I could read the crowd and know what needed to come next, what would make for the perfect ending. It felt right that we didn’t write the end, as though something was going to happen and change how it would wind up anyway. But I didn’t want to be a pessimist. Everything was going to be as close to perfect as was possible. It had to be.

After we finished the beginning of the speech, we sent it to Ian, who was working with Mikael and Jake—again mostly through video conferencing—to work on the choreography. Instead of demonstrations at the end or interrupting the speech, we had decided to incorporate it into the beginning in ways similar to the demonstrations in the commercial. Ian, being the artistic soul among us, was heading the choreography. Occasionally, I stopped in to see what they had worked out and it amazed me how ideal it was. Though it wasn’t what we would usually do if we used our powers for fun—because it was artistic—it was graceful and poetic. Ian was going to work with Caroline on her part of it as she was the only fire elemental I had who was willing to admit it.

Jake had started calling and messaging me semi-frequently. He was doing better, slowly returning to the way he had been; he would never be that way fully again, but he was working on being more level-headed and warmer towards people. Any time he was having trouble venting or letting go of something that had happened, he contacted me. And as soon as I could, we would talk it out. Sometimes he called just to talk about how great his day was, or to tell me about a girl he had met who supported our campaign. On those days, I’d ask if he had thought about facing his dad again. The answer was always no, though, over the months, he had been increasingly more hesitant to reply. Eventually, I knew he’d say yes, and if he asked me to come with him, I would. But until then, I’d ask another question, usually about the girl, and he’d perk right up again.

Kora was even beginning to relax. Her boyfriend had asked her about the movement and about her involvement—she said he had told her he was interested—and she was honest with him about everything. After she told him, she asked if he thought she was a freak and wanted to break up. But instead, he told her he loved her even more and asked what he could do to help. When she told us during a video conference she was glowing. All of her worrying had been for nothing.

Xenia still had her hair dyed, recently changing it to a pale blue, but she was happier, as well. Over one of her breaks, she stopped by and thanked me. It turned out a couple of her friends were also elementals—granted they were earth—and all of them felt better about being able to be open and honest. She said some people were scared and still thought they were unnatural and dangerous, but most people thought it was cool.

And Mikael was still Mikael. He was still happy and optimistic, supportive. Some days I wondered if he missed his family at all, just because there was an occasional sadness about him. When I would ask, he just shook it off and insisted he was fine. I wasn’t sure I believed him, but I knew, no matter what it was, he’d be okay. If he wasn’t, I hoped he knew he could talk to me about whatever it was.

Eternal: Chapter Nine, Part 4

By October, the commercials were done and available on the site, everyone was back in school, and Caroline and I had worked out the first speech. We would be delivering the same speech in separate locations—her idea since we didn’t have time for me to do all of it alone. Half a year was already gone and in a year’s time, we needed to begin planning the march. I think the main inspiration of a march came from her never leading her own. Personally, I could have lived without one, but it made for a great way to bring everyone together and finish out two years. If enough people showed up, there was my proof I had made significant impact.

Drei had opted not to travel with me, though his reasoning was ambiguous. The day before I left, Valetta and Mitchell had returned, exhausted but smiling. Everyone had trusted them and had agreed if they felt threatened by what we were doing, they would contact the Council who would contact me directly and handle the problem—meaning there wouldn’t be a problem.

I wasn’t sure what Drei was doing while I was traveling across the northeast—Caroline had insisted on taking the south, probably because she wasn’t fond of the cold. He wasn’t fighting with Nick, though. Nick, when Drei declined to accompany me, asked if he might. There wasn’t much for him to do as we wouldn’t need a security detail until the march. Having one at the casual speeches would give us the wrong image, even if everyone except Caroline and Ian disagreed. Even Justin and Angeline said I should take few muscles with me, warning against rioting and government intervention. But that would only provide a reason for there to be intervention and that was something I wanted to avoid.

Drei, of course, had no opinion on this. If he had, he would have sounded a bit hypocritical by not wanting to come. But I wasn’t going to think about that because I couldn’t risk being bitter.

Having Nick along wasn’t so bad, though. It gave me a chance to show him I hadn’t changed much. The way he had acted since that first night staying with us made me uncomfortable, though he probably felt doubly so. He was the only one not to mention I looked different—not that I would know I looked different for obvious reasons. Maybe some one-on-one time was all we really needed.

“Are you sure you don’t want a separate room?” Nick asked as we rode the elevator to the fourth floor and our hotel room. “Drei won’t mind or anything?”

“Nick, I trust you,” I assured him for the third time since he had seen the reservations. “Unless there’s some reason why I shouldn’t, in which case you should tell me now.”

“No reason you shouldn’t trust me; I was just thinking—”

“If Drei cared, he’d be here,” I said somewhat bitterly. I hadn’t meant for it come out that way. There wasn’t anything I could think of to say to him to make it better.

Opening the door to the room and dropping our bags on the beds—mine farthest from the window—he announced he was taking a shower. I sat on the edge of my bed and tried to figure out what I was going to do. I didn’t want to be outside, but I didn’t want to stay in the room, either. Part of me was anxious about the speech in the morning at the park. Drei had helped me choose the locations for all of the orations—most of which were in parks, though a few he arranged to be at college campuses.

