THE LOST ELEMENTAL

TESSA HALE

Copyright © 2022 by Tessa Hale. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Design: Deranged Doctor

Paperback Formatting: Champagne Book Designs

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Also By Tessa Hale

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Acknowledgments

About Tessa Hale

1

HEAT. So much of it that it clogged the air and made my skin feel as if it were cracking. I cowered towards the back of the closet, clutching my stuffed unicorn to my chest.

Black smoke billowed under the door, looking like the monster from my nightmares. I coughed. Wracking, choking attempts at sucking in air.

I couldn’t see. Terror seized me as I tried to scream for help. Thick, black plumes of smoke swirled around me. I tried again to yell for someone, anyone, but only more coughing came.

“Aura!”

Some part of me knew the voice. Recognized the safety of my mom.

I scrambled to my feet, shouting that I was here, but my words were a hoarse rasp. How would she ever find me? How could I get free?

A deafening boom. Sparks. Flames.

I was falling. Then there was nothing at all.

I shot up in bed, clutching my chest. As if that would somehow calm my racing heart. The pounding of my pulse in my neck. The roaring of the blood in my ears.

Some extremely creative curses slipped from my mouth. Ones that would’ve had my mom giving me a serious stink eye.

I closed my eyes, trying to search for a measure of calm. That move was a mistake. As soon as I was greeted with darkness, the scent of smoke filled my nostrils. I swore I could taste it on my tongue.

My eyes flew open again. “Bad life choice.”

I threw off the covers. My legs shook as I sat up, dangling them over the side of the bed. I hated that little show of weakness. The nightmares had been few and far between for so long. And then a few months ago, they had come back with a vengeance.

There was no rhyme or reason I could figure out. Maybe it was simply because life was changing. Years of therapy had taught me nightmares could be a stress response. Only my life wasn’t changing as much as most of my classmates’. I’d taken my finals and I’d walk in graduation next week. But instead of heading off to college, I’d be going full-time at the pub around the corner from our town house.

My fingers skated over the burn on the inside of my wrist. Maybe I was wishing I had a chance at normal a little more than I’d thought. My brain circled around all the things that made me not that.

A knock sounded on the door, but it opened before I had a chance to respond. My mom stepped inside, still wearing her uniform. When I was younger, I’d loved that uniform. The pale blue dress with a white apron. The sixties vibe. Now I saw it for what it was. A job that kept my mom trapped, no chance for advancement or an easier life.

It wouldn’t be me. The words were a vow I’d made myself over and over. Every time I’d gotten by on four hours of sleep so that I’d have time to study after work. I might not be heading to a fancy four-year college like so many others were, but I wasn’t giving up either. Night classes were going to be my new best friend.

My mom blinked a few times, taking in my face and hurrying over to the bed. “Why didn’t you tell me the nightmares were back?”

I winced. “I didn’t want you to worry. They haven’t been that bad.”

She tilted her head, giving me a stern look that ordered no bullshit. “How long?”

I picked up my ratty unicorn. Its fur was practically worn away in places. My fingers toyed with one of the ears. “A couple months.”

“Aura…”

“Six,” I said softly.

She pulled me into her arms, and I inhaled deeply. Even though the scents of fried food clung to her, underneath it all, I could smell that familiar lavender. The one splurge she ever allowed herself was that lotion. That scent was her.

My mom’s hand stroked up and down my back. “You should’ve told me. We’re a team, remember?”

I swallowed hard and looked up at her. “That’s a two-way street. You have to let me be on your team too.”

She sighed, brushing my blonde strands away from my face. “It’s my job to protect you. And you’ve already taken on more than you should have to.” Guilt etched into her face. Making her seem so much older than her thirty-eight years.

I wove my fingers through hers, squeezing tightly. “We’re doing the best we can. We have the most important things.” Because when you almost lost someone you loved, you knew exactly what needed to be cherished. And that night ten years ago had almost cost us everything.

“You’re right.” She pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I want to talk to you—”

“Aura!”

The whirling dervish of a ten-year-old tore into the room and launched himself at me, sending me flying back onto the bed. I groaned, but I’d never want to lose the sneak attacks from my little Tasmanian devil.

I ruffled Charlie’s hair, several shades darker than my own. “Yes, monster?”

He grinned up at me. “Can I come with you and Lainey today?”

“It’s gonna be boring.”

He shook his head back and forth. “Nuh-uh. You’re gonna get to see so many cool powers.”

“You see elementals every single day.”

“But not the really powerful ones. Only the ones that don’t have strong gifts.”

I guessed he had a point there. I’d heard stories about those who had true mastery over one of the four elements, or in rare cases, even more than one. They typically had strong ties to the royal lines. The princes and kings were said to even have mastery of three of the elements. But as time had passed, that kind of dominance over earth, air, water, and fire had become more and more rare.

The elementals who lived their lives working amongst humans typically weren’t as strong. Some said it was due to the mixing elemental bloodlines, and others said it was because many elemental males had mated with human women since there were so few women of their kind. Whatever the reason, elementals with muted gifts had lost their cool factor for Charlie.

I tickled his sides. “You hoping to see someone creating a hurricane? Maybe a wind tunnel?”

Charlie squealed. “I wanna see a fire elemental blow something up!”

My tickling stilled as a shiver ran through me.

“Charlie Coleman,” Mom warned. “We don’t talk about blowing things up in this house.”

He gave her a sheepish smile. “What if the blowing up doesn’t hurt anyone?”

My fingers found the burn on the inside of my arm, tracing over the slick, raised skin there. Memories battled against the walls of my mind. Falling through fire. Unable to move. My hands fisted, fingernails biting into my palm. The flash of pain helped but not enough.

Mom shook her head at Charlie. “You’re hopeless.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him up. “Let’s go make pancakes so Aura can get dressed.”

Her gaze flitted back to me for a moment. I thought I saw a hint of worry pass over her features, but it was gone too quickly for me to be sure.

Charlie launched himself off the bed. “Pancakes!”

I forced a smile, trying to shake off the remnants of the nightmare, the memories. “I’ll be fast. Promise.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m starving.”

He grabbed Mom and tugged her towards the door. She glanced over her shoulder at me. “I want to talk to you before you leave.”

“Okay.” I felt a prickle of guilt for lying. I knew she’d want me to go see that therapist she’d found about my nightmares, but that was the last thing we needed to be spending money on. If I dodged the first few attempts at conversation, she’d get so busy she’d forget.

I pushed up from my twin bed and my legs gave out, sending me collapsing back to the mattress. My hands fisted in the blankets as I caught my breath. The nightmares had been taking more and more out of me.

Low blood sugar, I reasoned with myself. I wasn’t always good at eating after my evening shifts. Once I got some pancakes in my system, I’d be fine.

I stood more slowly this time, giving my body a chance to acclimate. After a few breaths, I was steady on my feet. I moved to my closet, scowling at the contents. The idea that we were supposed to dress up for this charade of an event was ridiculous.

My fingers skimmed the hangers inside. Dresses weren’t something I needed on the regular. But I had a few, mostly Goodwill scores. I stopped on a sundress with capped sleeves. It was a pale blue with tiny flowers dotting it. And it fit like it was made for me.

Pulling it free, I tossed it on the bed and hurried into the bathroom to get ready. It was a comedy of errors, the three of us sharing a bathroom. I didn’t even want to think about what would happen once Charlie hit puberty.

I made quick work of getting ready. I considered making some effort with my makeup and then just went with mascara and lip balm. It would have to be good enough for the fancy-schmancy elementals.

I scowled at the thought. There would probably be a bunch of people from Kingwood Academy. I’d overheard younger elementals talking when they came into the pub. They were all praying for a placement at the most prestigious of the schools. But from what I’d learned about it over the years, it sounded as if it was more about connections than talent or earning your place there.

Hurrying back into my room, I shucked my pajamas and tossed them into a pile on the floor. Donning underwear and a bralette, I pulled the dress over my head. The fabric was the perfect amount of worn, soft and molded perfectly to me. I stopped in front of the mirror, trying to smooth down my hair. The strands had a natural wave that could go a little crazy at times. This would just have to do for now.

A car door slammed out front and I knew Lainey was here. Just like I knew she’d ask me at least a dozen times if she should’ve gone with another outfit. She might even threaten to pull over at a store on the way for a quick change.

I grabbed my purse and headed for the stairs. The front door opened and then closed with another slam. “Aura! Hurry that cute butt up! I need to go get me some hot elemental boyfriends.”

2

I DIDN’T MISS Charlie’s exaggerated gagging sounds coming from the kitchen. “Gross, Lanes,” he called.

Lainey grinned at the bottom of the stairs. “You can’t rain on my parade, shrimp. I’ve been counting down the days until I meet my destiny of hotness.”

I hurried down the stairs and followed my best friend into our tiny kitchen. “How many boyfriends are you going for?”

“At least five,” she said matter-of-factly.

Charlie made a barfing motion into the pancake batter as Mom shook her head.

I choked on a laugh. “I thought the most was four and that was only for their queen.”

Lainey sighed. “What a life. It’s too bad the aethers don’t exist anymore. I think I’d be great at that.”

“I’m pretty sure you don’t have a single elemental gift, let alone all four.” Aethers had been the only ones who had ever had all four affinities and when they had died out, that magical unity of combining the elements and kingdoms had gone with them.

She whipped around, pointing a finger at me. “Bite your tongue. I feel some magic in my bones. I only need a low reading to get tossed into one of those academies and get my harem of hotties.”

My mom coughed. “Lainey…”

“Sorry, Mrs. C. I’m just excited.”

Normally Mom would simply laugh at Lainey and join in the fun. Instead, she bit her lip and turned back to the pancakes.

Lainey grabbed my hand. “Let’s go. I want to get a good seat.”

Mom’s head snapped up. “Don’t you want to stay for pancakes?”

“I got us egg sandwiches in the car,” she said, tugging me towards the door.

“Sorry, Mom. Put the leftovers in the fridge and I’ll heat them up for dinner.”

“Aura—” my mom started.

I dashed out the door after Lainey. “We’ll talk tonight before you head to work.”

Lainey ran down our cracked front steps. “What’s with your mom? Sad about you graduating?”

I slid into the passenger side of Lainey’s third-hand Honda. “I think so. She’s not crazy about her firstborn growing up.”

Lainey turned the key in the ignition. It took a couple tries, but the engine finally caught. “My mom made me pose for a photo today. Like one of those first day of school deals.”

My gaze swept over my best friend as she drove towards the other side of the city. “I bet you weren’t wearing that in the first grade.”

Lainey’s hand skated over her black miniskirt and torn-up tights. “Should I have gone for the purple?”

Leaning over, I gave a smacking kiss on her cheek. “You look beautiful.”

“No, I look hot as hell and ready for my—”

“Hottie harem,” I finished for her.

Lainey made a turn towards the performing arts center we had been instructed to report to. “I’m manifesting that shit.”

“If anyone could, it would be you.”

She pulled into a parking spot at the back of the parking structure. “Don’t want anyone dinging my baby.”

I snorted as I climbed out of the car. “How would you ever know if anyone hit it?”

Lainey sent a dark look in my direction. “Betty is perfect in every way. Her scratches only give her more character.”

Warmth spread through me at her words. That was Lainey. She saw every uniqueness or oddity as a gift. Which was likely why she’d befriended me in the second grade. I wrapped an arm around her and gave her a squeeze. “Love you more than life, Lainey Loo.”

Her scowl deepened. “Do not call me that in front of potential members of my hottie harem.”

I made a locking motion in front of my lips. “To the grave.”

“Damn straight.” Lainey tugged me towards the building.

There was already a huge line. I recognized a few kids from our massive high school, but there were far more I’d never seen. Graduating seniors from the entire county were required to attend. Even the elementals who went to fancy private schools had to show up and go through the testing like the rest of us measly humans.

They weren’t going to risk anyone with elemental power accidentally going thermonuclear on the human population. So, they had created these testings at the end of our senior year. And now we all had to sit through them for hours on end even if we knew we didn’t have elemental parents.

One girl with perfectly styled brown curls sneered at a girl from our high school. She turned to her friends, laughing and whispering something I knew was ugly.

“Oh, hell no,” Lainey mumbled. “We’ll never get a good seat.”

“I’m pretty sure they just call us by alphabetical order.”

“No, I heard that things got too complicated that way. This year you go in the order you’re seated. Come on.”

She grabbed my hand again and we were off around the corner of the building.

I rubbed at my neck. “It’s a miracle I don’t have permanent whiplash from being your friend.”

Lainey snorted. “You’re just lucky I take you along for the fun stuff.”

“Fun stuff, breaking and entering—what’s the difference, right?”

She pulled open a side door. “It’s not breaking and entering if the door’s unlocked.”

I groaned but followed her inside. I wasn’t up for waiting in line with mean girls for an hour before this thing started. The door shut behind me, plunging us into darkness.

Instantly, my breaths came quicker. The phantom scent of smoke tickled my nose. Blood roared in my ears. I couldn’t grab hold of my next breath.

“Shit! Sorry, Aura. Let me get the flashlight on my phone.”

Lainey scrambled in her bag and then a tiny light illuminated her face. My lungs released a fraction at that one visual.

“You okay?” she asked, rubbing my back.

“Fine,” I croaked.

“We’ll be out of here in no time. Just gotta find the auditorium.”

Lainey started down the hallway, and I followed quickly behind her. I stayed focused on that tiny beam of light guiding our way.

Shadows crept in around us, but I did my best to ignore them, trying to stave off the panic. Footsteps echoed behind us. Or was that my heartbeat? I whirled around.

Someone slammed me up against the wall, gripping my throat. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

3

MY LUNGS BURNED. Because my airway was cut off or I was in the throes of a full-fledged panic attack, I wasn’t sure. A faint buzz spread across my body. I was going to pass out. Then probably die at the hands of some psycho.

I kicked out but met nothing but air. Because there was no one holding me up. There was nothing at all. Just an elemental’s air power swirling around me.

The lights above flicked on.

“What the hell are you doing, Riv? Let the poor girl down.” The voice was deep and husky with a trace of exasperation. But my eyes couldn’t be torn away from the guy in front of me, the one whose power swirled around me.

White-blond hair. Fair, perfect skin. An angular jaw. Every part of him pulled you in towards those hypnotizing pale blue eyes. So light they resembled glaciers.

But they were anything but calming. They burned with a blue heat. The kind you knew would leave you permanently scarred. Surprise lit in the depths of those glacier eyes, and for the briefest of moments, the hold on me relaxed.

But a second later, the air wrapped tighter around me, holding me off the floor, squeezing my throat. I let out a squeak.

