Elemental Power E-Book

Rachel Morgan

• Herausgeber: Rachel Morgan
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: Ridley Kayne Chronicles
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 407

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Family secrets, powerful magic, a slow-burn romance ...

Ridley Kayne has discovered she’s not alone.

There are others with magic just like hers. Those who are also hunted by the Shadow Society.

Elementals.

With Archer’s help, Ridley sets out to find the other elementals living in Lumina City.

They’ll have to be careful not to draw the attention of the Shadow Society or the law—or Ridley’s dad, who would prefer she stay away from those with illegal magic like hers.

So Ridley does whatever she can to pretend life is back to normal.

Until the night her magic is discovered.

Grab your copy today to continue the pulse-pounding journey through a dystopian urban fantasy world!

- - -
"My heart is still racing! I couldn't put this book down!" ~ Jennifer D. on Goodreads ★★★★★

"... quickly becoming one of my all time favorite series." ~ Terra on Goodreads  ★★★★★

"... I was captivated and could not put it down ..." ~ Laetitia on Goodreads ★★★★★

"I loved the budding romance between Ridley and Archer ..." ~ Ann O on Goodreads ★★★★★

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THE RIDLEY KAYNE CHRONICLES:
Elemental Thief - out now!
Elemental Power - out now!
Elemental Heir - 2020

Leseprobe

ELEMENTAL POWER

RIDLEY KAYNE CHRONICLES

BOOK TWO

RACHEL MORGAN

Copyright © 2018 Rachel Morgan

Summary:

Ridley and Archer grow closer as they search Lumina City for other elementals, trying not to draw the attention of the Shadow Society or the law. But everything goes wrong when Ridley’s secret is discovered.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For more information please contact the author.

v2024.10.04

Mobi Ebook ISBN: 978-0-6399436-4-0

Epub Ebook ISBN: 978-0-6399436-5-7

PROLOGUE

ELEVEN AND A HALF YEARS AGO

Lumina City glittered with the bright morning light of spring, but the interior of Kayne’s Antiques was as creaky, dark and mysterious as always. Filled with towering piles of fascinating objects and the smell of very old things, it always felt to Ridley like stepping into another world.

Ridley’s grandfather was at the counter near the back of the store, finishing up with a customer, while Ridley and her best friend Lilah peered at a rusty typewriter sitting on the store’s front table. They both knew the rule: no touching. But for curious six year olds, this was an immense challenge. Lilah reached toward the typewriter, and Ridley stifled a gasp as Lilah’s finger aimed for one of the faded typewriter keys.

“Delilah Davenport,” her mother scolded. Lilah jumped, snatched her hand back, and looked over her shoulder at her mother. “Hands behind your back please,” Mrs. Davenport said.

“Sorry, Mom.” Lilah tucked the offending hand out of sight, her eyes wide as she grinned at Ridley.

“You too, Riddles,” Ridley’s father added, and she realized her hands had somehow moved to her sides. She couldn’t remember how that had happened, but she quickly clasped them together at the small of her back as she giggled at Lilah.

“All I’m saying,” Mrs. Davenport continued, speaking to Ridley’s father in a low voice, “is that maybe you could convince him to move in with you and Claudia and Ridley. You have plenty of space, don’t you? And this place …” Ridley followed Mrs. Davenport’s gaze as it rose toward the ceiling and the cobwebs gathered in the corners. “I can’t believe anyone would live up there. It must be so cramped, and the stairs are only going to become more difficult for him as he gets older. You mentioned he hasn’t been well recently. I’m sure you’d all be happier if he was living with you in Aura Tower.”

Dad laughed as he finally finished unlocking the cabinet he and Mrs. Davenport were standing in front of. “My father wouldn’t be happy in Aura Tower, I can assure you that. He likes it here. It’s been his home for … well, at least half my life.”

“Don’t you worry about Ridley’s safety though?” Mrs. Davenport pressed. “When you bring her here to visit, I mean. It isn’t exactly the safest neighborhood.”

It isn’t? Ridley thought. She’d noticed, of course, that this area wasn’t pretty like the part of the city she lived in, but she didn’t know it was dangerous here.

“It isn’t the worst either,” Dad said, and Ridley relaxed. She was certain her father knew more about these sorts of things than Mrs. Davenport. “Anyway,” Dad continued, “since you didn’t see anything in my workshop that appealed to you, here’s the piece I thought you might like.” He removed a cushion from the cabinet and lifted a tiara. Ridley stared in wonder as he held it up for Mrs. Davenport to see. “The central stone is an emerald, and these other smaller stones—” he pointed along the sides “—are where I can add the magic effects you asked about.”

“I see. So they’ll appear to twinkle?”

“They won’t just appear so; they will twinkle,” Dad told her. “And the other option …” He returned the tiara to the cabinet and reached for something else as Ridley realized that Lilah had wandered toward the back of the store where Grandpa was tidying his oversized desk.

“Mr. Kayne, can I write with the feather pen again?” she asked. Ridley, not wanting to miss out, hurried after her.

“Yes, come on over here,” Grandpa answered with a smile. “It’s called a quill, remember?”

“Lilah, please don’t get ink on your dress,” Mrs. Davenport called across the store.

