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Two sets of feet walked through my kitchen before Chris and Dalton settled on the loveseat across from us. Both carried dark lines under their eyes. Dalton still suffered from bouts of nightmares our Uncle Leo, the Fire Elemental, had caused. He’d been free of the nightmares for three weeks until two weeks ago when we’d returned home from the Dark castle.
Chris’ nightmares had begun a few days after our return. We’d all thought he’d luck out and recover emotionally and mentally as fast as he’d physically begun to heal. He hadn’t been that lucky. His time at the Dark castle still caused him pain, just not physically this time, unless you wanted to count the lack of sleep.
Drew tossed the second half of our cookies across the room. Dalton caught them without even looking. Talented Air Elemental.
“You should probably go shopping soon.” Chris’ words were said around an entire cookie and sounded more like mumbo jumbo than words, but no one complained like we would have a month and a half ago. We’d almost lost our brother. He’d come home to us changed—in some ways good, and others not so much. He’d matured and thought of others, but he was afraid. We’d spar and a memory would come back to him, and he’d need a few minutes to calm down.
All my life I’d been healing their bodies, and now when they needed me most, I couldn’t heal their minds. Not that I was one to speak. If those two were nightmare twins, I should have been added to make it triplets. They needed everyone’s attention and love to heal, though. I didn’t know what I needed, and no one knew I had a problem.
Yes, we’d all kept secrets like this over the years to hide our weaknesses from each other, but my brothers were worse off than me. They needed more care than I did. I’d dealt with my problem for sixteen years off and on. I could continue. The nightmares would stop soon, and I’d be free of them for a while longer. I just needed to get past seeing her face in them.
“You’re going to need more milk,” Drew told me before the door opened. “Grab another package of cookies and a glass. Might as well bring a whole gallon of milk over. Jeff doesn’t remember drinking his, and he’s thirsty again.”
Adam dropped the milk on the large square coffee table we all shared. “It’s four in the morning. I don’t think anyone remembers anything at this hour.”
My tallest brother received a thumbs up for having my back. He’d also brought two glasses to the table along with three more packages of cookies. Carmon would be joining us. That meant we’d all be in for a long night. Not that we were in trouble. There was just a lot happening.
After the door opened and closed again, Carmon settled beside Adam on the last loveseat.
“You’re still leaving in the morning, Dalton?” Carmon gave a massive yawn.
“In an hour,” Dalton confirmed. “Chris and Sophie are dropping us off to meet Damian and Uriah.”
Carmon eyed the two men. “Should either of you be behind the wheel of a vehicle?”
“Probably not,” Chris said with eyes closed. If I weren’t a healer and able to feel that he was still awake, I’d have thought he was sleeping.
“Great,” Carmon sighed and put two cookies in his mouth at once.
“I miss sugar. Red won’t allow any in the house so she won’t get ‘bigger than necessary.’” Drew used air quotes, and I choked on my milk. He was taking on a few of Jazz’s qualities. Before her, he never would have used air quotes. He’d have rather cut his fingers off.
“So, why’s everyone here?” Adam looked between Drew and me and the other loveseat with the nightmare twins.
“Jeff’s got cookies,” all three of my brothers in question answered at once.
“Why’d you wake him up?”
Drew didn’t miss a beat. “He was awake.”
Carmon cracked open an eyelid. “Your charges don’t arrive until tomorrow night when everyone else gets back. Why are you up?”
“Careful, Cal.” Drew smirked at me. “He’ll ask you why you’re up.”
I opened my mouth to deny it but closed it again. Times like this were why I hated being a Love Elemental.
My brothers chuckled, and I stood to rinse my glass. The element of Love was an asset to my brothers but a curse to me. Knowing vocalized truth from lie would seem like an asset to most, until you realized how often and how many people lie, or say white lies, to you. To your face. Without flinching. It’s worse when it’s your brothers or other family members.
As my brothers had grown up, they’d stopped lying to my face. My element had taken the choice from them. Now, everyone watched what they said to make sure it was the truth.
Next, and even worse, was the part of my element I hated most: my inability to tell a lie. Lilith thought it a gift. People could trust us! Yes, that was nice. People could also torture us for information and know it would be accurate to a fault.
When we were young, Carmon would always ask me who was at fault in a fight or other circumstances. I’d find my face in the toilet or shoved into a snowbank an hour later by the offender who’d been disciplined. It occurred to me after some time that if I didn’t answer, no one could “punish” me for obeying my element. Cal didn’t like it, but he understood. Most of the time.
“Come on, healer,” Drew heckled. “You know why we’re all here. Fess up. Why are you awake?”
I stared out the window above my sink. Tiny snowflakes fell. The cold season was at its peak and would be over soon. Its short cycle made me happier than Carmon, who loved being around his element. Adam hated snow. “Adam and Carmon never said why they’re here.”
Adam snorted.