“I asked you a question,” he growled.

“She can’t bloody talk if you’re suffocating her,” that rich voice barked.

I wanted to look towards the sound. It was warm like hot honeyed water with a splash of whiskey. It was heat and comfort. But I was too terrified to move a muscle.

“Riven, I will blast your ass if you don’t drop her.”

Without warning, I crashed to the ground in a heap.

“Shit. I meant gently, you asshole.”

The second figure bent to help me up, but I scrambled back, away from both of them. The buzzing still carried through my system. I rubbed my arms trying to clear it. Where the hell was Lainey? Had she been that focused on getting to the auditorium she’d left me in the dust without realizing it?

The second guy held up both hands. “Not gonna hurt you. I just wanted to help you up.”

I looked up into swirling blue-green eyes. Something about them knocked me off-kilter. As if I could get lost in their depths and never find my way out. It didn’t help that the face that held them was one of the most gorgeous I’d ever seen. The only word to describe him was golden. From his skin to his hair. He looked as if he were born on a surfboard.

The last thing I needed was to have my hand in this golden god’s. “I-I can get up myself.” I hurried to my feet, ignoring the way my muscles still buzzed.

A scoff sounded behind Golden God and my gaze shot to Glacier Eyes. Those eyes that somehow managed to be so frigid they burned. “You can’t even manage to stay upright in the first place.”

My own eyes narrowed on him. “If I wasn’t attacked out of the blue, it wouldn’t have been an issue. Clearly, you’re some sort of creeper who gets his rocks off terrorizing women in the dark.”

Glacier Eyes’ jaw dropped open as Golden God burst into laughter. “I like this one.”

“She’s not one of your playthings, Kai. She’s obviously human.”

Kai shrugged. “Won’t know for sure until she’s tested.” He grinned at me. “I think you might have a little water magic hiding in there. I volunteer as tutor.”

I couldn’t help my snort. “Yeah, I’m sure studying is the first thing on your list.”

“Stop fucking flirting, Kai. She was skulking around backstage at the largest elemental event of the year. She’s probably one of those damned terrorists.”

I glared at the guy I remembered Kai had called Riv or Riven. “I’m not some coward who hides in the shadows.” I stalked towards him. “If I don’t like you, I’ll come right out in the open and say it.”

In one swift move, I brought my knee up right between Riven’s legs. Payback for nearly sending me into a vicious panic attack. He caught the motion at the last second, avoiding the worst of the hit, but it still wasn’t pleasant. He folded over, groaning.

A strangled laugh escaped Kai. “Holy shit. I think I’m in love.”

I rolled my eyes and started down the hallway, lifting my hand in a half-wave. “Keep your asshole friend away from me, Golden God.”

“Golden God, huh? That means you like me too.”

I couldn’t hold in my laughter.

Lainey burst around the corner. “Crap! Aura! I thought you were right behind me. What happened?” Her eyes flicked to the guys down the hall, widening. “Did you start a hottie harem without me?”

There was such betrayal in her voice I couldn’t help but smile. “Trust me when I say you don’t want either of them in your hottie harem.”

She pouted. “Why do all the pretty ones have to be jerks?”

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I think it’s written in the heavens or something. The prettier the face, the more trouble they are.”

Lainey snorted, squeezing my waist. “Then the heavens better prepare me for trouble.”

4

I SHIFTED in my seat and glared at Lainey. “Did you really need front-row center?”

She twisted one of her black locks around her finger as she blew a kiss to one of the elemental guards lining the stage. “I didn’t want to miss our shot.”

“It’s required for everyone to be tested,” I said with an exasperated sigh.

The requirement had started the moment humans and elementals had begun mixing. Every elemental’s powers were automatically bound in utero. It was a self-protection thing for the mother even if she had no idea she was carrying a tiny terror. The last thing evolution wanted was an infant creating a tornado because they hadn’t gotten their bottle fast enough.

Now anyone with any real measure of elemental power was sent to one of the academies after high school. They were tested and trained, and eventually their powers were unbound. It was a safety precaution after a twenty-one-year-old had accidentally set an entire building on fire because she had no idea she was an elemental.

Hence the testing of every single graduating senior and even those who had dropped out. I’d heard that the guard stalked down anyone who didn’t show up and weren’t too kind about hauling them in.

Heat flared on the side of my face. I lifted my gaze, searching out the source. My eyes locked with those glacial blue ones. They were even more frigid than they’d been an hour ago. I guessed a shot to the balls did that to a guy.

Riven’s face was a completely blank mask. The only life was in those eyes. Even if that life was coming out in the form of hatred. I couldn’t help it, I stuck my tongue out at him.

There was a flicker of movement next to Riven as Kai did his best to contain his laughter. The way his eyes crinkled told me he did it often. But there was something else humming just below the surface, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

Kai’s gaze locked with mine, those swirling blue-green orbs drawing me in. He winked at me. I scowled. I hated the air of cocky flirt when I knew there was true kindness beneath the exterior. It was as if he wore the flirty demeanor as armor and I couldn’t help but wonder why.

“Do you know him?”

I jerked at the voice, turning in my chair. I fought a groan as the perfectly coiffed girl I’d seen in line earlier filled my vision. “Who?” Opting for playing dumb seemed like my best option.

Her eyes narrowed on me. “You know who. Kai.”

I had such a visceral reaction to his name on her lips. The urge to rip her tongue right out of her damned mouth. I shook my head, trying to clear it. “No, I don’t know anyone on that stage.”

Relief passed over the brunette girl’s features.

“Told you, Drue,” one of her friends chimed in.

Drue lifted her hand, using the little air gift she was able to access through the binding spell to brush her brunette curls over her shoulder. “Of course, she wouldn’t. She’s clearly human.”

“Nice parlor trick,” I muttered, turning back around.

The girls gasped.

A faint wind brushed against me, making me shiver as Drue leaned forward. “It won’t just be a parlor trick for long. I’d watch your back, human.”

She said it like human was a dirty word. Only she didn’t realize that there was no shame for me in the moniker. The fragility of my humanity only made me appreciate every moment.

A woman in an expertly tailored suit stepped forward, raising her hands for quiet. “Welcome to The Revealing. I’m Marjorie Sinclair, the dean of Kingwood Academy. I know you’re all anxious to get started. We’ll move through everyone as quickly as possible, but it’s important we investigate everyone fully.”

As I looked around the room, I was suddenly glad Lainey had pushed us into the first row. The people who were in the back would be here all day. At least we’d be in and out after the dozen or so people in front of us.

Most of the people in the audience simply looked bored. Others nervous. More appeared so excited they could barely sit still.

Drue and her bitch squad fell in that category. Though one of the girls nibbled on a fingernail. I remembered reading about how some elementals wouldn’t be strong enough to be admitted into the academies.

For the first time, a wave of empathy washed over me. I couldn’t imagine living with that kind of pressure. To know that your whole life would be decided on something you had no control over.

But that was my lot in a way too. I had no control over my medical bills that had my mom struggling to crawl out from under mountains of debt. Just like I had no say in the fact that the debt meant there was no way I could take the scholarship across the country. I had to help my family climb out from under that weight.

“Let us begin.”

Dean Sinclair’s voice had me turning back around. A man in navy robes stepped forward. His hair was nearly completely white, and his eyes had a hazy quality to them. He nodded to a guard standing by the front row.

The guard motioned to a guy sitting in the first seat. He didn’t look old enough to be here. His slender frame and freckles looked as if he belonged in middle school, not graduating high school.

The boy got to his feet and climbed the stairs to the stage. People whispered around us until Sinclair scowled at us all. She nodded at the man in the robes. “Quincy.”

The man motioned the boy forward. There was a small, reassuring smile on his face that made me like him. He lifted a hand. “I promise this won’t hurt a bit.”

The freckled boy nodded, swallowing hard.

Quincy’s hand began to glow. A light spread over the boy from head to toe, a cascade of rainbow colors. He jerked around. “What’s happening?”

The girls behind me giggled and scoffed.

“It’s all right,” Quincy said as the light faded. “No elemental gifts.”

Sinclair nodded, pointing to the back wall. “You can exit through the stage door.”

He staggered in that direction. Kai clapped him on the back as he passed, whispering something in his ear that made the boy laugh. There was that hidden hint of kindness again. He straightened, looking my way. Instantly, the cocky smile was on his lips. The falseness of it made my stomach twist.

Riven elbowed him in the ribs, inclining his head towards Sinclair and Quincy, with a scowl in my direction. The urge to stick my tongue out at him again was so strong. But I didn’t dare it with the dean and some sort of high priest in attendance.

What were Riven and Kai doing here anyway? They weren’t old enough to be staff at the school, and they obviously weren’t in the elemental guard. It looked as if they were simply watching. Maybe they were student government from one of the academies or something.

A girl I recognized climbed the stairs, twisting her fingers together as she went. Her name was Emily and we’d shared a few classes this year. She was quiet and kind, and I knew her mother was human and her father an elemental.

Quincy smiled at her and said something too quietly for the rest of us to hear. She nodded and he held up his hand again. That colorful, glowing light returned. Only this time, sparks danced within the light around Emily’s body. As if there were a faint shower of shooting stars around her.

Her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. Quincy smiled. “Hello, elemental.”

Sinclair nodded. “Congratulations. Please head this way for your assignment.” She gestured in the opposite direction as she’d sent the boy. Emily hurried to obey.

Lainey blew out a long breath. “She’s so freaking lucky. Why couldn’t my mom have fallen in love with an elemental? I’m hoping she had a torrid affair she’s too embarrassed to tell me about.”

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. “There’s always hope.”

The testing continued, one after the other. All of the outcomes were expected. Only those from elemental households testing positive.

Lainey gripped my hand like a vise as the guy sitting next to her tested negative. I squeezed her hand back. “Go get that hottie harem.”

That was all the confidence she needed. Lainey stood, throwing back her cascade of black hair. Her military boots clomped on the steps, and I didn’t miss one of the guards checking out her butt. I couldn’t wait to tell her.

Lainey beamed at Quincy. “I’m ready for my destiny.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad to meet such a confident young woman.”

He held up his hand and the light glowed around Lainey. It made her look absolutely gorgeous, but there were no sparks in the light. Her shoulders slumped and my heart squeezed.

Quincy leaned forward, patting her arm. “Your destiny may not be in one of our academies, but I have no doubt it’s powerful.”

“Thanks, Q.”

Sinclair gasped at her informality, but Quincy simply smiled wider. “I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us all.”

I sent Lainey a sympathetic smile as I stood and mouthed, meet me outside, to her. She nodded. I climbed the stairs to the stage and almost tripped when I caught sight of glacial blue eyes locked on me. I forced my gaze away, swallowing hard.

I did my best to block out the audience and just focus on Quincy, but I didn’t miss the snickers coming from the girls in the second row. I rolled my shoulders back and strode forward.

“That’s how you handle them,” Quincy whispered.

I gave my head a little shake. “I guess there are mean girls everywhere.”

“Truer words were never spoken.”

Laughter bubbled out of me.

“You ready?”

I nodded, the laughter slipping from my lips.

Quincy raised a hand and that rainbow light traveled towards me. I had the sudden urge to run, but I forced my feet to stay planted. The light swirled around me, and my head spun. Energy pricked at my skin, growing in intensity.

“Holy shit,” Kai muttered behind me.

I looked down. So many sparks there was no way to count them all and they only grew in size and number. The prickling sensation intensified as blood roared in my ears.

“Pull back!” Sinclair yelled to Quincy.

But it was too late. There was a deafening boom. And then nothing at all.

5

I BLINKED against the light as something cool was pressed to my forehead.

“Can you open your eyes for me?”

The voice was gentle, a kind request as fingers pressed against my wrist, checking my pulse.

I blinked again. This time I got my surroundings in snapshots. A room. A couch. People gathered around.

“How do you feel?”

I struggled to focus on the woman in front of me. “What happened?”

My voice came out on a croak.

A snort of derision sounded in the background. “You conned one of our most esteemed testers into believing that you’re an elemental.”

“Now, Riven,” Quincy said, pushing off the wall. “You know better than to trifle with me. I know what I felt, and you know what you saw.”

I struggled to push up on the pillows. “I-I’m not an elemental.”

Riven straightened. “This is the one and only time you and I will agree.”

“Do they teach pompous assholery at that school of yours or does it just come naturally?”

“Ms. Coleman,” Sinclair screeched. “You do not speak to—”

Riven held up a hand, silencing her. “I can fight my own battles, Marjorie.”

Of course, he called her by her first name even though she was the dean of the most prestigious school they had.

Riven motioned Quincy forward. “Test her again.”

Quincy waved him off. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” He studied me carefully. “Her binding spell is stronger for some reason. Maybe just an error with the magic. But until we have her safely unbound, I don’t think any more testing is a good idea.”

Riven let out a low growl. “It’s a mistake.”

Kai pushed off the wall and clapped Riven on the back. “We all saw it, Riv. That was magic. Elemental magic.” His lips turned up in a devilish smile at the word elemental. “It’s almost like it was meant to be.”

“I’m not.” I forced myself to a sitting position, my head swirling around me. “I’m not an elemental.” The words were stronger this time. My father might have peaced out of my life after I was born, but he was human. “Test me again. You’ll see.”

“Aura,” Quincy began.

“Just do it. Please.”

Concern flashed across Quincy’s face, but he nodded. “The second you feel too much, you say so.”

“No problem.”

Except I wasn’t sure that was true. Earlier, it was as if the magic held me captive. I wouldn’t have any idea how to break away from it.

Fluke. Fluke. Fluke. I chanted the words in my head over and over, willing them to be true.

Quincy held out his hand and the light washed over me. The prickling sensation started instantly, and fireflies of rainbow light swirled. Quincy instantly cut off the test. “I think that’s enough.”

I stared down at my hands where those sparks had just been. “It’s not possible.”

Sinclair stepped forward. “Obviously, that isn’t true. Were you adopted?”

I shook my head but didn’t look away from my hands. “No.”

“Who are your parents?” she demanded.

A younger man scurried forward. “Mother is Janine Coleman, works at Al’s 24-Hour Diner, age thirty-eight. Father unknown.”

I gaped at the man. “Do you stalk us all or something?”

Kai chuckled. “You’re not that far off.”

Sinclair’s lips thinned as she glared at Kai. The expression wasn’t any warmer when she turned it on me. “It is important that we have impeccable records so that there are no…mistakes.”

“You mean you want to make sure I don’t send some building sky-high?” I shivered at the thought.

“I wouldn’t put it like that exactly.”

