After Kayden left her at the cabin door, she went inside intent on reading. It was something she’d done a lot of in the past five years. She’d probably read more in that time than in her entire adult life. As the train moved from the station, it almost felt like a wagon whose wheels had been stuck in a rut but suddenly lurched forward.

  She took a moment to breathe and make sure she didn’t get sick, as Kayden had mentioned. After a few moments, it seemed as if the train wasn’t moving at all. She peeked out the window to see that it was in fact moving swiftly but it didn’t seem to bother her, so she let her mind wander for a moment.

  Lyn wondered why she felt safe being alone with Kayden after being abused for so long. She’d thought being around a man, especially one so strong and hard, would intimidate her, but Kayden didn’t. She considered this as she watched the land move by before picking up the book and reading. Eventually she dozed, only waking when she’d heard a noise. It took her a moment to realize it was her stomach. Chuckling to herself, she stood and stretched. Time to head to the dining car. She hesitated outside of Kayden’s door and knocked softly.

  “You don’t look sick.”

  She laughed. “Not sick, just hungry. Will you join me for lunch?” Then she added, “If I’m not bothering you?”

  Kayden stepped outside. “You don’t bother me, Lyn. I like your company.”

  His gentlemanly gesture that she should proceed him warmed her heart, though she got the sneaky suspicion he was staring intently at her ass as she moved forward.

  “My library has a wider selection of books than these two. I’m sure you’ll find some you enjoy reading. What kind of books do you like?”

  She sat at a table that gave them an excellent view of the world passing by and said, “I certainly hope you didn’t carry the extent of your library with you. I read a variety of books. Fiction and non-fiction alike. Histories, agriculture, magic, astrology, romances, mysteries, they all have something interesting to offer. I like to learn. I’ve read a few of the war strategy books in Relskald’s library.”

  “War books aren’t for women,” Kayden stated.

  She snorted, resisted rolling her eyes at him, but only because the waiter came up and they ordered food and drinks.

  Kayden watched her like he was trying to figure something out. She wasn’t uncomfortable with the way he looked at her so she didn’t interrupt his contemplation. Suddenly he asked, “Do you need water nearby to control it or can you summon it too? Can you control not visible water? What about other fluids?”

  Lyn hesitated, uncertain, before she finally said, “I can pull water out of the air. Which admittedly dropping myself into the middle of a desert wasn’t a great idea but I wanted to be warm.” Lyn stopped herself. “I’m sorry that’s not what you asked. I don’t know what you mean by unseen water.”

  There was sharpness to his voice as he said, “By unseen I mean fluids you can’t see. Underground water, for example. Or blood.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I cannot control blood but there are some among my people who can. The more viscous the liquid the harder it is for me to manipulate. The closer to the surface the easier it is to pull water up. I can also pull the water out of the mud but it’s more difficult.” She considered what else she could do. “I can summon a water elemental but I need to be near a body of water. The bigger the body of water the bigger the elemental that I can summon. Not all elementalists can control them but I could at a young age.” Finally, she said, “Some are born with multiple abilities. Edward, my second husband, could control both water and earth. He could create mud elementals.”

  “Elementals only exist in myths,” he said. “As far as stories go, wielders are descendants of said elementals but no one alive has seen one. And no reliable source mentioned them in the last two thousand years.”

  She wondered why they were absent and how they could create human life but chose not to ask him. Instead, she asked, “I know you’re a fire elementalist. Is that what you call a wielder? Do you have any other magical abilities? That is, if you don’t mind me asking.” She’d seen him shift to a cheetah but she’d forgotten for a moment that it was an internal magic, not an external one.

  He pulled out a cigarette but didn’t light it yet, just twisted it between his fingers. “I’m a fire wielder and a cheetah shifter. Nothing else. Changing form is a secondary skill; it runs in my family.” He summoned a small fireball. “I can summon fire, control it, and extinguish it. I also can take control over any fire. If it’s another fire wielder, it’s harder but not impossible.” He lit the cigarette with the flame, then closed his fingers and it was gone. “Our magic is based on our emotions and the purity of our souls. The highest wielders are capable of calling for a pure form of fire. I’m not one of them. And those with the darkest soul can summon one that is just as uncontrollable and hot as wildfires.” He swallowed and Lyn wondered what bad memory that had brought up. “Using magic takes energy, just like everything else. The more trained a person is, the better they become.”

  She listened as Kayden talked about his magic; it was different but in some ways the same. Energy and strength, but for her people, there was an inner strength that people were born with and a person couldn’t go beyond that, no matter how much they practiced. Then there was the fact that he hadn’t mentioned using external magic.

  When their food was served, Kayden stopped talking and extinguished his cigarette.

  “I live on the shore. The west side of the palace looks at the ocean.”

  “That sounds lovely.” She knew her voice sounded wistful as she said, “Ayin is in the northern region where the ocean is warmer, my village was a little inland but we all shared the coast. What is the weather like there? Will I be able to swim in the ocean? I miss that dearly.” She sipped her water.

  “In a few weeks, yes. It’s mid spring, so the weather isn’t warm enough yet. But you’ll be able to swim until mid fall.”

  They ate in silence for a moment before he asked, “When you escaped, what were your plans? And why did you pick the middle of a desert? It’s easy to die there.”

  There was sadness in her voice when she said, “If I was going to die I wanted to be warm before the end.” She didn’t look at Kayden as she continued speaking. “Relskald’s castle was in the far north, always cold no matter what time of year. It was only a matter of time before he killed me, I’d lasted longer than any other woman he had but he was getting impatient with me.” She wasn’t sure if she should tell him this but she looked him in the eyes and said, “I was ready to die but on my own terms and not by his hand. Then I met you and you drew something out in me. I don’t know what it was but realized that I really didn’t want to die. Thank you for saving me from myself.”

  Kayden tilted his head and smiled. “I can keep you warm in other ways too.”

  Lyn laughed and blushed, his words lightening her mood and without commenting she went back to eating.

  He continued eating, never taking his eyes off of her. “You know, you’re a strong woman. I like that about you.”

  “Thank you. I like you too Kayden, I didn’t expect that. We have three days on this train. I’d like to get to know you a little better.”