Elemental Read Online Free PDF

throbbing—but it wouldn’t be ignored. The pain
seeped into my head and I screamed, ready for it to explode. My
eyes bulged, pushed from beneath by the sheer force of the agony.
Too exhausted to fight anymore, I gave in and let the pain have me,
praying for death.
    The moment I let go of my control, the pain
vanished, replaced by hunger—for what, I didn’t know yet. All I did
know was that every cell of my body ached to devour .
    My vision changed. Instead of black,
creeping shadows in the night, the Shakai turned into bright,
pulsing orbs. I could see every molecule in their blood sprint
through their veins in a coordinated dance. The air, too, swarmed
with bright molecules that dotted the space around me like stars.
When I thought to bring my hand up to touch one of the red points
of light, the molecule flitted through the sky to my hand before I
could even move. I stared in wonder. The others danced in front of
me, ready and waiting.
    Aware once again of the Shakai pouring over
my body, eating my flesh as they went, I ordered the points of
light to bend to my will.
    Fire erupted in the air and surrounded me.
My skin tingled with the power and I moaned in ecstasy as the
hunger was fed. The Shakai shrieked and scurried away, dying and
burning in the growing flames. Their bodies popped and crisped,
sending up hazy smoke in the air.
    When I sensed all the nearest fuel for my
flames had been thoroughly consumed, I fought to pull the fire back
but the hunger was not yet satiated. And so the flames spread,
searching and devouring without restraint. The force poured through
my veins, sapping me of my wavering strength, and yet also filling
me with a sick need for more—part of me wanted the
destruction. But it was too much, and my legs gave out. I fell to
the ground, letting the blackness pour over me.
     
     
    I awoke some time later on a hard bed with a
thin sheet draped over my body. A dim light hovered above my head,
casting shadows around the room.
    I licked my parched lips, tasting copper,
and swallowed. I had no idea how I’d gotten to this room with its
whitewashed walls that were almost too clean. The charred remains
of my prison clothes sat on the floor at the side of my bed. My
eyes opened wide as I realized my clothes were on the floor .
Heat trickled beneath my cheeks when I thought about what Meir must
have seen.
    Meir.
    Panic fought through my still hazy mind,
clearing my thoughts. He’d been ripped away from me by the Shakai.
Where was he now? How did I get here? I tried to sit up, but my
head swam and nausea swelled up in my stomach before I’d cleared my
head off the pillow.
    I moaned and swallowed back the bile.
    Someone came in then, drawing more light
into the room through the open door. I clenched my stomach and
turned my head just slightly to see who it was.
    My lips pulled up at the sides—an automatic
response to seeing my savior alive. I made a quick assessment—he
was mostly covered by his robes, but his face was cut up and his
hair disheveled. Other than that, if he was in worse shape, I had
no way of knowing.
    Meir smiled back at me, the most beautiful
smile I’d ever seen—gleaming white teeth set against ebony. My
heart fluttered. And I knew right then that, yes, not only could
this man be like a father to me, I wanted it more than
anything.
    “I brought you some food.” He cradled my
head in his arms and pulled me up gently. “I’ve been so worried,
waiting outside your door for hours, just listening for any signs
of waking. I wondered if you would make it.” His anxious eyes
traveled down and up the length of my body until finally resting on
my face.
    I followed his gaze with my hand and gasped.
Nearly every inch of me had been covered in bandages—some of them
wet with blood.
    “We’ll have to get those changed soon, but
first, I want you to eat something.” He rested a bowl of soup in my
waiting hands and began feeding me himself.
    It was a simple broth—no sign of solids