“I would,” Riven grumbled. “She obviously has too much power for her own good.”

I scowled in his direction. “I thought I was not an elemental?”

Quincy chuckled. “Even he can’t deny it. Everyone in this room could feel it when I began to unlock that power of yours. Hell, you knocked out the power in the building for five minutes the first time.”

My jaw fell open. “I what?”

“It could’ve been a coincidence,” Riven muttered.

Kai gave Riven another hard slap on the back. “Don’t be jealous just because she might end up giving you a run for your money.”

Riven whirled on Kai. “She might have some mishmashed half-powers swirling around inside her, but she’s got nothing on my gift.”

A wind picked up out of nowhere, circling around the room and then tightening in on Kai. His eyes flared, that blue-green swirling and sparking.

“I don’t know if you want to play that game, Riv.” Giant plumes of water erupted from Kai’s hands. They arched and circled Riven. “Just remember, I won’t take your shit like your little cling-on worshippers.”

“Boys!” Sinclair shouted. “Do not make me report this incident to the headmaster. I’m sure he would have some choice words for your fathers.”

In an instant, the wind died down. The water swirling through the air disappeared as if it had never existed. I blinked a few times. I’d seen small acts of power. A water elemental guiding the rain away from himself. A fire elemental growing the size of a candle flame. But I’d never experienced someone creating something from nothing.

Sinclair turned back to me. “Now, where were we? Oh yes, you have no idea who your father is?”

“No. He bailed right after I was born.”

She made a humming noise in the back of her throat. “Your mother never told you a name?”

“No, and it’s not something I bring up.” Whenever I did, a shadow passed over her eyes. Had she loved him? Had she known he was an elemental? I pushed that thought from my mind. She would’ve told me long before today if she had.

“We’ll need to speak with your mother, gather any information we can to trace your lineage in case you are indeed powerful.”

Riven muttered something under his breath.

I ignored him. “So, you only care about my parentage if I’m powerful?”

“That’s not what I said,” Sinclair spluttered.

Kai wrapped an arm around her shoulders, grinning. “But it’s what you meant, Sinny.”

He turned to me, not losing hold of the dean. “It’s just the way it all works. Gotta keep track of every elemental powerful enough to do some damage.”

“Quincy said it could just be a weird binding spell.” Panic clogged my throat. That had to be true.

Kai shrugged, giving me another wink. “Either way, you’re stuck with us for a while.”

“What does that mean, stuck with you?”

His grin widened, a true mischievous joy in it this time. And that emotion hit me somewhere in the chest, making my whole world go a little fuzzy.

“You’re coming to Kingwood Academy.”

6

THEY JUST HAD to make me ride with him. Golden God, I could handle. I knew there was kindness underneath that too-gorgeous-for-his-own-good exterior. But Riven? I would’ve rather thrown myself from the moving vehicle across six lanes of traffic.

I reached for the door handle as Riven slowed to stop at a traffic light. I pulled hard. Nothing happened.

Riven’s lips twitched in the rearview mirror. “Child locks.”

I let out a low growl.

Kai twisted in the front passenger seat, making an exaggerated pout. “Trying to run away from our destined love? I get it. It’s scary.”

Riven sighed. “As soon as you sleep with her once, you’ll be the one doing the running.”

I glared daggers in the side of Riven’s face. “I’m not sleeping with anyone.”

I’d seen elemental guys charm the hell out of some of my classmates. They gave them pretty promises they never intended to keep. The girls were left brokenhearted in the dust. The last thing on my agenda was falling for a playboy.

My gaze pulled to the other side of the vehicle. As if simply thinking about Kai meant I had to seek him out with my eyes. He stared at the passing buildings as we made our way from the nice part of the city where the testing was taking place to the rough section I lived in.

The pull was for more than to just study him. There was this simmering yearning to understand just what it was Kai was hiding beneath that carefree exterior. Even the mask he wore now, at rest, wasn’t exactly right.

His lush mouth pulled up the slightest bit, as if he could never have anyone see him as anything but perfectly carefree. There were no lines straining around his eyes or across his brow. But as I took in his jaw, I noticed tiny flickers of movement. So small the average person would’ve never noticed them.

“What are you staring at?” Riven barked.

I bit back a curse as I jolted in my seat. “Jealous, Riv?”

He gripped the steering wheel so tightly I swore I heard the leather creak. “You aren’t permitted to call me that.”

“You aren’t permitted to snap at me like a rabid dog. I take that back, it’s an insult to rabid dogs.”

Kai snickered. “Have I said recently how much I love that one?” He glanced back at me with a wink. “You can stare at me anytime.”

Annoyance flickered to life somewhere deep. “I was trying to figure out why you insist on wearing this happy-go-lucky mask when there’s obviously so much rage simmering underneath it, you’re practically drowning in it.”

The entire SUV went completely silent. The only sound came from the engine and passing vehicles. Kai stared at me, those blue-green irises pinning me to the spot. For the first time, he was suspicious of me, suspect in the way Riven was.

It hurt, that suspicion. Cut deeper than I wanted to admit. But I didn’t look away. And I refused to take my words back because there was some bizarre need to see beneath the mask.

We stayed locked like that for I didn’t know how many moments. Then there was a flash of something. It was so quick I almost missed it.

Pain. So much it clawed at my chest.

Betrayal. The kind that meant you’d never open your life to another.

Fury. Enough to burn the world down around him.

And then it was simply gone. Kai grinned, his dimples flexing in his cheeks. “Doesn’t help anyone to dwell on the shitty things. Might as well focus on the good.”

Riven rolled his eyes as he turned onto another street. “You mean running away from every responsibility in front of you?”

“It’s called fun, Riv. You should try it sometime. But it might require removing the stick from your ass for two point five seconds.”

I choked on a laugh.

“He should have some fun once in a while, don’t you think, Aura?”

It was the first time I’d heard my name from Kai’s mouth. It sounded like a languid stretch, as if he caressed each letter with his tongue. I gripped the edge of the seat, trying desperately to clear those thoughts from my mind. “I’m pretty sure psychopaths don’t have fun.”

Kai’s lips twitched. “If you think Riven is a psycho, just wait until you meet Phoenix.”

I groaned, tipping my head back against the seat. “I really can’t take another one of you.”

“What do you think she’ll do when she realizes there are four of us?” Kai asked Riven in a stage whisper.

“Stop encouraging her. It’s not like you’re going to be her friend when we get back to the Academy.”

Riven’s words stung even though they shouldn’t have. I might’ve gone to public school, but I was a watcher. Curious about the world around me. I saw the games the elementals played. Everything was about power and prestige. I didn’t have either of those at my disposal.

“Stop being a cranky dipshit.”

The guys began to bicker back and forth, and I did my best to tune them out. Turning to stare out the tinted window, my chest tightened at the familiar sights. Neighborhood restaurants of every cuisine imaginable. The secondhand shop where I found the best leather jacket imaginable. The convenience store where Lainey and I would buy our weight in candy on the way home from school every day.

Crap. Lainey. I felt for the pocket of my dress where I’d stashed my cellphone after putting it on silent that morning. Pulling it out, my eyes bugged. Eighty-two missed calls. Sixteen messages.

I pulled up the text screen.

Lainey: What the hell happened? Someone said the power blew.

I kept scrolling to the end of her barrage of questions.

Lainey: Some hella hot guard dude told me that you’re being escorted to Kingwood Academy? AURA! ANSWER YOUR PHONE!

I hurried to type up a message as quickly as possible.

Me: Sorry, Lainey Loo! I don’t know what’s happening exactly. They’re taking me home right now and then said I have to go to that academy.

I couldn’t even bring myself to mutter the name of the place. As if that would make it a reality.

Lainey: I miss all the fun! Tell those hotties to find me my own harem. I’m not giving up on my dream.

A laugh startled out of me, but it morphed into a strangled sob. I couldn’t leave Lainey. My mom. Charlie. They were my life. And as much as I’d dreamed of an existence far away from here, where I didn’t have to worry about money or working myself into exhaustion, my family was always going to be a part of that.

Kai spun around in his seat, cutting off his argument with Riven. “Are you crying?”

I bit down on the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. “No. Just laughing at a text from my friend.”

He didn’t look convinced. Riven looked like he didn’t give a crap.

“Do I have to go to this academy? Isn’t there some kind of work-around? Like they can strip me of all my powers or something?”

Riven let out a low growl. “It’s an honor to have elemental gifts.”

“For you, maybe. But I have a life I need to get back to. I don’t want to leave my home. My family.”

Riven pulled to a stop in front of the town house. “You don’t want to leave here?”

I looked up at the dilapidated building. It might not seem like much to him, but we’d worked so hard to have a place that wasn’t an apartment with paper-thin walls. This place had been a victory for us.

Kai smacked Riven on the back of the head. “Dude, it’s no wonder the only action you get is from the Ice Queen. Have fun getting your dick frozen off for the rest of your life because you’ll never get a warm-blooded woman like that.”

“Fuck off, Kai.”

I silenced them both in my mind, sliding out of the vehicle now that we were in park and the child locks had turned off. I walked up the path, stepping over the cracks in the sidewalk and chipped cement.

“Wait up,” Kai called, a door slamming behind him.

I ignored his honeyed-whiskey voice and kept walking. As I climbed the stairs, the front door opened and my mom stepped onto the front stoop, wringing her hands, face pale. All it took was one look.

“You knew.”

7

IN AN INSTANT, tears flowed down my mom’s cheeks. The sight was so shocking, I stood frozen to the spot. When was the last time I’d seen her cry? Maybe when Charlie had fallen out of a tree and knocked himself out. She’d sobbed until his eyes had opened again.

But everything was okay. It had just ended up being a mild concussion. This wouldn’t be okay. Because nothing was what I thought it was.

“Why?” I croaked.

“I’m so sorry, Aura. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Who was he?” I wasn’t sure I even wanted to know. I’d been curious about my father for as long as I could remember, but my mom’s reaction every time I’d asked about him as a child had stopped me from any further investigation.

She looked behind me at Kai and Riven and swallowed before focusing back on me. “I don’t know, not really. It was a whirlwind sort of a thing. I was at a music festival with some friends. I met Adam.”

Riven made a sound behind me and my mother’s eyes narrowed on him. “I knew it likely wasn’t his real name, but I didn’t care. We were young and free, and I fell half in love with him that weekend. We didn’t make promises or exchange phone numbers. And I never cursed that more than when you came along.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “He deserved to know you. And you deserved to have a father.”

Empathy flooded me for what my mom must’ve been through, for how scared she must’ve been. But as soon as that sympathy filled me, I tamped it down, anger quickly replacing it. “You should’ve told me. You let me be completely blindsided. I sent the entire building into a power outage.”

Mom’s mouth fell open. “Y-you what?”

“I had no idea what I was. But you did. You could’ve warned me. Let me know that this was a possibility.”

“I’m sorry. I know. I just didn’t know how to say it. I kept putting it off and then this morning—”

“You should’ve found a way.”

Charlie poked his head out from behind the door. “Why are you guys fighting?”

My chest cracked at the hesitancy in his voice. I climbed the rest of the stairs and pulled him into my arms. “We aren’t fighting.”

“It sure sounds like it.” He peeked around my side to stare at Kai and Riven. “Who are they?”

Kai put on his best charming smile. “Hey, you must be Charlie.”

I fought the grimace that wanted to surface. Of course, the elementals had to know my little brother’s name too.

“Yeah, who are you?” He stepped between the guys and me and my mom.

There was a burning in my chest where the cracks had been a minute ago. Such a little man. So determined to protect.

Golden God’s smile didn’t falter, and for the first time, I was glad he’d perfected that mask. “I’m Kai. I’m a friend of your sister’s.”

“I’ve never seen you before.”

“We’re new friends. We go to her new school.”

Charlie looked up at me. “Community college?”

I shook my head, searching for the right words. I had to go with the straight truth. “Turns out I’m an elemental. I have to go to one of those academy deals.”

Charlie’s eyes widened as his head snapped towards our mom. “Am I one too?”

“No, honey.”

“Aw, man.”

The crestfallen look on Charlie’s face tugged at my heart. He had always wanted his father to have some epic tale to accompany him. Something other than being killed in a car accident when our mom was eight months pregnant with him.

Charlie’s disappointment quickly morphed into excitement. He tugged on my hands as he bounced in front of me. “You’re going to have the best time. You have to call me every day, tell me every detail.”

“There are no cellphones at Kingwood,” Riven said with zero emotion in his voice.

I sent him a look that should’ve made his balls retract on the spot. “I’m not going anywhere I can’t have communication with my family.”

“You get a call every other weekend,” Kai assured me.

“We’ve never gone that long without talking. The longest is when you went with Lainey’s family on spring break, but that was just five days,” Charlie said quietly.

I pulled him in for another hug, bending to whisper in his ear. “You know me. I always find a way. I’ll bribe someone or run away or…” I didn’t know what, but I wouldn’t let my brother be sad because of me.

“Or I’ll break in and live under your bed! I’ll learn all the elemental stuff and they’ll have to let me stay.”

Kai chuckled. “I like that plan.”

I tamped down the urge to send him a dirty look. Kai didn’t get to have our inside jokes and these sweet moments with my brother. Not when he was taking me away from the person who needed me most. I ignored Kai and took Charlie’s hand. “Help me pack?”

He nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll make sure you have everything you need. Maybe you should take my nunchucks. I heard they do battle at the academies. Only the top of each class makes it through each semester.”

Great. Maybe I’d flunk out and could come back home.

We climbed the stairs, my mom and the guys following. Mom hovered in the hallway, watching but not coming inside. As if she were too afraid I might snap at her again. That only made me feel worse.

Charlie grabbed my duffle bag from the closet and started shoving things inside, telling me I’d need things for this or that. But I couldn’t focus on his words. I stared at the room that had been mine for the past three years, wondering if I’d ever see it again.

Kai cleared his throat and I turned in his direction. He held up the pajamas I’d discarded on the floor this morning. His eyes danced with mirth. “I’ve got to see you in these.”

I willed my cheeks not to heat at the unicorn-covered set that Lainey had gotten me for Christmas last year.

Charlie lifted my stuffed animal. “She loves unicorns. They’re her favorite.”

And now I wanted to die a thousand deaths. I snatched the pajamas from Kai’s grasp and shoved them in my bag along with my stuffed animal.

Mom hesitantly came inside, extending out my toiletries bag. “I packed your stuff from the bathroom.”

My throat burned, and I launched myself at her in a hard hug. Her arms instantly answered, tugging me close. “I’m so sorry. You know I’d do anything for you, anything to protect you.”

