The Elementals

Princess Ariana walked the halls of the Phoenix Palace. It felt empty despite how populated it was. That was her advantage to waking up early: the servants focused on tasks where the people weren’t.

She made her way to the glass garden, where some servants were managing the sculptures. It made her a little relieved. They knew well enough now that she wasn’t interested in a chat, and had no intention of interfering with their work. She offered a nod as they offered theirs back, just enough acknowledgment on each part to show respect.

Within the glass garden, there is a marble fountain, raised above the black sand. The fountainhead is a Marin woman, with her arm outstretched offering water. Ariana’s father would sometimes tell her about sitting at this fountain with her mother, and of the real story of the Marin queen.

“I’m sure you thrived,” Ariana told her, “I’m sure you made our home better, but…”

The Marin sculpture was always looking up, away and past anything that could see it.

“But did you really belong here? Personally, I…” she didn’t dare finish that sentence.

“Awake with the dawn as always, your highness.” a voice said behind her. She gave just a glimmer of a smile as she turned toward Singe, clad in Phoenician Armor—but he was from Draconis, why would—he’d come with her sister’s husband, unwilling to leave his side.

“The only time without expectations, Sir Tyrain,” she gave a nod and invited him to share her seat. He shook his head.

“You flatter me, your highness, but I’m no knight, merely a guard.”

“No, that’s—” right. He was one kingdom short of the seven, and the others, though annoyed, left it at that.

“You should be,” she said.

“It’s not my place to question,” he denied.

She didn’t like the distance between them. This wasn’t right.

“Won’t you sit with me, please?”

“A request I must refuse, your highness. I’d take too much of the seat.”

“Then I will come to you.”

“There is no—”

She didn’t let him finish as she came and stood next to him, trying to imitate his posture. It looked less intimidating without his armor or height.

“What is your name?” she asked, suddenly unsure of where she stood.

“Singe Tyrain, your highness.”

“Technically it’s not,” Ariana—Skylar—said, “Are you Olivier Tyrain II?”

“I am, your highness. If you do not mind my impertinence, why do you ask a question you know the answer to?”

“Because the real Singe Tyrain would have answered with his full name the first time.”

Singe was a Knight of Six Kingdoms. Skylar wasn’t even in Magek, let alone the Phoenix Palace.

And she needed to get out of here.

Singe stared at the ceiling. He was awake far too early, given how dark it was in the room.

“Damn Night Dragon,” he grumbled. His gift of power left him with several anathema habits over the years.

He sat up, only to see the large head of curls that had been nestled into him. Skylar looked up with an apologetic smile.

“Did I wake you up?” she weakly asked, “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you in my bed?” Singe asked, “I’m not mad, but I thought you didn’t want Evia to know about us.”

“I don’t,” she confirmed, “But I had a…” she looked around for the words, “A weird dream. It was unpleasant in hindsight, but during it, it just felt like how it was before I came here.”

Singe had no idea what happened, but he laid back down, holding Skylar in his arms.

“Want to talk about it?” he asked.

“No,” Skylar said.

“Can you go back to sleep?”

“I can keep trying.”

“Want to get out of here?” he offered.

“Where were you thinking?”

“The café opens early, and I heard they’ve added drinks named after us.”

“Get our own drinks?” Skylar asked, but Singe could see the anxiety leaving her face.

“I could get yours and you could get mine.”

They just smiled at each other for a moment. They could pretend they were just together, with nothing interfering.

“Let me get changed,” Skylar said.

Diamond reentered the kitchen, where the rest were hanging around its island. She made it obvious she was nursing a headache after her last scene.

“Did someone punch you in the face again?” Spade asked, clearing off a seat for her.

Diamond shook her head.

“The brat just kicked me out. I couldn’t try to follow her afterwards either.”

Heart, a Hispanic man with scarred hands, crossed off his little bird drawing from their group of symbols, leaving an amateur dragon, an ice cube, and an elf ear.

“So you can’t control the most dangerous of them to cause a disaster is what you’re saying,” Club, a black woman with glasses and most of her skin covered, concluded, “Our client won’t be happy.”

“Our client will accept the constraints of possibility whether he likes it or not. Can someone get me some—” A glass of water gently landed in front of her. Spade, a man who looked much like Diamond except with short black hair instead of long red, gave a nod from the sink.

“Thanks, brother,” Diamond said.

“Still sounds culty,” Spade said.

Diamond rolled her eyes.

“If there’s one pleasant thing about this, it means we can go back to plan A. People can ignore a whole highway of danger signs if they’re on a pretty face.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

Most of the crew flinched, but Diamond just spun around to make eye-contact with their client.

“A distraction,” she told him.

“Seriously?” Skylar asked, “Candy?”

“I saw it,” Singe confirmed.

“That’s just degrading.”

“It’s spicy candy.”

Skylar rolled her eyes as she watched Singe take another sip of the concoction.

“I still haven’t gotten your review,” he said.

Skylar presented her cup.

“Plain black tea, with lavender syrup.”

“Sounds great.”

“It’s a delight.” Skylar’s tone was so aggressive it made her laugh, joining Singe.

“You could try it,” he held the cup in front of her. She exchanged cups with him and took a sip.

“How dare they?” It actually tasted good. Skylar actually liked the candy-flavored chai.

“Right?” Singe asked.

“How’s yours?”

“Not as sweet, but pleasant.”

They toasted their cups together, silently agreeing to the trade.

