Drake was underneath the hood of a car, fixing a brake line when he felt a pulse of power that almost made him knock his head on the truck. The prickling feeling spreading over him was all too familiar.
'Goddamn it, Aarushi, what are you doing?' he thought as he stood up from the hood. His head throbbed as a different wave of magic hit him. The taste left an earthy feeling in his mouth, confirming it as the fairy. The two pulses confused him. Usually, those two never unleashed their powers, especially not during the day. Momentarily, he wondered if they had come under attack, but he didn't feel any other magic in the air. A realization hit him as he looked at the clock. It hadn't been long since he spoke to Isabel at the diner and she had told him her plans with her friends.
Isabel was with them.
Drake cursed as he packed all his tools away. He had posed as the local auto shop manager for the past two years since he left his world for the mediocrity of human living. Well, him and Aarushi. But when they had landed in Arizona, they made a pact between them to keep their true origins secret and hide their powers. At least, that was the plan before they met Snow, who had almost immediately sensed what they were and why they were running. But she had promised to keep their true origin a secret and had kept it for the last two years.
He grabbed his keys and followed the pull of the Light through Aarushi's magic. He could feel himself getting more frantic and unsettled as he raced through town and he tried to ignore the reason why.
Isabel Page.
Since their first meeting two years ago, he had felt an inexplicable draw to her. To be honest, she was always on his mind, no matter whatever else was going on. Often, he thought about their first meeting and how he had almost tripped over his own feet when he had caught sight of her beautiful smile. The air around her shimmered, showing her aura as pure, purer than any other human he had ever seen. Then he felt the pull on his heart that was envied among his kind when they find their match.
His soulmate.
He had recognized the bond of his people immediately but had been holding himself back from acting because she was human, and he didn't want to scare her. He was terrified that she would take one look at him with his powers and his past and run in the other direction. It was unprecedented of his kind ever bonding with a human, especially a soulmate bond. Their auras were often too corrupt or tainted to allow such a connection. The same was with his kind, meaning there hadn't been any true soulmate bonds in a very, very long time. However, through all his efforts to distance himself, he found himself constantly looking for her in crowds and his eyes always ended up following her bright aura at the diner. When she had finally noticed his stares, she didn't freak out as he had feared. She seemed to even return his thoughts but she had shown no intentions of moving farther than slices of pie and late-night conversations.
But if that was all she wanted from him for the rest of his life, he would happily oblige.
Pushing away his feelings about the green-eyed beauty, he finally arrived at what seemed to be the origin of the magic. He passed what he recognized as Aarushi's truck and stopped suddenly when he saw Aarushi move to catch Isabel as she fell. Drake tried to remain as calm as possible as he quickly ran out of his car and over to where he saw the fairy, Snow he recalled, step back from him in alarm. Aarushi, however, didn't flinch since she had been expecting him, knowing that when she had set off her powers, he would have come running. Snow's wings fluttered with anxiety as she frantically glanced between Drake and Isabel's prone body, "Don't be mad, okay? She had a vision and found out ab-"
Drake cut her off with a hand, eyes narrowing slightly, "A vision? She's a Seer?"
Snow rolled her eyes as her wings took on a slightly red hue from her agitation, "If you would let me finish, prince of the Fae, I would have gotten to it,"
Drake huffed at the name but made a zipping motion at his mouth.
Snow's wings faded as she continued, "She saw Aarushi trying to heal her because we thought she was having a seizure or something. She started asking questions and wouldn't let it go so we knew that we had to tell her the truth and she was fine with almost everything until you came and she passed out again,"
"What did you tell her?" Drake asked as he bent down to brush Isabel's hair back as Aarushi continued to try to wake her up.
Snow shifted from foot to foot as she laughed nervously, "Aarushi may have revealed to her that Izzy might be from a race of Ancient Elementals that have been extinct for around 700 years,"
Drake's eyes widened and he whirled around to face Snow, "What?" he breathed out.
Drake turned to meet Aarushi's white eyes. They were serious and for a second, flashed with a dark shadow, reminding him of a time before they had escaped, back when he wore a crown and she wore a uniform.
"Are you sure?" he asked lowly.
She only nodded as she sat down next to Isabel.
"When do you think she will Awaken?"
Snow came next to him and gazed down as Isabel took in deep even breaths, "Midnight, tonight. All Elementals Awaken on their eighteenth birthday,"
Drake blew out a breath, emotions shifting from surprised, to apprehensive and back again. 'This certainly changes things.'
He reached out and placed two fingers on Isabel's temple.
"Come back to us, Isabel," he whispered in his native language.
His power ran through him as he released a little into her, shocking her back into consciousness.
