Free Caution to the Wind: Book One of the Elementals Series by F. R. Southerland

through loud and clear. “We’ll meet you in the training room. You need to hurry.”
    Callum glanced to Loren. “What kind of emergency?”
    Loren’s heart thudded against her ribs and she bit down hard on her lip.
    There was a long pause before Levi spoke again. One word. A name.
    “Avery.”
     

Chapter Eight
     
    She had to stay calm. That was all there was to it. It had been an hour. Loren stopped her pacing outside the infirmary door, but her worry had yet to abate. She believed Avery’s condition was urgent and no one had yet to tell her the details. Eva's pale face and insistent tone as she requested Loren to remain outside frightened her.
    Levi waited with her as only family seemed permitted within the infirmary. She tried to look through the window, but the blinds had shut. Through the slits in the plastic, she had a partial view. She caught a glimpse of Avery's bare torso. Callum stood nearby. Eva paced.
    He’d gotten hurt while he’d been in the city. No one knew the details. Even Levi, who seemed to know everything, was clueless. Loren glanced over at him. He sat at the computer terminal where he'd remained since it began.
    From what she'd gathered, Avery showed up in the kitchen with his shirt torn and bloody. That was how Levi had found him.
    “He'll be fine.” Levi's voice cut through the silence. His attention remained focused on the computer screen.
    Loren wished she had his level of confidence, but she didn’t. Nodding, she drew her arms around herself and looked back to the infirmary. “I hope so.”
    “He will. Cal’s got it under control.”
    “Aren’t you worried?”
    Levi shrugged in response. She hated how he was so calm, aloof. Did this happen often enough that he’d become jaded? Or did he just not care at all? Her mouth pulled down in a slight frown.
    The waiting was the worst part. She longed for some word, to know what was happening inside that room. It was difficult enough already to keep her anxiety and her powers in check. “I wish someone would tell us something.”
    Levi pushed his chair back. It rolled across the concrete floor to stop in front of her. “Look, I said Cal has it under control. This isn’t the first time Avery’s done something stupid and gotten hurt for it.”
    She wasn’t naïve. Avery’s hooded superhero routine was dangerous—the mugging on the night they met came to mind. It was ridiculous for her to think this was the only time he’d ever been hurt. He was experienced, but it wasn’t a comforting thought.
    He helped people, risking himself night after night. He was a friend to the city. And a friend of the city probably had enemies. The sudden image of a supervillain wearing a ridiculous costume and sporting a massive sci-fi ray gun popped into her head. She shook it away. “I know. It doesn’t make me worry any less.”
    Levi rolled his eyes. His lip ring moved when he poked it with his tongue. “You’re really uptight, you know? Edgy. I thought Eva was bad, but you take the cake. The whole entire three-tiered cake.”
    “What do you mean?”
    He crossed his arms. “I mean you have problems.”
    Loren’s brow furrowed. “Well… so do you.”
    He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Is that the best you’ve got? No shit I have problems. Who doesn’t? But you…” Levi paused, gesturing toward her. “If you stack yours one on top the other, you’ll be right up there with them.” He nodded his head toward the infirmary door. “You fit right in. You’re just like them.”
    Considering he’d said it all with derisive bitterness, she was certain he was trying to offend her. All she could do was stare at him, unable to come back with a convincing or appropriate response. She drew her arms tighter around herself and looked away from him.
    “I’m right. I know I’m right. And you know it too. You get the same look on your face they do when they realize that.” Levi let out a scoff. “I was hoping you’d be different.”
    “Why are you