Elemental (6 page)

Jonathan looked a little uncomfortable. “Well, yeah,
but I couldn’t very well come out and say that or you would have thought I was
crazy.”

He had a point there, but still, this was too much
and Mandy’s head was feeling a bit fuzzy again. Werewolves, Fey, Elementals,
next he’d probably say that… “Are vampires real too?”

“Sure,” Nicolas shrugged, “but they don’t come
around here, so don’t worry about them.”

And that effectively pushed her reality over…along
with the room.

*
* * *

“Damn
it, Nicolas!” Jonathan bellowed. “She’s not used to all of this!”

“You
said she studied mythology.”

“Yes,
but studying it and discovering these things actually exist in your reality are
two totally different things,” Jonathan raked his fingers through his hair and
scowled at his brother.

“Don’t
look at me like that! If the Wolf decides to make another attempt on her then
it’ll be good for her to know what it is.” Nicolas glanced down at the
unconscious beauty in his arms and conceded. “I’ll admit to the crash course
being a little too much to dump at one time, but think of all the time it could
save.”

“What
the hell are you talking about?”

“She
knows everything now. She’s seen me use my fire and didn’t even flinch, so I’ll
take that as a positive sign.” Nicolas rose and carried Mandy over to the bed.

“I’ll
turn on the intercom and we can go into the study while she rests. I imagine
she’ll need some time to digest everything,” Jonathan replied.

“No
doubt,” Nicolas grumbled as he gently placed Mandy on the plush bedding. He
drew a light blanket over her, admiring her fiery hair which framed such a
lovely and peaceful face.
 
Nicolas could
have watched the firelight dance over her unruly curls glinting with shades of
gold and deep amber for hours. He was loath to leave her for any reason, but
the fact that his brother was waiting—rather impatiently—to speak to him, meant
it was inevitable.

“You
turned the speaker on?” Nicolas whispered.

“Yes,
we’ll know as soon as she wakes up,” Jonathan assured him. “I also left the
speaker on in Anna’s room.”

The
brothers made their way down the ornate staircase to the study below, both
silent in their thoughts.

Nicolas
was the first to speak once they entered the study. “So, you think Anna will be
forgiving of our role in her brother’s death?” There was no need to ask if she
was his destined mate, the answer—and the worry—was written all over Jonathan’s
face.

“I’m
not sure,” the somber tone gave way to a frown. Jonathan was definitely in a
difficult spot, and Nicolas prayed things worked out for the better. “I wonder
if her father would even allow her to remain here. It’s not like we’re overly
popular with the Fey,” he pointed out.

“No,
but you did save his daughter, so you have that in your favor.” The soft voice
startled both men into action as they shot to their feet. “I’m sorry to
interrupt.”

“No,
don’t worry, you’re not interrupting anything,” Jonathan rushed to assure the
clearly unsure female. “How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

A
shy smile graced her full, pink lips and she quickly glanced away before
answering, “I feel a little better now that I’ve rested.”

Jonathan
frowned, “You didn’t rest for very long.”

“I
realize that, but I do feel much better already. I am not sure how that could
be, though.” Anna appeared to be thinking over it all. “I should have been down
for at least half of the day after the extensive healing I performed. Usually
only the presence of one’s
Bound
mate could hasten the
recovery.” Anna glanced around the room, studied Nicolas for a moment, and then
settled her enchanting gaze on Jonathan.

The
brothers watched as realization dawned in her expressive lavender eyes. A
strangled, “Oh, no,” whispered through her trembling lips before she fled the
room.

Jonathan
was rooted to the spot, while his tormented eyes followed her retreat through
the door. Nicolas, however, crossed to the door, and quickly explained, “She’s
not leaving, just retreating, I think.”

“She
hates me,” the defeat in his voice was clear, even to his own ears “I found her
Nicolas, just too late.”

“You
don’t know that,” Nicolas was clearly concerned as well. “Give her some time to
digest all of this.”

Jonathan
cut his dark eyes to glare at his brother and gave a humorless laugh, “Gee,
doesn’t that advice sound familiar?”

“Well,
then I guess we’re both in the same boat. What do you say we go and get the
luggage out of the car? With any luck that cagey bastard may still be lurking
about.”

Nicolas
was no doubt counting on Jonathan needing to release some energy, so the
thought of a potential fight should be right up his alley…and he was right. “I
hope that mangy mutt is still around. I’d love nothing more than to gut the
bastard for attacking our women,” he snarled as he stomped through the door.

“Now,
that’s more like it.”

*
* * *

Mandy
awoke to the sound of soft sobs. She glanced around and saw the woman who had
healed her, sitting on the sofa before the fire. She wept as if her heart was
breaking and Mandy rose to try and comfort her.

“Are
you alright?” Mandy asked softly while she approached.

Startled,
the girl swiped at her eyes and rose to face Mandy. “I will survive. How are
you?”

“Fine,
thanks to your healing, I’m Mandy, by the way.”

“I
am Anna. It is nice to meet you.” She extended her hand, but was pulled into a
tight hug instead. “Um…”

“Sorry,
but you saved my life, so a handshake just wasn’t cutting it in my book. Now,
tell me, why were you crying?” Mandy watched the beautiful woman struggle with
her thoughts for a second, before she obviously decided to share.

“I
have discovered Jonathan is my destined mate, but the past complicates things
to such a degree, that I cannot see a future for us.” Her eyes filled with
tears again and Mandy ushered her back to the sofa. “My brother was an evil
man. He was the youngest and felt he was owed certain things in life my father
knew he was not ready for yet. He wanted his own realm, a castle instead of the
fairy mounds, and followers. He was selfish and uncaring of who he hurt to gain
what he sought, and when he was sent here to represent our family, he committed
a heinous crime.”