“I know. I just—will you be okay? You were counting on me next year—”

She squeezed me harder. “We’ll be fine. We’ll just miss you like crazy. Call every time you have a chance.”

I nodded into her shoulder, as Charlie shoved his way into the center of our hug. “I want the middle.”

I laughed through the burn in my throat. “You always do.”

“It’s the best place to be.”

I crouched in front of him. “Don’t grow up too much while I’m gone, okay?”

His face scrunched. “Lanes already calls me shrimp. I gotta grow a little.”

“Okay, just a little though.”

“Promise.” He threw his arms around my neck. “Come home soon, k?”

“Soon as humanly possible.”

Only I wasn’t human after all.

“We need to go,” Riven said.

I peeled Charlie’s arms off me, unable to meet his or my mom’s eyes as I gathered up my meager belongings. Kai reached out for my duffle. “I can get that.”

“No.” The single word came out more harshly than I’d intended, but I didn’t apologize. “I’ve got it.”

I was on my own now. After having my mom, Lainey, even Charlie at my back for so long, I’d be the only one watching out for myself going forward. I needed to get used to that.

“Let’s go,” Riven said gruffly.

His lack of empathy helped. I funneled all of my emotions into anger. Rage at Riven and these stupid elementals who had wormed their way into our world and now seemed to have control over it. I’d never thought much about when they’d revealed their own world across the veil. I’d always thought they’d simply wanted to coexist. But now I saw that there were tendrils of their influence everywhere.

“Call when you can, Aura. If you need me…”

My mom trailed off, but I knew what she left unspoken. She would do absolutely anything for me.

I nodded. “Love you guys. Take care of each other.”

Charlie lifted his hand in a wave as Mom held him close. It was an ice pick to the damn chest. I turned and hurried into the SUV.

It was a miracle the Escalade hadn’t been stripped for parts in the fifteen minutes we’d been inside. Vehicles like this one didn’t last long around here.

Riven started the engine as Kai turned around in his seat. “I know two weeks sounds like a long time, but it’s really not. It’s kind of nice to get away from home, like camp.”

“It’s not that.”

His brow furrowed. “What is it then?”

I gripped the seat beneath me, fingers digging into the leather. “My family was counting on me. I had a lot of medical bills when I was younger. We—there are things that still need to be paid.” The fire had taken so much from us. Our home. Our security. Our financial stability.

Sympathy, maybe even pity, filled Kai’s expression. I hated it, even if it told me I was right about the kindness that lived within him. He shifted in his seat. “Your family will be taken care of. The royal families started a fund. Your mom will get a stipend each week you remain enrolled in school.”

The rush of relief that swept through me was fast and fierce. At least I knew Mom and Charlie would be okay. But it also meant I had no excuse to run. “Why?”

Riven pulled onto the freeway. “We’ve learned that humans respond well to that kind of motivation.”

I felt the sudden urge to send a spitball into his perfectly swept-back hair.

“Riv…” Kai said quietly. “Dial it back a notch for a while, would you?”

I pulled out my phone and plugged in a set of headphones. I turned the music so loud I couldn’t hear Kai and Riven bickering. I let my vision go unfocused as the city turned to suburbs and then to the countryside. I didn’t bother asking where the Academy was or how long it would take to get there. I just did my best to go numb to it all.

Riven navigated country roads as if he knew them like the back of his hand. Before long, he slowed to a stop in the middle of one. There wasn’t anything around that I could see. Hell, maybe they were taking me out here to shoot me and be done with the trouble.

Riven rolled down his window and stretched out his hand. A soft breeze picked up, heading in front of us.

My eyes widened at the sight in front of me and my jaw dropped open. “What in the ever-loving hell?”

8

THE AIR in front of the SUV shimmered in a faint rainbow hue, and then it was as if a curtain was lifted. I had heard about the elemental world. One separated from ours by a simple magical veil. One where they could travel through portals from kingdom to kingdom. And even though it was hovering right across the plane from our human existence, I never thought I’d see it.

All of a sudden, I wasn’t looking at an endless country road. Instead, there was a massive wrought iron gate flanked by huge stone pillars. Gargoyles sat atop the pillars, only they moved, taking inventory of the vehicle.

“Uh…they don’t look very friendly.”

Kai rolled down his window and tossed something up to one of the gargoyles. A cookie? What in the world? The gargoyle inhaled it in two bites. Kai rolled up his window again as the gates opened. “Finn’s partial to chocolate chip cookies.”

“What about the other one?” I stared up at the second figure as he bared his teeth. “The hearts of small children?”

“Don’t insult our guardians,” Riven ordered as he pulled the vehicle forward.

Kai rolled his eyes. “Lay off. You nearly pissed yourself the first time you saw them.”

“I respect them,” Riven argued.

The now-familiar bickering dropped into the background as I stared out the window. The sights were somewhat familiar, yet entirely different. Tall pine trees flanked the drive, but they had a turquoise hue that sparkled in the afternoon light. Wildflowers dotted the fields in shades of pinks and purples that I’d never seen before.

A building came into view that had my jaw hitting the floor. It looked more like a castle than a school. Gray stone walls and, yup, that was a turret.

“That’s Kingwood?”

Kai nodded. “Not too shabby, right? This is just Winthrop Hall. It’s the main building for meals, offices, and gatherings. There are separate buildings for the dorms and classrooms.”

We passed through an opening in a walled-off courtyard and entered a circular drive. There were countless uniform SUVs. New students all piled out of them. I couldn’t help but compare myself. They looked completely comfortable here, hugging other students and chattering away.

I didn’t miss the designer luggage and extravagant jewelry. My focus pulled down to my worn sundress and ratty duffle. I locked down every feeling of inadequacy. If there was one thing I was certain of, it was that these people could smell any hint of weakness.

Riven pulled to a stop and turned off the engine. “The head of school wants to see you.”

Of course, they did. I unfastened my seat belt and slung my duffle over my shoulder. Sliding out of the SUV, my feet hit the cobblestoned driveway with a thud. Every set of eyes turned in my direction.

My ribs tightened around my lungs as the focus intensified. But not everyone stared at me. Some were zeroed in on Kai and Riven. I didn’t blame them. Kai and Riven were the epitome of male beauty. But this was more. There was a reverence. Heads dipped and eyes lowered. Who the hell were these guys?

A familiar head of dark brown curls headed in our direction, and I had to swallow back a scream. Of course, queen bitch would get placed at Kingwood too.

Drue beamed at Riven and Kai. “Riven, it’s so good to see you. It’s been far too long since the last dinner.”

Riven dipped his head in greeting but didn’t offer another word.

Drue’s smile faltered for a moment, but she pushed on. She gave a half-curtsy to Kai. “I’m Drue of Zephyr, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Zephyr was the air kingdom. One of the four royal realms of the elemental world. Followed by the Kingdom of Torrent, water; the Kingdom of Terra, earth; and the Kingdom of Ash, fire. But this antiquated curtsy business was new to me.

Kai winked at Drue. “Nice to meet you, Drue. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to take this one to a meeting—”

“Kai!”

His name was shouted in high-pitched unison as a gaggle of girls descended on him. I couldn’t differentiate one from the other as they circled, tossing their hair and running their fingers over his arms and chest.

“We missed you, Kai,” one purred.

“Yeah,” another pouted. “Why did you take so long at the testing?”

“Ladies,” he began, trying to extricate himself from the crowd.

A burning lit in my chest. I told myself it was disgust, not jealousy. I turned away from the scene and towards Riven. “Can you tell me where the head of school’s office is?”

I’d rather deal with Riven’s vitriol than Kai’s gaggle of women. Riven glanced behind me and sighed. “It’ll take him hours to be rid of them. Follow me.”

Drue looked from Riven to me and back again. “Y-you’re escorting her? I heard she’s half-human. Clearly not worthy of your time.”

“It’s Academy business, Drue. None of your concern.”

Drue’s mouth snapped closed, but she glared at me. I knew I’d pay for that later. I pushed the thought from my mind and followed behind Riven as he started for the doors. He moved as if he expected the crowd to part and they did.

I simply followed in his wake, keeping my head level. I didn’t have the luxury of looking down or meeting anyone’s stare. I had to pretend as if I didn’t see anyone at all.

But I could feel their attention on me, hear the whispers. The word human lifted on the air more than once. Some said it with curiosity, others derision. I guessed the half-human elementals didn’t usually end up at Kingwood.

I rubbed the scar on the inside of my wrist in soothing circles. Today would be the worst. Every day would get a little better from here. My novelty would wane, and the world would go back to normal.

Riven slowed in front of a set of double doors. He didn’t knock before entering. A woman looked up from a desk and ducked her head. “Your Highness.”

My head swiveled and I gaped at Riven. It all suddenly made so much sense. Of course, he was royal. The air of superiority. Calling everyone by their first names. Doing whatever the hell he pleased.

Riven inclined his head towards the woman. “Is he in?”

“Yes.” She pressed a button on her desk. “Go right in.”

I doubted Riven would’ve paused if she’d asked. He opened another set of doors, stepping through. Three sets of eyes swiveled in our direction. Two were familiar. Dean Sinclair and Quincy from the testing. But the third was dark and assessing.

The man leaned back in a large leather desk chair, taking my measure. He had salt-and-pepper at his temples and tanned skin. “Ms. Coleman, I presume?”

“Yes, sir.”

He stood, rounding his desk and extending a hand. “I’m Headmaster Acker.”

I slid my hand into his. “Nice to meet you.”

Something flared in his eyes. “It’s surprising you went unnoticed for so long.”

“Unnoticed?”

“We can sense the power in other elementals. Even when it’s bound, we can still feel it bubbling below the surface.”

I forced myself not to look away even though I had a burning desire to run from the room. “If you can sense it, why do you need to do the testing?”

Acker leaned back against his desk. “We need to register the strength of each individual. Some don’t need to go to an academy. They would never be a risk. Others need to learn to master their gifts.”

“Because we could hurt someone?”

He nodded. “The stronger the power, the more training required. And from everything I hear, you have quite the power simmering in your veins.”

“She’s going to combust. It’s just a matter of time,” Riven muttered.

My head snapped in his direction. “Combust?”

Riven merely shrugged, looking bored, but Quincy stepped forward with a gentle smile. “You’ll have to train hard to keep yourself and those around you safe.”

Riven let out an exasperated sigh. “Say it plainly, Quince. She could kill herself and everyone around her.”

9

MY BREATHS CAME QUICKER and quicker. My lungs ached with the strain of the pants. Quincy sent Riven a withering look I barely registered.

His hands found my shoulders, gentle and reassuring. “Breathe with me now, Aura. Nothing is going to happen to you or anyone around you.”

“T-That’s not what he said.”

My short, stuttered breaths were in danger of sending me hurtling back into a memory. Only I wasn’t even sure it was a memory. The trauma of almost dying in the blaze ten years ago had wiped every memory before the incident from my mind, and the memories of the fire itself were fractured as best. Partial snapshots, not entire photographs. But that didn’t make them any less terrifying.

“We’re going to train you, so you aren’t a danger to yourself or anyone else. It’s why these academies were built. Our teachers are experts; they’ve had cases far more volatile than yours.”

Quincy’s words ate away at the worst of my fear, and my breathing eased a fraction.

He patted my shoulder. “There you go. We just take it one step at a time. Don’t listen to anyone trying to scare you.”

I darted a look at Riven and for the briefest of moments, I thought I saw regret in those glacial eyes. But I blinked and the mirage was gone.

A knock sounded on the office door.

“Come in,” Acker called.

The door opened, and a girl about my age hovered in the entryway. “I was told you wanted to see me, sir.”

“Yes. Kerry, this is one of our new students, Aura Coleman. She’s going to be your roommate and could use a tour guide since she hasn’t grown up in this world.”

The girl sent me a hesitant smile. “Of course. Nice to meet you, Aura.”

I let out an audible breath when she wasn’t appalled at being paired with me. “You too.”

“I don’t think you need me for anything else,” Riven said, starting for the door.

Kerry scrambled to move out of his way, apologizing and blushing furiously. I wished I could’ve snuck in one more parting shot to his balls.

Acker pushed off his desk. “We’re done for today.”

“Don’t we need to talk about Aura’s father?” Dean Sinclair cut in.

Acker glanced at me. “Any idea who your father is?”

“I didn’t even know there was a chance I was an elemental until today.”

He clapped his hands together as Sinclair frowned. “We’ll talk more once you’re settled. We can pull together a team to do some investigating. For now, Kerry will show you to your room.”

I nodded, unable to get any other words out. It wasn’t even dinnertime, but all I wanted was to crash and sleep for a week.

Kerry motioned me down the hall towards a side door. As we stepped outside, her smile became even more genuine. “I can’t believe you got to spend all afternoon with Riven. Do you have any idea how lucky you are?”

My nose scrunched. “Trust me when I say it wasn’t all that enjoyable.”

She giggled. “He can be a bit rude and standoffish, but he’s a good man underneath it all. He cares for his kingdom and his people like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Do all four kingdoms go here?”

Kerry nodded. “It’s supposed to bring us together and help with diplomacy. Now that there are no longer aethers to bring us together, we need the academies more than ever.”

The unique aether elementals had the power of all four elements, and in every generation, one of their ranks was destined to rule. She alone was the destined mate of the rulers of all four kingdoms, binding them together in an unbreakable union. But slowly over time, their population had diminished and then died out altogether.

“Do they know why?”

“No one has been able to figure out why a new generation hasn’t been born. Some hoped that more intermixing of our kinds might help, but so far nothing.” She inclined her head towards what looked like a smaller version of the castle-like main building. “The royals still live together in the old dorm, Crown Hall. The rooms that used to belong to the aether just lay empty.”

I stared up at the stone façade, an ache spreading across my chest. I’d always liked the idea of an aether. They were born to bring harmony between the elements. Some could even sense what others were feeling if they were strong enough. If there was one thing our worlds needed, it was more understanding.

All the windows in the building were lit except for one at the top. The one that must be meant for her. I couldn’t help but wonder how the elemental world had changed without aethers helping to guide the peace and balance between the kingdoms.

Kerry picked up her pace, pointing out the different dorms and academic buildings. “There are walking paths in the woods behind the campus, but I wouldn’t venture in there alone until you really know your way around.”

“City girl over here. Not really used to hiking and all that jazz.” My idea of a hike was running from a group of sketchy guys on the way home from work.

Kerry turned to me, half-skipping as she walked. “I want to hear all about the human world. It’s my dream to live in one of your cities and work in a bakery.”