Grabbing my notebook, I headed to find a quiet corner in the lounge downstairs.

I stared at the first words of my speech. “Elementals are a miracle, a blessing, the chance to help the environment and ourselves; our government wants to take that away, to misuse our gifts. And they don’t expect any consequences for their actions.” It seemed more than an hour I stared at them, unsure how I had ever agreed to do this alone. How it was Drei wouldn’t be there, at least for the first one. I could already guess whoever showed up tomorrow would want some excellent show of power—which I wasn’t prepared for—and probably demand how I knew what I did about the abusive process of breaking elementals. Could I prove that homes were broken by this? Could I prove anything?

Cradling my head in my hands, I forced myself to breath, hoping the old pastime of slow breathing would calm my nerves and make the threat of hyperventilating dissipate. If he was here, he’d probably say it was all right and I’d instantly feel better. Especially if he added something about how wonderful I was going to be. And worse come to worse, he would be in the audience for me to look at if things started to go awry.

He wasn’t going to be there, though. And he wasn’t going to pop up out of nowhere to tell me I had a brilliant speech, I had something important to say, and even if some left tomorrow feeling cheated, a lot more would leave even more devoted to our cause.

“You don’t look too good,” Nick observed, leaning over the back of the couch. For a split second I almost let my mind lie to me and say it was Drei. But I knew better, and lying to myself now wouldn’t help anything.

“You’re dripping on me,” I complained, swiping at the wet spots on the back of my blouse.

“Oh, really?” he wondered aloud. If I had turned around to look at him, I probably would have seen a mischievous curve to his lips and known what was coming next. As I opened my mouth to say something else, Nick bent further over and started shaking his head like a wet dog, splattering me in water.

“Oh, stop that,” I said, angrily, not in the mood for silliness. Maybe one-on-one time was exactly the opposite of what we needed.

Nick stopped shaking his head, a smile on his lips. His hair was curly now that it was partially dried. One particularly long curl fell into his jade eyes, but he didn’t move it. “I’m not dripping on you anymore,” he pointed out.

Smiling was inevitable; it was Nick, after all, and I had always found his happiness infectious. Closing my notebook, I sat it next to me on the open cushion. Nick jumped over the back of the couch and laid down, his legs dangling over the armrest and his head now resting in my lap. So much for being dry.

“If you didn’t like being wet, you shouldn’t have said anything,” he commented, staring up at me with his bright gems.

Eternal: Chapter Seven, Part 3

“He knows who I am,” she yelled at me, returning the outer edge of our group. “There’s more to me than my element!”

“But your element is still a huge part of who you are,” I calmly rebutted, moving to stand before her. I didn’t want to push her too far, just enough to see what Ian, Jake, Mikael, and Xenia already saw. “You can’t deny it exists; trust me…I tried. And it ruined every plan I had for myself.”

Kora didn’t say anything; she didn’t look at anyone. Caroline had gone to stare out a window, still prickling, though I wasn’t sure why. I’d find out in a moment, once Kora had made her decision.

“It may not seem like a gift at times, maybe not even most of the time, but we were born this way for a reason. We’re different for a reason. And there’s a good chance that our children will be like us.” I didn’t know if Kora wanted children, but I knew she could relate to being an elemental child and the challenges it created. “Growing up, didn’t you ever wish things could be different?” I squeezed her shoulder gently. “We could make things different; we could make them better.”

A glimmer of hope entered the mix of doubt, anger, and fear enveloping her. Unspoken arguments and questions flew around her mind as she tried at first to talk herself into leaving and then transitioned to all of the reasons she should stay. “Fine,” she said softly, returning to her seat.

“Caroline?” I said, going to stand before her. “Are you in?”

She huffed, staring hard at me, her bronze eyes searching my face and those of the others. Caroline wasn’t warring with fears and other emotions as Kora had been; all I felt from her was…petulance.

“Say yes, Caroline;” Ian sighed, rolling his eyes. “She’ll play unsure as long as you let her…just for the sake of playing devil’s advocate.”

Shrugging, she smiled in her mischievous way. “Of course I’m in. I always love shaking things up a bit.”

“Any more objections or concerns?” I asked as Caroline and I returned to our seats. Kora was still mostly in her thoughts, but everyone else seemed content. “Then onto jobs.” Picking up the folder on the table, I passed a stack of papers around. “This is the general timetable Caroline and Ian drew up for us.” Passing out the next sheet, I explained, “Right now I have two different teams. Mikael and Xenia, can you two set up a website?”

“Those are easy,” Mikael assured me and Xenia agreed.

“Fantastic. Caroline said she’ll pay for the server space; you two are webmasters. Whenever you need the space, talk to her.” Turning my attention to the other, I continued, “Kora, Jake, Ian, and Caroline, you’ll be responsible for the commercials. Ian already has some story boards I believe;” he nodded. “Valetta and Mitchell, you’ll be ambassadors.”

“What for?” Mitchell asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

“You’ll see soon enough. Nick, I wasn’t expecting to have your help,” I admitted.

Laughing, he said, “You should have.”

“I know, but it works out great anyway. I don’t have a sheet for it yet, but you’ll be the head of my security detail.” At his confused look, I added, “I won’t need it until later, so you can help with either the website or the commercial for now.”

