Chapter 21

This time when I looked at my phone there was a notification of a text, that was telling me to come to the studio tomorrow morning because there were some demos ready for me to hear. I got excited and sat up in bed, Zai took that as his cue to pin me down and resume our activities from earlier. I only got 4 hours of sleep before I had to rush into the studio. Richard had composed a song and a girl named Lisa had created some lyrics, she sang the song first, then I made suggestions on some changes. Zai was with us in the room, taking a nap on the sofa. He doesn't even need sleep as much as me! I tried not to pout while organizing ideas with the other 2 in the room. Time seemed to fly by and it was evening by the time we made a final decision.

"I'll let Mark know we'll be ready to record by tomorrow," Richard informed me, I gave him a thumbs up and a smile.

"Sounds good." But deep inside I wanted to sleep all day tomorrow instead. Zai woke up as soon as we said our goodbyes. It was like he wasn't really asleep at all, and walked with me to the car. "Why did you come if you were so tired? You could've stayed home." My comment made him frown and he nuzzled my hair roughly "Hey stop!" I pleaded then he touched my cheek, causing me to turn and look at him.

"I don't trust them... It doesn't feel safe to leave you alone." He explained,

"Richard doesn't seem like the type to try anything." I stated dismissively, "I'll be alright, there's no need to worry about me."

"Yes, there is. They are humans...  dealing with them can be complicated and they can be more twisted than you imagine." He argued then he removed his hand from my cheek and walked ahead. We were in the car quietly for a while. It felt tense so I decided to start with something casual,

"You know before you returned home, RJ bought me a bunch of clothes, he even got shoes. I never figured out how he knew my size, it was weird." Then I had an epiphany "Maybe he's one of those people who can take measurements with their eyes."

"You watch too much TV." He retorted and I pouted, "What would he need a useless skill like that for? He's not a dressmaker."

"Then how? Explain Mr. Smartass." Zai smirked.

"Maybe he looked at the tag on your clothes while you were sleeping, he could have even checked your shoes at the same time." ... That answer sounds more reasonable, "But Rai isn't the type to do that stuff." He added, blowing a hole in his own explanation. We pulled into the garage then he finished by saying, "He can read minds... of course that comes with limitations... He can't read mine but your little head would be easy to get into." I was overwhelmed with shock and froze in my seat... He's a mind reader?! I thought all sorts of obscene things with him in the room! I'm so embarrassed now, I'm surprised he can still talk to me with a straight face. "Why do you think he never confessed to you?" Zai asked as he turned off the car.

"I thought... he just lost interest," I admitted and Zai laughed.

"Why would he and... Why do you think I'm so crazy about you?" My heart raced and I didn't know how to answer. "And when you're with Rai... what is the most prevalent thing on your mind?" He didn't wait for my reply, and just left the car while yelling back, "If you're so comfortable alone, I won't escort you tomorrow." He relented so easily. I was the one who made the suggestion that he stay home... so something was wrong with me since I wanted to beg him to come anyway.

I was slamming my head on the dashboard and reminding myself of how stupid I was when Cera knocked on the passenger window. I rolled the window down and he sighed with relief.

"Finally we can talk." I glared at him but he put his hands up to show he meant no harm, "You can stay in the car, I don't want to fight. I learned my lesson, I won't put a hand on you."

"Then what do you want?" I asked and he said,

"Honestly... I've never seen Zai so... how should I put it?... so... I think it'll make everyone more comfortable if you go away for a while." I scoffed and looked away,

"No," I answered shortly,

"I mean you should be embarrassed, we can hear you, you know. Screaming and moaning like a whore." My eyes widened and I saw his eyes were glowing, I couldn't tell what he was feeling. "Me and Zai have never been close, but it's even harder to change that with you here. SO LEAVE." He's not scared of me at all. I opened my mouth to refuse him again but a bubble of water surrounded my head and my voice was lost. "Such a shame... I wanted you to go willingly." Cera stated with his finger pointed at me, but keeping his distance. I decided to hold my breath and get out of the car, that's when the water turned into ice and the weight threw me off balance. The ice chipped but didn't break... Ice... if I concentrate I should be able to get free. I touched the spear on my head and it turned into snow then fell from my face. "Oh... water is your element too."

"You!" My lips froze together and Cera shushed me.

"You have to understand, my brothers run through women like they're nothing. I'm sure Zai is the same. For now, you serve some purpose but once that ends. He will leave you. The smart thing would be to leave him first. I haven't gotten to spend any time with him because you're here." That's when I realized what he was feeling, it was hate. He hates me... but why? Cera looked around the garage to make sure we were alone then he scanned me over and caught sight of my hand, his eyes locked on the marks beneath my wedding band. "What's that?"

"Proof," I said while parting my lips and melting the ice that had made them immobile. Stunted by my own element. I really am hopeless sometimes. "It's proof that you're the one who can be discarded." I lifted my hand and lightning shot out towards him but he turned into water and dodged. I shot all around the room, hitting two of the cars and causing the alarms to go off. I need to be faster,

"Oh shit." He murmured, realizing he could no longer avoid attracting attention. In an instant my body felt as light as air, time seemed to stand still and I was across the room with my hand deep inside the mass of water that Cera had become. Lightning shot through his body easily, causing him to change from solid to liquid over and over, and scream for mercy. I thought he couldn't feel pain. Zai was the first to arrive in the garage and he caught me once again standing over Cera's charred body. "Zai... I'm sorry... please." tears were streaming down his face but Zai's face was cold as he stared down at the man before him. Cera... is in love with Zai...

"Oh," Zai replied, his hair changed to Silver to match his eyes and I saw clearly the intent to kill.

"Wait!" I shouted. I don't know why pity for this whimpering mess took over me, "I handled it, he won't try it again." Zai put his foot on Cera's head and electricity coursed through him. His screams were much louder than the ones I caused and the whole room was flooded with light. "The prophecy!" I added loudly, "All 7 must be alive on either side, to turn the tide of war. I read it... because of you... You can't kill him. He is your brother." I insisted. Zai sighed and removed his foot as the others looked on in horror.

"Tell him to leave when he wakes up." Zai then grabbed my hand and dragged me away. Rai squatted down beside Cera, who was now burned and lying in a pool of blood, and said,

"Looks like you screwed up."

As we moved through the house thoughts were running through my mind. Yeah none of them are related by blood but I never thought his brothers would look at him that way. It makes me wonder just what kind of childhood they had locked up in the castle together. Cera wasn't even banished but he followed RJ and Zai here... Zai thought he was just following Raijian but maybe he was wrong. Zai pulled me into his room and then embraced me tightly once we were inside, for once it didn't lead to sex. But all night he refused to let me go. It was hard to tell exactly what he was feeling but, I know for sure that, one of those feelings was dread.