“I won’t, Mom,” Lilah said as Grandpa helped her up onto his desk chair. He nudged magic toward a bottle of ink that stood on the corner of the desk beside several mugs of pens. After curling his fingers in the air, the bottle slid forward.

“Can I go next?” Ridley asked, wrapping one arm around Grandpa’s waist.

“You most certainly can.” Grandpa paused to give Ridley a quick sideways hug and a kiss on top of her head, then placed a blank piece of paper in front of Lilah. Next, he handed her the quill and opened the ink bottle. As she dipped the quill nib into the ink, Ridley’s eyes traveled over the contents of the desk, coming to rest on a closed cardboard folder. Several pages stuck out the bottom, just far enough for Ridley to see a few lines of foreign, handwritten words.

“What’s this?” she asked, carefully touching one corner.

“Oh, just copies of something very, very old.” Grandpa picked up the folder and slipped it into a drawer. “Myths and legends from different parts of the world that I’m attempting to translate.”

“Like fairy tales?”

“Yes, a little bit like that.” His eyes—a light, bright gray behind his glasses—smiled at her. “Stories so old that most people don’t even know they ever existed.”

“Wow.” Ridley ran her finger along the edge of the desk. “That sounds really old.”

“Why isn’t this working?” Lilah complained. “It’s not writing nicely.”

“Here, just change the angle a bit,” Grandpa said, gently adjusting Lilah’s grip on the quill.

Ridley bobbed up and down, eager for her turn with the special pen. Her attention landed on a yellow notepad that had been hiding beneath the folder Grandpa removed. She reached out and pulled it closer, trying to read his handwriting and understanding only a few of the words. “El … em …” She stood on tiptoe and leaned over the notepad as she tried to spell out one of the longer words. “What’s that last part?” she asked, pointing to the second half of the word ‘elementals.’

“Oh, nothing exciting,” Grandpa said, swiftly lifting the notepad from the desk and dropping it into another drawer, which he closed firmly before leaning against it and tousling Ridley’s hair.

“Grand-pa,” she moaned. “Let me try again.”

“Okay, let’s try a different word,” Grandpa said, reaching for a blank notepad and quickly pulling a wisp of magic from the air. He flicked it toward one of the mugs, where it wrapped around a pen.

“Actually, Dad, we need to get going,” Ridley’s father said as the pen reached Grandpa’s hand.

“Yeah, I can’t get this quill thing to work anyway,” Lilah said, placing the quill flat on the page and climbing out of Grandpa’s chair. “We don’t have to fetch Archer now, do we?” she asked her mother.

“We do. He should be ready now.”

“Ugh, it’s so much better when he’s not around,” Lilah moaned.

“I know,” Ridley agreed. Then she hugged her grandfather quickly and said, “Bye, Grandpa. See you soon.”

“Lilah, please don’t say things like that about your brother,” Mrs. Davenport told Lilah as she and Ridley reached the front of the store. “One day you’ll miss him when the two of you are apart.”

“Whatever,” Lilah muttered with a dramatic roll of her dark eyes.

“Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Kayne,” Mrs. Davenport said to Grandpa. “Maverick will let you know which of the pieces I’ve decided on.” She gave Grandpa a brief wave before ushering Lilah out of the door.

“Thanks again, Dad,” Ridley’s father said. “See you on the weekend for dinner?”

“See you then,” Grandpa said with a smile.

Outside, Ridley ran up to Lilah and linked arms with her. She couldn’t wait to get back to Aura Tower for Erin Lopez’s birthday party that afternoon. There would be games and cake and presents, and she would finally get to wear the new shoes Dad had conjured for her. Every time she tapped her heels together, the rainbow painted over the front of each shoe would detach itself, spin around her ankle, and then reattach itself to the shoe. Even Lilah didn’t have shoes like that, and Lilah had pretty much everything.

“Who’s that?” Lilah asked as the driver of the Davenports’ car opened the rear door for them. Ridley looked to where Lilah was pointing. Across the street, a boy with straight black hair and a wide smile, similar in age to Ridley and Lilah, waved madly.

“Hi, Shen,” Ridley called, waving back.

Lilah crossed her arms and pouted. “Is he your friend?”

“Um, not really. I just know him. Sometimes he’s in the store when we go to visit Grandpa. He lives across the road.”

“Oh.” Lilah’s expression relaxed into a smile. “Good.”

They all climbed into the spacious vehicle, and Mrs. Davenport told the driver to take them back to the Opal Quarter. As they sped away, the details of that morning’s visit—including the mysterious word written on Grandpa’s notepad—vanished from Ridley’s memory.

1

Ridley Kayne stood in the living room of the cramped apartment that should have felt like home, but now seemed a bizarre mix of familiar and foreign. It wasn’t the piece of plastic concealing the jagged hole in the window, or the wooden crate that had replaced the broken coffee table, or even the dark, wet patch on the floor where Ridley and her father had wiped away blood less than an hour ago. It was the secrets Ridley now knew lurked in every shadowed corner of this apartment.

It was also the person sitting on the couch across the room.

“Grandpa?” she whispered, her eyes trained on the elderly man. Goosebumps crawled across her arms and up the back of her neck. The letter with the tree drawing on it—the letter that had finally told Ridley exactly what she was—slipped from her fingers. The man on the couch seemed thinner than she remembered, and his hair was completely gray. But it was, without a doubt, Jonas Kayne.

