elemental 08 - elements of war Read Online Free PDF

thought of Aira.
    “They gave her an impossible deadline to find a mate, and we were partially bonded, so …” Aiden shrugged.
    “How did you two end up partially bonded?” Leigh asked. 
    Dylan shook his head. “You don’t want to ask that question. He’ll give you details.” Leigh chuckled lowly.
    Interrupted by the sound of the opening door creaking on its hinges, Dylan, Leigh, and Aiden stood at attention, presenting a united front to the emerging elemental rulers. Aira was still in high form, Dylan noticed; she seemed to never meet with her two counterparts without becoming riled, her skin glowing with the energy that flowed through her. 
    “It has been decided,” one of the elders said, following them out of the tight confines of the council room. “These attacks are to be treated as an act of war on the air elementals in general and the Regina Sylphaea in particular.” Dylan exhaled with relief; so the elders had done something useful for once.
    “Surely not all of the people involved deserve the maximum sentence,” Maralah said. Dylan saw the older earth elemental glance at Leigh and frown in distaste for a moment. “Some are just misguided.” 
    Aira crossed her arms over her chest and Dylan suppressed the smile that threatened to destroy his composure at the sight of her defiant attitude.
    “They are killing innocent people, Maralah. You might be able to shield a few unstable talents, but repeated murders are another thing entirely. My people are coming to me interested in returning fire on your people; if you don’t want our presence to be revealed to regular humans, you’re going to have to agree to the need to nip this in the bud.”
    “Oriel should be kept out of consideration,” Connor said firmly. “She wasn’t involved in either of these attacks.”
    “She’s part of the group. We just happened to catch her early. Frankly, I don’t care if she’s your granddaughter, she’s overdue for justice,” Aira replied.
    “All of the participants will be tried fairly, Connor, but you can’t deny that Oriel was part of the group. Any more than Aira can deny that some of her own people have been involved, even if for petty reasons. Everything air elementals do is for petty reasons,” Maralah said in a grumble. 
    Dylan wondered how Maralah had ever attained her seat of power; he knew that she was one of the most powerful earth-aligned elementals in the world, but she was short on reasoning skills. Maybe she’d gotten in on brute strength? Or double-dealing?
    “It seems petty to kill a bunch of innocent people just because you don’t like their ruler,” Aira countered. “Or to put our entire community at risk because you think you should be in charge of the world.”
    “They should be dealt with fairly. The Regina Sylphaea should not be involved,” Connor said.
    Dylan could see that Maralah had already lost her position amongst the elders; while they didn’t entirely trust Aira, they knew that she had a proven track record of bringing in even powerful, volatile elementals—with help from Aiden and Dylan—with a minimum of fuss, and a maximum of efficiency. With Leigh on their team, Dylan thought, their efficiency would only increase. They would have the combined power of all four elements—that had to be a major help.
    “The Regina Sylphaea is already involved. We will not change our minds on that score, Maralah. Focus your efforts where they belong: on making sure that the people in your own family aren’t being seduced by this group.” Connor’s eyes met Maralah’s as he spoke.
    Maralah stalked off, head low in an ox-like posture as she left the building. Connor lingered a moment longer and Dylan could tell that the older fire elemental wished he could do something more substantive than simply shouting Aira down—that the old man wished his powers were not so easy for Aira to avoid. The elder that had escorted the three rulers out of the room turned back in, apparently