“Definitely the commercial;” he grinned, his eyes sparkling with relief. “I think I’d be more likely to crash the site than help set it up.”

“Perfect. And Drei you’re helping to oversee everything.” Drei nodded, though I could sense he wasn’t happy with his assignment. I’d talk to him about it later; I hadn’t known where else to put him. I needed him here with me, and I wasn’t sure how much use he’d be with either of the technical options. “Before we adjourn, any final questions?”

“I think we’re good;” Caroline began munching on one of her cookies.

“Before you leave, make sure to meet with your group and figure out when you’ll be meeting. I’ll e-mail everyone about the next group meeting, and help yourselves. There’s still plenty of food left. Meeting adjourned.”

Eternal: Chapter Seven, Part 2

Turning around, my eyes found the young man who had spoken. He was tall with bright jade eyes, sharp facial features, and a crooked smile; his pine colored hair was long and shaggy. Words escaped me; I hadn’t expected to see him, though I should have guessed he would show up somewhere.

I hugged him as his arms enveloped me, holding me tight, as they had so many times before. “Nick,” I murmured into his shoulder. I don’t know how long we embraced, but I did eventually remember I was playing hostess and pulled away. When I did, there was Drei, leaning in the door frame. Walking over to him, he pulled me into his own comforting, familiar embrace.

He kissed the top of my head. “Do you like my surprise?”

Nodding, I stepped back from him. “But now we’re ruining the meeting.”

He chuckled a little. I smiled goofily at him before taking his hand and then Nick’s and walking them into our circle.

“Drei’s here now. And the last member of our council will be Nick.”

“Can we trust him?” Mikael asked skeptically. It was a fair question; Mikael, Kora, and Xenia had lived through the aftermath of Nick revealing his involuntary involvement with the government. What information they’d received at the time was likely limited and compounded by rumors, particularly when Nick didn’t join us during the relocation.

Glancing at Nick, I nodded. “If we couldn’t, Drei wouldn’t have brought him.” There was still some uncertainty, though it was considerably dispelled as they contemplated Drei’s endorsement of Nick’s character. I turned to Nick and Drei. “Would either of you like something to drink before we start? And did you catch everyone’s name?”

“I think so,” Nick replied, nodding. “If not, I’ll ask you about it later. And I’ll take water, please.”

“The same,” Drei said as Valetta went to the kitchen. I would have objected, but I understood. We had already been derailed enough.

“So, to business then.” I smiled at everyone sitting around me, feeling better than I had not minutes before. I knew, without a doubt, I could do this. “I’ve talked to all of you about the general timeline but I’ve withheld what the focus of our movement is…until today. From talking with all of you, I know more than ever it’s the right thing to do. To prevent others from experiencing the same dilemmas and heartaches we’ve faced over the years. To protect, or to heal, the ones we love. We’re taking down the government by letting people know we exist,” I said. “We, as elementals, have to stand up for our own rights as people; the only way to do that is to show regular people we exist to begin with, that there is a unique group being exploited and endangered by the very institution that’s supposed to protect us.”

“We’re admitting we’re different?” Kora asked slowly, her hands shaking in her lap. Her hazel eyes were wide.

“It’s the only way,” I said gently. “We don’t physically look different, so no one knows unless we tell them.”

“So what’s with the miracle tagline you gave Ian and I to work with?” Caroline asked, eating another one of her cookies.

Drei raised an eyebrow at me. I felt myself blushing, knowing it was a silly thing for me to have remembered for so long. “I once asked why the government hated us, and Drei told me the only reason he could think of was because they wanted to erase miracles.”

“What’s the tagline?” Xenia asked, taking one of the sandwiches.

“Miracles still exist,” Ian said, a smile in his voice. “So it was your inspiration?”

“It seems that way.” He smiled at me.

“I’m not sure about this, Abs,” Caroline said, setting her napkin of cookies on the coffee table. “I’m all for taking down the government—you know that. And I don’t mind putting myself at risk either. But you’re not talking about just us;” she stood and began pacing behind the couch and talking with her hands in broad, sweeping gestures. “You’re talking everyone. That’s everyone who’s managed to live their life without getting caught, and everyone who’s just starting to figure it out. That’s a ton of people, Abs. Who says they want to come out of hiding?”

“If they don’t, nothing will ever change,” Jake argued. “When the Black Civil Rights Movement started, not everyone was sure they wanted to fight that battle. But the few, and then the many, did anyway; look how that turned out.”

“You’re seriously comparing this to the Black Civil Rights Movement?” Kora demanded, going to stand by Caroline. “We’re not black…well, not all of us.”

“But we’re oppressed,” Ian said, shifting on the couch to look at the two. “Our civil rights aren’t being acknowledged, and they won’t be until we do something about it.”

“And what about the people who are fine hiding?” Kora asked, crossing her arms, trying to control her shaking.

“No one’s fine hiding,” Xenia said. “No one likes to hide who they are; eventually it eats away at who you are inside and then what are you left with? Some ghost of who you might have been?”

“Well, I don’t mind hiding;” Kora turned and walked towards the door.

“What kind of lasting relationship will that make, Kora?” I asked, hoping it would at least stop her from leaving; if she walked out the door, I wasn’t sure there was anything any of us could say to bring her back. “How do you know if he loves you if he’ll never know who you really are?”