They took a seat on the bench in the park. Skylar leaned on Singe’s shoulder.

“Not the best way to hide a relationship,” she admitted.

“If Evia wants to find out, she will,” Singe said, “If she is a spy, she’s a reluctant one.”

He just didn’t want to hide things.

Though maybe Skylar was being too cautious. The worst that could happen is Renue pushes the political gap between it and the rest of the seven kingdoms even further.

And if the gap got too wide, it could lead to another war.

Skylar pulled away from Singe.

“Would you—would we—could we…”

“Maybe,” Singe said. Skylar chuckled a little.

“Do you think we could still be something, if circumstances were different?” she asked.

“Depends on the circumstances.”

“Like if you managed to join the Black Dragon Corps, or if I hadn’t abdicated, or if I’d never come here. What about the lives where we never met?”

“I think if we never met, we wouldn’t really have a chance to have anything be between us.”

Skylar glared.

“Yeah,” Singe admitted, “I think about it, but if there’s anything I’ve learned from my whole life, and the people I’ve cared about, it’s that fretting over what could be doesn’t help. You can only change the reality that’s to come, not what has been.”

“Whatever’s coming has just as much time to prepare as we do,” Skylar said, quoting her godmother.

“Exactly,” Singe said, “And I will do everything I can for a reality beside you.”

She kissed him, ignoring the fear someone might see them. Whatever dreams she had, this was her reality.

“Do you feel that?” Singe asked, pulling away.

“Feel what?”

But Skylar didn’t need an answer. They’d handled several portals over the past few months, and they had a feeling, one they didn’t have to explain to each other.

And this one was harder to ignore than any before, not to mention it came with a chill.

Singe flew past her, taking on a more armored and draconic appearance as he moved between some bystanders and a shot of ice.

Skylar focused her attention on her clothes.

“C’mon, work.”

Her clothes burned away, revealing the thicker clothes of Phoenix, specifically what her grandmother always made her wear in the Forge, though the apron was absent.

They smelled like burnt metal.

“Don’t let me freeze to death.”

She flew up as her flaming wings carried her. The thing was giant, with a malformed face made of foggy ice.

“What in Dusk Violet’s name are you?”

The thing just screamed at her, snuffing out her wings.

“No, no, no…” her disagreements were ignored as she plummeted

“Singe!” she yelled.

Her heartbeat stabilized as Singe held her, continuing the descent until they gently landed.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice almost closer to a growl like this.

“It has a face!” she said, “And now I can’t fly.”

Singe didn’t leave her.

“See for yourself!”

He nodded, flying up, slower than Skylar had. She rubbed her arms, trying to get enough warmth in them to summon her wings again.

“A phoenix can fly,” she muttered, “Except when there’s ice giants, which you’d think I knew were a thing, but alas!”

She watched as one of the feet lifted, moving to keep an eye on where it would land. Frost manifested on the railing of a café’s outside seating.

Skylar didn’t even realize her motions as she landed in the middle of the seating and yelled, “Run!”

She pushed out a plume of flames, spreading it over the building and the seating as she saw the foot come down—onto the street beside her, part of it melted away.

The flames dissipated and Skylar collapsed as the cold came on.

“Damn return,” she muttered. Every spark summoned would make her colder. She couldn’t just run on instinct.

“Did you melt a chunk off of it?” Lotus asked, clearly unhappy.

“Accidentally!” Skylar yelled back. Lotus was already starting on the transportation runes.

“If it falls over—”

“I wasn’t going to let it stomp a building out!”

“Just come over here and keep it from stomping on me!”

Skylar ran, watching for when she needed to start the shield.

“Evia, keep it from falling on anything else!” Skylar yelled, sure Evia was already working at the task.

“Is she doing it?” she asked after a few minutes with nothing.

“How am I supposed to know?” Lotus asked, “She was behind me.”

Two giant walls of ice covered the buildings on either side of them.

“I see she’s in her element,” Skylar muttered with envy. She watched the air for Singe, but the ice vapors limited her vision.

Its other foot lifted. Skylar started her shield, glad for the warmth she was creating, not that it would match the cold she’d suffer once she was done.

“Why were you waiting?” Lotus asked.

“Not exactly the best environment for fire!”

“Aren’t Phoenixes supposed to have infinite power, or something?”

“Focus on the runes!”

“I can do both!”

All she needed to do was lean the shield down slightly to burn her cousin to a crisp, but she left them to do their work instead.

“Wait a minute!” she stared at the runes, “Why is the circle so small?”

“I’m experimenting!”

“Now?”

“If it works right, this should latch onto our friend, even if we’re right underneath.”

“We’re risking a town on should!?”

“Yes!” Lotus finished their last stroke. “Fly us out!”

“I don’t have my wings!”

“What do you mean you don’t—” the second foot made landfall just next to them.

“Now or never.” Lotus grabbed her hand and started running.

“Close it!” they yelled to Evia.

Just in front of their noses, a giant wall of ice sprouted up.

“Well at least we got some distance,” Lotus comforted.

“What happens if we get caught up too?” Skylar asked.

“Then we’ll probably be dependent on Evia’s family,” Lotus said, extending a hand toward the tiny circle, Skylar saw it glowing with the familiar green energy, with results of nothing.

“It should have worked!” Lotus yelled, “It did work, but there was nothing from another world within range.”

“I felt a portal,” Skylar said, “There was absolutely a portal.”

“Good luck telling it that!”

The ice giant started falling to the side.

“No!”