Air {Elements of Power 3}

Chapter 46: Jasmine

The journey back to the boat was awkward, to say the least. Roxy's dad trailed at the back of the group, although when I glanced round I often saw him looking at me: his eyebrows raised, his eyes wide and his mouth slack and hanging open slightly. Even if the possibility had crossed his mind when I was in the Helian Realm, he had clearly, never genuinely thought that I could be his daughter-it was written all over his face.

Roxy was silent too. Avery kept trying to ask her questions and coax her into talking about what had happened-and the bombshell she had just dropped-but Roxy wasn't responding.

It looked as though we weren't trying too hard to keep my mother's secret anymore, but then, I suppose it would have been impossible to tell Emmerich anything without word getting round. Helians liked to gossip.

Avery's mother had protested against leaving her sister locked in a cell with Adresteia. Emmerich, in one of the few sentences he had managed to form, had agreed, but only in so much as that they should be put in separate cells, in case they killed each other. He also told Roxy to Control one of the few remaining staff members we found upstairs to ensure that they were given food and water each day, a necessity Roxy seemed to have forgotten-whether on purpose or by mistake, I couldn't tell. Roxy also, when she thought no one else was paying attention, told the staff member that in no uncertain terms were the prisoners to escape. Roxy could sound very scary when she needed to and this was only enhanced by her bad mood.

Cameron was standing on the bow of the boat as we approached. His shoulders relaxed as I made eye contact with him and he gave me a shaky wave before jumping ashore and rushing towards me, enveloping me in a hug.

"I was worried that you weren't going to come back. I didn't know what to do-whether I should come and find you or not."

"You did the right thing," I replied, pulling myself back so that I could look at him. "We could handle it."

"How did it go, with the whole parent thing?" he asked, lowering his voice to a whisper so that no one else could hear.

I shrugged and gestured to Emmerich. "He looks pretty shocked."

"Give him time-he's just found out that the child he believed to be dead for the past 16 years is actually alive. That's a lot to handle." Cameron squeezed my shoulder comfortingly and led me back to the boat, which the others were beginning to board too.

"I am not getting on that monstrosity!" Avery's mother, Emberlyn, declared loudly, distracting Cam and I.

"But if we leave you here, you'll just let her out as soon as we leave."

"So what if I do, Roxanne? Watch your tone. You forget who you are speaking to."

"Oh, I know exactly who I'm speaking to; that's why I know that the second you let her out, she'll manipulate you into ruining everything we are working towards!"

"Roxanne makes a good point, Emberlyn. I'm not saying that we keep Seraphina locked up indefinitely, but she would cause more harm than good while we are away," Emmerich pointed out, his voice calm.

"It seems a bit ridiculous just to bring her with us to stop her though," Ave said, biting down on her lip. She had insisted on changing before we left the palace, but her skin was still smudged with dirt and ash. "And she would surely be more useful here anyway; do we really want to face Cinaer with a handful of Helians and some Arcans? Adresteia has been organising Cinaer's troops since he left. They've been arriving from all over the Realm in droves and repurposing some of the Brizan's abandoned boats to get across to the Arcan Realm. They're almost ready to leave. Maybe mum could stall them? Or convince them that they're on the wrong side; that they need to fight against Cinaer if they want to get Roxy back."

Roxy looked across to her-our-father, torn. "That does make sense... But can we trust her?"

"Maybe... Maybe we don't have to." Avery looked uneasy as she spoke.

"Control?" Roxy raised her eyebrows. "Do you want me to..."

"No. I should do it."

"Avery! Absolutely not! You cannot Control your own mother; I forbid it." Emberlyn's voice was shrill; panicked.

"I'm sorry, Mum. But it's for your own good."

Her tone changed, oozing out like honey. "You will not free Aunt Seraphina or Adresteia. You will organise our remaining troops and send them to the Arcan Realm on the fastest ship you can find. Once you have done that, the Realm needs reassurance. Use your position to remind them that the family is still in control and that everything will be okay."

"And you will not punish or resent your daughter for her actions; you are proud that she is doing what is best for her Realm." Roxy added in her own smooth tone.

Emberlyn nodded, looking slightly dazed, before drawing her daughter into a tight hug. "I am so proud of you. Good luck over there." With that, she turned and left, leaving the rest of us to board the boat.

We were heading back towards the Arcan Realm in no time.

Most of the Helians went into the cabin immediately, desperate to hide from the water surrounding them. But Emmerich remained on deck, looking out across the sea, to the north.

"You should go and talk to him," Roxy said softly from beside me.

"I don't know. I'm not sure he'll want me to."

She shrugged. "You won't know unless you go and find out." She smiled encouragingly before turning to join the others in the cabin.

Once I was alone, I took a deep breath, then headed over to the front of the boat, where Emmerich was standing.

"Hi," I said shyly.

"Jasmine." I wasn't sure whether that was a statement or a question, so I settled for nodding.

"How... How long have you known?"

"Not long. I didn't know when I was last in the Helian Realm. We went to the Brizan Realm after the escape. The Queen told me everything and Emmanuel filled in a few more gaps after that."

"Emmanuel? The Protector? He... He was the one that told me you had died. He made me believe that Aurelia had lost the baby. Did she... Did she know about you? Or did he deceive her too?"

"She knew," I spoke softly, gently. "Emmanuel tried to kill me. She got me out of the Realm and into Arcan territory as quickly as she could. She thought that it was the only way to keep me safe." I paused, before continuing with the more difficult part of the conversation. "Emmanuel played both of you-he made you each believe that you never loved the other. He forced you apart so he could take the Realm back."

He smiled. "Just because Emmanuel was lying, doesn't mean he wasn't right. I always thought that it was because she had lost the baby, but if she didn't, then there was no reason for her to push me away unless she didn't love me."

"If you saw her again, you would know that wasn't the case. She was so young, Emmanuel manipulated her." I had to make him see-Aurelia loved him more than she loved herself. But Emmerich only smiled at me sympathetically.

"It doesn't matter anyway. Finding out that you are alive means so much more."

It was clear that he wasn't going to believe me. Perhaps, after the war, I could convince him to go and see her. Then he would realise that he was wrong.