Page 11 of Elemental Evolved


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Timmon was silent for a long time, but he finally agreed. All the blood rushed from my head, and I couldn't believe what was happening as Timmon moved around his table and came to stand in front of Tessa. He repeated the agreement once more, and as soon as they sealed the agreement with a handshake, Griff stormed out, his anger radiating out of him like the heat of the lava of his home realm. I turned and followed, not wanting him to be alone right now and not particularly wanting to stay at the dinner.

The others moved as well. All of us were leaving in a silent protest of what had just occurred. The bond between Tessa and I stretched, but after a few moments, I could sense that she was following us.

I knew she wouldn't want to stay at the dinner without us, but it still felt good after listening to her agree to marry somebody else, that she was coming with us. Almost as though, if she had stayed there, she would have been truly signing herself over to Agartha, even though I knew that wasn't the case.

Griff marched ahead of me, somehow winding his way through the trees, and I assumed back to our room, not that I was sure about that. Something about the Agarthan wilds made me lose all sense of direction, so I wasn't really sure which way we were going.

If I hadn't been able to feel that Kai, Dresden, and Niall were behind us, I might have been worried, thinking someone might attack Tessa from behind, but I knew they were watching over her more carefully than Griff or I were in that moment. Maybe if I hadn't been so worried about what Griff might do while he was this upset, I would have felt differently, but I was honestly more worried about anybody who might get in grips way.

In his current state, I knew he was liable to lash out; if that happened, I didn't want to know the consequences, especially with Leader Timmon dictating them. All we needed was for someone to get hurt, and I was sure that Timmon would hold it against us in any way he could. Who knew what he might demand next? Maybe he'd require Tessa to have a kid with the Agarthan before he was willing to help. Seemed like something his crazy mind might come up with.

As though my thoughts had summoned somebody, a man appeared on the other side of the tree just in front of us. "Griff, stop," I called.

Griff barely missed the guy, and I expected him to just keep walking and the guy to stay out of our way, being as scared of us as most people were of warriors from anywhere other than their own realm, but the idiot called out.

"Wait, please," his voice was barely above a whisper, just a hiss, as though he didn't want to be overheard.

I turned and looked at the man. He was in even more obscuring clothes, as though he was trying to hide, even from his own people. "What?" I snapped.

The others caught up with us as the man started talking. "I came to pass along a message. The Leader is not what he seems."

"So he's not a psycho trying to play matchmaker to exert his power over a woman half his age?" Dresden asked as he raised an eyebrow at the other man.

"No, he's worse. He's ruthless and bloodthirsty. Everyone at the dinner tonight was there because they had no choice. If they hadn't shown up, they would have been taken by his guards and punished for disgracing him." The man's voice shook.

"What guards? I haven't seen any." I wasn't sure how much I believed this guy. It didn't help that he seemed hesitant to answer my question.Dres, is he telling the truth?

Distract him, and I'll find out.

I knew Dresden would deliver, but I needed to keep the guy's attention, so he didn't feel Dres rifling through his thoughts. "Where are the guards? Why haven't we seen any?" I asked again.

"I'm one of the guards. We're not supposed to be seen," he hissed back at me, clearly frustrated.

I looked over his outfit once more and realized that they were camouflaged. The guards were meant to blend in with their surroundings. "So you would take them and punish them?"

"Yes, it's the only way to keep my family safe. I hate what we do, so I'm here instead of at my post. If I get caught, then I'll probably be executed. You need to know who you're dealing with, though. He's got everyone in Agartha scared for their lives, and he rules over them with an iron fist."

"But people spoke out against having us here at the dinner. People dissented right in front of us, and nothing happened," Kai said quietly.

"My lord," the guy dipped his head.

"You know I'm an outcast, don't do that." I expected Tessa to come forward and ask what that meant, and why Kai had been referred to like that, but she didn't, which made me worry for her in a whole different way.

"Yes, my l—Yes, sir. The people who dissented had special privileges. They use their power to keep others in line, so Leader Timmon cuts them some slack, though I'm sure they will be punished for that later once it's not so obvious."

I wanted to ask how Timmon got in power, but I had a feeling I knew, and it wasn't my story to tell.

"He'll kill you if he thinks you're a threat. Be careful. He's planning something, I know it. I want Agartha to be stable and survive whatever is happening, but sometimes I wonder if our leader wants the same thing." He sighed heavily. "I have to go. Be careful."

He pulled a hood up and practically disappeared into the trees. I was honestly surprised at how thoroughly he vanished.

After a moment, I turned to Dres, who simply nodded. I assumed he didn't answer my unspoken question aloud because the guard could have still been in the area, especially if he was that hard to spot.

The nod could only mean one thing, though. The guard had been telling the truth, and based on his last statement, I couldn't help but wonder if Leader Timmon was involved with the One Realm cult. If so, was the marriage just a trick? He'd never give us the stone willingly, much like Ailsa hadn't in Hyperborea. At least there was no way for him to imprison Tessa, though, not without taking all of us anyway.

He'd had the chance to do so when they arrived before us. So why hadn't he? What exactly was going on with Leader Timmon? And why the hell did he want Tessa to marry someone from Agartha?

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