"Bring a new element online."
Thane's mouth dropped. "You can do that?"
Kendrick nodded absently as he rubbed his chin. "Only on rare occasions" He eyed Kincaid. "What was your magic again?"
Kincaid exhaled as his shoulders sagged. "Broken.
Ari stood and walked over to his unit brother. "Not broken. So far we've seen Earth and Fire."
Kendrick's brows shot to his hairline. "Those are not complementary elements."
Ari nodded. "We think that's why he's having a hard time."
"Newbie in the room, feeling super lost over here. What does he mean not complementary?" Brie asked, trying to follow the conversation.
Nigel inhaled, then exhaled. "There are four elements. Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Air strengthens Fire, Water liberates Earth. Those elements work together well. For him to have Fire and Earth," he winced. "It must be frustrating."
Neil was also starting to get some color to his cheeks. "But, it's amazing that he has two elements at a young age. We only have Earth."
Kendrick looked over at his cousins. "And you're barely one-hundred years old." He eyed Kincaid. "Not that he's much older. Two-twenty five?" he guessed.
Kincaid shook his head. "One-fifty-three."
Kendrick, Thane, Justice, and Law stared. Kendrick began to pace back and forth. "I know the council sends out young witches to fulfill warrior obligations, but this is getting ridiculous. The only reason I let Keelan go was because I had been following Aiden's career for centuries and knew he'd take care of my brother
. To just send these babies out with no support in place…" Kendrick kept pacing back and forth muttering about self-important Muppets.
Meryn grinned. "I love when he calls them Muppets."
Ari scowled at Kendrick. "He has support. He has his warrior brothers."
Kendrick wheeled on him. "I understand that, but can you teach him to channel his magic into roots to ground himself? Can you create a wall of earth or air to buffer him against himself when his fire magic goes awry?"
Ari shook his head. "No, I can't. But Heath Clover and Riley Redwood can. Heath served as Beta's witch for centuries before coming here. He's managed to stay one step ahead of the Witches' Council, and I trust him with Kincaid's training. We've reached out to Storm Keep for more training materials, but haven't gotten any response from the Academy."
Thane turned to Ari. "Please tell me you didn't reveal that he has two elements."
Ari just stared at the witch. "I may be a unit warrior, but I am also a Lionhart. I know how the Storm Keep Witches Council runs the Academy. We kept the request very generic and didn't mention Kincaid at all."
Kendrick stopped his manic pacing. "I have books I can give him. If the Academy reaches out, tell them never mind."
"Your Majesty, I'm not really a baby," Kincaid protested.
Kendrick waved his hand to point at the group of them, his own mate included. "You're all babies."
Aiden grinned. "Dirty old man," he teased.
Kendrick stopped in his tracks then looked at Aiden before bursting out in laughter. He was joined by most of those who had recently come from Noctem Falls. Kendrick wiped at his eyes. "You've just been waiting to say that to someone else, haven't you?" he asked Aiden.
Aiden gave him a shit eating grin. "Of course."
Brennus looked to Aiden. "Did someone say that to you?" he asked.
Aiden exhaled. "Young Stefan, on many occasions."
The queen tapped her fingers to her lips. "Kendrick, can you take down the soundproofing spell. Unless you have any other secrets to divulge."
Kendrick released the spell. "I'm fresh out of secrets." He fiddled with a pouch at his belt and began rummaging through it. When he had both arms in, up to his elbow, Brie realized that there was more to his bag than met the eye. He pulled out two heavy tomes and handed them to Kincaid. "Start with those."