Reign the Earth (The Elementae #1)(111)

“I’m worried, Shalia, and I have that right. You don’t know him like I do. There’s no one else I would want beside me in a fight, but he will hurt you.”

“I’ve been hurt,” I said softly. “And if he does hurt me, it won’t be the same way Calix did. Galen’s heart is strong and good.”

Rian’s throat worked. “What heart, Shalia? Galen may have emerged on the side of good in that family, but none of them are unscathed. Calix? Danae? They’re damaged. They’re broken. Galen has been lying to everyone he loves for years. He has killed for one cause while he believes in another. He is the most dangerous man I have ever met.”

“And you don’t have to see what I do,” I told him. He opened his mouth, and I raised my hand. “I trust him, Rian. I trust him and his heart.”

“Shalia,” Rian said, frowning at me. “You’ve always been tenderhearted, but he is not a bird with a broken wing.”

“Calix betrayed me in every way I can imagine,” I told Rian, my voice soft. “He stole my will. My voice. He made me feel small, and quiet, and trapped. Galen has protected me, at great cost to himself. He’s made me feel valued, and valuable, and precious, and loved. He doesn’t see his own valor, his own worth, and I think it’s shameful that you claim to be his friend and don’t see it either.” Rian scowled at me. “Galen may be broken, but I have been broken too. And if we can break and rebuild together, that’s all I want.”

Rian swallowed, shaking his head. “I want more for you. I will always want more for you.”

“It’s my choice, Rian,” I told him. “After everything that’s happened, don’t take my choice away.”

He sniffed. “I don’t regret punching him.”

I crossed my arms. “I suppose that’s your choice.”

Rian looked out at the darkening sky. “You should sleep. We’re going to be moving fast tomorrow, and you’ve been through a lot. As has my niece,” he said, looking to my stomach.

I smiled. “I’ll try. Is there somewhere to send the other Elementae? They don’t want to come to the desert, and they need to be safe. To heal in more ways than Kata can give.”

He nodded. “I’ll see to it.”

“Are you going to stay here until Kairos comes in?”

“Yes.”

“Very well. Good night, Rian,” I told him, going around to kiss his cheek. He touched my arm for a quick moment and let me go.


I didn’t go to my room. I drifted down the hallway, wondering how I could figure out which room Galen was in without bursting in, or knocking, or somehow making myself known. I walked the long hallway twice when a door opened.

Spinning around, I spotted one of the soldiers. He stopped when he saw me, and I froze. Blushing and feeling utterly foolish, I went back to my own room, shaking my head as I shut the door.

“Oh.”

I knew his voice even from such a soft syllable, and I looked up to see Galen standing by the window.

“Galen,” I said.

“I was just making sure no one can get up here,” he said. “The windows seem sturdy, and I’m fairly certain that the pitch of the lower roof would take a while to climb. However, if we get ambushed, we might be able to make use of it for escape. But still, I’ll have a guard outside, just to make sure.” He was flushing, the red bright on his skin from his flimsy excuse, and he nodded once before starting to move toward the door.

“I was trying to find you,” I said.

He halted, his eyes wide, watching me. “You were.”

He was closer now, and I could see the redness near his eye where Rian had punched him. I touched it gingerly, and he smiled, a tiny, wry thing. “That doesn’t hurt?” I asked.

His eyes swept over my face. “I can’t really feel pain when you’re touching me like that.” The smile widened. “Or when you’re touching me at all.” Then he saw my wrist, and the white lines that remained from where Kata healed the wounds left by the manacles. He caught my hand in both of his, brushing his fingers over the scar.

His breathing was heavy and erratic as he touched me, not speaking. “Galen?” I whispered.

“He tortured you. He was supposed to love you, and he tortured you.”

“No,” I murmured. “Not in the way you think.”

This drew his stark gaze to mine, and there was so much fear there. Fear for me. “Shalia, he knew how to torture you in a way that was far more effective. Just because he didn’t strike you doesn’t mean it wasn’t torture.”

I couldn’t deny how true that felt. “Iona lost her eye. Because of me. Because I couldn’t do it. I wanted to, but I just couldn’t.”

“Shalia,” he said again.

“And another girl died. She couldn’t have been more than thirteen. He was right,” I told him, faster, trying to get it all out in a rush. “I was still able to use my power. I guess I just didn’t—didn’t care enough for them.”

He stepped closer to me, and I nudged my forehead against his, closing my eyes and sinking into his touch. “No,” he said, and his chest rumbled with the sound. “That’s not your fault. Nothing he did was your fault.”

“I should have saved them, Galen. If only I could have controlled my power.” I shook my head hard, bringing my hands up to curl my fingers in his shirt.