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Cam laughed grimly. “Oh yes, he can definitely hurt me. We weren’t always friends. When we found him, he was... broken. He drank too much, and when he did, he got violent. Strangely enough, it was after our biggest fight that he finally began to trust us.”
“But maybe that’s because we’re not sure if he actually is your opposite,” Flint mused. “With fire and water, it’s clear. Earth’s opposite could be wind, but it could also be air, or lightning. So maybe we haven’t met your match yet.”
“Why are you assuming there are pairs anyway?” Macey asked. “If there are seven elements, it doesn’t work out.”
“It’s something Malan said according to the legend, just before he foretold the Prophecy of the Wardens. That he knew that six pairs were going to come, led by one who was different. In the prophecy, Air is mentioned as joining on its own, last, so we assume that it’s the leader who will tell us what to do.”
“Ehm, who’s Malan?” she asked, once again annoyed at her own ignorance.
“A prophet who lived a long time ago. Maybe two hundred years? Or has it been longer?” Cam replied, deep in thought.
“It was just after we met. Three centuries, perhaps?” Flint said, and Macey gasped. Then giggled. Then gasped again.
“Did you just say that you met three hundred years ago? How bloody old are you?”
Cam shrugged. “Not sure. It never really mattered in the Mists. Only when we left and started exploring other worlds did we notice how fast time passes for other beings.”
“So I’m just a quick blink in the passage of time?” she asked, the words sounding less bitter than she’d expected, and just coming across a little sad. They’d already affected her a lot, and this was the most excitement she’d had in, well, ever. But if all she was to them was the fleeting moment of yet another year, then really, what was the point for her? She shouldn’t let herself fall too deeply, or she’d just end up hurt, and they’d be the ones laughing all the way to the ends of the earth without her.
“Hardly, weren’t you listening to the prophecy?” She glared at Flint, not appreciating the way he was talking to her. He’d better stop or he’d soon find himself in a wet heap on the floor.
“Yes I was listening, but unlike you, I haven’t had centuries to get used to the idea,” she snapped. She spun around, almost losing her balance until normal te
mperature hands caught her, resettling herself on her feet.
“Whoa, Macey, calm down.” Cam pulled her closer. Reluctantly, she went with it.
“Calm down?” she shouted. “Calm down?! You’ve taken me from my home, kept me here, told me some stupid prophecy that has no real explanation, burned me, then revealed that I’m nothing but a nanosecond in the immense span that is your lives. And now you expect me to be calm?”
“I didn’t burn you,” Flint said from behind her, sounding much like a spoiled child. She ignored him, it was that or end up ripping his head off with her bare claws.
“Erm, Macey?”
“What?” she snapped at Cam, no longer able to contain her anger even if she knew that she should. After all, it wasn’t Cam’s fault she’d nearly been burned.
“Your hair’s turning green.”
“Eurgh.” She took a few deep breaths, trying to regain control of her shift. That was twice in as many days; accidental shifting had never happened so often. Maybe she needed to do a full one? Get some of the pent up energy out of her system, that way, she wouldn’t keep doing it by accident. “Do you have a swimming pool?”
“What?” Flint responded before Cam did. Though Cam’s confused face reflected Flint’s tone.
“A swimming pool. You know, big, filled with water, you can swim in it?” She turned around, not moving away from Cam’s arms, and his hands trailed over her in a tantalising way she almost couldn’t ignore.
“I know what one is, just not why you want one.” She raised an eyebrow, wondering how long it’d take him to catch on. “Oh.” Understanding dawned on his face.
“So, do you have one?” she repeated, just about refraining from tapping her foot with impatience. He really was trying his very best to wind her up.
“Yes, we have a swimming pool,” he answered eventually.
“Great, where is it?”
“Down the hall, I’ll take you in a second,” Cam whispered in her ear, and she nodded.
“Can I watch?” Flint said hopefully, referring back to his desire to watch her shift.
“No.”
“Why not?” he demanded, his voice firm and more than a little inviting if she was honest. A part of her wanted to take him up on the promise there, but the rest of her squashed it down, reminding her that she was still mad at him.
