Whew...another chapter done! (or at least a part of one.)  Hope you enjoy the latest installment of the book. Thank-you everyone for your continued reading. A huge thank-you to HeaddieD and STACEYSIMPSON3 for helping me sort through all the NBR contest commentary that was left for me this week in my Prologue. 

"Ugh." I buried my head in the pillow. "No, you don't. Trust me. Can't you just leave it at that? You know, without all the personal torture?"

"Wren," he said trying to coax me to say more, "as hard as it will be for you to tell me, I have a feeling it will also be difficult for me to hear." He leaned in closer and whispered in my ear, "Besides a deal's a deal."

I groaned. "Why did I ever agree to those rules?"

"I like to think it was because you wanted to kiss me."

"Ha-ha. No— Maybe it was because I just wanted answers, that I was willing to agree to anything to get them."

"I would say I'm wounded, but you and I both know, that rule hasn't bothered you in the least," he boasted. I felt him release his hold around my waist when he rolled over onto his back. "All right, I'm listening. So, enough stalling already."

My stomach dropped, and my hands began to sweat. I didn't even know where to start. Kellan was going to hate me. Like officially freak out mad, hate me. A pit in my stomach grew with the thought of him leaving me to face Jaxon on my own.

"Wren, are you okay?"

"Uhhh..." I didn't know what to say to that.

"Here." He reached out his hand and interlaced his fingers with mine. "If I had just stood my ground with my father, none of this would have happened. So, whatever you're going to tell me, I blame myself for it. I totally deserve it."

"I'm not so sure about that. I'm fairly certain it was me that drank that Fire Bomb, then agreed to be Jaxon's ring partner. Not you."

His eyes went an icy blue. "You agreed to be his partner, again?"

"Uh, well, it wasn't like I was thinking all that straight. After Jax promised to get my mother out of the Fire Keep, any rational thought I had left just evaporated into a sort of love-drunk version of myself."

"Love-drunk?"

Wow, I was terrible at explaining myself. "Um, sorry, poor word choice."

He sighed. "Why not start at the beginning? I think I need to hear the whole story and how that sparkly ring ended up on your finger."

I took a deep breath, "You're a glutton for punishment. You know that, right? Fine, but remember, you wanted to know." When I got to the part about Jaxon not having a shirt on, and me washing my hand over his sweep, I thought he was going to change his mind about knowing all the details. He just lay there rigidly listening, with his fingers wrapped tightly around mine. Then when I told him I kissed Jaxon and agreed to be his partner, that was when he stopped me.

"Okay, enough," he quietly mumbled. "I think I know the rest from that point." He was so still.

He was gripping my hand as we lay there in silence. His emotions surrounded me and made me wish I could take it all back—every last stupid action from the night. My chest felt heavy. I shifted to my side. "Kellan?"

"What, Wren? If you want me to tell you, I'm cool with everything that's happened tonight. I can't. I'm not good with you dating or seeing another guy. If you're trying to drive me away, by kissing Jaxon or laying a hand on his bare chest, those things will probably do that. Newsflash, I've gone against everything my family wanted so that I can find you. Maybe you haven't figured it out yet. I don't want to be your friend..."

Something inside me broke. "You don't?" my voice cracked.

"No, I don't. I've done that, and look where that's gotten us. As for being your boyfriend? I know my Circle will not be all right with that. Especially, with me being in the position of First. They'll have their demands of me. Besides, I'm not interested in being your boyfriend either."

"Oh..." I couldn't look up to meet his eyes and reveal how I really felt. I just stared at the pillow, trying not to blink the impending tears down my cheeks.

He rolled over to face me. "I know what I want," he said, lifting my chin to look at me directly. "And for once, I'm going to let you know, before you disappear."

A laugh escaped, my lips. "Yeah, I guess I have a habit of doing that whenever you're around. Though, to be fair, I've spontaneously arrived as more times as I've vanished."

"Sure, you're usually mad as hell at me, though. Not sure I want to count those."

"You do have the ability to bring out that reaction in me," I sniffled and wiped my eyes.

