Chapter 13

Petey and Elijah turned around when the door to the lab opened. The Healers had invaded the office when their findings had turned up positive. Aiden had been poisoned by magically turned algae. The thought of it made the young technopathic shiver in horror. He couldn't image being poisoned with a plant that was helpful to the environment.

Tyler brushed by all of them and went straight to his computer. He barely managed to get the half full mug on the table before he started typing furiously. He didn't acknowledge anyone as he punched a new algorithm into his computer. When he hit enter, he sat back and watched his computer do all the work.

Rowan turned to Jess. "What is his deal?"

"He's figured out how to know who the enemy is," Jess replied.

"Shouldn't you be figuring on how you're going to tell Leothain?"

Tyler turned around in his chair. "Go ahead. It will be about thirty minutes before this thing spits out the answer. My computer may be state of the art but it's still slow when it has to process things at high speeds. I'll call you when it starts winding down."

Despite looking at them, Tyler was still preoccupied. His eyes weren't focused and he was doing calculations in his head. He looked like a crazy person who had done too many lines of several drugs.

Jess looked at Kasta. She gripped his hand and nodded. If she agreed with his friends, then it must be important to her as well. He nodded to Tyler and allowed her to lead him to her father's flat out in the backyard.

Outside, the air smelled of mud and cypress. Rain was on the way, making it muggy and hotter than it actually was. Jess enjoyed it, but he could really do without the humidity. His nape was already soaking wet, the collar of his shirt annoying him.

He could feel the Elf-maid's apprehension flowing through him. He wanted to offer encouragement to her, but he wasn't sure what good it would do for her. She had lived longer than he had by several miles so he was a little out of his element in this department.

Kasta's nerves were fried as she walked through the palace towards her father's flat. She felt bad for running out on him when he was trying to look out for her. But she had had to. If she hadn't, her father would have had his way and that wasn't something she could live with. Nature had already altered her steps so she was thrust in Jess's path. She was not going to fight destiny.

She could feel Jess probing her mind gently. He was opening a telepathic bond between them that would deepen as the years went on. She hoped she could be like the other couples she had seen, such as Kathryn and Jordan. They had a bond that ran so deep they could talk with simple touches. She wanted that relationship but with their own quirks.

She had had time to watch the humans around her, and she envied them a bit. In their short lives, they searched for someone to love unconditionally. When they found them, it was like their entire being was made whole. They were able to find fulfillment in such a short time.

It took several years after adulthood for one of her own to do that. They didn't love any less, but their love was more like fondness. They were cordial to each other, and the only times physicality was expressed was when they decided to have children. They didn't have to worry about death or disease taking them, and sometimes she wondered if they were bored with their longevity.

Jess pulled her to a stop and kissed her tentatively, pressing his mouth to hers gently and repetitively. She knew what he was doing. He was wiping away every fear and every evil thought she had about this whole situation. In all honesty she couldn't even think about a world without Jess.

In the span of several days, he had wrapped his entire being around her. It wasn't suffocating. It was very comforting, and it made her want to see where it went. She knew he would pass before she did, but she couldn't see her life without him anymore.

They stepped out into the backyard and into the throng of Elves. They had obviously seen the PDA through the window but Kasta didn't care. She made sure they noticed that when she rested her head on Jess's shoulder. Due to her culture, she had never known touching could be so wonderful. Now that she was aware of what the bond could do, she never wanted to let it go.

"Kasta," Leothain said.

"I'm sorry, father," she replied. "I know it is against the rules to show any fondness for the person you intend to life the rest of your life with, but can't you see? This is him. This is the person who was meant for me."

Leothain looked between his daughter and the man standing at her side. She was claiming a life with a man none of them knew and whose culture they were just beginning to understand. She had been taken care of all her life. He had wanted a good match for her. He had wanted the best for her.

Most importantly he had wanted her to make her own decisions. When she had decided to come on this trip with him, his councilors had thought she was headstrong. They had told him to leave her back in their realm. But he had told her she could come along. What trouble could she get herself into?

He was wrong. They all were. She hadn't gotten into trouble. Oh, no, she had gotten into a whole slew of it, starting with being drug into a secret council and ending with her claiming a human. This could bode ill for them all or they could accept it and make due. He hated thinking about it that way but that's how his people would think about it.

