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And in that moment, the entire room was focused on the two men, an eagerness filling their hungry gazes, but it was Rukia who spoke. “Nothing like a good duel.”
Anticipation thrummed under Blair’s skin as the majority of the delegation turned to follow the two men outside, Rukia leading the way. Ahead of them, Kaien and Gideon spoke animatedly about the earth they were both inclined to affect and the merits of their abilities.
Without any input from the group at large, the two males dove into their art, clearly bonding over a shared enthusiasm. There, amid the dried landscape of an Iowa summer, a stunning garden of wildflowers and plant life began to bloom.
As the duo partnered to blossom their idyllic field, Toni and Lucy—two of the youngest Elementals and mates to Drake and Aidan respectively—joined them, out of breath.
“We almost missed it!” One of them shouted, clearly perturbed at the exclusion but enraptured by the beauty unfolding before them.
Blair could relate. She’d never seen Kaien’s gift in person, though he’d mentioned in in passing at some point during the eight centuries they’d known each other.
To see it was to be in awe of it.
The spectacle held everyone’s rapt attention, but the conversation between Kaien and Gideon was just as colorful. Kaien alluded that his ability was more suited toward growth and embellishment of the earth’s natural beauty, while Gideon’s was far more broad reaching. The Elemental was able to—quite literally—move mountains and rearrange the earth’s crust, dive into the soil on a mental or physical level and commune with the earth’s essence.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t something that Kaien could do, and beside her, Gideon’s vampire mate Rona was far too smug.
To be polite, Blair made conversation. “Sounds like your Elemental might have won this little game.”
Rona gave a half-hearted shrug, but her face bled with pride. “Kaien’s abilities are impressive.”
“As are Gideon’s,” Blair conceded sharply, but offered the other vampire a scant laugh afterward. “Of course, Kaien has more than just one talent.”
“One talent?”
Blair bit back her laughter to respond. “Well, Kaien can also heal people, move objects with his mind, manifest a sword when needed. You know, handy things.”
Gideon’s wife narrowed her eyes at Blair in a surreptitious challenge. “Gideon once saved a Colorado town from a landslide while he was in Iowa. Quite handy if you ask me.”
Chuckles from their captive audience sounded around them, the attention of the group now solely focused on the dynamic between her and Rona, and the escalating verbal duel concerning their men.
“Really? Kaien can drain the energy from a person in three seconds flat.”
“Very impressive. When Gideon ‘died,’” Rona’s fingers created mock quotations, “the entire earth mourned with him … and then he rose from the dead.”
Rona’s sickly-sweet smile plastered over her lips, the other vampire clearly thinking she’d won the battle of wits between their mates. Undaunted, Blair canted her head and offered her a slight nod of her head.
“Touché, fledgling.” But Blair coveted having the last word, and she leaned into the where Rona stood next to her to whisper conspiratorially. “But can he teleport?”
A genuine hoot of laughter exploded from Rona’s mouth before she replied in humor. “Nope. That’s one thing Gideon can’t do.”
Both satisfied with the results of their verbal dual, Rona and Blair turned their attention back to the men before them, enjoying the show. As they wound down, Nina’s voice sounded from their assembled group.
“We are not so different after all, Raeths and Elementals.”
Nina’s palm ignited with contained electricity, the white sparks of the plasma jumping over her fingers and radiating up her arm. Then, much to Blair’s surprise, Toni stepped forward, her eyes alight with mischief.
In one fell swoop, Nina locked eyes with Toni and her electricity charged toward the young Elemental, earning a startled gasp from the crowd. Even Drake jumped toward Toni to intercept it.
But Toni only laughed, the electricity coming to a domestic halt in her palm. In the other, Toni ignited her Elemental fire, tossing the burning orb to Nina in an uncharacteristic display as Kaien and Gideon came to stand beside their mates.
“How did you do that?”
It seemed that Drake’s question was at the forefront of all their minds. Nina’s smirk heralded her quippy answer. “Toni and I have been experimenting with fire and electricity since you found her, Drake. While I can’t inherently spawn fire, and she can’t deliberately create electricity, together, we can wield both.”
Kaien’s shock tingled through the mating bond, mirroring Blair’s own.
“Perhaps you should train Toni from now on,” came Gideon’s suggestion, earning him a blush from Toni where she stood with Drake.
