The Elementalist Read Online Free PDF Page A

girls mind if I talk to your brother alone?”
    They frowned, and I hated to make them leave, but I really needed to talk to Brecken privately. They were polite enough to say yes and leave the room. Brecken watched me, probably thinking I belonged in a straightjacket. I chuckled again, wiping the last stains of blood from my nose since it had finally stopped bleeding. I could still feel my pulse beating there. My pulse! I had a true pulse.
    I looked at him squarely and smiled. I knew Claire’s body looked marvelous even though her hair was messed up and windblown. There were bloodstains on her clothes, and her nose was probably red from the hard thwap against the door, but I could tell he found her attractive by the way his gaze lingered on her… body parts.
    I leaned forward, dying to reach out and touch him. “It’s me,” I whispered again. “Alisa.”
    He pulled back, his eyes narrowing, and then he frowned.
    “Really, Brecken. It’s me.”
    His hand came up as though he was going to reach out and touch me, but he pulled back instead, in a gesture of denial. “Wait.” He stood and paced before me, stopping for a moment to study my face, search my eyes, and then my expression. His eyebrows pulled down in confusion. I couldn’t help but adore the crease of his dimples as his lips thinned in concentration. Finally, he sat down beside me.
    “This voice may be different,” I said. “But listen to me with your heart. It’s really me. Raphael let me come back.” I was breathless, longing to touch him, aching for him to believe me.
    “My Alisa? My guardian?” His eyes opened, full of surprise and hope.
    My whole body warmed when he said, my Alisa , and a rush of tingles spread over my arms while chills pricked my neck. It was the most wonderful feeling I’d had in this body so far. “Yes,” I whispered.
    “I don’t believe you.” He turned away, shaking his head. “This is just like something that… never mind. I think you should leave.”
    “What?”
    “Please, go.”
    I stared at him in alarm. This was not how I’d envisioned our reunion. With my nose still throbbing, I grabbed for his hand, but he jerked away.
    “Don’t touch me.”
    “Brecken. You’re being stupid.”
    His eyes darkened at my words. Oops. I really should consider the harshness of my comments before they flew out of my mouth, but I continued. “You need proof? Fine. The last thing you said to me in Raphael’s office was that you would wait for me forever. You kissed me, and we could actually feel it. I’ll never forget that, Brecken. And after you left, Raphael informed me that you had to get married and have kids… with someone else .” I held back the tears that threatened, not wanting to look pathetic just when we’d reunited. “I wanted to die after hearing that. You can’t imagine…”
    He rushed to my side, his eyes wide and questioning, as though he still couldn’t quite believe it, but I could see his doubts had been removed. Mostly.
    “But… how?” Leaning forward, he grasped my hands and scooted closer. “Why are you in a body? In someone else’s body? This is someone else’s body, right?”
    “Yeah, and I’m not sure.”
    “Is this permanent?” His hands moved over my face, his thumbs traveling over my lips with tenderness.
    “I don’t think so.” I closed my eyes and focused on his every touch, placing my hands over his as he traced the lines around my mouth. I leaned into him, and a shaft of sunlight fell on his face, making him glow with an ethereal luminescence. He was so beautiful, more so in this moment then he had ever been. And he was mine. His past, his present, and God willing, his future.
    He pulled me to his chest, his hands sinking into my hair as he gasped in surprise. His heart raced against mine. “Alisa… I can’t believe it,” he murmured with a sigh. When he pulled back, it was only slightly, his gaze coming to rest on my mouth. “I can’t believe it,” he said again,