Jess could feel the emotions warring in the Elven King's head. He didn't want him to be the one who was good for his daughter. Jess knew the Elf could see the faint glow around them. It was fading due to Jess binding Kasta to him. It would be completely gone in the next twenty-four hours.

"Sir," he said. Everyone looked at him. "I know I'm not the first person you would choose for your daughter. I understand that, but from what I understand, your people believe in destiny. If someone finds their destined mate, you are behind them wholeheartedly. My people are the same way. When we find our destined person, we celebrate. All I ask is that you be happy for your daughter."

"I have never wanted anything less for my daughter," Leothain replied. He cast his eyes down. "You may know the Elves live for thousands of years. There are only a few ways to kill us. You either poison us, slay us, or we die from a broken heart. My wife died a couple decades ago. If it had not been for my children, I would have never made it. So excuse me for being protective."

Jess smiled sympathetically. "I completely understand. I may not be a father but I do have a younger sister. Aiden's been though a lot in her short lifespan. When Dylan's biological father refused to care for either one of them, we all wanted to kill him. Not because he backed out of his responsibility, but because he broke my sister's heart. Then Clint came along and it was like everything was new again. If not for Clint, I think my sister would have given up hope of ever finding true love again."

Kasta looked up at Jess. He was a master of words. She had noticed he could twist whatever he was saying to make it sound good to everyone else. It was one of the things she really liked about him. Love was a strong word and she had only been around him for the last week and a half. She hoped with all her heart that they could fall as deeply in love as his sister.

Leothain watched his daughter closely. Something about her had changed in the two months they had been in New Orleans. The first few weeks they had watched and waited to show themselves. They wanted to garner as much information as they could to see if they were truly needed.

It was recently that he had caught the changes to her. She was more outgoing than she had been. He liked to see her like this, but he hadn't thought she would find a human to spend her life with. It must truly be fate for this to happen, and who was he to tempt fate?

"If I allow her to remain, you must promise me you will take exceptional care of her," he said.

Jess smiled. He looked at her with the same expression Leothain's wife had for so many centuries. "I promise."

It took a long look at Kasta for the Elven lord to reply. "Then I give you my blessing."

Kasta's smile was huge as she launched herself at her father. He caught her and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, father," she said.

"You are most very welcome." He looked up when Jess's face went slack. He was staring at nothing in particular, but the silver around his eyes was even more vibrant than before. "What is it?"

Kasta turned around. She had grown used to the look when it was something serious. Any other time his face would still be animated. "It must be Tyler. We have to go to the computer room."

Jess came out of his stupor and looked at her. "We have to go. Tyler found something."

Leothain shooed them away. "Go. Figure out who is behind this so we can finish our alliance. We will have much to discuss."

Jess gripped her hand tightly. His face was slightly pallid, but there was no emotion. "Let's go."

Together they turned away from the other Elves and walked into the house once again. Kasta was feeling that she was going to have whiplash if they went in and out of the house.

They were up the stairs to the computer room, though it took a minute because people wanted to talk. They had to tell the others it would have to wait because they had more important things to worry about right now. They would answer any questions at a later date.

It was crowded. Clint, Cole, Andy, Wyatt, Rowan, Tyler, Petey, Austin, Keldin, and Paycen had somehow managed to cram themselves into the room. The only one missing was Elijah.

"We found the witch who had turned the algae into poison. Elijah's going to deal with her on his own terms," Tyler said as they walked into the room. He was clicking away on his computer again, this time with such speed the keyboard was shifting forward slowly.

Jess nodded his head and rolled his eyes at the same time. "I should have known. Every species has their own rules."

They stopped and watched the computer screen intently. It reminded Clint of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" when the kid was turn into television particles then relocated on that small landing pad. It was as if they were waiting on the kid to appear before them. But instead of a kid, it would show who was trying to kill them instead.

"Holy shit," Tyler muttered.

"This can't be possible," Cole said.

"Where is she now?" Austin asked.

"She's in the nursery with the children," Clint said seconds before he slammed out of the room with Cole and Andy hot on his heels.

Keldin pushed his brother into a chair. "No can do, Scooby. You need to sit here and wait."

Austin sputtered. "You can't possibly think I'm going to sit here and not do anything."

"I can and you are. You're still too sick. Let us deal with this. I promise you'll be on the next hit."

Austin was mad but he sat where he was told to sit. Keldin looked at Jess and nodded. The older man was gone before the twins could say anything else.