With some difficulty, he pushed himself to his feet. “Ridley. Little Riddles. You’re so grown-up.”

She shook her head and reached back to grip the doorframe. Her knees decided she might handle this situation better on the floor, so they slowly gave in. “This isn’t real,” she said, her own voice reaching her ears as if from a great distance as she knelt in the doorway.

“Ridley,” her father said, rising hastily from the armchair. “I know this must be a huge shock for you, but⁠—”

“What the hell is going on?” she demanded in a hoarse whisper. “First that—” she gestured shakily to the letter on the floor “and then … this?” She looked up and met Grandpa’s eyes. “I went to your funeral. I know I was little, but I definitely remember a funeral. You died!”

“Ridley.” Dad moved closer and reached for her arm.

“No, don’t touch me.” She shrank away from his touch. “You’ve been lying to me about everything. It was bad enough when I thought it was just all the stuff in that letter, but you lied about Grandpa as well?” She managed to climb to her feet, tucking her blond hair—still damp from her recent shower—behind her ear. “What is going on? Did I accidentally step into an alternate reality tonight? One of my best friends is a murderer, I’m some weird version of human called an elemental, and my grandfather isn’t dead?”

Dad and Grandpa exchanged a glance, and for several moments, the only sound in the apartment was the music playing quietly in the background. Ridley grabbed the remote from the makeshift crate-coffee table, pointed it at the vintage sound system, and turned it off. Then she tossed the remote back onto the crate. “Explain.”

“Why don’t you sit?” Dad suggested.

“I don’t want to sit. I want answers.”

“No hug for your grandfather?” Grandpa asked, giving her a sheepish smile. His gray eyes twinkled behind his glasses. “I know you’re upset and confused, but it’s so good to see you, Ridley. I’ve missed you all these years.”

Ridley folded her arms over her pajama top and didn’t move an inch toward Grandpa. “Are you like me?” she asked. “Are you also an elemental? And don’t you dare lie.”

Grandpa shook his head. “I’m not an elemental. No one else in our family is.” He lowered himself to the couch. “You may not want to sit, but I’m an old man. I can’t stand for long these days.”

“It wasn’t all a lie,” Dad said, his piercing blue eyes staring into Ridley’s. Like her, he remained standing. “Grandpa did get sick. He was in the hospital for a legitimate reason. But …” Dad looked at Grandpa. “He didn’t actually die.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Ridley muttered. “Why the hell would you pretend to be dead?”

“Because there are things I know,” Grandpa said. “Certain conjurations. Old, dangerous ones that most historians believe were forgotten centuries ago.”

Ridley blinked and shook her head. “Conjurations? This is about conjurations? What conjurations?”

“We don’t need to go into that. The point is, the wrong people found out. They wanted me to pass on my knowledge. I refused. They began to threaten my family. The stress of it all is what landed me in hospital. And while I was there …” He let out a long sigh. “I decided it would be better if I never left. Not officially, anyway. Your parents …” Grandpa’s eyes moved to Dad, but Dad refused to look at him now. “Well, after many arguments, they agreed to help me. We didn’t exactly part on good terms though. We haven’t been in contact much since I left the city and went into hiding. Especially after the Cataclysm. Staying in touch became even harder then.”

“So … then …” Ridley shook her head, still trying to accept the fact that this wasn’t a dream. “Why are you back now?”

“I became aware late last night of a threat to all the elementals living in Lumina City. Naturally, I was concerned for your safety. I contacted your father, and he told me not to worry. That he would try to find out what was going on. But I’d already decided to come. I left early this morning and traveled the entire day. Only got here about twenty minutes ago.” He looked at Dad. “First time I’ve seen my son in more than a decade, and the first thing he said was that I shouldn’t have come. That he’d already taken care of the problem.”

“Can we please not do this now?” Dad said to Grandpa in clipped tones. “Ridley doesn’t need to witness the dysfunctional side of our family.”

“I really don’t care how dysfunctional this family is,” Ridley said, “as long as no one’s lying to me anymore.”

“On that note,” Grandpa said. “Your father⁠—”

“Don’t,” Dad interrupted.

“Don’t what?” Ridley asked.

“Don’t get involved,” Dad said to Grandpa. “I will explain things to Ridley.”

“Really? You haven’t exactly done much—” Ridley stopped at the sound of a creak on the stairs leading up to their apartment from the store below. Her head whipped toward the doorway at the top of the stairs. Grandpa pushed himself to his feet again. “Are you expecting someone?” he whispered.

“Calm down,” Dad told him. “It’s probably just⁠—”

“Mrs. Lin?” Ridley said as the petite woman from across the street appeared at the top of the stairs. Ridley had known her for years, but all of a sudden it felt as if she were looking at a stranger. This wasn’t just Shen’s mother. She was the woman who knew as many secrets as Shen did. She knew what Ridley was. And just like Dad and Shen, Mrs. Lin had never said a word to Ridley.

“I only saw the message a few minutes ago,” Mrs. Lin said, a smile deepening the wrinkles around her eyes as she looked at Grandpa. “It’s so good to see you again, Jonas,” she added as she crossed the room. She wrapped her arms around Grandpa, and he returned the embrace.