Eternal: Chapter Seven, Part 1

Chapter Seven: Leading Change

“Drei isn’t back yet?” It had been over two weeks since I had spoken to Jake and everyone was out of school except Mikael—but he was on a brief break before the summer session. We were having our first meeting in a few hours and I hadn’t seen Drei since before I had started recruiting. I ran my hands through my mussed hair. “Why isn’t he back? He told you; I know he did.”

Valetta sat on the couch, watching me pace around the living room in my nightgown. She had told me he called a few days ago while I was asleep and promised to be back by now. But he wasn’t.

“You really should calm down,” she said before sipping from her teacup of blood. “Drei said he would return today, and he will.”

I wasn’t sure why I wasn’t calm to start with; it wasn’t like I was speaking to people I hardly knew. But this was an important day. They finally were going to know what our focus was going to be and I had this sinking feeling I was going to screw things up.

“Abriel,” she said gently, setting her drink aside and standing; she held me at arm’s length. “Stop worrying so much. Everything will go as planned and Drei will arrive safely.” Glancing at the clock on the wall, she added, “Besides, you had better change into something more presentable before Mitchell arrives with the others.”

I knew I was being childish in my resistance to Valetta’s soothing and distractions. It was petty of me to take out my frustrations at his absence and desire to communicate with me only through Mitchell and Valetta on everyone else. Although I knew this was my movement, I felt like this was something we were supposed to do together.

“He will be here, Abriel,” she asserted, squeezing my shoulders harder. “But you cannot reschedule this meeting. The others have lives, too.”

Part of me wanted to argue that I didn’t have a life anymore. That to have a life you had to be, you know, living. But I wouldn’t say that to Valetta; I wouldn’t even say that to Drei, though, honestly, I wasn’t sure how I felt about my turning anymore. I told myself if he was here, I wouldn’t be having these sorts of thoughts and everything would be fine.

“Okay,” I whispered, nodding my head. Of course it wasn’t really okay, but she did have a point. I couldn’t reschedule just because I felt like it. I was the leader, the coordinator; I had to appear as if everything was sunny and bright…even if it wasn’t.

An hour later, I had showered and changed into a summer dress and cropped bolero, ready for Mitchell and the rest to arrive. Valetta and I prepared snacks and chilled drinks with our remaining time.

“The door’s unlocked,” I called after someone knocked.

“Good God, Ian;” Caroline gasped, taking in the food and the two finishing the preparations. “We’re early. I told you we didn’t have to rush.”

I hugged Ian, glad they were here and grinning at Caroline’s whining.

“She would have been another hour if I didn’t hurry her along,” he whispered in my ear.

Smiling, I thanked him and then embraced Caroline; she handed me a small gift bag. “What’s this?”

“It’s your Happy First Organizational Meeting present.”

Laughing, I started opening it as she insisted it wasn’t anything special. Inside were several small candles of varying scents.

“They all promote relaxation, which you’ll need a lot of,” she said, kicking her shoes into a corner near the door.

“She’s been researching aromatherapy for you,” Ian said, grabbing a finger sandwich and walking into the living room, winking a sapphire gem as he passed me.

Caroline hit his arm lightly, pouting through her smile. “So shoot me for trying to be considerate.”

“I love it,” I said, interrupting any argument before it started —even if it was playful. Hugging her briefly again, I left my present in the bedroom, then helped Valetta move the finger sandwiches, cookies, and brownies into the living room.

“So how long before everyone else shows up?” Caroline asked, taking a few cookies and the napkin Valetta offered her.

I sat on one of the extra chairs we had pulled into the living room. “Everyone else should arrive—” There was knocking at the door and Valetta made her way over there as I stood again. “—now.”

“Welcome back,” Valetta said to Mitchell as he kissed her cheek and wrapped his arms around her. She whispered something else into his ear and he let her go. Probably something about Drei not being back yet. Here came the kid gloves…not that my behavior this morning had suggested they were unnecessary. I shoved my emotions aside; I had to play hostess, after all.

“Welcome,” I greeted as Kora, Mikael, Xenia, and Jake walked through the door. I hugged each one, directing them to take a seat and help themselves. “What would everyone like to drink?”

Mitchell sat with them as Valetta helped me gather and deliver the drinks.

“Are Justin and Angeline coming?” Caroline asked as I handed her the lemonade she’d requested.

“I’m going to talk to them separately,” I said, taking my seat again.

“Who are Justin and Angeline?” Mitchell asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“My legal consultants.” Before anyone could freak out, I added, “Caroline and I hired them so we don’t have to worry about the legal side of things. She used Angeline during her revolution and it was apparent to me that she and Justin would make a good team. Any other questions before I introduce everyone and we begin?”

“Is Drei coming?” Jake inquired before drinking some of his water.

Everyone stared at me, waiting for the answer I didn’t really want to give. “He’s still out on business,” I said—my smile probably more on the forced side of the spectrum—before Valetta had a chance to interject. “Now, introductions. You all know me, and you should know that you’re supposed to call me Leirba from now on. I’m air; Ian is also.” I indicated to Ian with an open, upturned palm, then did likewise to each person in turn. “Caroline is fire. Kora and Mikael are earth. Xenia and Jake are water. We also have Valetta and Mitchell to help us. As we’ve mentioned already, Justin and Angeline are our legal consultants, but you probably won’t see much of them, if at all. And then there’s Drei, as well,” I finished, looking around at them all. “Any questions?”

