Envisioned (The Elemental Prophecy) (18 page)

“But you aren't going to tell us, are you?”

The Oracle smiled. “No, my dear. I cannot.”

Brielle shook her head. “Is there anything you can tell us that will help us? Please?”

“Always follow your heart, my child. Remember that in any obstacle you face. The power within you is unlike any other, and even if you are confronted with an enemy that seems unbeatable, nothing is a match for the One. Not even a God. I must go. I enjoyed meeting you, All That Is.” Then, she disappeared in a swirl of smoke and light.

“But, wait...” Brielle started, but then stopped. She looked at me confused. “How can I be more powerful than a God?”

“I don't know, mi amante, but I believe in you.” I kissed the top of her head before continuing, “Let's go back to sleep. We have almost five months to figure out what to do, so let's not worry about it now.”

“Does she always do that? Just up and disappear in the middle of a conversation?”

“Yes, but I have a feeling she will be back.” I threw myself back into bed, and Brielle followed suit. I enveloped her in my arms and released a sigh—she had to deal with so much in such a short period of time, and she was handling everything very well in my opinion.

“Jace, what if I let everyone down? What if I can't stop the end of the world? It will be all my fault.”

“No, it won't because we will stop it. I never lose,” I replied.

“I'm serious, Jace!”

“I am too, Brie. You heard the Oracle—nothing can stop you, not even a God. We will stop it. Together. I will not lose you,” I said fiercely.

Brielle didn't reply. She sighed before rolling over to face away from me. I pulled her into me, molding my body to fit hers as I wrapped my arms around her. I kissed her neck, and she snuggled closer against me. “Promise me,” she whispered.

“I promise, mi amante,” I answered. She didn't respond. Soon, I heard her breathing become heavy, and I was relieved sleep found her. I was worried that it would elude her with everything running through her mind. Soon after, sleep overcame me, as well.

I awoke to an empty bed, and the smell of bacon wafted up to the room. I went downstairs to find Brielle cooking breakfast. “Good morning, beautiful,” I said.

“Morning, babe,” she replied. “Hungry?”

I nodded. “Whatcha' making?”

“French toast and bacon. I have some fruit, too.”

“You okay? I know everything with the Oracle is a lot to take in,” I said.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” she replied.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, baby,” she chuckled. “I just have to accept all this. I can't sit around and mope about it. I am not going to lose you, and I can't prevent the nightmares by avoiding everything.”

“You're amazing. You are taking everything so well,” I said.

“Thank you,” she said with a quirky smile. “Time to eat,” she continued before giving me a quick kiss. She set down a plate of French toast, bacon, and fruit at the table, and I sat down to start eating. She came back to bring me a glass of orange juice, as well as a plate with fruit and one piece of French toast for herself.

After we finished breakfast, we went upstairs to get ready for another day of training. Brielle removed her shirt, revealing nothing but bare skin underneath. Her back was to me, but even her shoulder blades and back enticed me. I walked over to her, and trailed kisses from her ear down to her shoulder. She leaned her head back onto my chest, and I slowly moved my hands around to massage her breasts. She moaned lightly, tilting her head to join her mouth with mine. My tongue ventured inside, tangling with hers as she turned to face me. I cupped her ass as she ran her hand down inside my shorts to grasp my hardening erection. She stroked slowly, increasing my arousal as I broke our kiss to remove my shirt. I pressed our bodies together, reveling in the touch of her bare skin on mine, her soft breasts flush against my chest. I reclaimed her mouth, biting and sucking her lips as our passion intensified. I pulled down her shorts and panties as we continued to kiss, but then the doorbell rang, interrupting our foreplay. We broke away from each other, and I silently cursed whoever was at the door. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I mumbled as I put my shirt back on and started down the stairs, leaving Brielle flushed and naked. I turned around and rushed back to her, pulling her to me and kissing her fiercely. She wrapped her arms around my neck as she deepened the kiss, plunging her tongue in my mouth. I groaned lightly, returning the kiss with matching intensity. The doorbell rang again, and reminded me of our distraction. “Damn it,” I grunted as I made my way down the stairs and to the door. I looked out the peephole and saw Brielle's dad and some girl that looked to be around my age. I opened the door, and Brielle's dad greeted me with a forced smile. “Hey, Jace, can we come in?”

“Of course, Mr. De Luca, our home is your home,” I said as I stepped aside so they could walk in. Brielle was coming down the stairs as her dad and the girl sat down on the couch, and I couldn't help but notice the flush still on her cheeks and her slightly swollen lips.

“Hi, Daddy. Can I get you and your…friend something to drink?” Brielle asked.

“No, but thank you, sweetheart. Both of you sit down. I have something important to talk to you about,” Mr. De Luca announced.

Brielle looked at me uneasily as we sat down on the couch opposite where her dad and the strange girl sat. Her dark, almost black, hair was cut slightly below her chin, and it became shorter as it angled back towards the back of her head. It reminded of the style that Spice Girl that's married to David Beckham has. Her blue eyes contrasted against her dark hair and pale skin. She stared at Brielle as Mr. De Luca cleared his throat before he spoke.

“So, Brielle, I uh, want to introduce you to your sister. This is Kiera,” he said, gesturing towards the girl next to him.

Brielle's mouth dropped open, and she sat in stunned silence. She blinked a few times in disbelief, like her eyes were playing tricks on her. “Daddy, what are you talking about?” she asked.

