Page 59 of Ulune's Daughter

I press my lips to the top of her head, feeling the layers of cloth warm between us. “That explains it, huh? You’re not really attracted to me. You’re into my Element.”

She squeezes my thigh. “Yeah, that’s definitely why I’m into you.”

“After we finish your business with the scary jackalweres, can I take you out to dinner?”

She tips her head back and tugs her scarf down. I give her the kiss she’s seeking. “I’d like that,” she says.

“Italian okay?”

“Uh-huh. Pasta in Rome or deep dish in Chicago?”

My mind stutters. I was thinking the little trattoria on Route 1 with its checkered tablecloths and jute-wrapped bottles of Chianti that I’m pretty sure they refill with wine that comes from the supermarket in a box.

“You’re blushing,” Kellan says quietly. “What stupid thing have I just said?”

I chuckle and kiss her temple. “Nothing. Just realizing my world is smaller than yours.”

“Sorry, there wasn’t a lot of choice on the mainland near Isla Cedros. So, when I got off the island, I tended to go far afield for good food.”

“I can Water Walk to places I’ve been before. There’s no reason for me to stay around Bevington except force of habit and stupidity.” A yellowish cloud of dust rises from the cluster of buildings at the base of the hill. I squint at it but can’t see anything through the cloud. “Water Walking’s a serious effort for me. Walking the Fae Ways didn’t seem to be any effort for you.”

“Not a lot, no,” she says. She nods at the cloud. “That’s our ride, by the way. Three SUVs. Feels like ... mmm, six of them. All jackalweres.”

“You can feel all that from this distance?”

“Uh-huh. The car windows are open. Air here is dusty. Dust carries even more information than clear Air.”

That’s impressive.

“I can’t pick up all of that through my Element even if someone’s submerged.”

Kellan runs her hand up and down my thigh, her curved, deep blue fingernails scraping my camos. “That’s my thing. Vibrations. Resonances.”

What does she feel from me?

While I’m wondering, she continues, “I’m not a great flyer. My Air lances can’t knock down buildings. But give me a breeze and I can tell you everything and everyone it’s touched in the past day. Sometimes it takes me a few minutes to parse through everything I’m sensing. That’s how Jakob Maher and his pack of assholes got the drop on me last time. They came at us in the middle of an open-air marketplace. There was a strong breeze blowing and a huge crowd. I was overwhelmed by all the feedback. The next thing I knew, I was bound with a crystal collar and cuffs. The same they use in Karkarus. I was cut off from my Element. After a couple of hours without magic, I was going out of my mind. I understand better why there’s such a high suicide rate in Karkarus. I feel for the jackals’ village, but I won’t ever forget that Jakob and his crew knew exactly how to take me down.”

I won’t forget, either.

“Is that why you brought me along?”

Kellan shakes her head. “I brought you along because you were interested in my work. Because you don’t have any history with these guys so you’ll approach this with a clear head where mine is clouded. And because as a Water-mage, you’ll have a better sense than I do of what’s going on with the cup. If Maher’s wrong and whatever they put in the cup is going to kill them all outright, maybe we can stop them before it does.”

I squeeze her shoulder. “Okay. I’ve studied antidotes but that’s not really what we’re dealing with here, are we?”

“Maher says it’s a curse. Without studying it myself, I’m only going off his conclusion, right or wrong. I honestly hope he’s wrong. Counter-curses are desperately tricky. Unless they’re cast by the same person, there’s less than a ten percent chance of success.”

I feel my eyebrows shoot up. “That’s not a statistic I’ve heard before.”

“It’s not something you teach in Counter-Curses 101. Giving students hope is as important as giving them knowledge. If this doesn’t work, I’ll consider bringing my team-mate, Cami, in. Maher’s convinced she cast the curse. If the cup of Sulis Minerva doesn’t break the curse, maybe Cami can.”

“You didn’t want to bring her in first?”

The dust cloud crests the hill and beneath it, three dusty, black SUVs bump up the road.

“It’s not my story to tell,” Kellan says, rolling to her feet. “But Cami suffers from PTSD. Being kidnapped and held the way we were triggered her big time. She’s recovering, but I don’t want to bring her back into this if I don’t have to.”

I rise and stroke her shoulder. “You’re a good friend.”

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