“Am I not special enough to mention?” a familiar, masculine voice asked from behind me. “Or do you just not want my help?”

Eternal: Chapter Six, Part 1

Chapter Six: Turbulent Seas

As I had hoped, Valetta had returned before me.  She gave me all of her information the moment I walked into the apartment.  Mitchell then explained he, Caroline, and Ian had developed a workable timetable but needed direction on how to proceed.

“I’ll get to that in a moment,” I said, glancing over the papers Valetta had handed me before taking the papers Mitchell was offering and skimming over those.  “This should work fine,” I said, nodding.  “Where’s Drei?”  He wasn’t in the room with everyone else.

Valetta, Mitchell, Caroline, and Ian all exchanged looks. “You…he left again,” Valetta replied slowly, almost as if she wished it wasn’t the truth.  “He said he will have returned by the time you finish recruiting.”

It wasn’t what I wanted to hear; I breathed deeply, closing my eyes for a moment. I could deal with the disappointment later. Right now, I had somewhere to be, something to do.

Walking into the living room, I sat the papers down on the coffee table; the others joined me, silently awaiting my instruction.  I couldn’t help smiling; I understood why Caroline loved being in charge so much.  It might be stressful and time consuming, but it was very empowering knowing everyone was hanging on your every word.

“I’m not going to do hack broadcasts,” I said.  “I might work with those later on, but to start, I want a few commercials and a website.”

“What kind of commercials?” Caroline asked, grinning mischievously.

“Not what you’re thinking,” I told her, smiling.  “I want them to be artistic and to introduce the idea of elementals.  The website will go into more detail about our cause.”

“Any ideas for a slogan?” Ian inquired, grabbing a drawing pad out of his bag and flipping it open.

Thinking for a moment, I remembered what Drei had once told me about the only reason the government would be after us.  “Miracles still exist.”

Ian gazed at me a moment before writing it down and starting to sketch.  “I like it.”

“I’m glad.  Caroline, could you buy the server space and domain name for the website?”

“Sure, but I’m not so tech savvy as to know how to set up a webpage.”

“Don’t worry about that,” I said, sitting up.  “You can all work together on that, or anything else.”

“There does not seem to be much to work on, Abriel,” Mitchell said, his hands in his pocket as he regarded me carefully.  “You have not given us enough information for there to be sufficient work.”

“You have enough information to work on concepts.  The execution will be taken care of…”  My eyes scanned over the timetable before me.  “…starting in two weeks.  School will even be out then.”  I studied the timetable a little longer, nodding my head.  “Yeah, that’ll work.  Now, I have to be going.”

If there were further questions, they went unasked. Though that could have been due to a brisk exit on my part. Drei wasn’t there, so I didn’t want to spend time distracted by his absence when I had work to do.

Eternal: Chapter Five, Part 1

Chapter Five: From the Ground Up

Mitchell returned a few days later having found both Kora and Mikael. I was excited to be able to see them again, having been close to them back at camp. They had been part of a small, close- knit group of elementals, the first to actively dissolve the boundaries their predecessors had created between the earth and water elementals. When I set to break those boundaries by means of a game, they asked questions and worked to mediate arguments that arose after; my shining examples, in a way.

That was years ago, though. I hadn’t seen any of them since I left—Jake since before I left, which was why I was hoping to save him until last.

Drei was still off at whatever it was he was doing. By this point, it was a well-guarded secret I wanted in on, merely lacking the time to pursue it—not to mention my personal promise to be patient. I set Mitchell to working with Caroline and Ian—when they had time—to flesh out the vague timeline I had been putting together. They were also supposed to brainstorm different methods of reaching people given our deadline. Valetta was still tracking down Jake; last I’d heard, she had already located Xenia. She promised to find him by the time I was done meeting with Mikael and Kora.

Kora was finishing her freshman year at college, but you wouldn’t have known it looking at her. She had highlighted her dark hair with thin strands of red brown and carried herself as though she was a graduating senior. She had grown up a lot since I had last seen her three years ago.

I watched her during the cloudy day, following at a safe distance. There wasn’t any point in interrupting her regular day when what I had to discuss with her had nothing to do with her college life or friends. Besides, it would likely take her a moment to remember me if she did at all. It had taken Caroline almost too long for comfort, and it had only been a year since I last saw her. Ian didn’t count.

She was quite the busy student, between studying, group meetings, organizational meetings, and what have you. The first few days presented little opportunity. The fourth day, a Saturday, was sunny—which kept me indoors during the day—and that night was some sorority event.

It wasn’t until Sunday night when she was even relatively alone. She walked around the beautiful campus with her boyfriend—at least that’s whom I guessed the lanky gentleman holding her hand was. Checking her watch casually, she kissed his cheek and bade him farewell. There was an explanation as well, but I wasn’t near enough to catch it and I didn’t feel like adding eavesdropping on top of what could be classified as stalking.

His blue gray eyes followed her a while before he continued down the path. Kora approached me where I was sitting on a bench near the quad, partially hidden behind flowering bushes. She stopped a couple yards away, crossing her arms and cocking her hip to the side.

