Read Elemental Love for Free Online Page B

touch of hope. Beside them the fire roared, flames shooting up the chimney as if someone had dumped kerosene on them.
    “What man is ever going to want me if it means a lifetime of pain?” Evrain asked. “And if I never find someone, what then? Wild magic let loose can’t be a good thing.”
    “Just like Gregory found Coryn, there is someone out there for you, Evrain. He’ll probably be where you least expect him.”
    Evrain’s eyes narrowed. “There’s something else you’re not telling me, Grandma.”
    “Not at all,” she denied it with a smile. “Now, it’s been a long day. Go home. You will need to have studied the next chapter of the grimoire by tomorrow evening.”
    Her grandson stood and looked down on her from his full six feet and two inches. Dark green eyes flecked with gold regarded her with a frightening intensity until black lashes blinked and he smiled. For a moment Agatha saw herself in the sharp features and raven-black hair. She insisted that he should be neat, clean-shaven with tidy hair. He grudgingly complied, accepting her justification that discipline in his personal life would filter through to his mastery of the craft. Only the slight hollows beneath his eyes shadowed his pale, smooth skin.
    “No one else is allowed to speak to me as you do, Grandmother.”
    Evrain’s voice was unexpectedly quiet but authoritative, and Agatha knew that only his understanding of what she was trying to do ensured his obedience. Evrain was self-assured and confident in most things, but this aspect of his life was still uncharted territory.
    He bent and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    “And get some proper sleep, boy. You have a lot of hard work ahead of you and I can tell you’re tired. No partying.”
    He grinned. “No burning the candle at both ends, huh?”
    “Candles everywhere just quaked in fear. Get out of here.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Oh, Evrain?”
    “Yes?”
    “Don’t think I’ve forgotten that table. The wax will be waiting for you tomorrow.”
    He was out of the door before she could cuff him for his cheeky tone. Agatha watched through the small kitchen window as Evrain strolled down the garden path and out of the gate, shutting it carefully behind him. He moved with the ease of youth, and just for a moment Agatha regretted the passing of the years. True, her talents allowed her to stay healthy and few would credit her with the seventy-five years since her birth, but she was beginning to feel tired, her bones ached. Her driving need to ensure Evrain’s future kept her going but she looked forward to a time when she could relax in the knowledge that he was safe.

Chapter Four
     
     
     
    Dominic Castine straightened his slim frame and rubbed his lower back with a groan. Much as he loved his gardening business, sometimes it could be backbreaking work. It certainly kept him fit—he had no need of an expensive gym membership—but sometimes the aches built up enough that there was certainly some appeal in the thought of a sauna or steam room. “I’ll just have to make do with a hot bath,” he muttered. He took a step back and ran a muddy hand through sweat-dampened hair, taking a critical look at the herb bed he had been planting.
    “It looks perfect, Dominic.”
    Agatha’s voice at Dominic’s shoulder made him jump. He would never get used to the fact that she could sneak up on him so silently but he turned and smiled down at her diminutive frame. He stood almost a foot taller than her stooped five feet nothing but she still managed to make him feel like a little boy, eager to please.
    “Thanks, Aggie. There are one or two plants that I haven’t managed to get hold of yet but I should have them by the end of the week. It’s coming together nicely, though. Should keep you well stocked with herbs for your medicines once everything takes hold. The ground here is so fertile I’m sure everything will thrive.”
    “The earth works hard for your green