“Honey, I don't know how best to explain this to you, but before your mom and I met, she was previously married to another Elemental from her hometown. They were high school sweethearts, and your mom accidentally became pregnant. Your grandpa was strict so he insisted that they get married before Kiera was born. After a few years, things weren't working out—they were constantly fighting, and your mother didn't want that kind of environment for Kiera, so she filed for divorce. I was still in the Air Force back then, and I happened to meet your mother while I was stationed in her town. She didn't really want anything to do with me since her divorce wasn't finalized yet. I reached out to give her my number in case she changed her mind, and when our fingers brushed, our connection ignited. There was no fighting it after that.”

“Wow…uh…I don't even know what to say,” Brielle responded. After several seconds of silence, Brielle accusingly asked, “And Mom abandoned Kiera, just like that?”

“Well, no, honey, it's…complicated—I stayed in your mom's town to be with her after I was discharged. We tried to take it slow since she was newly divorced, but as you know, the bond is hard to fight. We got married after a few months of being together, and became pregnant with you a couple of months after that. We were so happy, and then the Oracle appeared to us one night when your mother was about 7 months pregnant, and told us about you and the Prophecy. She instructed us to move to Avalon after your birth so that she could protect you on the island. She told your mother that she needed to leave Kiera behind so that both of you would be better protected. She said Kiera would be extremely important to you in the future, but you were both a risk to each other until your powers surfaced. Your mother was so distraught, and refused to leave Kiera. The Oracle reminded her that the fate of the world rested on you, and that your mother needed to think about more than just herself and our family. We spoke to Kiera's father, and he agreed to take custody of Kiera so that your mother and I could move you to Avalon. It was the hardest thing your mother ever had to do, but we had to do what was best for mankind. I never told you because we needed to protect both of you. If anyone found out that you had a sister, they could hurt her to get to you, and we couldn't risk it,” he replied.

Brielle now had tears in her eyes, which darted back and forth between her dad and her sister. Her gaze finally settled on Kiera as she softly said, “I'm so sorry. This is all my fault.”

“That's not totally true. You didn't do any of this on purpose, so if anything, it's only indirectly your fault,” Kiera replied with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood with her teasing.

Brielle snorted, then covered her nose and mouth with her hands. Kiera burst out laughing and the tension in the room eased some. Brielle stood to walk over to Kiera, and offered her hand as she introduced herself, “Brielle De Luca.”

Kiera stood up and pushed Brielle's hand out of the way to pull her into a hug instead. A surprised Brielle returned the gesture and wrapped her arms around her sister. “Kiera Midas,” she replied. “It's good to meet you, little sis.”

When they separated, Brielle sat back down next to me. “So, not to be rude, but why are you here?” she asked.

Her dad answered, “The Oracle appeared to Kiera a few days ago and instructed her to find you. Her dad had my contact information and gave it to her so she could find us.”

“What did the Oracle tell you?”

“She said that I needed to aid you on your journey, and that I should find you immediately,” Kiera answered.

“Wait…are you an Air Elemental?” Brielle interrupted.

“How did you know that?” Kiera asked.

“Well, five Elementals are supposed to journey together to fulfill the prophecy. We think we need someone representing each element to accompany Brielle, and so far, we have each element except for Air. So it seems that you may be our missing link,” I answered.

“Interesting,” she replied. “This is all so surreal.”

“Tell me about it,” Brielle joked. “I can't believe I have a sister.”

“Me neither. My dad never told me anything, and I was too young to remember why Mom left.”

“I'm so sorry I took her away from you. She ended up dying because of me,” Brielle said sadly.

“Brielle, don't start,” her dad warned. “That was not your fault—you had no control over it.”

“He's right. I don't blame you, and you shouldn't blame yourself either,” Kiera added.

Brielle sighed and nodded her head. “Wait…Daddy, if you and Mom were twin flames, how are you still alive?”

Her dad sighed, “I've asked myself that ever since you were born. To be honest, I don't know. When she died, I felt like a part of me died too. Even your mother's mark disappeared from my neck. It's all so strange. I never was the same after that, and no other Elementals have ever heard of it. I can only guess that it has something to do with you, sweetie.”

“Me? But, why?”

“I've tried to rationalize how I survived and the only explanation I could come up with is that a piece of her lived on through you, enough that would keep me alive to raise you.”

“Maybe the Oracle knows,” Brielle pondered aloud.

“She might, but the last time she visited me was before you were born. I haven't had a chance to ask her.”

Kiera interrupted, “Let's not talk about this right now. We have more important things to discuss, like what we are going to do to prepare to kick Uranus' ass!”

Brielle laughed. “Well we were just about to train out back if you're up to joining us today,” Brielle said.

“I don't know Brielle, she has had a very long trip. Plus, we need to figure out where she will be staying,” Mr. De Luca argued.

“She can stay with us—we have the room, and it will be good for us to get to know each other,” Brielle replied.

“Does that work for you, Kiera?” he asked.

“I think so, as long as I'm not imposing on anyone,” she answered.

“You won't be. I've always wanted a sister!” Brielle squealed.

“I'll get your stuff from my house and bring it over,” Mr. De Luca said as he stood up. “I'll be back shortly.”

Brielle, Kiera, and I walked into the backyard. We updated Kiera on our progress so far, and told her about the Oracle's visit last night.

“Only five months, huh?” she asked.