C H A P T E R   S I X T E E N

When I wake up the next morning, the first thing I do is check my phone. 

There's one missed call from Caiden -- marked sometime between when he left my house after the party and when I went to Dom's. Other than that, I have a few texts from Kade and one message from Caiden. 

Nothing on the Elise front. 

I sigh as something in my chest twists, but I can't say I expected her to reach out after what I did to River. I don't want to dwell on the state of our friendship right now anyway, and so I refocus on more pressing matters. 

i'm sorry

The text is from Caiden, sent late last night. I'm still slightly pissed at him, but I know that my anger isn't a good enough reason to keep him out of the loop. This mess concerns him too -- Kaia knows about what he is -- what he can do. He's just as at risk as Autumn, and frankly. . . less than me. 

My name wasn't in the book. Kaia suspects me, but she doesn't know anything for sure. Meanwhile, Caiden has already been marked. He needs to know what I know -- needs to be prepared -- and the fact is, he can help out. After all, two heads are better than one, and if worst comes to worst, I might need his fire power. 

Literally. 

And so I shower and dress, visit Autumn, and head for Caiden's. Unfortunately, the distance between my house and Fairfield Hill means that I have to take the car. I hate driving, hate the way it makes me feel -- anxious and jumpy. I'd long ago realized that as much control as I have over the car I'm driving, I'll never be able to fully anticipate the actions of other people on the road. Anything can happen, and I'm risking my life every time I get in one of these death machines. Being a passenger takes some of the weight off, which is why I always let Autumn drive. 

But right now. . . Autumn. . . 

When I pull up to the Haas estate, the gates are closed, but Caiden gave me the pass code a while ago, after my second visit. I punch it in, and the gates swing open.

Everything seems normal enough as I drift further into the grounds, and I eventually pull up besides Caiden's BMW. There's another car parked in the loop, one I haven't seen before, but as far as I know, it could simply belong to Caiden's mom or dad. Hell, maybe it's Caiden's himself; there are several garages on the property that I haven't yet explored. 

When I ring the bell next to the wide double doors, nothing happens at first. I try again, and static comes through the intercom. 

"Hello?" The voice is noticeably female. Presumably young. 

The fact makes me pause, just for a moment. I try not to jump to any conclusions, even as something ugly churns in the pit of my stomach. Maybe it's one of the cleaners. . . or maybe it's Caiden's mom. Although Caiden mentioned she'd be up at the capital for the next two weeks, she could have finished early. 

"Hello?" The voice comes again, and I snap out of whatever trance I'm in. 

"Hi. It's Noah? I'm here for Caiden. . . " I say carefully. 

Silence radiates from the other end of the intercom, and the static cuts off. I almost think the girl has left me standing out here, but then the door swings open, and I take an abrupt step back. 

"Hello." 

I blink at the girl standing in front of me. "It's you." 

She smiles, and it's suddenly all too obvious where her features stem from. Like yesterday at Dom's, her hair is pinned into a low bun, although perhaps a bit more mussed. Her face is clear and bright, her blue eyes boring into mine.

"And it's you." She quips back. 

At the same time, Caiden Haas jogs up from within the house to stand behind the girl. "Noah," he exclaims, clearly surprised to see me here. He wears a plain white t-shirt and stripped pajama pants, his hair matted to one side. 

I realize that the girl is also in pajamas, although hers are an obvious designed set, sewn with her initials. They must have just woken up, prepared for a day in. 

"Uh - come in." Caiden says quickly, once he's recovered from the shock of my presence. "Noah, this is Mia, my older sister." He gestures as the girl even as he guides her back by the elbow, leaving room for me to slip into the house. "Mia, this is Noah, my - uh - friend." 

Mia simply stares at me. Her eyes have a piercing quality I've only ever witnessed in Caiden's, as if she can see right through me. Yet, where I suppose I should feel unnerved, she also possesses Caiden's soothing aura -- a dangerous combination. 

"Nice to meet you," I murmur as we drift towards the kitchen. I direct the statement at Mia, although she walks behind me as Caiden leads us in. 

"You're an Elemental."

Caiden freezes, halfway around his marble island. "Mia --" Caiden warns. 

"What?" It's only dawning now that Mia is speaking to me. 

"A water talent, right?" She continues. "It's okay, Caiden didn't tell me your secret." Mia shrugs. "I can sense others like me, and you're giving off major vibes." She steps up to sit on a tall stool. 

My ears perk. Talent. That's what Kaia wrote in her book. Almost unconsciously, I take a step away from Mia. 

"Water talent?" I question warily, hesitant to give anything away just yet. 

Mia nods, even as her eyes pick up on my movements. "Elementals. Each with talents. My brother -- fire. You -- water." 

