Reign the Earth (The Elementae #1)(3)

“All the better that I don’t have it, then,” I told her. “Can’t you just stop? Can’t we just swim and enjoy being home?”

Kata looked so hurt that I immediately regretted my words.

“I’m sorry,” I said immediately. I shook my head, scattering droplets in the water. “I knew this wouldn’t be easy for you.”

“Easy?” she said softly. “Aside from the fact that his father murdered my people and he doesn’t seem to have very different beliefs, I might not ever see you again.”

“No,” I said solemnly. “Don’t say that. We’ll see each other again.”

“I’ve been helping Rian,” she admitted softly. “With the Resistance. Do you know about your brother’s cause?”

“Only what I can manage to overhear from Father yelling. But I do know that whatever Rian is doing in the Trifectate, the king thinks this marriage will stop Rian from doing violence to him and the king will stop doing violence to the desert people.”

“By putting you between them,” she said. “Don’t you see that?”

“Yes,” I told her. “Of course I do. But better between them than standing to the side as they burn another one of my brothers in the sand. Because next time it could be Rian or Kairos in Torrin’s place.” She looked at me like I was foolish and young, and I huffed out a sigh that rippled the water. “Kata, I would have been married soon anyway. I could have married some d’Skorpios boy, or I could marry this king. I could protect my family for once. I could have my marriage mean something.”

“You’re just as fierce as your brothers,” she told me. “I’m not faulting you for that. I just don’t think you know how dangerous this will be.”

“Peace is always dangerous,” I said.

“Maybe,” she said. “But have you even wondered why he wants a desert bride? He was supposed to marry a rich princess across the sea. Why is it more essential to form peace with the desert than with them?”

My mouth drew tight, and I returned to floating on my back.

“Shalia,” Kata said suspiciously. “You know something.”

“You won’t like it,” I said.

“Shalia,” she insisted.

“I think he’s looking for this,” I told her. “The lake.”

I couldn’t hear her moving in the water anymore. “What makes you think that?”

“As part of the marriage agreement, they’re sending some men to pore over Jitra and the mountains,” I said. “They said they believe the desert is sheltering Trifectate dissenters and want to search it, but I think they’re looking for something else. And this is the only thing I can imagine they’re looking for.”

“You can’t let them do that,” she said, gripping my arm.

I raised my head. “Don’t worry,” I insisted. “No clansman would ever willingly let this place be discovered. The only things that could threaten us are lack of water and the spirits turning on us,” I said. “They’ll hide this reserve as best they can. Even you can’t find your way down here, and the water pulls you.” I looked at her. “If something happened to the lake—would that hurt your power?”

“No,” she said, shaking her hair. “This water is pure and powerful, but the Water Aede is in the islands.”

“Good,” I said.

“If I had told you it would take my power away, would that change anything?” she asked. “What can I do to make you refuse this marriage?”

I gave her an angry look, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I couldn’t stand the idea of her being hurt, but what could I really do to stop this from happening?

“I believe this marriage is a dangerous mistake,” Kata said. “And worse, it will cut you off from those who could give you aid. It gives him everything and leaves you powerless.”

“No,” I said. “It will make me queen, and it will keep my family safe. And it costs us nothing.”

“Our friendship is not nothing.”

I met her eyes for a long moment. “Which is why no one can take it away from us. No matter where we are.”

She nodded, still unsure, and I moved closer, drifting by her side, hoping I would always have her by mine.





Welcome to Jitra

We left the water, and Kata used her magic to pull the moisture out of our hair and clothes, a glittering mist that lifted off me and swirled back into the lake.

We snuck out of the city and back to the sleeping camp, smothering our giggles as we rushed to our beds in separate tents. I pretended to be asleep when the women came to wake me up and start preparations for my marriage.

They rinsed my feet, my hands, my neck, rubbing oil and ilayi blossoms into my skin until the tent smelled like crisp fruit and sunlight, even in the darkness. One cousin insisted I should open my robe a little, to show the valley between my breasts, but my mother clucked her away.

“A wedding is not about lust,” my mother said, smoothing my robes into place. “It is about trust and partnership. Alliance. Faith and faithfulness.”

“It’s a little about lust,” my cousin Cora muttered. Mother gave her a warning look and went to fetch more flowers.