“You too, Mei. It’s been far too long.”

Ridley’s mouth fell open. Then she shook her head. “Why am I surprised that you know about this secret?” she said, throwing her hands up. “Of course you know my grandfather isn’t dead. Just like you know about every other secret Dad’s been keeping for years.”

“Ridley, I didn’t see you over …” Mrs. Lin trailed off as a frown wrinkled her brow. “Other secrets?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Ridley said. “I only found out minutes ago, but Shen already knew. He wasn’t surprised at all when he saw me using my own magic earlier tonight. He told me his family knows too.” Shen had said his family understood what was at stake. That they’d looked out for Ridley just as he had. His words made no sense at the time, but he hadn’t stopped to explain any further before shooting the mayor’s son, jumping off the side of a building, and making a dramatic escape on a scanner drone. But Ridley now understood what he meant. “I’m an elemental,” she said slowly and clearly to Mrs. Lin. “You want to tell me you don’t know about that?”

“Ah,” Mrs. Lin said, her gaze falling on Dad. “Those secrets. I wasn’t aware those were out in the open now.”

“She received a letter,” Dad said, pointing to where the folded page lay on the floor.

“I see.” Mrs. Lin nodded. “Well, perhaps I should make us all some tea?” she suggested.

“No,” Ridley answered before Dad or Grandpa could say anything. “No tea.” She bent quickly and retrieved the letter. “Your whole family gets to know the truth about what I am, so don’t you think it’s time I get to know?”

“Not my whole family,” Mrs. Lin corrected as she lowered herself to sit beside Grandpa. “The younger two don’t know yet. But Bo and I know, and we told Shen soon after the Cataclysm when the two of you became friends. My parents, my grandparents …” She settled on the couch. “I come from a long line of people who have always known about elementals and have committed themselves to protecting them. We know about the myths that are so old barely anyone remembers them. The myths that were never myths.”

“What myths?”

“The old stories that speak of a time when some people were born with magic in their blood. They didn’t have to pull it from the elements. They still learned to manipulate it with conjurations, but the elements—in their raw form—would respond to a person’s will without the need for any conjuration. According to the stories, these people lived more in harmony with nature. Those who had to work harder to pull magic from the world were jealous of those who had easier access to power, and so they tried to get rid of them. The stories say that none of these people survived, which we know, of course—” she gestured to Ridley “—isn’t true. Elementals did survive, and they’ve been living in hiding for centuries. Barely anyone knows about them. Even those who live in secret beneath our city, practicing magic illegally, have no idea of the existence of elementals.”

“But how has it remained a secret?” Ridley asked. “If my parents hadn’t told me to keep it to myself, I’m sure I would have told people.”

“Those who don’t know they should be hiding don’t last long, I’m afraid,” said Mrs. Lin. “Did your letter mention the Shadow Society?” Ridley nodded as she looked down at the page in her hand, then placed it on the crate. “Well, there you go,” Mrs. Lin continued. “That’s what happens. The Shadow Society gets rid of them, and any stories floating around become rumors that are forgotten.”

Ridley looked at her father. “And how long have you known about all this? A few years? My whole life?”

Dad’s eyes rose slowly to meet hers. “Longer than that.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” she cried. “I can understand you keeping this secret from the rest of the world, but from me?”

Dad opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

“We all keep secrets, Ridley,” Mrs. Lin said quietly. “Surely you have your own?”

Ridley met the older woman’s gaze as the memory of every theft she’d ever committed slammed into her. Of course she’d never told Dad what she spent her free time doing. He wouldn’t approve. But sometimes it was the only way to make a difference, and Ridley refused to feel ashamed for what she’d done. “Yes,” she said, pulling herself a little straighter even as her cheeks flushed. “I do have secrets. But they’re nothing compared to this. They’re nothing compared to telling me my grandfather is dead when he isn’t. Or compared to keeping important information from me about how I’m … I don’t know, a different species!”

“I don’t think that’s technically correct,” Mrs. Lin murmured.

“Ridley.” Dad looked at her with pleading eyes. “You have to know that I’ve only ever wanted to protect you. Surely you understand that?”

“Yes, I understand that, Dad. I do. But protection doesn’t have to equal lying to me.”

“It would have made no difference to the way you lived your life if I’d told you the truth. You still would have had to keep your magic a secret.”

“Of course it would have made a difference! I would have grown up knowing I wasn’t a complete freak. I would have known I wasn’t alone.” She swung away from him, her hands clenching into fists at her sides as she swallowed against the emotion tightening her throat. “I can’t believe you kept this from me. This is a fundamental part of who I am, and you decided I didn’t need to know about it.”

“Riddles …”

“No, seriously.” Her voice grew higher in pitch and took on a wobbly quality, but she fought the tears back. “Maybe it made sense when I was little, but now? Dad, I’ll be eighteen soon. I’m not a child anymore.” She faced him again. “Were you ever planning to tell me the truth?”

Instead of answering, Dad stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Ridley. She stood there, her back rigid, her arms pinned to her sides, pressing her lips tightly together as she refused to cry. “I’m so sorry,” Dad said. “I didn’t really have a plan. I just wanted to keep you away from all of this for as long as possible. It’s dangerous. Extremely dangerous.”