My gaze swept over her face. Her round cheeks were pink with excitement. She had a smattering of freckles dotted across her nose and these gorgeous green eyes that were only intensified by her red hair. They made my dull gray ones look downright boring in comparison.

“Why don’t you move to the human realm after you graduate?”

Her face fell a fraction. “My father wants me to come back to our kingdom. Probably marry some guy he’s chosen for me.”

Add arranged marriages to the list of antiquated elemental ways.

“You could always ignore that dictate.”

“It’s not as easy as you think,” Kerry said with a huff. She hurried ahead, pulling open the front door to a building. “This is us, Simmeran Hall.”

The massive, ornate doors opened to an equally opulent entryway. Landscape paintings decorated the area and antique wood moldings covered every inch.

“Whoa.”

“Yeah, it can be a bit much, but there’s loads of history around here. It’s pretty fascinating.”

All I could think about was the endless list of things I had to learn. “Hopefully you can fill me in.”

“Of course, I can.”

Someone slammed into my shoulder. “Watch where you’re going, mutt.”

I whirled in the direction of Drue’s unfortunately familiar voice. “What did you call me?”

“What you are. A mutt. No half-human is going to last more than a month here. I’ve got a week in the pool. What I can’t figure out is whether you’ll wash out or be killed.” She shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I guess it doesn’t matter to me either way.”

Drue and her followers flounced off before I had a chance to respond. I simply stood gaping after them.

Slowly, I turned in the direction of Kerry. “Did she just say wash out or be killed?”

“Don’t mind Drue. She’s just threatened because everyone’s been talking about this crazy powerful half-human elemental Quincy discovered. Drue thought she’d be the hottest shit coming in this year.”

“But no one gets killed in training, right?”

Kerry nibbled on her bottom lip. “I don’t know how to answer that question without freaking you out.”

10

“IT’S NOT like the teachers expressly allow violence. It’s just that things happen in battle exercises and when working on our magic. Sometimes it’s a genuine accident, other times you can tell someone was trying to take out the competition.”

Kerry chattered away as I unpacked my meager belongings. She was trying to ease my mind but was only making things worse.

“But I’m not competition. I don’t have the first idea what I’m doing.”

Kerry nibbled on the corner of her lip. “Maybe everyone will figure that out quickly.”

“But right now, all they know is that I short-circuited the power at the testing.” I groaned as I collapsed onto my bed.

She sent me a reassuring smile. “It does make you sound like quite the badass.”

“The accidental badass.”

“That should be the title of a book.”

I chuckled, the first sound of amusement that had passed my lips in hours. But it quickly died away as I thought about what I’d face tomorrow. “How should I play it?”

I had to hope that Kerry would shoot me straight. She didn’t seem to have a mean bone in her body.

Kerry drummed her fingers against her desk. “It’s a delicate balance. You don’t want to be at the top of the pack unless you’re damn sure you can defend yourself. The competition around here is ruthless. Everyone is clamoring for royal placements after we graduate, and the girls are hoping to catch the eye of one of the princes.”

I leaned back against the pillows, covering my face with my hands. Learning what an ass Riven was, the thought of encountering another royal was enough for me to pull the covers over my head and never come out.

I peeked through my fingers. “What if I shoot for the bottom of the barrel?”

Kerry shook her head, something I couldn’t discern passing over her features. “You really don’t want that. The ones at the bottom get used for target practice.”

“I’m quick on my feet. I can duck.”

The corner of her mouth kicked up. “That’s good. But not good enough. Trust me, those of us hanging out down there are constantly covered in bruises.”

My hands fell away from my face as I turned towards my roommate. I hadn’t thought about where she fell in the hierarchy and that made me a self-centered prick.

She made a face. “I don’t need your pity. It’s just the facts.”

“It’s not pity. But I am sorry you have to deal with a bunch of crap from these jerks.”

She shrugged. “I’m used to it. They’ve always been able to sense my powers weren’t strong. I have air but barely enough to move the needle. My father was just relieved it was enough to get me into an academy.”

“This seems like a sucky way to determine how a world is run.”

“From what I understand, the human realm isn’t much different. Your world is simply run on money.”

I tucked my hands under the pillow beneath my head. “You have a point. And I definitely know what it’s like to be at the bottom of that barrel. It’s exhausting.”

“That really is the perfect word. I get so tired of being on alert all the time, waiting for someone to make an example of me or use me to show just how powerful they are.”

Seeing the bone-deep fatigue in Kerry’s expression, I knew I wouldn’t simply be able to roll over and play weak for my classmates. It wasn’t in me. I’d have to fight. Which meant I needed to learn quickly. “Who can I trust to teach me what I need to know?”

Kerry’s eyes widened. “Um…”

Her lack of an answer spoke volumes.

“Anyone could stick a knife in my back.”

It wasn’t a question, but Kerry nodded nonetheless. “Even some of the teachers have alliances. There are students they want to see at the top. There are a few that genuinely care about everyone. Quincy’s always a good resource.”

I’d had a good feeling about him from the moment I’d seen him put the freckle-faced boy at ease on stage. God, that felt like a million years ago. “What does he teach?”

“Technically, he’s not a teacher. He’s the librarian. But he knows more about this school and our history than anyone. And his testing affinity means he’s got a sixth sense about people. If you can prove you’re of noble intention, he’ll definitely help you.”

Was I of noble intention? I didn’t know if trying to stay alive to make it back to my family was noble. But it certainly wasn’t evil. I had to admit the idea of putting a few asshole elementals in their place didn’t sound too bad either. That probably wouldn’t endear me to Quincy.

But maybe it would. I remembered his response to my mean girls’ comment. The way he put Riven in his place even though he was a royal. Perhaps Quincy was a fan of a little poetic justice.

“Do you think we’ll have classes together?” I asked hopefully.

Kerry frowned. “Probably not for a while. They divide up sections based on the power they sense in you during testing. I’ll be in the lower levels, and you’ll be in the uppers.”

“Great,” I muttered.

“Each class will be a mixed bag though,” she assured me. “Because everyone has an affinity for different elements.”

“What is Drue’s affinity?” I knew I’d have to watch my back around her most of all.

Kerry’s lips pursed. “Air, water, fire.”

“Three?” I squeaked.

Kerry’s face scrunched up. “Trust me, I’ve heard nothing but how she’s basically an aether for our entire childhoods. She’s hoping her earth gift will manifest once she starts training. She’s been telling anyone that will listen that she’s meant to be the one to bring the princes together again.”

I rolled my eyes. “I can’t wait to hear all about that.”

Kerry turned in her chair, leaning forward and pinning me with a stare. “You have to be careful around her, Aura. She comes off as a vapid bitch, but she’s cold and calculating. There was another girl in our kingdom who had three gifts, and let’s just say she didn’t make it to any academy.”

I sat up, my stomach cramping. “What happened?”

“No one knows. She and Drue went swimming one afternoon and only one of them came back. Drue said it was a horrible accident, but I don’t think a single person believed her. The sick thing is, I saw her father after it happened. He looked…proud.”

11

SCREAMS. The kind you could never unhear ripped through the air. Ones that spoke of agony and terror.

Smoke swirled as flames danced above me. “Mommy.” The word was so soft I couldn’t hear it. I only knew I’d said it by the shape my mouth made.

Everything hurt. I tried to move. Where was I?

A heavy beam pressed into my middle. I pushed against it, but I couldn’t get free. A crack sounded above, and something fiery hurtled towards me. The panic was so sharp it was as if it had grabbed me by the throat.

The flaming floorboard hit the beam atop me. I was awash in pain. There was so much of it that it invaded every nerve ending, setting them aflame. Then there was only black. The smoke monster had swallowed me whole.

I shot up in bed, my hand flying to my chest. My gaze jerked around the room, trying to figure out where I was. Kingwood. My dorm.

I struggled to get my breathing under control as Kerry’s soft snores permeated the dark. I couldn’t grab hold of any air. It was too warm, too thick. I needed out. Fresh, cool night air.

Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I moved without considering the wisdom of it. My bare feet padded along the dark hardwood as I slipped out of my room.

My lungs burned as I struggled to remember which direction the stairwell was. I went left, hoping I was right. A frisson of relief trickled through me as I caught sight of the back stairs. Voices sounded from below.

No. I couldn’t see anyone. Not like this. I couldn’t give a single soul a chance to see this level of weakness in me.

I darted up the stairs instead of down, praying there would be some sort of escape at the end of my path. My fingertips tingled, the telltale sign I only had moments before I’d pass out. I pushed my muscles harder. Everything was on fire. It only made the panic set in harder, my body unable to differentiate between memory and reality.

A door came into view, and I hit it full force. It broke open onto a roof. The cool night air slammed into me with a welcome jolt, the drop in temperature taking off the slightest bit of my feral edge.

I dragged the air into my lungs in ragged breaths. I wanted to keel over, but I knew folding in on myself would only kick the panic up again. Instead, I threw my head back, staring at the sky.

Stars glittered more brightly than I had ever seen. Like little gemstones scattered across the sky. I tried to count them. To give my brain something to focus on other than the horror haunting me.

One. Two. Three. Four.

There were so many, I lost track after twenty-seven, but the exercise had already done the trick. My breathing had calmed, my pulse slowed. It was then I realized tears streamed down my face. I made no move to stop them or wipe them away. I simply let them flow.

I needed this outlet. If I didn’t let the overload of emotion free sometime, it would surely drown me. And I didn’t have the luxury of letting it out anywhere else around here.

The tears tracked down my face, falling from my chin and jaw, landing on the roof. I let it all go. The anger, the fear, the grief. I cried for Charlie and Mom. For everything we’d been through. For everything that still lay ahead. I cried for all the unknowns that circled around me. For the armor I’d have to don tomorrow.

My fingers stroked the burn on the inside of my arm. That soothing comfort. The one that reminded me I’d made it through hell before. I could make it through this too.

With each pass of my fingers over the raised skin, my crying eased. Finally, it ceased altogether. But there was still a gaping hole in my chest.

A flicker of movement had my head jerking to the right. “Who’s there?”

The shadows shifted. It was so dark I wasn’t even sure it was a person I was seeing. It moved the way the smoke did, stalking forward in long, languid swirls. I bit the inside of my cheek, struggling to keep myself from bolting.

A figure melted out of the shadows, but it was as if some still clung to him, circling his legs and arms. I swallowed hard as I took him in. Broad shoulders and a hulking frame. Muscular arms covered in intricate tattoos. Dark hair buzzed close to his head. A jaw and cheekbones so sharp they could’ve cut glass.

But his eyes.

Those eyes were so dark there wasn’t a color to describe them. They were only the absence of light. And I knew instantly they were assessing me for every weakness I had.

I could only imagine how many they found. That thought had anger surging through me. I couldn’t have one moment alone to fall apart? Not a split second to let my guard down?

I glared at the guy across from me. “You could’ve told me I wasn’t alone.”

The only hint of a reaction was a slight lift to one of his brows. “You’re the one who invaded my spot.”

His voice was liquid smoke. As if he’d had a pack-a-day habit since he was five.

My back teeth ground together. “Do you own this roof?”

A flicker of amusement lit in those fathomless eyes. “As far as you’re concerned, I do.”

“What is it with pompous pricks at this school?”

A husky chuckle passed through the dark. “Maybe we just don’t like when our one moment of solitude is interrupted by a clueless girl in the middle of a nervous breakdown.”

I bit back the retort that wanted to fly from my lips because he had one point. He’d been here first. Likely trying to escape the same way I was. The fight went out of me on a single breath. “I’m sorry I intruded.” I turned to head back for the door.

“Wait.”

There was a command so strong in that one word I had no choice but to halt in my tracks.

“Stay.”

Slowly, I turned back to face the stranger. “Why?”

He shrugged. “There’s enough room for two. As long as you aren’t going to lose it again.”

I ignored the dig and moved towards the edge of the roof.

“You’re not going to jump, are you?”

“Not tonight.”

Instead, I lowered myself to the edge and hung my legs over. The campus looked peaceful, lit only by the glow of a few lamps along the paths. The trees shimmered, their iridescent foliage picking up the light. The forests surrounding the campus did the same.

The guy sat then. Taking up my same position but on the other side of the roof. He didn’t say a word, simply stared out into the night. But somehow, just his presence, the tiny kindness of letting me stay…I felt a little less alone.

12

“AURA, YOU HAVE TO GET UP!”

I groaned as Kerry shook my shoulders. “Too early.”

“No, it’s not. I’ve been trying to get you up for the past hour. Do you want to be late for class on our first day?”

My eyes flew open. I sat up blinking a few times as I took in Kerry in the pleated skirt and white button-down shirt. “Uniforms? Seriously?”

She plucked up a hanger with an identical outfit. “It’s supposed to even the playing field or something. Like that works.”

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. My muscles ached. From sitting on the roof for hours or lack of sleep, I wasn’t sure. Dark eyes danced in my mind. But I was beginning to wonder if I’d imagined them. That I’d made up the shadowy figure in my mind. Like an invisible friend.

“You better move it. We’ve already missed breakfast,” Kerry called as she shoved things into a tote bag.

My stomach let out a loud growl at that. I’d skipped dinner last night, opting for a few hours of alone time in our room. My stomach was about to eat itself.

Kerry tossed a granola bar in my direction.

I caught it mid-air and tore the wrapper with my teeth. “You are a goddess among mortals.”

She snorted. “Tell that to the rest of the Academy.”

“I’ll shout it from the rooftops.”

I chewed quickly as I changed. The skirt hit me a couple inches above the knee and the shirt was perfectly molded to my frame. “How did they know my size?”

“Air elemental magic. A burst of air and they can sense all your measurements.”

“That seems like an invasion of privacy or something.”

Kerry slid her bag over her shoulder. “That’s the tip of the iceberg.”

I didn’t even want to know. I looked down at the Mary Jane shoes the school had provided and shook my head. That wasn’t happening. I pulled open my closet and searched the bottom of it. Seconds later, I was slipping on my Chucks.

Kerry lifted a brow. “You might get in trouble for those.”

I knotted the laces and straightened. “Gotta make a stand somewhere.”

“Let’s not make that by being late the first day.”

She led the way out of our room and down the stairs. My bag bounced against my hip as I walked. The only thing inside was a notebook and pen. “I’m not supposed to have books or anything, right?”

“No. Most of the classes aren’t really book heavy and the ones you need, they’ll provide. You’ll have water first. I have that in the afternoon.”

“Damn. Do we have anything together?”

Kerry shoved a slip of paper at me with a schedule. “Nope. We don’t even have the same lunch hour. This was with your uniform this morning.”

