Page 31 of Elemental Healer

“Yes.”

“Let’s steer clear of them then.”

I kept my eyes trained on Nate and the others as Tessa and I wandered the outskirts of the room.

“Hey, Jeff, Tessa.” We’d ended up by the drink table, grabbing glasses of water when Sophie came up behind us.

“Hey, Sophie, how’s your brother liking the cabin?” I was glad Chris had found Sophie. Not being the only healer anymore was nice.

“He likes it a lot. It may be a trial to get him to move back to his castle at the end of all this,” she laughed. The Dark healer turned to the girl still attached to my arm. “Are you liking the cabin, Tessa? Getting settled in?”

Tessa gave what looked like a sincere smile, but I couldn’t be sure. “Yeah, it’s a nice little place, and I’m settling in okay.”

“I bet that poisoning scare worried you a bit.” Sophie cringed. “You looked terrible, Jeff.”

Tessa and I both stiffened. “Thanks, Sophie, but I’d rather move past that.”

“Oh, of course. I need to get back to Chris and my brother anyway.”

I hadn’t meant to make the healer run off, but the poisoning brought back why I wouldn’t be growing old.

“How did she and Chris meet?”

“Chris was attacked in Bard’s Forest by the Mindolin, and Sophie’s team had been trapped there. My brother saved her after her team was killed by the creature. They had it rough, were taken to the Dark castle where Chris was tortured and Sophie was almost married off to an abusive creep.” We turned so the rest of the room was in our view. “Dalton and Grace were trapped in Demon’s Ridge, beaten and not able to handle the heat. Grace was human and wouldn’t make it out of the Ridge in the sunlight. They were forced into the bond to save her, but they did fall in love. Actually, Dalton had already fallen in love with her before that. Carmon and Sylee’s bond was another made out of necessity. They were the first, and I know he still feels bad about how he handled everything. We were at our worst then, and had you come to us looking for revenge, well, you’d be dead right now. Not one of us would have lost any sleep over your death.”

She’d just opened her mouth to speak when a throat cleared. Lady Life appeared on the small stage located in the middle of one of the long walls.

“Welcome, everyone. I have a couple introductions, and then we’ll be seated for dinner.” She held her hands out to indicate two people in the back by Adam. They looked small compared to my brother. “This is Connor and Hazel Dormer. They have agreed to be the voice for the Neutrals in our talks.”

Welcomes were exchanged as everyone made their way to the tables. Our names were written on cards to let us know where to sit.

While we looked, I leaned into Tessa’s ear. “You may be used to formal occasions with Nate, but this is foreign territory to me.”

“Just don’t let anyone near your tie.”

I couldn’t help my burst of laughter at her reply, and she smiled and shook her head at me. What in the world was happening to us? We hated each other and now thought each other funny? Not to mention my Love element was beginning to take all my energy to keep it inside me. Why did it love the woman so much?

After we were seated, food was brought out by servers. The first course was a salad. This would make Drew grind his teeth together. Hopefully someone put something hearty on his plate in addition to the veggies. Too bad he was at a different table so I couldn’t see his reaction.

Nate sat on my left, with Tessa on the other side of him. Damian, Uriah, Dalton, Grace, and Dion Sanders sat at our table. Dion was one of the oldest on the Council.

“That dress looks stunning on you,” Grace was telling Tessa as the servers finished placing our salads in front of us.

“Thank you for letting me borrow it.” Tessa smiled back.

Grace waved a hand at her. “Oh no, that dress is yours now. It looked good on me, but it suits you so much better.”

“Grace, are you sure?”

Nate groaned next to me, and I knocked his arm. He glared at me. “This is your fault, isn’t it?”

“She’s a grown woman, Nate. No matter what you think, she’s able to make these decisions herself.”

“Wait until you have kids, Jeff. One day they will grow up and leave the nest, and you will hope you did all you could to prepare them. Tessa wasn’t a baby when I took her in, but she was young and will always have a special spot in my heart.”

“She knows that, Nate, but don’t hover or one day she’ll really feel smothered. Don’t do that to her.” Not that I had any experience with smothering. If my mother showed even a speck of attention, it would give me heart failure.

Dion Sanders interrupted then and began asking questions of Nate and Damian. They each in turn asked questions, some even to Dalt and me. The two girls talked amongst themselves, and Uriah stayed relatively quiet. I got the feeling he didn’t talk much.

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