“I know,” Ridley murmured against his shoulder. “It’s life-and-death kind of dangerous. But knowing there are others like me wouldn’t have changed that.”

“True, but you might have wanted to go looking for them, and I couldn’t allow that. It isn’t safe to be anywhere near them. That’s why we left.”

“We left?” Ridley pulled away and looked at Dad. “Left where? Who? The elementals?”

Dad inhaled deeply, exchanged a glance with both Mrs. Lin and Grandpa, then returned his gaze to Ridley. “There are groups of elementals living in hiding all over the world. You and your mother and I lived with some of them. Further north. But our community was discovered. Many were killed, the group scattered, and the three of us were fortunate to get away. But we decided then to keep our distance.”

“We—what? We used to live with—” Ridley shut her eyes and pressed her fingers to her temples. How many more secrets did she have to unearth before she could finally get a clear picture of her own past? “How old was I?” she asked, opening her eyes. “Because I don’t remember any of that.”

Dad shook his head. “You wouldn’t. You were less than a year old. We came to Lumina City after that and lived here with Grandpa for a little while.”

“And he also knew about the elementals back then?”

“Yes,” Grandpa answered. “I’ve known for a long time. I unearthed enough secrets in the early days of my research—before I was married or had your dad—that I decided to go in search of the truth.”

“And the Lins …” Ridley looked across as Mrs. Lin. “You’ve also always known.”

“Yes,” she answered. “We’re in contact with some of the elemental communities living out in the wastelands. We pass information to them in secret and keep tabs on any elementals we know of living in our area.”

“Like me.”

“Yes.”

“Okaaaaay.” Ridley exhaled, pushing her hands through her hair and turning away from Dad. “This is … just … my brain doesn’t even know what to do with all this. Grandpa’s alive. I’m an elemental. I’m not alone. And there’s this … this Shadow Society. Shadow? Really? They couldn’t come up with anything better than that?”

“We can’t be certain how the name came about,” Mrs. Lin said, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees, “but we think it’s because they were trying to extinguish magic, and magic has always manifested in a glowing form, illuminated by its own light. Light can’t exist where there is darkness, hence⁠—”

“Hence the word ‘shadow.’ Right. It’s just … you know.” Ridley threw her hands up. “It’s a stupid name. Like some conspiracy theory no one would ever believe. I mean … there’s actually something called the Shadow Society that hunts people and kills them? How is that real?”

“It’s very real,” Dad said.

“I know,” Ridley answered with a sigh. “I’m not questioning that.” She folded her arms again and slumped against the wall. “I’m questioning their lack of creativity in choosing a name for themselves.”

“Unfortunately, creativity is something they have plenty of when it comes to concocting ways in which to kill elementals so it looks like an accident.”

“Like Serena Adams,” Ridley said quietly. Thinking of the elemental girl her letter had mentioned reminded her of everything Shen had revealed earlier that evening. Her gaze rose slowly from the floor and landed on Mrs. Lin. “Do you know about Shen?” she asked—and there was that infuriating wobble in her voice again. “Do you know about everything he’s done?”

Mrs. Lin’s eyes slipped away from Ridley’s. “I didn’t until yesterday. He only told us about it after he was released from jail. Not for one moment did I believe he could have killed a man until he told us himself.”

“What?” Grandpa asked. “Shen was responsible after all?” Deep furrows formed across his brow. “That’s … goodness. I wouldn’t have believed it either.”

“I know.” Mrs. Lin shook her head. “He was almost consumed with guilt over killing an elemental.”

“Wait,” Ridley said. “That man—the guy who died in our alley—was an elemental?”

“Yes. Shen never would have killed him intentionally. He was trying to get rid of a Shadow Society member instead. Archer Davenport.”

“Archer Davenport?” Dad repeated. “That can’t be right.”

“It isn’t,” Ridley said. “Shen was wrong about Archer. Archer’s been trying to keep the elementals’ secret since the moment he returned to Lumina City.”

Mrs. Lin frowned. “Shen was certain Archer was also part of it. After Serena’s death, he started following Lawrence Madson around, trying to get as close as he could, and he saw a video call between Lawrence and Archer that convinced him Archer was also involved.”

“Hang on,” Dad said. “Lawrence Madson killed Serena Adams? I remember you telling me it wasn’t accidental, but you didn’t say any more than that.”

“Yes. Shen saw Serena’s death. From a distance, at least. He saw Lawrence Madson and two other people with her on top of that building. He was too far away to do anything. During the weeks that followed, he got as close to Lawrence as he could. He listened in on conversations. Discovered for sure that he was a member of the Shadow Society. He and Archer are the only ones we know for sure are part of the society. It seems Shen took it upon himself to get rid of them both.”

“He must have been pretty determined,” Ridley said, “considering the number of attempts he made.”

“Number of attempts?” Mrs. Lin frowned. “What else don’t I know about?”

“Did you hear about the shooting at Wallace Academy? That was Shen. He was trying to kill Archer. He also blew up a car, but Archer wasn’t in it. And tonight, he showed up at Sapphire 84 and tried again. He—” Ridley broke off, finding it difficult to say these particular words about the guy who’d been one of her best friends for years. “He shot Lawrence Madson,” she finished quietly.

