elemental 03 - whitecap Read Online Free PDF Page B

capabilities.”
    Aira asked for a break when the brothers arrived, needing to be alone with her thoughts more than she needed a rest specifically. She went to the other end of the property, finding one of the ponds her grandmother’s hands had carefully arranged and planted. She sat down on the bench alongside the pool, listening to the quiet rippling of the water as tears began to well in her eyes. She had known her grandmother wasn’t going to live forever—there was no immortality among elementals—but knowing her grandmother was going to die soon, that she felt it was so imminent she wanted to make sure Aira was adequately trained before she passed, was far too real. Aira shivered, curling in on herself as she stared at the water blankly. 
    She bit her bottom lip to stifle the sob that threatened to rise in her throat. Her grandmother should be alive for several more years—elementals live longer than humans, most of them retreating as they approached one hundred, moving “off the grid” so as not to call attention to their status. Her grandmother was just over 80. It wasn’t right that she should be contemplating death so soon. Aira thought bitterly, there must be something wrong indeed—there must have been something that couldn’t be cured, some problem even the powerful older woman, even the elders, couldn’t heal. Aira shuddered, beginning to cry in earnest as she considered that, all too shortly, she would be bereft of her grandmother’s guidance, of her scolding and opinions and spirit. She would have to handle everything on her own. 
    It was difficult not to feel angry at her grandmother for what seemed like abandonment. She knew, rationally, if her grandmother could live longer, she would. While the elemental was somewhat cold-natured in some respects, and certainly quick to put people in their place, she loved deeply, and Aira knew her grandmother loved her particularly, in spite of the frustration she brought the older woman. Aira rubbed at her nose angrily as it began to run with the tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She knew the best thing—the only thing—she could do to make the situation better was to do exactly what her grandmother said, in spite of how irritating it may be to her. She would ease her passing by being obedient, by learning everything she could from her grandmother until the very last. At least, she thought, her grandmother didn’t just have her—she had another water-aligned elemental she could educate, that she could bequeath some of her skills to. Aira buried her face in her hands, knowing without having to be told that she couldn’t inform Aiden or Dylan about what was going to happen. She would have to bear the pain of knowing alone.

 
     

    C HAPTER 4
     
    DYLAN KNEW SOMETHING HAD CHANGED; when he and Aiden came back from the errand Lorene had sent them on, Aira made herself scarce—disappearing for an hour, only to come back looking thoroughly exhausted and red-eyed. When Dylan asked what was wrong, she answered levelly that she’d twisted her ankle exploring a less-frequented part of the property; but she hadn’t been limping when she walked into the house. Her grandmother offered to look at the injury, Aira said she’d rest a little while instead, that it wasn’t badly injured, it just hurt. Dylan watched her limp down the hall and wondered what was really going on.
    Dylan thought Lorene was different too as the older woman went outside to inspect the plants he and Aiden had went about the county to retrieve from different nurseries and friends. Lorene examined the plants in detail, bending over and leaning in close, her wrinkled hands carefully and delicately tracing over leaves and blooms as a contented smile formed on her face, It was the softest, most beautiful expression Dylan had ever seen on the elderly woman. He smiled to himself just seeing her delight—the clear and present love she felt towards the plants. 
    She sighed and straightened.