"Okay, before, I lose my nerve..." He took a deep breath. "We've known each other since we were kids. I've scraped my knees and hung from trees because you dared me to. I have gone on prongmera rides just to be with you."

"You did? That's so sweet," I teased and gave him a playful shove.

"One time when we were riding," he said as he pulled the covers over him, then continued, "I finally got brave enough to reach for your hand. Amaress saw me and craned her neck around tried to bite me. The stupid beast nudged me right off my mount and over the bank we were riding beside. I landed breaking my collarbone and couldn't crawl back up. So you climbed down and put my arm in a sling by tearing your dress into bandages. We had so many bruises from the two of us falling and scaling our way back up that cliff. But even filthy, covered in scratches, and you still took my breath away."

My heart began to race like I had been waiting my whole life for him to say that. "Me?" I squeaked out.

"I don't want to be your friend or your boyfriend. I've never said anything to you before, because, like an idiot, I didn't want to risk losing you. What I realize now is that if you don't know how I feel, I'm going to lose you to Jaxon." He took a deep breath and let it out. "What I trying to say is, I want to be you to be my partner."

"Even after everything that's happened tonight?"

He nodded, then sighed. "I know you're already promised, but I also know you don't love him."

"You're sure about that, are you?" I smirked.

"Yeah, I am." The luminance of his eyes flickered, then changed to a more intense hue of blue. "I know that because your heart is already taken."

"Oh really? Then who has my heart, oh wise seer?" I rolled onto my stomach and propped my head up on my hands.

"When that molten fireball was heading at you, it was water that put those flames out. With that fire ring," he said pointing at my ankle, "you could have absorbed those flames in a heartbeat—but you didn't choose Jaxon's talent. You. Chose. Mine."

"First of all, I didn't choose anything. It just happened. And secondly, are you implying I can somehow use both fire and water abilities?"

I lay my head back down on the pillow, trying to grasp everything he just said. He moved over to face me and placed his head on the other side of the pillow. "Yes, you did," he smirked. "I don't know how, but could hear your silent plea, 'go out, go out, go out,' in my head. Then," he paused and brushed my hair out of my face, "I could feel your presence reach out and wrap around me, as you drew on the water circle." He gently dragged his fingertips down my arm, then picked up my hand and kissed the back of it.

"You could hear me?"

"Yup."

"Geez. If Jaxon knew that, I think he would not only have finished the job of destroying the kitchen but probably taken down the house too."

"I've gotta tell ya, the look on his face is one I'll remember for a lifetime." He chuckled and looked up at the ceiling. "Let's just say, I think he knows something had happened between us. And to answer your earlier question, you should be able to use his talent to a small degree." He looked back at me. "—After all, you are wearing his ring." His statement hung in the air, silently acknowledging the elephant in the room.

"Kellan, that's not exactly fair."

"Yeah, but it's true," he said sounding heartbroken. "You can call it off you know."

"Sure. All I need to do is win the lottery, procure a get out of jail free card for my mom and to go into hiding for the rest of my life to avoid the Fire Throne's wrath."

"The dowry." He sighed. "Do I want to know the amount?"

I shook my head. "I wish I didn't know. It would take my whole lifetime to earn that kind of money."

"Come on Wren, how much are we talking?"

"Jax said, 'it was paid in Acklemarian stones', but it equated to something like two million dollars."

"At the double rate, that would be four million to release the contract. He'll likely demand expenses for trying to find you as well. I see what you mean. That is a lot."

"Ugh..." I buried my head in the pillow. "Okay, you're not making me feel any better."

"Wren—" He picked up my hand. "If you agree to be my partner, it's not like you'll have to come up with the dowry—I do."

"Either way, it's not like that kind of money is just going to appear without a winning lottery ticket. Unless you have a secret safe filled with money in the floorboards of that luxurious cabin of yours."

"No, of course, I don't. But I do back in Acklemar, in the Water Circle vault."

Oh. My. God. He was serious. He was asking me to be his partner.

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