Mrs. Lin swallowed. “Yes. Your father told me that last part in his message to me earlier tonight. Shen was … was determined to avenge Serena’s death. And while he seemed certain Archer was involved with the Shadow Society as well, I suppose it’s possible he was wrong. The elementals we’re in contact with outside Lumina City generally inform us who can be trusted within the city, and they haven’t mentioned Archer Davenport. But I’m sure there are trusted people we don’t know about.”

“Right. Exactly,” Ridley said, but doubt had begun to grow at the back of her mind. Had Archer somehow been fooling her this entire time? She shook her head and cleared her throat. “Do you know where Shen is now? He escaped from one of the Brex Tower balconies earlier this evening. On a scanner drone he seemed to know would be flying by at the exact moment he jumped.”

“No, I have no idea what Shen was planning. We haven’t seen or heard from him since about lunch time today. I suspect he’s …” Mrs. Lin sighed. “I think he’s left the city. I think he’s trying to outrun his guilt. He doesn’t know how to live with himself having killed an elemental, one of the people we’ve spent our lives trying to protect. Bo is busy contacting everyone we know who might have helped him to see if we can find out where he is.”

“I might know a few people you can try reaching out to,” Grandpa said.

“Oh, yes, we should compare names,” Mrs. Lin replied. “If you don’t mind coming across to our place for a little bit.” She looked at Dad. “I know the two of you have a complicated history, and you probably have a lot of things to talk through. And Ridley will want to spend some time with her grandfather before he leaves, so we’ll be quick.”

“Wait, when are you leaving?” Ridley asked. “You only just got back.”

“I’ll be here tonight and tomorrow night,” Grandpa said. “Then I need to get far away from here. Those people who threatened us years ago are all still alive. I can’t afford for anyone to find out I didn’t actually die.”

“But how will anyone find out as long as you stay hidden inside this apartment?”

“It isn’t that simple, Ridley. I require assistance to get safely out of the city. I’ve already made plans with certain people.”

“Oh, well if you’ve made plans, then I guess that settles it,” Ridley said. “No one ever heard of plans being changed.”

Grandpa chuckled as he pushed himself to the edge of the couch and stood. “Sarcasm. I seem to remember your father being full of sarcastic comments when he was your age.”

Dad let out a quiet groan and rubbed his hands over his face.

“Well, let’s do this quickly,” Mrs. Lin said as she stood. “Maverick, I won’t keep your father long.”

“Not a problem,” Dad said with a sigh.

“See you a little later,” Grandpa said to Ridley as he crossed the room with Mrs. Lin. “Or tomorrow, if you’re asleep when I get back.” He looked at his watch. “It’s rather late for a school night.”

Ridley rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s my biggest concern right now. Going to bed late on a school night.”

Grandpa’s eyes twinkled as he smiled at her. “More sarcasm. I love it.”

Ridley crossed her arms and glared, which, she realized in retrospect, Grandpa probably loved even more than the sarcasm. “I’ll let you out,” Dad muttered, following Mrs. Lin and Grandpa.

As the three of them headed down the stairs, Ridley crossed the room and sank onto the couch in the spot her grandfather had just vacated. “Grandpa is alive,” she murmured, staring across the room at nothing in particular. “I’m an elemental. And Grandpa is alive.” She pressed her fingers against her temples and squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m an elemental, and Grandpa is alive,” she repeated, as if she were trying to rewire her brain, her memories, to incorporate this information that should have been there all along.

“You okay?” Dad asked. Ridley opened her eyes and saw him standing at the top of the stairs.

She shrugged. “I guess.”

“But you’re still mad at me.”

“I …” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe a little. Does it make sense to say that I understand why you didn’t tell me any of this, but I still wish that you had?”

“Yes.” He walked around the crate and sat beside her. “Do you mind if I read the letter?”

She shook her head, and Dad leaned forward to pick it up. “I had no idea about Shen and Serena,” she said, tucking the tangles of her hair that had fallen forward behind her ears. “He must have been devastated after her death, but I don’t remember noticing anything different. He never said a word.”

Dad lowered the letter and looked at her. “It was a busy time for you at school. You didn’t see much of Shen during the weeks following Serena’s death. I think he’d managed to pull himself together by the time you were hanging out again.”

“Okay. I still feel bad though. I should have been there for him, but I didn’t even know what he was going through.” Ridley tilted her head back, then jerked it upright again as another thought occurred to her. “Wait, what about Meera?” she asked, referring to her other best friend. “Does she know any of this?”

“No,” Dad murmured, his attention still on the letter. “Meera knows nothing.”

Ridley nodded. This one thing, at least, made sense. Unless Meera was the world’s best actress, there was no way she could possibly be involved in anything secretive and magical. “So …” she said eventually, when she figured enough time had passed for Dad to have read the letter at least three times. “Apparently we need to leave the city and go into the wastelands.”

“Not anymore,” Dad said. “This letter was written before we managed to get the flash drive back and destroy it. You’re safe, Ridley. We don’t have to go anywhere.”

Ridley shifted to face her father. “Are you sure? Whoever wrote this said the society will eventually find out who I am.”