Dread pooled in my stomach. The thought of finding a seat in a cavernous cafeteria made me want to book it back to bed. And the schedule itself looked as if it changed its order every damn day.

Kerry squeezed my shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”

“That’s what you say now. Just wait till you hear I was murdered in first period.”

“Murdered?” a familiar honeyed-whiskey voice said. “No one’s going to murder the love of my life.”

Kai slung an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. A buzz took flight in my muscles as his heat seeped into me. Even through my long-sleeved shirt and his, I felt far too much.

He gave me his best puppy dog face. “Have you been avoiding me?”

I tilted my head back and gave him a bland look. “Yes.”

Kerry let out a squeak.

“That’s not very nice, love of my life.” He plucked my schedule from my fingertips. “You’re not running for long. You’ve got water class with me this morning.” He waggled his brows at me. “Did you pack a bikini?”

My eyes bugged as I turned to Kerry. “Tell me he’s joking.”

“He is. You won’t have to be in the pool or lake for a few weeks.” Her gaze jumped back and forth between the two of us as if she were watching a tennis match.

“Somebody shoot me now. Hell, find Drue. I’m sure she’ll do it.”

Kai frowned at me. “Was she mean to you?”

My lips screwed shut. I didn’t need Kai in my business any more than he was already. But Kerry filled him right in. “Word spread pretty quick about a powerful half-human elemental.”

The first hints of concern flickered across Kai’s typically happy-go-lucky expression. “You may want to lay low for the first few weeks here. Stick close to me—”

“I’ll be fine.” I shrugged out of his hold. The last thing I needed was more one-on-one time with Kai. My shoulder still tingled where his arm had been, a slight buzz where there had been contact. My mind screamed danger in loud neon letters.

“I can put the word out not to mess with you.”

Kerry shook her head frantically. “Whatever you do, don’t do that. You would just paint a target on her back.”

Kai frowned as he held open the door to one of the academic buildings for us. “Fine, but I’m keeping an eye on her.”

“Great,” I muttered, heading down the hall.

Kai caught my elbow with a grin. “You’re going the wrong way.”

I let out a soft growl and Kerry laughed. “I’m the other direction. Follow Kai.”

I glared at her but followed her instructions.

Kai’s eyes twinkled. “I’ll never let you get lost.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s make sure we’re not late while we’re at it.”

The halls were mostly empty, but I didn’t miss the occasional stare in our direction. Kai turned the corner and came to a stop in front of a door. He pulled it open with a flourish. “Madam.”

As we stepped inside, the entire class turned in our direction. A middle-aged woman at the front of the room sent us a wan smile. “Oh good, my teaching assistant has decided to grace us with his presence. Do you think you’ll be able to keep your clothes on this semester?”

Kai sent the woman a cheeky smile. “Now, Professor Belthorn, you know I like to be one with the water. It helps the strength of my gift.”

The girls in the class giggled, but I could only stare. I hadn’t even made it to the naked part of the discussion. I was still stuck on one thing.

Kai, Golden God, was my teacher. And I was officially screwed.

13

“SENSE THE MAGIC WITHIN YOU, bubbling just below the surface. Just because your powers are bound for a little longer doesn’t mean you can’t feel them and use them for small exercises.”

Professor Belthorn had been repeating the same refrain over and over for the past hour. Only I had no idea what she was talking about. I couldn’t feel a damn thing bubbling below any surface.

I glanced to my left. A girl I vaguely recognized as one of Drue’s hangers-on had water droplets sprouting from her fingertips. The guy next to her was weaving a mist of water through the air. I stared down at my hands, willing them to do…anything.

Not a bloody thing happened.

Warm hands landed on my shoulders. “Think about what it felt like when Quincy unlocked your powers for that brief moment. How it felt when his magic mixed with yours.”

I wanted to sink back into Kai’s touch, to soak in that honeyed-whiskey voice. Instead, I closed my eyes and focused, taking myself back. I could feel the pricks of energy in my skin. The way they’d dug in, burrowing deep.

“That’s it, Aura. I can feel the change. Now picture the water running through you, the way it runs through all of us. And let it fly.”

I kept my eyes closed and imagined a smooth river running through me, traveling down every muscle and vein. I stretched my fingers out, palms up, and pictured it flowing out of me, into the world around us.

“Shit!” Kai barked.

My eyes flew open to see more than a trickle flying from my hands. That river I was picturing was shooting from my palms and into the air. “What do I do? I can’t stop it.”

I tried fisting my hand, but the water just kept coming.

“Stay calm.” Kai extended his hands, releasing his own streams of water. They circled mine, containing it and keeping it from landing on the entire class. “Deep breaths. Picture the water coming back to you, back to where it belongs.”

I couldn’t get my mind to cooperate, to imagine anything but dousing my class in the liquid above their heads.

“You’ve got this, Aura. Nice and easy.”

Kai’s voice soothed in a way I didn’t know anything could. I leaned into that feeling, closing my eyes again. I pictured the river again but had it flowing in reverse this time, back into me, towards the very center of my being. As I pulled, something swirled inside me. As if I could feel the power building.

Kai’s hands found my shoulders again. “That’s it. You can open your eyes now.”

As I did so, I blinked a few times. The water was gone, and everyone in the entire classroom was staring at me.

Professor Belthorn cleared her throat. “Well, it’s safe to say water will be one of your affinities.”

Kai squeezed my shoulders. “I knew it. I can tutor you one-on-one. You’ll be the most powerful water elemental they’ve seen in years.”

“Kai…” the professor warned.

He held up both hands in mock innocence. “What? She clearly has untapped potential.”

A few of the guys in the class snickered and I glared at him.

Professor Belthorn sighed. “Aura has great potential, but I’m not sure your kind of tutoring will be of use in developing her gift.”

“Thorny, I’m hurt,” Kai said with a pout.

Her face went stormy. “Kai…”

“Yeah, yeah, no nicknames even if they’re meant to show affection.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Kai was like a six-year-old at heart. Nicknames for everyone and his world rocked when someone didn’t want to join in his fun.

Professor Belthorn moved towards my lab table. “I do think it’s best you have Kai with you to maintain your gift for now. We wouldn’t want any accidents.” Her lips pursed. “I think we should have you talk to Quincy as well. There’s clearly something faulty with your binding spell. You shouldn’t be able to access this much power.”

I glanced around the room, and every eye was fixed on us. Crap. I lifted my voice just enough to make sure everyone could hear. “Yeah, he thought there was something off with my binding. I might not be locked down or the binding wore off. This is probably the extent of my abilities.”

Kai sent me a confused look. “I don’t know about that—”

I stepped on his foot, hard.

He snapped his mouth closed and then that fake grin spread across his face. “Don’t worry, love of my life. I’ll still adore you even if you have weakling magic.”

I sent him a bland look. “Gee, thanks.”

Professor Belthorn focused back on me. “I still want you to talk with Quincy.”

“Of course.”

She nodded. “For now, just work on feeling your magic, not fully utilizing it.”

“Sure.” I couldn’t help the stab of disappointment. It wasn’t an emotion I’d expected. I’d been terrified when I saw that water flowing from my hands, out of control. But there’d been another feeling beneath that. Powerful.

It had been so long since I’d felt that way. As I searched my memory, I wondered if I’d ever actually experienced it.

“It’s one of the best highs, isn’t it?”

I looked up at Kai. “It’s pretty amazing.”

The corner of his mouth kicked up. “Second only to—”

“Kai!” the professor chastised. “Go help Alexander. He could use your assistance.”

“But—”

“Now,” she ordered.

“Oh, fine,” he pouted.

Professor Belthorn patted my desk. “Keep working on the feeling exercises. It will help you with your control.”

I nodded and focused on trying to feel the magic humming within me.

“Don’t get used to the attention. As soon as they realize this is all you’re capable of, the fascination will fade.”

I tossed a quick glance in the direction of the voice. One of Drue’s friends. I thought I’d heard the boy at her table call her Xena. I shrugged. “You’re probably right.”

My easy agreement only stoked her anger, her cheeks heating. “Stay away from Kai. He’s not meant for you.”

“Is he meant for you?”

She straightened in her chair. “Drue’s going to be the first aether in generations. She’ll be claiming them all.”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed. “Keep smoking whatever you’re smoking. It has to make life more interesting if you’re having those kinds of hallucinations.”

“Watch your back. When Drue’s powers are unlocked, she’ll come for you for trying to take what’s hers.”

There was something in those words that made me pause. Not any belief that Drue was some magical princess-to-be, but Xena’s certainty in her viciousness. That I needed to be concerned about. But I couldn’t let it show.

“I’ll be sure to be on the lookout for the vengeance to come.”

The guy sitting next to her chuckled and she sent him a scathing look. “Don’t laugh, Aiden. She’s a freaking mutt.”

Aiden arched a brow. “I laugh when something’s funny, mutt or not.”

I thought for a moment he might be someone in this class with a brain. Apparently, I was wrong. I turned back to my desk, focusing on my hands. I tried to see the little fireflies of light that had circled them and the rest of my body when Quincy had unlocked me. Nothing came.

Squinting, I gave everything I had to feel them. Still nothing.

Water flew at me from my left. Not as much as had been flowing through me when I’d nearly lost control, but enough that I looked as if I was about to report to a wet T-shirt contest. Xena’s lips twitched. “Whoops.”

Aiden burst out laughing. “Now, that was fucking funny. I think I got some dollar bills at my dorm, Aura.”

A blast of water hit him square in the face, making his head snap back. “What the hell, Kai?”

Kai shrugged. “That’s what happens when bullshit falls from your mouth.”

“Enough!” Professor Belthorn scowled at Xena and Aiden but didn’t reprimand them. “Aura, why don’t you run back to your dorm to get changed? Hurry. We’re about to change classes.”

I stood, grabbing my bag and refusing to duck my head even as I shivered.

“I’ll go with you,” Kai offered.

“I’m fine,” I gritted out. The last thing I needed were whispers about the Golden God following me back to my dorm.

A flicker of hurt passed over his features, but he nodded.

I hurried out of the classroom, trying to tamp down the burn in my throat. Assholes like Xena and Aiden didn’t deserve my tears. But it wasn’t just them. It was everything. This unwieldy power flowing through me, the unknown of my father, who might be out for me next. I was two seconds away from cracking.

I rounded the corner and nearly collided with someone. Hands caught my shoulders and a buzzing instantly lit deep in the muscles there.

Riven snatched his hands back, scowling at me. “What the hell are you doing out of class?”

I glanced down at my soggy self. “I need to go change.”

“Of course, you’ve already lost control.”

“I didn’t—”

He held up a hand to stop me. “I don’t care. Just do me a favor and make sure you’re far away from me when you detonate? I don’t want to be taken out with you.”

14

MY JAW DROPPED. “Did you seriously just say that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t have a burning desire to die anytime soon. And if you can’t get control of your gifts, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. I don’t want to get caught in the crossfire.”

My knee twitched to take a shot at his balls. But his words had already landed, taking root in my mind and multiplying. The idea that I might lose complete control and end myself and others? That I might never see Charlie and my mom and Lainey again? It was too much.

The walls felt as if they were closing in around me, the bars of my cell trapping me in. I had to get out. Away from Riven. I needed air and open spaces.

I jerked past him and took off down the hall. I didn’t care that I looked like a crazed version of a drowned rat. I just needed away from that asshole and his cruel truths.

I hit the double doors to the building with a thud, sending them flying. I started running before I could even think about where I was going but didn’t make it very far. Looking where I was going would’ve been a good idea. I slammed into something so solid I bounced backward.

Had I missed a tree? A mountain?

Large hands caught my arms before I could fall flat on my ass. They steadied me as I found my footing again. I looked up and up and up. I had never seen a guy this tall. No, this large everywhere. His thighs were likely the size of my waist.

I swallowed hard as my gaze tracked over a muscular chest and the broadest shoulders I’d ever seen. His corded neck made me think of some supersized lumberjack.

I braced for anger as I made the final ascent to his face. Instead, I was met with concern in gorgeous hazel eyes. His irises reminded me of a soothing nature scene, a mossy forest floor that begged for you to curl up and take a nap.

As my eyes met his, he instantly released me. “Are you all right?”

A laugh bubbled out of me. “All right? Let’s see. I had no idea I was an elemental until approximately twenty-four hours ago. I made the power at the testing go boom. This school has some seriously murderous bitches. I have no idea what I’m doing. And your prince of air is a serious asshole.”

My chest heaved as I finished my tirade.

Those hazel eyes danced with amusement. “Feel better?”

“You know? I think I do.” My cheeks heated. “Sorry to unload on you. And run into you.” I patted a wet spot on his abs where I’d collided with him. As soon as my hand rested on the defined muscle, a buzz reverberated in my palm. It had to be my magic reacting with other elementals.

I pulled my hand away. “Sorry for that too.”

He shrugged. “It’s just a little water. I’m sorry it’s been a rough few days.”

The guy’s voice was deep, fitting his massive form, but there was something incredibly gentle about it too. I had the most bizarre urge to climb into his arms and dissolve into tears. I shook my head, trying to clear the image. “It’ll be okay. It has to be, right?”

His mouth thinned. “I can fix one thing at least.”

“You can murder the prince of air?” I shouldn’t say things like that, I could probably get beheaded or something.

A bark of laughter escaped the giant. “There are times I’d like to, but that wasn’t what I meant.” He held up his hand. “May I?”

“May you what? Snap my neck? Because I’m pretty sure you could do that with your little pinky.”

His face closed down in an instant, and he jerked his hand back. My heart stuttered in my chest. Shit. I’d said something wrong. I reached out on instinct, grabbing his hand. “I’m sorry. I was joking—”

As our fingers touched, the ground rumbled beneath us. My eyes widened as I held on. After a moment, the rumbling stopped. “Why does no one warn me about the stuff I need to know? Earthquakes?”

The giant stared down at our joined hands. “Not usually.”

I released my hold on him. “Sorry for grabbing you and for the bad joke and for—”

His large hand patted my shoulder. “It’s okay. I was going to offer to dry your clothes. But not everyone likes me touching them.”

Endless questions filled my mind, but the hurt in those hazel eyes made me silence them all. “Dry clothes would be great.”

The giant’s mouth curved. “All right.”

His hand hovered just shy of touching me. A moment later, warm air circled my body. It was like being in the world’s most soothing wind tunnel. A buzz rose up everywhere the air touched, his magic reacting to mine.

A few seconds later it all died away. I missed it the second it was gone. It was the most comfort I’d felt in the past twenty-four hours. Probably longer.

My eyes burned. “Thank you. For being kind. For helping.”