"And you?" 

"Water." Mia grins, and it's Caiden's smile on her lips. "That's what I mean by others. I can sense other water talents." 

I'm not as floored as I perhaps should be. After going so long without labels and terms, it's almost a relief to have a name for what I am -- other than a freak, of course. I'm absorbing everything with earnest, but at the same time, Mia's words only make the information I have that much more pressing. 

"Caiden," I say then, turning away from his sister. "I broke into Kaia's bedroom." 

He flinches, but otherwise manages to keep his reaction until control. "Okay." 

"I searched her room for proof. The proof you said we needed." 

"That's not exactly what I meant, but - " 

I cut him off. We don't have time for technicalities. "She has a book. A book full of names. She's. . . she's been tracking people like us. Elementals. Autumn's name is in there. She wrote notes and everything. I was right about her. She's the one." 

Caiden's eyes grow hard, but I'm not finished. 

"The thing is though. . . so is yours. She knows about you, Caiden. She. . . linked you to Autumn." 

Mia jumps to her feet. My eyes fly towards her, and I watch as she walks around the island to yank the back collar of Caiden's shirt down in one move. She's almost a full head shorter than him, perhaps two or three inches shorter than me. 

Caiden's just as surprised as I am, and for a moment, we're both frozen. Then, Mia lets her brother go, stepping away. 

"It's called the Book of Elements." Mia murmurs, her eyes boring into mine. "Or at least that's what she calls it. Kaia." 

"How --" Caiden and I both stare at his sister, wide-eyed, but she shakes her head. 

"I assume Autumn is another Elemental? And a fire talent? That's the only way Kaia could have linked you two together. Sometime during the critical period, you must have touched her." Mia's face darkens, just barely, and she grits her teeth. "You idiot," she mutters, glancing at Caiden. 

"Autumn's my twin sister." I interject. "How do you know all this? How do you know Kaia?" It's a question I believe Caiden wants to ask as well, but he's still processing, speechless. 

"Because I've seen it happen. People on campus." She states simply. It's a vague answer, one that barely explains anything at all, but before I get a chance to press her, Caiden comes to his senses. 

"Critical period? Linked?" The space between his brows furrows. "Mia, what are you talking about?" 

"I'm talking about siphoning. Kaia. After she marked this. . . Autumn," Mia pauses, glancing at me, "your sister. . . she set a trap. She either knew about you already or you were just unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As soon as you touched her, Caiden, you were marked too." 

"But what does that mean? Why is my sister in a coma?" I challenge. 

Mia shakes her head bitterly. "Your sister should be dead. I'm pretty sure that her link to my brother is the only thing keeping your sister alive. At this very moment, Kaia's slowly siphoning off of them both. And once she's finished, both of our siblings will be goners." 

After Mia unloads all of what she knows, she retreats back to her bedroom to shower and freshen up. This leaves Caiden and I alone together in his kitchen, reeling in silence. 

"I didn't know." Caiden says finally, his voice loud in the quiet. "Mia hasn't been home in while. Not really. I've hardly seen her in the past year. Elementals. Talents. Kaia. I didn't know." 

I sigh, meeting his eyes. 

"I'm sorry." He adds. "For not believing you. I just. . . I guess I wanted you to be wrong. I wanted to ignore it. . . if that makes any sense." 

And just like that, it does. In the midst of my panic and rage, I'd forgotten that Caiden had a stake in this as well. While Autumn was in a deep coma, Caiden had been marked. As far as we knew, Caiden could have followed in my sister's footsteps at any moment. 

It wasn't what I would have done, but I could understand wanting to ignore the situation. Caiden had wanted to pretend that everything was fine. He wanted to pretend that he was completely fine -- and that wasn't exactly possible when I was going around hunting for a villain. I was trying to solve a problem that Caiden didn't want to see as one; he'd been in denial. 

But now he wasn't, and I knew now that that was what mattered most. 

"It's okay," I say, my gaze soft. 

Caiden holds his head in his hands, running his palms over his eyes. "So what do we do now?" 

"We go to Northwestern," Mia answers, returning to the kitchen fully dressed. "We need more information; we need to know what we're dealing with, and I have a friend who can help us." 

n o t e :

hi.

okay, so kinda short chapter, but i wrote it in one sitting so yay! also, i'm really scared i'm leaving something out, so if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask them! they'll probably jog my memory, so i'll either answer them right then and there (and edit the chapter to include the detail), or let you know the question will be answered/addressed later on. 

anyhow, what do you guys think so far? thoughts on Mia? thoughts on Caiden and Noah's relationship? 

as always, don't be a silent reader! pls vote & comment, and thank you for reading!

general comments/questions can go here >>

see you soon,

- gift.