Dad sighed and rubbed one hand over his thinning hair. “It says the society knows how many elementals are in Lumina City, but I don’t see how that puts you in any more danger than you were in before. Whoever wrote this wants you to know that the society won’t stop looking, but they’ve never stopped looking. You just weren’t aware of it before.”

“But, Dad⁠—”

“Trust me, Ridley. The best way to fly under the radar is to continue with life as normal. You can go back to school tomorrow and⁠—”

“There were other letters, Dad,” she interrupted. “Mine wasn’t the only one. There are other elementals in Lumina City who need to know the truth.”

Dad paused, his eyes searching Ridley’s face as he frowned. “There are other letters just like yours?”

“Yes. They were all inside the envelope that man—the one who died in the alley—was carrying.”

Dad pressed his lips together, then said, “You don’t need to do anything with those letters. Just forget about them. If you’re not in danger, then neither are those other elementals. We don’t have to get involved with any of them.”

Ridley pulled her head back. “Are you kidding? Even if they’re not in immediate danger, they still need to know what’s in the letters. What if they’re like me and they don’t even know there are others like them? Don’t you think they deserve to know?”

“Ridley, this is not our responsibility,” Dad said firmly. “We can’t go looking for these people. It’ll only put you in more danger.”

“Dad, I put myself in danger all the time. I’ve been putting myself in danger for years, and I’m still fine.”

“You’ve been—what?” Dad shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

Ridley sighed. She figured it was time to come clean about all the stealing. She couldn’t very well demand that her father keep no more secrets from her while she still kept some of her own. “Sooooo, there’s this unofficial extra-curricular activity that I’m quite good at,” she said carefully.

Dad folded his arms. “I’m listening.”

“You really don’t need to freak out about it.”

“Ridley, just tell me what you’ve been doing.”

“It’s actually a good thing, okay?”

“Now I’m getting worried. Can you please just spit it out?”

Ridley bit her lip, trying to decide how best to ‘spit out’ that she was a thief. But before she could say another word, a loud knock sounded from the door downstairs. Both Ridley and her father looked toward the stairway. “Grandpa?” Ridley whispered. “I didn’t think he’d be back so quickly.”

“Neither did I,” Dad said, pushing himself up from the couch. “And why would he knock? Mei has a key. She’d let him back in.”

“You think it’s someone else?”

Dad left the letter on the crate and crossed the room. “Wait here.”

Ridley stood. Her heart thumped a little faster than usual as she edged toward the doorway and watched Dad descend the stairs. He reached the bottom—the room behind the antique store—and disappeared from sight. She heard him unlock the door. Then a quiet voice reached her ears. A male voice. Not Grandpa, though. Someone younger. He walked forward into Ridley’s line of vision and looked up, sending a jolt through her chest.

Archer Davenport.

2

Ridley turned away from the stairs and inhaled deeply as white-hot anger flashed through her once more. She shut her eyes and tried to beat it down with every step Archer climbed toward the apartment. But he was yet another person who had known exactly what she was and chosen to keep her in the dark, and this knowledge filled her with an odd mixture of embarrassment and hurt that she could only hide with anger.

“Hey,” he said as he reached the top of the stairs. Hey. As if it were just an average evening. As if he showed up at her home late at night all the time.

Ridley whipped around to face him. “Why are you here?”

He hesitated for only a second before answering. “I came to see you.”

“In the middle of the night?”

Archer walked forward, his dark eyes never leaving Ridley’s face. He must have been home since they’d parted earlier this evening. The blood was gone from his face, and he’d changed his clothes. “I figured you would have read your letter by now.”

Ridley pressed her lips together to hide her intake of breath. Archer wasn’t supposed to know the envelope of letters had survived the flames on the Brex Tower balcony. She crossed her arms, tilted her chin upward, and tried to look as superior as one could look while wearing pajamas. “And why do you think that?”

“Because the more I thought about it, the more I realized you would never have let that envelope burn. You wanted answers, and you knew some of them were probably inside that envelope. I figured you must have lied when you said⁠—”

“I lied? I lied?” Ridley’s arms tightened around her middle as she shouted, “You lied to me, Archer!”

“That’s why I’m here. I wanted to explain⁠—”

“I asked you if Serena was like me, and you looked me in the eyes and flat-out lied to me.”

Archer swallowed. He appeared far less sure of himself than he usually did, but he managed to hold Ridley’s gaze as he said, “I told you there’s no one else like you. I meant it.”

“You know I didn’t mean it that way!”

He nodded. “Yes. I know. But I chose to interpret it that way so I wouldn’t have to lie to you.”

“You didn’t have to lie to me! You have no idea what it’s been like, thinking I’ve always been alone. That no one else could ever understand what a freak I am. You had the answer—the truth about who I am—and you decided not to give it to me. Did you think it was funny? Were you laughing inside about how completely clueless I was?”

“No, of course I wasn’t laughing.” Archer glanced over his shoulder to where Dad was now leaning in the doorway, watching this unpleasant exchange with concern etched onto his face. “I wanted to tell you,” Archer said, turning back to Ridley. “I thought you should know the truth. But⁠—”

“Right, there’s always a ‘but,’ isn’t there.”

“I made a promise, okay?” Archer said. “I promised not to tell you.”