“Why have you been following me for the last week?” she asked.

Meeting her large hazel eyes, I kept a straight face, deciding to take an un-Mitchell approach with her. “How have you been, Kora?” I asked, attempting to minimize the amount of spent on memory catch-up.

“Why do you know my name?” A trace of fear crossed over her features before it vanished under a cool façade.

“I’m guessing you knew I was following you because of your talents,” I said, realizing I was very possibly terrifying her as she clenched her jaw and clutched her arms more tightly. “You really have nothing to fear from me. We’ve met before.”

“I’m sure we haven’t,” she said. “I really think you should stop whatev—”

“Don’t you remember feathers? Or games? Maybe you remember Nick? Perhaps an ice sculpture with flowers you helped to make? Any of that ring a bell?”

It was somewhat entertaining to watch her huge eyes grow in realization and then narrow in skepticism. “You can’t be—”

I put a finger to my lips, silencing her as she studied me, even more confused. “You can’t use my name in public for the time being,” I said, standing. She was as tall as I was now, and it was strange since I remembered her only coming up to my shoulder. “Drei wants everyone to call me Leirba for now.”

Eternal: Chapter Four, Part 1

Chapter Four: Light My Fire

Valetta and Mitchell searched for a few people I had met at the camp whom I knew would be assets to the project if we could find them. I had absolute confidence in their ability. The only restraint I gave them, however, was not to approach them regarding the movement. That was something I needed to do personally.

Drei helped me find the one person locally I knew would be the most difficult to approach. Then, after insisting I adjust to introducing myself as Leirba, he disappeared, claiming he had something he needed to do. I didn’t know what he was doing but I trusted him, so I tried not to let the worry overrun my thoughts.

The day had been overcast but I had arranged a rendezvous after dusk, not wanting to risk frightening my guest with an unanticipated injury. We were meeting at a café. It had been forever since I had had a cinnamon chai latte and I couldn’t help breathing in the scent every few minutes to luxuriate in it; it smelled like heaven.

I had to wait quite a while for her to arrive—granted, I had been extremely early. When she walked through the door, I couldn’t help smiling at her. Her long red hair cascaded over her shoulders. She was wearing her classic skinny jeans paired with rainbow flats to match her tie-dye tee. Fashion aside, she wasn’t how I remembered her; her lips smiled, but sorrow and guilt made her cautious, tentative. Sleepless nights left dark circles under her eyes that showed through her concealer; she looked thinner.

“Caroline,” I called, catching her bronze eyes.

She smiled a little more warmly as she strolled up to the table. Cocking her head to one side and furrowing her brow slightly, she asked, “Have we met before? You look…familiar.”

“I’m Leirba,” I said, shaking her hand.

She gasped and grimaced; “Your hands are freezing.”

Folding my hands in my lap, I nodded my head in the direction of the empty seat. “Please…sit.”

“I’ll just get something—”

“Mocha chai?” I interrupted, motioning to the girl at the counter. I had already ordered and paid for it, but I didn’t want it cold by the time she arrived. The guy working brought her drink over a moment later, smiling flirtatiously at the two of us before returning to work.

After taking a drink, she set her cup down and stared at me a moment. “How’d you know?”

“I have my ways,” I replied cryptically, still holding her gaze as I sipped my own drink. Her brow furrowed in confusion and I could see the allure Mitchell found in puzzling me. True, I hated when I was the one being puzzled, but there was something about a good secret that made riddling another person entertaining.

“I really think I’ve met you somewhere before. I’m almost certain,” she insisted, sitting forward on her elbows. “But it doesn’t make sense because she—she…never mind.” Silence fell between us as she watched her finger run along the rim of her mug.

“She what?” I asked gently. “Died?”

Her bronze eyes shot up at me, surprised but also horrified and hurt. “Yeah;” she studied me carefully as if I were the devil. What I was doing was somewhat evil, I’ll concede, but it probably would have gone a lot worse if I’d come straight out with it from the start—the most likely outcome would be her yelling and storming out, and I couldn’t waste time chasing after her. She needed to arrive at her own conclusion about my identity if I was going to be able to bring her and the others into the fold within the month.

“Are you sure?” I tilted my head to one side, staring at her.

“I was there,” she replied softly, daring me to prove her wrong.

I sauntered to the counter, picking up a napkin on the way there. Using one of their pens, I wrote out Leirba in capital letters and drew an arrow from the A to the L. After thanking the guy at the register, I returned to our table and slid the napkin across its surface so she could read it.

At first, confusion flitted across her face as she tried making sense of it. She even glanced up at me a few times in disbelief. Disbelief and confusion quickly transformed into a bittersweet joy which was tossed aside by grief and guilt, her face disappearing into her hands as silent sobs wracked her body.

“Caroline?” She worried me. I hadn’t any idea she was this shaken by it. No, that’s a lie. I did know. Her entire revolution fell apart because she thought I was dead. Because she blamed herself.

“I’m so sorry, Abs,” she murmured into her hands. “I never meant for any of that to happen; I was trying to prevent anything like that. You weren’t supposed to get hurt. I’m sorry. So, so sorry.”

