Read Online Fate of Elements by M. Stratton, Skeleton Key - Free Book Online Page A

that boiled above us. Lightning and thunder rumbled through the canyon, echoing off the walls until it was almost a constant sound. I needed him on my side if this plan was to work, and I wasn’t about to lose it now because he finally decided he’d had enough.
    “I’m sorry, you’re right. The scars of watching my parents killed right in front of me is a pain I will suffer from forever. Something I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life. I close my eyes, and I can still see their faces as they perished. It haunts me, Erion. Still, after all of this time.” My voice broke.
    He gathered me up in his arms, and I smiled. Sometimes he was too easy.
    “I understand. The image of finding my parents slaughtered will always be right there, waiting to surface. I’ve been thinking of them a lot lately. This isn’t what any of them wanted. They’d tried so hard to bring peace here.”
    “Sometimes you need the war to bring the peace,” I said.
    “And sometimes you need to sacrifice in order for peace to happen.”
    My heart sank. “What are you saying?”
    “I’m saying I’m going to be sitting this one out. I don’t have the fight in me anymore. I think Raina will succeed in her endeavor.”
    “Please,” I begged. “Don’t do anything rash. I need you.”
    “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
    I needed his power in this battle, there was no way I could win without him. Standing there, I looked at the man who loved me and had done anything I had asked of him since we were children. I would have to kill him now to get what I needed: his power.

Hallet
    “ W hat’s wrong ?” I asked Raina. We’d been working on our water magic, which was really strange for me because up until she healed me, fire and water didn’t mix. Now I could manipulate both at the same time.
    “I don’t know.” Her chest heaved. “I can’t seem to catch my breath.”
    With her hand shaking, she reached out for me. Instinctively, I lifted her up into my arms and took her home. Carefully, I set her down on my couch.
    “I don’t know if I’m ever going to get used to that whole flashing, transporting thing you do.”
    “Whisking, we call it whisking. You can do it too, and have.”
    “When I don’t realize I’m doing it.” She rubbed the center of her chest.
    “What is it? Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
    “I don’t know how to describe it. It started with a pressure on my chest. Do you get sick here?”
    “No, Charlie had to explain what sickness meant when it came up in the books he brought to us from your world.”
    “I was going to say it was like when you have a chest cold. There is pressure on your chest, a heaviness that sometimes makes it hard to breathe. Or like the air is really thick.”
    “Hmmm…” As casually as I could, I stood up and walked over to get her something to drink and buy myself some time to think. I had no idea what any of this meant, but something in my gut was worried it wasn’t anything good. We already knew for a fact some of the water and fire fringe were missing. Neither Naida nor I could feel anything off with our people, but sometimes if something tragic happened, we were able to feel it. Maybe that was what she was experiencing now. It would stand to reason since Raina encompassed all of us that she’d be tuned to each element. If something happened, it could possibly manifest with her.
    Taking a moment, I hesitantly reached out with new Air power, but was unable to tell if anything was amiss. Part of this was easy for me since I already knew how to control my fire, but each element reacted differently to me.
    “Here.” I held out the drink to her and sat down, wrapping her up in my arms. The prophecy said someone would come and bring peace to our world. It was frustratingly silent about what would come next. I hated where my thoughts were headed. What if she didn’t stay? What if she didn’t survive it?
    “That’s odd,” she said. “It’s gone, like it never