Page 21 of A Touch of Iron
Each day Violet lived in Air Village was filled with struggles. She was secluded in the woods with only her nonexistent hunting skills to use for foraging food. Every time I saw her, I came away more worried than the last time.
“Is she okay?” Ansel asked, inching closer.
“She’s doing perfectly fine,” I lied. “It’s the easiest trial I’ve seen to date.”
“Does she have any … romantic partners?” he asked quietly.
I chuckled. “No. She’s perfectly single. So rest easy, brother. She’ll be back in no time.”
I didn’t want to worry him, but Violet was spending an abnormal amount of time with the fire elemental, Creed. Almost every time I went to Air Village to check on her, they were together. She was losing weight and I wondered if she was getting enough to eat. My worry for her kept me up at night.
Kazimir told me to trust her. To have faith that she’d know how to take care of herself, but there was an overprotective streak in me I never knew existed until Violet came along. Before her, the only one I’d ever wanted to protect was Ansel.
“The King wants to see me tomorrow morning,” Ansel admitted. “He wants an update on Tessa to see if she’s mentioned who Vi’s father is.”
I frowned. “Did you promise him that you’d get that information?”
He shook his head. “No, but you know the rules. If he asks me the right question, I won’t be able to lie.”
“Have you spoken to Kazimir?”
Ansel sighed. “No. He refuses to come because Tessa is here.”
I exhaled loudly. “So when am I going to find out what your miraculous plan is?”
Ansel peered down at his hands before looking up at me. “As you’ve probably guessed, I’m working with Kazimir.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I sort of caught on to that. My only question is why? Out of all people, do you really trust him to do right by Vi? He hasn’t shown that he cares about her.”
Ansel blew out a breath. “He actually approached me with the plan.”
“Which is?” I fished, waving my hands for emphasis.
“It’s a stall tactic,” Ansel finally admitted. “Distract him in the meantime—”
“Distract who?” I interrupted.
“The King. He’ll be so focused on wielding Tessa against Vi, he won’t know what’s really going on behind the scenes,” he whispered.
My eyes widened. “Whatisgoing on behind the scenes?”
He gulped. “A lot.”
11
VIOLET
Confusing weeks turned into long months since losing my memory. I continued working with Calypso on regaining my air elemental powers, and slowly but surely, our efforts finally paid off.
“You’re doing great, Aurora!” Calypso beamed as I blasted a bolt of air in the opposite direction. “Each day you’re getting stronger and stronger.”
I exhaled deeply and attempted to catch my breath. Grasping my elemental power came easier, but it took a toll on my energy. “Thanks, Calypso. It’s all thanks to your excellent teaching, of course.” I smiled at her.
Although the memories of my life before were just as elusive as ever, Calypso had helped me every step of the way. I couldn’t express just how much I appreciated her tireless efforts.
She approached and brushed some of my hair back. “You’ve done wonderfully, Aurora. I don’t think there’ll be much need for me soon.”
“Well of course I still need you! I can’t hunt, remember?” I laughed. Embarrassingly, I still hadn’t gotten the hang of foraging for my food. I was fortunate Calypso still came by every day to not only teach me how to use my air element, but also how to survive.