The giant’s face softened. “If you ever need anything, come find me. I’m Atlas.”

“I’m Aura. Also known as the hot mess express.”

He chuckled and I wanted to roll around in the sound. “I don’t think you’re a hot mess. Just having a hard day.”

I heard the faint ringing of a bell. My head jerked in the direction of the academic building. “Crap on a cracker.” I was going to be late for my second ever class at Kingwood.

15

I FOLLOWED the sea of students towards Winthrop Hall, the main building on the Kingwood campus. I tried my best to keep my gaze unfocused on the backs in front of me, but I didn’t miss the whispers swirling.

Air class had been a disaster. I hadn’t been able to get even a flicker to pass my fingertips. And Professor Caelyx, who headed up that class, had been far from encouraging. He’d simply sniffed and turned his attention to other students.

How the hell was I supposed to improve if I didn’t have any help?

I trudged up the path, my legs feeling as if they weighed one hundred tons. If I passed out now, I could sleep for a week at least.

I slipped through the door behind a group that was laughing about their earth class. My chest ached. I missed Lainey. How she could make me cackle even on the worst days. I’d felt on the outside before, but nothing like this.

With no idea where I was going, I simply kept following the crowd and hoped we were all supposed to go to the same place. My jaw dropped as I stepped inside what could only be described as a dining hall.

The space looked more like a ballroom than a cafeteria. Marble floors. Tables of a rich, deep brown wood. Ornate archways and intricate décor.

Then the scents hit me. I was thankful for the loud conversations around me because my stomach growled with a ferocity I’d never heard before. There were more food stations than I could count. An elaborate salad bar. Panini and sandwich station. Sushi. Pastas and pizzas that looked like they could’ve been flown in from Italy. One station served what looked like Thai dishes. Another had steaks the size of my head with all the typical sides.

My gaze jumped around. I ignored the pleas of my stomach as I searched for the least crowded station. The salad bar was crawling with girls tittering with the latest gossip. And as much as I wanted steak, it looked like the elemental version of a football team had claimed that station. I oscillated between Thai and Italian and ultimately went for Italian. I didn’t want to mess with chopsticks on my first day.

I stepped up to the counter, and a round woman with a stern frown greeted me. “What’ll it be?”

I quickly scanned the options.

“Hurry it up already. I don’t have all day.”

“I’ll do the fettuccine alfredo and a Caesar salad, please.”

She moved with a speed I didn’t expect, giving me a heaping plate of pasta and a side salad. “Drinks are on the far wall.”

“Thank you.”

“Move along.”

So much for making friends. I moved towards the drink station while covertly searching out an empty table. Most of them were filled already, but there was one by the far windows that was still empty of any students.

None of the drink options looked familiar, so I just picked one and hoped for the best. Carefully balancing my tray, I headed for the empty table. I didn’t meet a single eye as I sat but could feel the heat of gazes on my back.

My hand trembled as I picked up my fork. I hadn’t had nearly enough to eat in the past couple of days. I sank my utensil into the pasta. It smelled amazing. I lifted it to my lips and nearly moaned. The cream sauce was the best I’d ever tasted.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

My eyes flew open to meet glacial blue ones, hot with anger.

A few hours ago, I probably would’ve lost it. Dissolved into tears right here in the dining hall. But now, I couldn’t find it in myself to muster up a reaction. “Knitting a sweater, what does it look like?”

A chuckle sounded from behind me that I knew belonged to Kai.

“This isn’t your table,” Riven growled.

I made a large show of examining the table. “Funny, I don’t see a reserved sign anywhere.”

“Because everyone knows it’s the royal table.”

I swallowed hard, a bit of pasta sticking in my throat. Was I about to get that beheading I’d worried about earlier?

Warm hands landed on my shoulders. “Come on, Riv. I like her. Can’t we keep her?”

I scowled up at him. “I’m not a puppy.”

He just winked at me. “No, you’re much cuter than a puppy.”

I did growl then.

Riven glared at us. “She’s not welcome. She’s not one of us.”

His words circled my brain before they took hold. One of us. My gaze snapped back to Kai. “You’re royal?”

16

KAI PRESSED his lips together to keep from laughing. “You say that like being royal is the worst thing in the world? To most people, it’s a good thing.”

My mouth opened and closed a few times before I could get any words out. “I just—the only royal I know is a total asshole.”

Kai’s laugh carried through the dining hall. “Oh, we are definitely keeping you, Pip.”

“My name is Aura.”

“I know, but you’re so tiny. Yet full of fire. Pip fits you.”

I stared at him. “Do not start that.”

A chair pulled back across the table. “Kitten might work too. She’s got claws.”

That voice. Liquid smoke. I turned to meet endless dark eyes. I swore the smoky shadows still clung to him even in the full light of day.

Kai looked from me to the guy sitting across from us and back. “Do you two know each other?”

Shadow, as I’d dubbed him in my mind, arched a brow. “What do you say, Kitten? Do we know each other?”

Everything in that raspy voice suggested a carnal knowledge.

“Don’t call me Kitten or Pip or anything else. My name is Aura.”

“And you’re leaving,” Riven gritted out.

“Not so fast,” Kai cut in. “There are three of us present at the moment. Put it to a vote.”

Riven’s jaw slackened. “You’re calling a vote over her?”

“Yeah, I am.”

There was a steel in Kai’s voice I hadn’t heard before.

“Fine,” Riven said. “How say you?”

Kai stared him down. “She stays.”

Riven didn’t waver. “She goes.”

They both turned to Shadow. But he was staring at me, searching. He rubbed his fingers together and sparks danced between them.

I pushed back against my chair. There were no flames, but it was enough to remind me.

The sparks instantly died out. “She stays.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Phoenix?” Riven roared.

Phoenix. The name fit him. He was a man of smoke and ash. And even though everything about him terrified me, I couldn’t force my gaze away.

Riven’s gaze pinballed around the table. “Are we in the damned apocalypse or something? Since when do all of you care about some half-human?”

Kai slid into the chair next to me. “Would you go find the Ice Queen and get your dick sucked? You’ve been in a foul mood for days. You need to blow off some steam.”

“I need to understand why the hell all of you are so obsessed with her.”

Phoenix’s lips twitched. “Maybe we just like fucking with you.”

“That’s it, isn’t it? You’re all a bunch of assholes, you know that, right?”

“Acknowledged and owned,” Kai drawled.

Riven didn’t say another word, he simply lowered himself into the empty chair next to Phoenix and glared. What a warm and fuzzy lunch.

The ground vibrated beneath me, and my head jerked up to meet soothing hazel eyes. Atlas hovered behind the chair on my other side before he took it, giving me a hint of a smile. “Hi, Aura.”

“Hi,” I squeaked.

His lips twitched. “Did you make it to your class okay?”

I let his calming presence wash over me. “Barely. I don’t think air is going to be one of my affinities.”

Riven muttered something under his breath I couldn’t make out, but Kai clearly could because there was a thump, and then Riven grunted in pain.

“I could help you if you want,” Atlas offered. “Earth is my primary affinity, but I’ve got some air gifting too.”

I looked around the table, trying to put the pieces together. “You’re the earth prince and Phoenix is the fire prince?”

Shadows danced across Atlas’s eyes, and he nodded slowly. But it was the weirdest thing. It was as if he was bracing for me to bolt. Being caught up in elemental royalty wouldn’t have been my first choice, but Atlas had been nothing but kind to me. I’d never ditch him just because of his bloodline.

I gave him a little smile. “It’s probably frowned upon to nearly tackle a prince, huh?”

He chuckled. “I’m not sure where that falls in the royal rule book, but I’d get you a pardon.”

Kai leaned in closer. “I’m feeling a little jealous, Pip. How come you never try to tackle me?”

“Probably because she’s scared of getting a disease, like any reasonable woman would be.”

The voice that cut through the air was smooth as silk and fit the girl behind it to a T. She had perfectly straight white-blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and flawless fair skin. Even her uniform looked better than the rest of the school’s.

Riven pulled out the chair next to him, and the girl lowered herself into it with a grace I’d never have. Kai smirked at her. “Don’t be jealous, Eva. There’s more than enough of me to go around. And you know I always wrap it up.”

She scrunched up her nose. “My tastes are a little more discerning than that.” She leaned into Riven with that and he wrapped an arm around her. My stomach twisted at the contact, which made zero sense. Maybe I just felt bad for the girl for being saddled with such a prick.

She smiled at me. “I’m Eva. I heard Kai’s been telling the whole school you’re his soul mate.”

I sent a scowl in his direction. “Seriously?”

“It’s the truth. Don’t deny our love.”

“You say love, I say stalking.”

Eva let out a light laugh. “I like her.”

“Told you!” Kai cried. He grinned at Riven. “Now you’re really outnumbered. Get used to having Aura around. You’ve been overruled.”

I couldn’t help but meet Riven’s gaze across the table. Some part of me needed to see his reaction. His face was a blank mask. But there was something underneath it. It wasn’t the typical derision or exasperation.

It was fear.

17

“FOR HOMEWORK, please read chapters one through four.”

“So much for no textbooks,” I muttered to myself.

Students rose the second Professor Shale stopped speaking, darting for the door. I stayed exactly where I was, in the back corner of the classroom. I waited until the last student was gone and then gathered my books.

My history professor didn’t look up from her notebooks as I made my way to the front of the classroom. I didn’t think I’d ever been this tired. Not even during finals week when I was working evenings.

It was a new kind of tired, one that encompassed every part of my being: body, mind, and soul. All I wanted was quiet. Some time alone to process the events of the past forty-eight hours. But I hadn’t been able to pause for a moment. I’d been working too damn hard.

I peeked my head out of the classroom and down the hall. Everyone was moving towards the exit. I made the instant decision to head the opposite way. I didn’t even care what I found as long as it was away from the majority of the school.

I wove my way through hallways, things getting quieter the farther I went. I slowed at a set of open double doors. The rows of books tugged at me. I stepped inside and instantly breathed a little deeper. The bookshelves were like a warm cocoon of peace.

This was my place. I’d had the same hiding spot in my old school. I’d sneak away to get ahead on homework whenever I had the chance and escape the hecticness of our school halls.

“Long day?”

I whirled around at Quincy’s voice.

He held up both hands. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“I was lost in my own little world for a minute there.”

“You’re allowed. Especially with all the new things being thrown your way.”

I let my gaze wander over the expansive space. “I guess I needed an escape while everyone cleared out.”

“You’re welcome to find respite in here anytime.”

The simple kindness made my chest ache. “Thank you.” I turned back to Quincy. “Professor Belthorn actually wanted me to talk to you about the binding.”

“She stopped by.”

That knowledge made my stomach twist. The fact that she was concerned enough to already have spoken to Quincy. “What do you think is wrong with me?”

His expression softened. “Nothing is wrong with you, my dear.”

“I’m certainly not normal.”

He chuckled. “Normal is overrated, don’t you think?”

“Not when you’re trying to stay alive,” I mumbled.

“Come with me.” Quincy ushered me towards an office in the back corner. “Have a seat.”

I lowered myself into one of the two overstuffed armchairs as Quincy puttered around with a tea kettle on some sort of hot plate. A moment later, a ball of fur launched itself into my lap.

“Well, hello.” The cat was an array of colors: orange, black, and white.

Quincy glanced my way. “That’s Patch. She’s not typically fond of people other than me.”

“She probably sensed I could use a friend.” My hand sifted through the cat’s fur, and she instantly picked up a purr, kneading my legs.

Quincy set a mug of tea on the table next to me. “You’ll find your people here. It looks like Kai has taken you under his wing.”

I pressed my lips together as I struggled to find the right words. “I’m pretty sure I’m just a shiny new toy to him.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate the kindness he’d shown me, but Kai seemed to be the type who was easily distracted, always looking for the next thing to entertain himself.

“I think you’re selling yourself short there, Aura. It seemed to me that Kai was impressed with your spunk and gumption.”

“You mean he was impressed that I kneed Riven in the balls.”

Quincy choked on a sip of tea. “I hadn’t heard that piece of things.”

I shrugged. “He deserved it.”

“I don’t doubt that. Just know that as hard as Riven can be on others, he’s ten times harder on himself.”

I studied the man across from me, tempted to ask more about why Riven was the way he was. But I bit my tongue. At the moment, I didn’t want to feel sympathy for the prickish prince of air.

Instead, I focused on more urgent matters. “What do you think happened with my binding?”

Quincy set his mug down on the table and leaned back in his chair. “I’m not entirely sure.”

It wasn’t a complete lie, not that I could tell. But there was something he wasn’t sharing. “What’s your best guess?”

He studied me for a moment, as if he was trying to decide if I was worthy of the truth. “There are two likely options. One, your binding spell has broken down over time for one reason or another.”

“Two?” I asked.

Quincy lifted his hand and air swirled around the outside of the room. Some part of me knew he was blocking out any listening ears. His gaze locked with mine. “I’ve read of something before. A second binding put in place to shield those with great power from being discovered.”

My hand stilled on Patch’s fur. “Discovered?”

“Some are threatened by those with powerful gifts. Some want to use those gifts for their own gain. Young elementals can’t protect themselves when that strength is discovered too early.”

“But that second binding…it would have to be done after birth, right?”

Quincy nodded slowly. “It could be done at any age, but it would likely take a while for anyone to realize that power was manifesting. Which means you would’ve had an elemental in your life. One who was protecting you.”

18

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?”

Kerry’s voice burst through our dorm room as I stepped inside.

I let my bag fall to the floor and flopped onto my bed. “Day from hell,” I mumbled into my pillow.

“There’s no way it was the day from hell if you sat with the freaking royals at lunch. The whole school is talking about it.”

I groaned, pushing my face deeper into the pillow. Great. Just great.

“Tell me everything.”

I rolled over onto my back, staring at the ceiling. “There’s really not much to tell. I sat where I shouldn’t have, and Kai made me stay.”

Kerry bounced on her mattress. “That’s not what I heard. I heard that Kai and Phoenix fought for you to sit there. And Atlas was whispering in your ear.”

“I think fought is too strong a word.”

She raised a brow. “Kai and Phoenix voted for you, didn’t they?”

How the hell did everyone know so damn much about the inner workings of my lunch hour? “Do they have bugs in the tables or something? Hidden cameras?”

Kerry grinned like a cat who just got the canary. “I’ve never heard Phoenix take up for anyone but the royals. And Atlas—he barely talks to anyone at all.”

There was a prickle of something under my skin at what sounded a little like judgment.