“Oh, wonderful. That’s right. You promised this mysterious person who wants to keep me safe,” Ridley scoffed. “Someone who probably doesn’t even exist. Just a convenient excuse for you to use whenever you don’t feel like telling me⁠—”

“It was me,” Dad said. He uncrossed his arms and walked forward. “I made him promise.”

Ridley’s gaze swung toward her father. Her mouth formed a silent ‘O’ as the rest of her response to Archer died on her tongue. “You?” she asked. Her eyes moved back and forth between the two men in front of her. “Wait, you guys know each other? As in … more than just the handful of times you met when Lilah and I were friends?”

“He helped me recently,” Archer said. “I owed him big time. He made me swear not to get you involved in any of this.”

“A promise you weren’t very good at keeping,” Dad reminded him.

“I tried.” Archer turned toward Dad again. “Believe me, I did. And I never once mentioned the elementals. But she wanted answers, and there was nothing you or I could do to keep her from getting them.” His eyes met Ridley’s. “Which is why you didn’t let that envelope burn. You took it while we were all fighting on the balcony, didn’t you?”

Ridley ignored Archer’s question and focused on her father. “What help?” she asked, barely able to keep her voice from shaking. “What help did you give him?”

“He needed somewhere to hide.”

“It was the last time I returned to the city,” Archer added. “A few months ago. I had hidden the flash drive, and people were after me. They didn’t know exactly who they were chasing, thank goodness, but they knew it was someone with information on the elementals. I needed to hide somewhere. There was an accident near Jasmine Heights, and the roads were all blocked off that way. I couldn’t get back down to the bunker. I was running, and I was desperate. I knew by then that your father was someone I could trust, that he knew about the elementals. So I came here.”

“Where was I?” Ridley asked.

“You were here,” Dad said. “But it was late. I think you were already asleep.”

Ridley shook her head and turned away from them. The confusing mix of emotions rising inside her was almost overwhelming. But there was no way in hell she was about to cry in front of Archer, so she blinked back her tears. “So the two of you—and the Lins—get to run around and have secret meetings and pass information back and forth about me and other people just like me, all while letting me remain totally, stupidly unaware.”

“Riddles, there’s nothing stupid about⁠—”

“Of course there is!” She swung back around to face them. “I had no clue any of this was going on. And some of it was happening inside my own home. While I was here!” She sucked in a breath and blurted out, “I’m a thief.”

Dad hesitated, his mouth half open, before saying, “Excuse me?”

Ridley couldn’t say why she picked that exact moment to finally reveal her own secret—perhaps it was because, selfishly, she didn’t want to be the only confused person in the room—but if she could have taken the words back, she would have. Explaining her illegal activities while in such a confused and angry state was not ideal. Neither was having Archer present while she did it. “I steal,” she said, pushing her shoulders back and trying to sound as calm as possible. “I steal from disgustingly wealthy people like Archer. Then I sell the things I steal. And then I give the money to people who need it.”

“I … you …” Dad screwed his face up. “You what?”

“And I use my magic to help me. I’ve been doing this for years. Ever since Shen got so sick and almost died because his parents couldn’t afford the treatment.”

“I … I don’t even know what to say right now.”

“Good. You don’t need to say anything. It’s Archer’s turn.”

Archer raised his eyebrows. “My turn?”

“Dad explained his secrets before you got here, I’ve explained mine, so now it’s your turn. Are you part of the Shadow Society?”

Archer’s mouth dropped open. “Am I—Why would you think that?”

“Shen’s mother just told us why Shen was so convinced you were part of the Shadow Society. She said Shen saw a video call between you and Lawrence that convinced him you’re one of them.”

“Yes, he probably did,” Archer said without missing a beat. “If he’s been following Lawrence around, then I wouldn’t be surprised if he witnessed multiple calls between us. I’ve been trying to infiltrate the group for months, but they don’t exactly trust people who haven’t been part of their society for generations.”

Ridley narrowed her eyes at him. “When you were talking with Lawrence at his house that night I was hiding there, you mentioned a meeting. You said something about taking that envelope of letters to the next meeting. What was that?”

“The next meeting of the society. I’ve been trying to get him to invite me, but you can probably tell we’re not—we weren’t—the best of friends, so it hasn’t exactly worked out.”

Ridley’s gaze flicked to her father before moving back to Archer. “How are we supposed to know if this story you’re telling is true?”

“Ridley, I—” Archer pushed his hand through his hair. “I don’t know what else to say. I’ve been trying to keep you safe—trying to keep everyone like you safe—for months now. Since before I returned to the city. You’ve seen what’s happened in the past few days. I almost got myself killed trying to get that flash drive back.”

“So you could give it to the society?” Ridley asked.

Dad shook his head. “He destroyed it as soon as we got away from Brex Tower, remember?”

“Exactly,” Archer said. “Ridley, just think. Why would I have gone to so much trouble to get it back from Lawrence if we were both part of the society and he already had it?”

“Okay, okay.” She placed her hands on her hips and looked into his eyes. “So … you’re not one of them? That’s the truth?”

Without blinking, he said, “That is the absolute truth.”

Ridley pursed her lips, then said, “Okay. Sorry. It’s just that you’ve lied about other things, so it was possible you might have been lying about this too.”

“Okay, I get that. But since I’m not, does that mean we’re good now?” Archer asked, his eyebrows raised in question.