Treasured Secrets (The Coveted Saga 1)

Gear. It was his wind. He was here.

Tallis's fight was interrupted when Gear stole his opponent, using the same wind. The rushing air pinned the guy against the hulk already trapped against the tree. My brother was so powerful.

Gear took an authoritative stance, seeming completely fearless as he raised his voice. "The Bradbury blood runs through our veins as strong as ever and as prepared to fight as ever before. We're not peaceful because we're scared of you. You'll be a good example of what happens to anyone with that same naïve notion. When you go after our blood, there is only one fate to suffer."

He looked over at Tallis who seemed to be trying to summon every bit of strength he had in his body. He put his arms in the air for a minute as the vein in his forehead pulsed. Then he thrust his hands toward the men and released an epic explosion that sent a shock of heat all the way to me. They shattered to dust. Absolutely nothing was left of them besides a few crumb-like ashes.

Gear raised his hands pulling wind in cyclone around the ashes left. He sent it whirling through the forest.

"That should ward off some of the others. They may be dissuaded from pursuing us if they see what happened to their comrades," he said calmly.

Everett was rising up now with the life returned to his eyes. Aster had been successful in healing him, which gave me immense relief.

"We've got to get back and help Ayla and Chris," Aster said, sounding more fearful than Gear.

Everyone had apparently come. I was so ashamed.

Tallis swished rapidly through the water to me. He scooped me up as Gear parted the water on our way back, creating a small land trail for us.

Tallis's eyes were so soft and sympathetic as he spoke with such a guilt-ridden tone. "I'm sorry I pushed you so hard. I was just trying to get you out of harm's way when I sensed a new threat. I was trying to give you a soft landing."

I shook my head. He was always apologizing, even after saving me, yet again. I had put my own stupid self in danger, not him. He put me down, allowing me to stand on my own. I lowered my eyes, feeling all the more idiotic.

"You didn't hurt me," I huffed out shamefully.

As my eyes came back up, I looked around at the all of the worried faces from my family. I looked at Everett who had almost died because of me. I felt so horribly selfish.

"I'm so sorry. I just… I'm sorry," I choked out.

There were no words strong enough to express the depth of guilt and remorse I felt for my irresponsible and reckless actions.

Ash nodded at me, and then in a flash, she was gone. Everyone followed except for Aster and Tallis who raced up a trail with me. We hopped in a jeep that was parked on the edge of the trail. Aster took the driver's seat, and Tallis joined me in the back.

Tallis looked at me like something else was wrong. "I can't smell your essence," he said, leaning closer, too close.

I nodded. "I drank the thing of stripper Grandma had."

He seemed to approve of my improvisation.

"That's clever, so how did they find you?" Aster asked, as if she truly believed I was going to have the answer.

"Beats me. I didn't have that blood covering stuff, my oversight, and he said he smelled Bradbury blood, but I don't know how they knew to look for me here. How did you find me?"

Tallis picked my hand up and spoke softly while staring at it. "Every sketch you had drawn of that place proved to be incredibly accurate. I knew you had to be there." Then he added more to his statement, while a hesitant smile played on his lips. "Well, every sketch you drew before you met me."

He handed me my sketch book full of pictures of him. I dropped earlier... again. "You really shouldn't keep leaving that lying around."

His eyes cut up to catch mine.

I smiled uncomfortably and embarrassed. It hurt so much knowing he knew how much I loved him but didn't reciprocate my feelings. I sighed out deeply and shifted the subject when the deafening silence grew to be unbearable.

"How did you know I was in trouble? Did Mom see it?"

Aster shook her head. "She can't see you. You're invisible to her - to all seers. It happens ever so often. She saw the Haluali people being attacked. She shouldn't be able to see them either; however, one of the villagers linked themselves to her when she left. She wanted to be able to keep an eye on things since they were leaving a little early. It's a good thing she did so."

"What?" More tears flooded my eyes now. I endangered everyone's life with my stupidity. "Why?"

Tallis put his arm around me in a comforting motion before speaking. "The dark followers have been searching for them for centuries. They're some of the strongest guardians. They usually take care of the stronger bloodlines because of the solidity of their magic. They've done an excellent job keeping their location a secret."