Laying a hand on her forearm, I said, “You have nothing to be sorry for; you aren’t responsible for what happened.” As I spoke, I worked at untying the knot of sorrow and guilt inside her, pulling the emotions surrounding the event away from her and setting them adrift into the sky; only then was I able to loosen and release the pain of the event. All of it floated through the ceiling in blue and decaying black ribbons; it was almost as beautiful as when I had done the same for Nick upon our first meeting. Of course, then, I hadn’t really known what I was doing. I was just hoping my crazy idea would work.

Eternal: Chapter Three, Part 6

“All enter,” the voice called into the hallway. Drei, who had held me tightly and kissed my forehead when I’d exited the room, now walked to stand on the other side of Mitchell again as we filed into the room to hear Tudor deliver the verdict.

“Abriel Jones, it has been unanimously decided your alternative suggestion will be…” He carefully regarded the paper in his hands for an extended pause. I knew all of them were watching me—Valetta, Mitchell and Drei confusedly, the Council unfeelingly—waiting read a response on my face. “…accepted.”

I gasped, shocked, relieved and excited. It had worked. This was a good omen, I hoped. If not, at least I spent my luck on someone important.

“Under one condition,” he continued, sucking away my joy. “It has been voted that you will only be given two years, with a possible extension of three months upon request and with reasonable explanation. Until then, all penalties and charges are suspended.”

“Thank you,” I said, my mind racing to figure out what kind of timeline I would need if I only had two years for sure. I was grateful still, but this meant we needed to hit the ground running; there was no room for delays or mistakes.

“Adjourned,” the presiding vampire announced. “You shall all be returned to wheresoever you desire.”

With that, we were escorted from the room and back through the mansion to the car. None of the Council had moved and I wondered if they ever did. It was a strange thought, but I was hungry, exhausted, and emotionally spent; additionally, I had to figure out how to make—what the Council would consider to be—significant progress in two years. Mentally entertaining the thought of those eight never leaving that room was the only thing keeping me sane, and sanity was a good thing at this point. With two years, every moment counted. At the end of those two years, I probably wouldn’t qualify for ingénue status given my bargaining.

I leaned against Drei on the car ride home and he stroked my hair. It was comforting, the temporary relief and happiness falling away from all of them combined with his loving touch.

“Can you roll your window down?” I asked sleepily. I was starved, and any bit of fresh air helped. Drei and Valetta both obliged. As we drove through the city, the night life in full swing, it wasn’t long before I felt full, my contentedness adding to my exhaustion.

“You will explain this alternative option, yes?” Drei asked softly.

“Of course,” I replied, trying not to fall asleep on them just yet. “I have two years to make significant progress on my movement.”

Mitchell stared incredulously at me; Valetta gaped. Drei’s hand stopped running through my hair and I glanced up at him. I wished he hadn’t stopped.

“Two years for that?” Valetta asked.

“I had asked for three,” I said, speaking more to Drei than to the others. His eyes were unsure and unfocused. He was as worried as I was about how much the Council’s decision might change in two years if it didn’t happen. “But we can do it.”

“We shall stay to assist in any way possible,” Mitchell said.

“Thank you,” I responded, wishing I could sleep for now. I’d be able to think better with some rest.

“What do we do first?” Drei asked, squeezing my hand as though to reassure himself as the shock lessened.

“First we sleep,” I insisted, closing my eyes—I caught Drei’s thought about that being a first. Any more thinking and it felt like my brain would implode, but he could probably guess that much. “Then we start…and hope two years is enough.”

Eternal: Chapter Three, Part 5

“How are you handling your hunger?” the woman asked after a long, breaking the long pause.

Exhaustion weighed heavy on me and I wished we could skip to what I wanted to discuss. “I’m handling it well, though the lack of fresh air around here isn’t helping anything.”

“Elaborate.”

Speaking with my hands, I did my best to simplify what wasn’t so simple. “My element finds nutrients in energy—mostly sounds, people’s thoughts, emotions, so on—and my vampire is sated by those nutrients.”

“How, though?” the presiding vampire asked, sitting forward on his elbows.

Shrugging, I admitted, “It’s really complicated, and I only understand the basics of it aside from it works.”

“Interesting.” After a moment, he sat back again. “We cannot leave you in Mr. Valmoritim’s custody, as he has disregarded Council rulings and has proven himself a poor role model. Instead, we would like to place you in the temporary custody of Councilmember Emaline Walters until another vampire has been found to raise you,” he said in a way that made it clear he didn’t see my opinion of the option as mattering. It did; he just didn’t know it yet.

“May I offer another option?” I asked, holding his eyes steadily, despite my exhaustion.

Leaning forward, he amusedly inquired, “What would this other option be?”

“The way I understand things,” I said, “personal dealings with an elemental are against your rulings because it will interfere or alter our destinies. Am I correct in this understanding?”

“Yes,” he said slowly.

“So then, by that logic, if I’m still able to accomplish what I’m destined for, none of this should be a problem. Is this an accurate assumption?”

The seven vampires below him glanced up, intrigued and concerned. Whatever he said now would become law. “In a large part, yes.”

“Then I propose you suspend any rulings on these events for three years, allowing me to do what I’m supposed to do,” I said, looking at all eight of them in turn, ending with the presiding vampire. “If, at the end of that time, there has been significant advancement in the direction my movement is supposed to go in, all charges are dropped. If, however, I fail, or have been unable to make significant progress, then you can press any and all charges. How does that sound?”

