Water's Wrath (Air Awakens Series Book 4) by Elise Kova

on a physical level more than necessary. Vhalla remembered Jax cautioning Aldrik once about touching her when she was under the influence of crystals. Her friend didn’t seem to mind the lack of contact.
    On the night of the event, the whole Crossroads glittered gleefully. Men and women paraded around in their best clothes, admiring and hoping to be admired. Though only the nobles were invited to the Imperial party at the royal hotel, it seemed everyone wanted to be involved in the revelries. From what Vhalla knew of the Crossroads, within an hour it would be nothing but drinking and dancing.
    An alcoholic haze suited her goals for the evening. She wanted people to have blurred senses and relaxed postures. Vhalla had dirtied her cloak to the point that the blood was no longer recognizable and the stench it held from that dirtying process prompted people to turn up their noses and walk away as quickly as possible. No one wanted to pay attention to her or her companion.
    “You smell like shit,” Jax mumbled.
    “I worked with what I had. And it’s working well.”
    “Yeah, you’re the Crossroads’ last candidate for a Lady of the Court right now,” Jax teased.
    Vhalla looked around nervously, but no one seemed to register his comment.
    They walked against the flow of people, as most were heading to the center of the Crossroads. Vhalla and Jax continued down the southern road to a large estate. Giant walls framed it in, a single iron portcullis its only entry. They made two laps before stopping on a side street.
    “Well, it appears no one is home,” Jax mused into the quiet. “Isn’t it nice he sent out his servants as well?”
    “He doesn’t seem like the nice sort . . .” Vhalla stared at the wall that was nearly twice her height. Was it too quiet? “We need to get over this.”
    Jax pressed his fingers against the tightly fitted stones. “Difficult to climb.”
    “You’re taller than me.” She turned and braced her back against the wall. Vhalla laced her fingers, ready for his heel. “I’ll help you up first.”
    “But then what’ll you do?”
    “Just trust me on this.” She needed his trust, because she wasn’t quite sure if she trusted herself.
    Jax put his foot in her hands. After a moment or two, they managed to lift him high enough that he could grip the top of the wall, pulling himself up the rest of the way. Stretched flat, he put his hand down to her.
    Vhalla clenched her fists. She may be able to jump to his hand, but what was the point of training for weeks with Gianna’s ladder if she didn’t try something a bit different? She was a Wind walker , after all.
    She raised a foot and felt the pocket of air appear underneath it, resisting her, holding her in place. She raised another foot to meet a higher pocket of air. Her toes wiggled as she stepped upward, uncertain atop the shifting currents. It was a trick to trust her magic over her instinct.
    In short order, Vhalla sat on the top of the wall next to Jax.
    “Why didn’t you do that for me?” he finally managed through surprise.
    “It’s hard for me to do to my own body. I wouldn’t trust myself with getting it quite right for someone else,” Vhalla explained. What if she used too much air and sent him flying backwards, head first into a wall? She could instinctually self-correct for herself, but not for another person.
    Jax accepted the information with a nod. Vhalla was relieved he didn’t press too much. She didn’t have all the answers; she was still making up her magic as she went. And they needed to be moving.
    They descended into a quiet corner of a rock garden that spiraled around the entire home. Vhalla blinked her eyes, activating her magical sight. She stretched her hearing along the wind.
    “There’s no one here,” she announced after a quick survey.
    Jax relaxed a bit. “Good, we should have time then.”
    They let themselves into the main building of the estate, the door now partly burnt from Jax’s gentle