Here's another chapter coming your way! Enjoy. :)

The pub door slammed behind me. "Kellan! Wait up."

He halted, ran a jerky hand through his hair but didn't turn around. "What Wren?"

I jogged a few more steps, then walked the last couple. The sight of Kellan's muscular body silhouetted by the largest of the three moons in the sky, I ached to have his arms wrapped around me. He was my gravity. No matter how much I resisted the connection between us, just the sight of him made it difficult to want anyone else.

A knot twisted in my stomach and I fidgeted with the hem of my sleeve. "I'm sorry. I know you're trying to help, even if I don't agree with your methods."

"Jaxon drugged you, and you don't agree with my methods?" Kellan's lips drew into a thin line. "Maybe you don't remember the effects of drinking a Feisty Fire Bomb, but I do."

I remembered. If Kellan hadn't rescued me, my mom would be still locked up, and I'd be at the Keep awaiting my future marriage to Jaxon. "He apologized."

"So that makes it okay?" Kellan crossed his arms. "Cause when Jaxon wakes up, I fully expect him to punch me in the face, splay me in two and declare war on the Water Circle. And if I somehow live through the battle, I'm sure"—he gestured to me and then back to himself—"we'll be banned from ever seeing each other again." He wiped a hand down his face. "Maybe I should just apologize for drugging him, and all will be forgiven. Then we can all hold hands, sing campfire songs and live happily ever after."

He had a point. Jax was going to be pissed. "Why does everything with you have to be so complicated?"

"Me? You're the one who's agreed to partner with someone you're not in love with."

I raised a brow and placed a hand on my hip. "And who's fault is that?"

When his eyes glowed a faint aqua, I knew I'd struck a sore spot. My mouth went dry, and I tried to swallow. His ring thrash against my skin, letting me feel the raw emotions between us.

"Mine, and I've been trying to make up for it every day since." Kellan's gaze dropped to the ground. "If I'd only been honest with myself with how I'd felt about you from the beginning maybe things would be different. I guess I was afraid you didn't feel the same way, but when you ran from the building after the announcement of my engagement to Jessica, I knew."

His voice was laced with regret and given the soft tone he spoke in, I barely made out his last words over the evening breeze. The ring's waves slowly subsided into a churning pool, ready to rise or fall with the next crest of emotion.

"Even now," he continued, "after seeing the chair glow white and knowing you wear my knotted ring, I still doubt your love for me." He rubbed his hand against his navy pants. "I don't want to fight."

"Me either."

He raised his head and gave a half smile. "I just thought if I helped free your dad, the Fire Circle's leverage over you would finally be done with."

"Even if we managed to rescue him, there's still the contract." Another brisk breeze picked up and rustled my crimson dress around my ankles, and I rubbed my bare arms trying to keep warm. "I won't be part of a war between the circles."

He shrugged off his Water Circle tunic and wrapped it around me. "Leave the contract to me. Just say you haven't given up on us yet."

I bit my lip.

"You're the only one I've ever loved." He reached for my hand and placed my palm over his heart.

The connection between us sparked and thrummed with energy, linking us together. Even though we both stood separate from one another, I could hear Kellan's thoughts and feel his emotions as if they were my own. I gasped, and before I could lift my hand from his chest, he interlaced his fingers with mine.

Kellan closed his eyes and inhaled a long, deep breath. "If a knotted ring binds two people, they can access the circle's power directly to recharge their energy."

"But I thought everyone tapped into the circle to access their powers."

"Individually we use the ambient energy around us, but it's not like this." He opened his eyes, and they shone as bright as the moon behind him.

I could feel him tug a thread of raw energy loose, tightening his grip around it. My skin itched and prickled with an electric pulse flowing between us. With my heart slamming the inside of my chest, I could barely breathe. I felt supercharged, ready for a marathon.

Only moments had passed, and the bruises on Kellan's cheek turned from purple to yellow and then disappeared altogether. The bright, pink scar Otis had left as a reminder of my encounter with him faded to a thin line. Kellan's eyes dimmed and returned to their usual dreamy ocean blue.

His arm relaxed, and his hand dropped to his side still holding my fingers in his. My leg no longer ached, and without even looking I knew the bone-deep bruises that had covered me were gone.

"Feeling better?" Kellan thumbed my cheek. "I'm afraid this scar will be a lasting one, but it's better than it was."

I held out my arm half expecting to see it glowing with all the energy surging through me. "What was that?"

"Acklemarian couples take partners to recharge their energy stores and"—he blushed and licked his lips—"well, and do what couples do. Relations for Acklemarian's it isn't just about physical stuff, it's a connection to each other's essence. Knotted ring partners can recharge by directly accessing the circle when they touch."

I grasped his chin and tilted his head to the side. "So everyone has the ability to heal?"

He shook his head. "Only knotted ring partners have an additional talent when they access the circle and no two gifts are alike. I know of one pair that can freeze time. Not for long mind you, but long enough to pull themselves to safety if they are attacked." He rubbed his leg. "Given I no longer feel like a horse kicked me, I guess ours is healing."

"The circle has a twisted sense of humor. I never got into trouble until I met you."

"Well, if I'm the culprit, then let's be thankful that both of us can get some reprieve from the injuries you subject us to."

I couldn't help wonder if our new found talent had a cure for a broken heart.

Kellan let out a dismissive chuckle. "You won't need that cure."

That's when I realized our hands were still joined, and we were plugged into each other's thoughts. Without any effort, I could unveil any secret he held from me, which meant... I yanked my hand back.

A devious smile crossed his face. "You can't hide your secrets from me, Wren Delacroix. I know you like Jaxon."

I looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kellan directed my chin back his direction. "But you love me. Even if you don't say the words because you refuse to hurt Jaxon, I know the truth."

"You're delusional."

"Am I?" Kellan leaned in to kiss me.

I pulled back and covered my mouth. "Jaxon may be out, but he's not out of the picture. And if I've learned anything since meeting you two, I know kissing either of you comes with consequences."

He grinned. "Is that so?"

"I have enough to deal with, without adding any more to the pile." I brushed a stray hair from my eyes. "Like retrieve my father."

"Well, you're in luck. That's one thing I can help you with." He bowed, then directed me toward the pub. "If my lady cares to retrieve her friends, we can be on our way."

"I'm not your lady." I handed his shirt back, knowing full well the mix of Water and Fire Circle attire would only raise eyebrows and questions I didn't care to answer.

"Not officially, but you will be." He slung his tunic over his shoulder and followed me to the door.

Thanks for reading! Another chapter coming your way next Sunday. :)