He was pensive at first; he didn’t look at me, though several of the others did between watching him, trying to guess at his reaction. “We shall confer and when you return with the others, you shall hear our verdict.”

“Very well, then.” It was better than no.

Eternal: Chapter Three, Part 4

“Abriel Jones,” the voice summoned, yanking me from my plotting. I hadn’t realized Drei had exited.

Drei stood before me, a hand outstretched to help me stand. I took it without hesitation, allowing him to pull me into his arms for a brief moment. His touch was assuring, though pain and fear washed from him. I was used to feeling pain from him, but I couldn’t remember him this afraid. There had been times where he had felt fear, but not this strongly. It was unlike him. I squeezed his hand, realizing all I could do was hope this worked.

The room hadn’t changed, not that I had expected it to. But it almost felt like sunlight should be filtering in through the shuttered windows. I was greeted, however, by the same flickering lamp light and gloom.

“We shall be asking questions regarding your relationship with Miss Bevinston, Mr. Jameson, and Mr. Valmoritim,” the one woman—sitting to the right of Tudor—explained in a clipped voice. “When and how did you come to acquaint yourself with Mr. Valmoritim?”

“Drei? I’ve been acquainted with him for six years Valentine’s Day this year. He stopped two thugs from mugging and raping, and possibly murdering, me,” I replied, hoping I didn’t sound as defensive as I felt. If they wanted me to put him in the light of a villain, they weren’t going to succeed. Not even Valetta, or Drei himself, could make me see him that way.

“When did you become acquainted with Miss Bevinston and Mr. Jameson?” she asked, her fingers laced and resting before her on the table. She sounded impatient, which didn’t help me to remain calm. If I wasn’t careful, I could be as snippy as she seemed to be.

“At the elemental safe camp Drei led. That’s where he took me after I lost control at school. Both Valetta and Mitchell worked under him,” I elaborated, unsure how much or how little to say. “We’re friends.”

“When did you leave this camp?”

“Just over three years ago, February.”

“Did anyone accompany you?” she pressed, leaning forward slightly.

“Drei did. He left Valetta in charge of the camp,” I said, staring at her. My heart was racing because I didn’t want to lie, but the truth sounded so incriminating, especially considering how she asked each question.

“Was there anything Mr. Valmoritim did to seduce you, appear dishonorable, or the like?”

Shaking my head, I replied, “No. He set things up so I could work with Caroline and see how to run a revolution; he made sure I stayed healthy because I have problems with insomnia; he was even patient and encouraging when I was impatient and frustrated that I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing.”

“There is no need to be defensive, Miss Jones,” the presiding vampire interrupted, lightly tapping his fingernails on the desk before him. “You are not the one on trial.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop the rash reply begging to escape. I might not have been the one on trial, but I might as well have been.

“May I continue, sir?” the woman asked in her clipped, impatient way. When he nodded, she inquired, “From the previous interrogations, it has been understood that you and Mr. Valmoritim were separated for a time. How long were you separated and why?”

“Almost eight months.” I didn’t want to go into the why because it really was complicated. But I didn’t want to be rudely reminded to answer the question, either. I’d need them in a decent mood if my bargain was going to work and that, unfortunately, meant playing nice. “It was because he thought I was lying to him about my involvement with Caroline and her project. The situation might have been avoided if we had communicated with each other better,” I added. What happened wasn’t entirely his fault. A great deal of it was mine and Caroline’s, though hers was more indirect than anything else.

“What were the circumstances, as you understand them to be, surrounding your turning?”

“I was shot;” I shrugged. How much of an answer did she want? When she didn’t say anything, I added, “I was already dead. Or maybe I was still dying and just thought I was dead. Either way, I woke up and that’s when Drei told me what he had done.”

“What was his reason behind the act?” she asked, her eyes glinting as if this was the answer that would make the case against him.

“He loves me,” I replied softly, diverting my gaze downward—not from embarrassment or shame, but because it felt like I had betrayed him. The truth here wasn’t setting anyone free. It was condemning us all. “Because, he said, he couldn’t imagine living without me.”

“What are your personal feelings for Mr. Valmoritim?”

Catching her gaze, wanting to ensure she received my answer and wasn’t going to twist it to suit their cause, I responded, “I love him with all of my heart.” She opened her mouth as if to say that it wasn’t love but I interrupted her saying, “And it is not some effect of seduction, or attraction, or anything he’s done intentionally. It was my decision to love him long before I ever knew he loved me.” Tears pressed at my eyes. I doubted they were moved at all, but I couldn’t contain my feelings when I was starving or guilt-ridden, trying to be polite and hoping against odds they would take my suggestion.

“It is entirely possible you have imagined loving—”

“It isn’t,” I interrupted the presiding vampire. Not smart, I know. And not playing nice, either. But this was one thing I knew for sure, and they didn’t. Nothing they said could convince me I was wrong in this. “And I know because I spent a year trying to convince myself not to love him;” I cried, any restraint I had over my emotions lost. “I know what happened, and we both tried not to love each other and to no avail.”

Silence flooded the room as they stared at me, either shocked or indignant I had interrupted and refused to go along with whatever they said. My hands worked to clear the tears from my eyes as I struggled to regain some sense of composure. This wasn’t over yet.