Mandy
wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear this, but gave a murmured “Go on,” anyway.

“Bear
in mind that our kind live for a very long time. We are referred to as
immortals, but we can be killed. Anyway, eight hundred years ago, when my brother
came to Mondragon Castle, he decided this would be a perfect place for him to
begin his own rule. He had his guards assist the Elementals in setting out the
food and wine, only they were instructed to add a poison to the fare.” At
Mandy’s gasp, Anna gave a small nod. “Yes, he killed all who were here. The
brothers, Jonathan and Nicolas, escaped that fate only by luck. They had been
sent to the village to gather more things for the party, and returned to the
slaughter.”

“Dear
God! What did they do?”

“They
were furious, and rightly so. They killed every one of the Fey who had not
already fled the grounds. My coward of a brother called to my father to save
his wretched hide once they set their sights on him, but my father saw what had
been done and disowned him then and there. He gave the brothers permission to
punish him as they saw fit…and they killed him.”

“Oh,
Anna…”

“No!
Don’t you see? He will never want to be with me now. My brother, even in death,
has stolen the most precious gift I could have ever received.”

“I’m
sure Jonathan would never hold your brother’s actions against you,” Mandy
stated. She was sure that Jonathan would never be so unfair. “Would you hold it
against him for killing your brother?”

“Of
course not!
He was right to end him. His evil would
have only festered and grown if he had continued to live.”

“Then
why would you think that he would hold anything against you?”

“I
share the same blood as the one who destroyed his family,” Anna replied softly.

“But
you aren’t like him,” Mandy persisted. “He was selfish and evil, by your own
definition, and yet you saved my life without even knowing me. Now tell me,
would he have done the same?”

“He
likely would have left you and fled to save his own hide,” she mumbled.

“Then
in my book, there’s no question as to whether or not his life and how he lived
it has tainted you in any way. You’re nothing like him, Anna, so don’t let that
stop you from going after Jonathan. He’s a real catch. We’ve been friends for a
while now and I can assure you that he would never hold anything against you
because of your brother.”

“Thank
you, Mandy,” Anna gave a tearful smile before asking. “So what about you and
Nicolas, would you have a problem being with an Elemental?”

Mandy
squirmed a little in her seat, unsure of herself now that the conversation had
shifted to her as the topic. “I’m not sure. I’ve only just met the man, but if
he’s anything like his brother, then I might have a hard time not falling for
him.” Anna’s brows puckered and Mandy just laughed. “Don’t worry I’m not in
love with Jonathan. I’ll admit to a physical attraction, but the actual
emotions were never there for me. His brother, Nicolas, does seem to like to
have control. I can remember hearing him barking orders when I was injured, but
everything from then on is kind of fuzzy. Earlier, when he came to check on me,
I thought he was Jonathan and ended up blubbering all over him because I was
scared he would hate me after seeing what I can do.”

“Why
on earth would he hate you because of your gift?”

“Well,
at the time I had no idea the guys had gifts of their own. I thought I was a
freak of nature growing up, so I kept my abilities hidden. Hell, I’ve never
even had a real relationship with a guy because my ability seems stronger when
my emotions are running high. I’m almost afraid to think about what would
happen if I were to have an orgasm,” Mandy admitted with a blush.

“I’m
sure it’s nothing the two of you couldn’t handle,” Anna proclaimed. “You should
give things with Nicolas a chance. They’re the last of their kind. It would be
a shame if their race died with them.”

“So,
if they were to have children, then they would have the Elemental powers too?”
Could Mandy handle having kids who could potentially hurl fireballs at each
other if they got into an argument?

“They
would likely inherit your abilities as well, which would make them very
formidable indeed.”

Well
now, that didn’t make the images of sibling rivalry in her head lessen in any
way. It actually scared her senseless.

Conversation
began to filter into the room and both women looked around to see where the
voices were coming from. A tiny box on the wall seemed to be the source and
they made their way over to investigate.

It
was the brothers.

Chapter Five

“Well,
that’s all of the bags. It’s just too bad the damn werewolf wasn’t out there.
I’d like to tear a chunk out of that bastard’s hide,” Jonathan growled. “I
can’t believe he had the balls to come all the way up to the castle.”

They
had been outside? Looking for the werewolf? Mandy feared she might faint again.
Were they insane?

“He
may have thought you were still away,” Nicolas explained. “I’ve had no problems
while you were away but that doesn’t mean your absence has gone unnoticed. Even
the villagers have learned to tell us apart, and they have not seen you in many
months.”

So
their presence was enough to deter the other
Supernaturals
from coming around?
Interesting, Mandy thought.
 
They must be very powerful to accomplish such
a status.

“They
saw me today. I took Mandy into the market before we came in.”

“Did
you?”

“She
needed a heavier jacket and some snow boots. The girl works herself to death to
pay her tuition and barely takes care of herself.” Jonathan had made the same
complaints to
Mandy
 
herself
, but it didn’t change anything. She was stubborn almost
to a fault—something he reminded her of often—and insisted on finishing school
and making a better life for herself.

“I’ll
take care of her. She’ll have anything and everything she could desire. Damn,
Jonathan, I’ve waited centuries to find her. There’s no way I can live without
her now,” he admitted, and Mandy felt her heart race. “As soon as you arrived,
I knew. I felt my soul lift. It was like something inside me had come alive,
awakened just by her proximity.”