Her eyes flew open and met immediately with his, sending a jolt that shook him to his core. He felt his heart speed up as she looked up at him as if seeing him for the first time. For a second, her eyes sparkled, as if she was looking at the only thing she had ever wanted in the world.
"Your hair..." she breathed out.
Drake cursed himself for not reigning in his magic. Several locks now turned a silvery-white, hung from his face which he pushed back out of habit.
"Are you okay, Isabel?" he asked, searching her emerald eyes for any fear or disgust. But he only found awe as she stared back up at him. Her breath came in quick pants as she looked around confused, forgetting where she was for a second. Then his question seemed to register with her and she seemed to snap out of it, her usual spark in her eyes lighting with a little humor.
"I'm about as okay as most people who find out their best friends are a fairy and an elf and apparently, I'm descended from an ancient line of supernatural beings," she stated bluntly.
Snow snorted behind Drake while Aarushi's relieved smile shined bright as she spoke, "That about sums it up, Iz,"
Drake took Izzy's hand to help sit her and he tried not to focus on how good her hands felt in his.
Izzy looked up at him, almost hesitantly, "So you're... like Aarushi?"
He had to look away or he was going to spill all his secrets to this green-eyed angel. He cleared his throat, "More or less, yes,"
She eyed him intently but seemed to have already reached her limits for new revelations as she didn't pry. He blew out a breath as she seemed to drop it. He was afraid of her finding what he was. Who he was. He was terrified of her reaction to him revealing everything he wanted to keep locked away.
"What do we do now?" Izzy asked, her nerves coming forth a bit in her voice.
"Well," Aarushi started, looking at the now-darkening sky, "We should head back into town. If we're right, Iz, you probably don't want to stay at your dad's tonight. I've only read a few reports on an Ancient Awakening but I do know they're not exactly subtle,"
Isabel tried to hide the quiver in her voice, "W-w-what do you mean, 'not subtle'? Explain please, because I'm thinking of a lot of different scenarios and none of them are good,"
Aarushi was quick to reassure her, "None of the accounts have described it as extremely painful, just uncomfortable and a slightly alarming," she hesitated at the end.
"But?" Isabel asked, bracing herself for whatever next bizarre thing would happen to her.
"From what I read, an Ancient Awakening can be extremely noticeable and perhaps concerning to humans. The Awakening occurring in a being is when the Elements are taken into the body," Aarushi explained, her face becoming focused as she recalled the information from her long memory, "Water, earth, fire, and air are the four common elements, however, there have been some accounts of an Ancient getting an added element, but it differs for each one. Ancient Elementals are also the only element-based being that can interact with the Light. This means that a certain amount of the Light will be transferred into an Ancient, depending on how powerful they are, which can appear extremely bright and you may float. Many Awakenings that took place around humans were thought to be demon possessions,"
Izzy's eyes widened, but that was the only outward sign of her surprise. Drake suspected that she had reached her threshold for weirdness at the moment, so any new revelations were just being added to the pile to freak out later.
"Okay," he stood up, wiping the dirt from his jeans, "That's enough," He reached his hand out to Izzy to help her up, "We need to get you somewhere more comfortable than the forest floor,"
She wobbled a bit on her feet as he helper her up. Instinctively, he pulled her closer to him to prevent her from falling and injuring herself, not even thinking of her reaction. He heard her sharp inhale from their close proximity and he felt himself fall a little more for the delicate creature in his arms as he watched a lovely red hue move from her neck to her cheeks and the tips of her ears.
Aarushi rolled her eyes good-naturedly at him, "Stop making goo-goo eyes at Izzy, Drake, so we can leave,"
'Goo-goo eyes?' He thought as Isabel's scarlet intensified, 'That one is new,'
He carefully helped steer Isabel towards his truck while Snow and Aarushi headed to the Jeep until he stopped suddenly, causing Isabel to look up at him, questioning his abrupt movements.
He almost forgot his question when he met her perfect cut emerald eyes, but he managed to get out, "Are you okay with just driving with me, or would you rather drive with Aarushi and Snow? I know we aren't as clos-"
Isabel cut him off with a small smile that still managed to knock the wind out of him, "Drake, supernatural stuff aside, we've been friends for more than two years. I think I can handle being in a car with you,"
His smile was blinding as they moved closer to his truck. He helped her up into the passenger seat, ignoring the pleasant shocks he got whenever he brushed her skin. She thanked him as he closed the door and jogged to the other side, hopping into the driver's seat.
"You ready?" he asked as he turned the ignition to his truck.
Isabel turned and gave him a small smile, making his heart race ridiculously fast, "As ready as I'll ever be,"