She sighed, flopping back on her bed. “Honestly, they both terrify me a little. Atlas could crush you like a bug, and Phoenix would slit someone’s throat for looking at him the wrong way.”

I stiffened, turning to face Kerry. “Metaphorically?”

She grimaced. “I heard he caught a guy about to take advantage of a woman in his kingdom. He burned the guy alive. And made it as slow as possible.”

I shuddered. I swore I could feel flames licking my skin. Squeezing my eyes closed, I breathed deep.

“Aura?”

My eyes flew open. “Sorry.”

Concern flashed across Kerry’s face. “Are you okay? I don’t think Phoenix will hurt you. I’ve actually never heard of him hurting a woman. I just…he has a vindictive streak.”

Bizarrely, I wasn’t worried about him hurting me either. I mean, he scared the hell out of me in a lot of ways. But the fear I felt didn’t center around harm.

“It’s just been a really long day.”

Kerry winced. “I heard Xena doused you in water class. Sorry about that.”

A sound of frustration escaped my throat. “Nothing stays secret around here, does it?”

“Not really.” She nibbled on the corner of her lip. “You need to be careful.”

“About what now?” The number of things I was currently juggling in my brain to watch out for were about to drown me. Mean girls. Royals with a penchant for torture. Elementals who may have bound me as a child. The list went on and on.

“Girls are going to have it out for you since you sat with the royals. They’ll make it their mission to knock you down a few pegs.”

Maybe I could hide in the library during lunch periods. No royals. No mean girls. No classmates at all.

I turned to Kerry. “Do you know any invisibility spells?”

She laughed. “I don’t think that’s one that I’ve heard of.”

“Let me know if you do.”

“You’ll be the first one I tell.”

“Thanks.”

Kerry pushed off her bed and stood. “We should get to the dining hall if we want dinner.”

Dread pooled in my stomach. I didn’t have it in me to go another round with Riven or to be pulled into the four princes’ drama for their amusement alone. I sent Kerry a pleading look. “Do you think you could bring me something back?”

Sympathy washed over her expression. “You’re going to have to face them all eventually.”

“Tomorrow is as good of a day for that as any, right? I just need some sleep first.” After a decent eight hours, a belly full of food, I’d be ready to battle again. But tonight? I just wanted to put on my pajamas, pull the covers over my head, and pretend none of these problems were real.

Kerry nodded. “Want anything in particular?”

“That pizza looked pretty dang good.”

“It’s amazing. I’ll bring you a few pieces back.”

I blew a kiss in her direction. “A goddess among mortals, I tell you.”

She laughed as she headed out the door. “And don’t you forget it.”

As the door closed, I collapsed back against my pillows. My brain swirled in a million different directions. I tried to reach back into my memory to the years before the fire. The time when I might’ve encountered an elemental who could’ve bound my magic even further than the innate spell all elementals were subject to.

Every time I reached for a memory, it was as if I knocked up against a cement wall. I’d need a wrecking ball to get through it. Only all I had were my bare hands.

All I was left with were questions. Some part of me wondered if it could’ve been my father. Did he know who I was? Had he returned in some effort to keep me safe? And who the hell was he?

Maybe I could find someone to hypnotize me into remembering. I instantly pushed that idea aside. The last thing I needed was to end up clucking like a chicken every time someone said the word egg.

A whoosh sounded and a piece of paper slid under my door.

I was on my feet in an instant, tugging the door open. No one was there, nor was there any sign of a living, breathing soul in the hallway. I stared down at the folded-up note. Someone could’ve used air magic to direct it.

Slowly, I shut the door and flicked the lock. I bent and picked up the letter. Unfolding it, I scanned the page.

You don’t belong here. Run while you still have the chance.

19

I TOSSED AND TURNED, the blankets tangling around my legs. I was too hot, then too cold. And my mind just wouldn’t turn off. The events of the day circled round and round, never actually draining out of my brain. That damn note wasn’t helping either.

Kerry’s deep, relaxed breathing sounded from across the room. I envied the ease with which she seemed to drift off to sleep each night.

I kicked at my blankets, sitting up. I felt around for my slippers and grabbed a hoodie from my dresser. Slowly, I eased the door open and peeked down the hall.

There weren’t any signs of another soul. I stepped out and shut the door softly behind me. My quest for the stairs wasn’t frantic this time. But the core yearning was the same. To grab hold of a little bit of peace. To breathe free and easy.

I climbed the two flights of stairs and eased the door open. My gaze instantly began searching for Phoenix. A pang of disappointment lit along my sternum when I didn’t see any sign of him.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. I didn’t need to be disappointed that a torturing royal with the darkest eyes I’d ever seen wasn’t waiting for me in his secret hangout.

I pushed thoughts of those hypnotizing eyes from my brain and started for the edge of the roof. Dangling my legs over the side, I breathed deep. The air here was unlike anything I’d ever smelled before. Clean. Fresh. As if there had never been a vehicle driven in the elemental realm ever.

And the sky. I tipped my head back to take in those beautiful stars. They dotted the inky-purple canvas like the most gorgeous painting I’d ever seen.

I had to hold onto these precious moments. The ones that reminded me there were things to be grateful for, even in the midst of my life being turned upside down.

I felt him before I saw him. It was a change in the air, the very atmosphere. One second, I was breathing easy and the next, everything around me was charged.

My gaze pulled to the right. Phoenix sat on the edge of the roof a few feet away, staring at the horizon. I couldn’t help but study him. That chiseled jaw. The tattoo peeking out from the collar of his shirt and climbing his neck. My fingers itched to trace it.

“Do you not sleep?” I had this burning need to know what kept Phoenix returning to this place night after night.

“Doesn’t look like you do either.”

I let out a huff of air. “I guess not. I used to.” I’d dealt with the nightmares for as long as I could remember, but there was a long period where they were few and far between.

“I don’t know the last time I truly slept,” Phoenix said softly.

His voice was like wisps of smoke, sifting through the air and wrapping around me.

“It sounds like there are plenty of girls around here that would love to help you sleep.”

I snapped my mouth closed the second the words were out, my face heating.

Phoenix arched a brow as he turned in my direction. “Jealous, Kitten?”

“Annoyed with what seems like a large percentage of the female population here.”

In truth, I was both. I just didn’t want to examine the former too closely. Why I could feel those tendrils of jealousy for someone I didn’t even know. Why they seemed to flare to life around so many different men since arriving at Kingwood.

Phoenix leaned back, bracing himself on his palms. “I don’t have any interest in the royal chasers here.”

“I don’t blame you for that.”

He chuckled, the rough sound skating across my skin. “They’ll all move on. Get over it when they realize they have their pick of guys for their bonds.”

Bond. It was the first time I’d heard the word spoken here. But I’d seen the groupings around campus. Girls who had two or three guys they were clearly involved with.

“Don’t they get jealous? The guys, I mean. It would be hard for me to share a partner with someone else.”

Phoenix shrugged. “When it’s meant to be, the jealousy doesn’t take root. Not in a real way. There may be moments of frustration, of wanting your Ela to yourself, but there’s never true animosity.”

“Ela?”

“What we call the female bonded. If there is a true mate bond, that jealousy is much less because some part of you feels the destiny of it.”

I looked over at him. “Those are pretty rare now though, right?”

Phoenix nodded. “When the aethers disappeared, the true mate bonds became less frequent as well. But there are still those who experience it.” He stared out at the surrounding forests. “It’s supposed to be a high unlike any other. A gift from the heavens.”

My mouth curved. “My friend, Lainey, was really hoping she’d turn out to be an elemental so she could have one of those destined bonds.”

Phoenix’s lips twitched. “Not everyone in our world is so crazy about the bonds anymore.”

“They’re like me? Not good at sharing?”

He chuckled, but the sound quickly died away. “They’re not good at sharing the power maybe.”

“Power?”

“Not everyone wants to see the kingdoms united.”

I thought back to my history class earlier that day. How the professor had spoken about wars between the kingdoms before the aethers came into existence. “You’ve managed to stay united now. Even without the aethers.”

“Those ties are tenuous at best.”

“Should you be telling me this?”

Phoenix was a prince from the Kingdom of Ash. I didn’t think his rulers would be too happy with him spreading their political intelligence around.

The corner of his mouth kicked up. “People know, they just don’t speak of it.”

“But you don’t like pretty lies.” I wasn’t sure why, but I knew it was true down to my bones. Phoenix craved authenticity and knowing where he stood.

He stared across the space at me, those darker-than-night eyes probing into everything I tried to keep hidden from the world. “I don’t. So why don’t you tell me an ugly truth?”

My heart beat in a rapid rhythm against my ribs, but I couldn’t look away. “I have nightmares. It’s why I don’t sleep well.”

“What are they about?”

“Fire.”

His eyes flared for a moment. “You’re afraid of it.”

“Petrified.” I wasn’t sure why, but the truths just kept coming. It didn’t matter that I was ashamed and embarrassed of them, I kept spilling. As if Phoenix had some sort of hypnotic hold over me.

“You’ll have to let it swallow you whole.”

Blood roared in my ears. “That seems like a poor life choice.”

That husky chuckle was back, but it slipped away in the night. “If you let it consume you, then you become the fire.”

Except fire was the last thing I wanted to become. I didn’t want to torment and destroy. I forced the image from my mind. “What about you? What’s your ugly truth?”

He stared out at the horizon. “My sister’s dead because of me.”

And then he was gone.

20

“ARE YOU SURE YOU’RE OKAY?” Kerry asked for the third time that morning.

“Yes.” No. My eyes felt as if someone had dumped sand in them. I had a pounding headache. And had gotten approximately an hour and a half of sleep because I couldn’t stop seeing Phoenix’s haunted face before he’d disappeared.

I forced a smile on my face. “What about you? Feeling good about classes today?”

She groaned. “I’ve got air and water. Air’s supposed to be my best subject, but I know I’ll just be a raging disappointment.”

“Why don’t we practice after classes today? I could use some help with the basics that I’m sure you’ve got covered.”

Kerry beamed at me. “That’d be great.”

An arm dropped over my shoulder as we headed into the dining hall. “Pip, why are you avoiding me?”

I glanced up at Kai. “I saw you yesterday at lunch.”

“But where were you at dinner? I saved you a seat.”

Kerry let out a giddy giggle and then clamped a hand over her mouth.

“I had a headache. Kerry got me something to eat.”

Kai pulled me to a stop, examining my face. “How do you feel now? Still hurting?”

I was taken aback by the genuineness in his expression. So much so that I blurted out the truth instead of an easy lie. “Like a marching band is playing on my skull.”

Kai’s hand slipped under my blonde waves, kneading my neck. The second his fingertips touched my skin, a buzz hummed to life there. I wanted to lean into it, into him.

A guy walking by us jerked as water from his water bottle sprayed in his face. “What the hell?” He spun around at his friends. “Which one of you assholes did that?”

They dissolved into laughter and good-natured ribbing.

Kai ignored them, continuing to dig his fingers into my neck. Those damn magic fingers. They were lulling me into some heavenly abyss. A tiny moan slipped from my lips.

Kerry coughed. “Uh, guys.”

My eyes flew open. The entire dining hall was staring at us as I basically became a puddle on the floor. I froze. The walls felt as if they were closing in around me. I moved on instinct, backing away from all the eyes.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Kai said, giving my neck another squeeze. “Ignore them. They don’t matter.”

That was easy for Kai to say. They all worshipped at his feet. Me, they wanted to toss over a cliff. But running wasn’t an option. Even though all I wanted was to hightail it back to my mom and Charlie, I didn’t have that choice. Because if I combusted like Riven kept saying I would, I’d take them out with me. And that was more than I could live with.

“Come on,” Kai urged. “Let’s get some breakfast.”

I let out a whoosh of air. “Okay.”

He guided me forward, Kerry falling into step next to us as we wove our way through students. I did my best to ignore everyone around us and just hoped they’d turn their attention back to eating.

“Mutt,” someone coughed out as we passed.

Kai whirled on them, but I grabbed his arm to stop him. “Don’t. They’ll never stop if they think it gets a rise out of me. Or you.”

His nostrils flared, but he closed his eyes for a moment, and when they opened again, that happy-go-lucky mask was in place again. I hated that freaking mask. But it was better than Kai creating a scene.

He grinned at me. “Waffles or omelets?”

My stomach rumbled.

“I’m taking that as both.”

Kerry giggled as Kai grabbed a tray and began loading it sky-high with everything under the sun. “He likes you.”

“He’s entertained by me. There’s a difference.” But even as I said the words, I could feel the faint remnants of the buzz in my muscles. The way I wanted to drown in everything that was Kai. He might just be entertained by me, but I was in danger of falling for whatever sexual mojo he had. Was there a sex elemental? If there wasn’t, maybe Kai was the first of his kind.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Kerry mumbled as she grabbed a yogurt granola parfait.

“Chop-chop, ladies. There’s food to be eaten,” Kai called, motioning us towards the royal table.

“I’m gonna sit with Kerry today, Kai.”

He spun around. “No, you don’t, Pip. You’re with me. And if Kerry brought you dinner last night, then she can come too.”

Kerry practically vibrated next to me. “Please, Aura.”

“If someone aims a spitball at me, it’s on both of you,” I grumbled.

Kai scoffed. “No one would dare.”

He led us towards the table.

Atlas looked up with a grin and a wave. “Hey, Aura.”

“Morning.” My eyes bugged out of my head at the amount of food piled in front of him. “You sharing that with an army?”

Kai grunted. “He never shares his food. Even when he gets those freaking delicious cookies from home.”

“Get your own damn cookies,” Atlas shot back.

My gaze locked with Phoenix’s, and I was frozen to the spot. That burning intensity that was always in those fathomless eyes—somehow today it was more. “Pip,” he greeted.

That broke me out of it. “Not you too.”

He popped a mini muffin into his mouth. “It fits.”

I shook my head. “Guys, this is my roommate, Kerry.”

There was an array of greetings. Her face flamed. “Nice to meet you.”

“Where’s Riv and the Ice Queen?” Kai asked as we sat.

“No clue,” Phoenix replied. “Maybe shacked up in her dorm.”

The thought had my stomach souring.

Kai shoved a plate of breakfast foods in front of me. “Eat up. No more headaches for you today.”

“You have a headache?” Atlas asked, concern in his voice.

I paused for a moment. “Actually, I don’t anymore.”

Kai wiggled his fingers in my face. “Because I have the magic touch.”

“Hi, Kai,” Drue crooned softly, balancing a tray in her hands as she came to a stop behind us.

“Hey,” he said, throwing her a quick glance before returning to the table.

There was a little fluttering in the muscle along her jaw. She cleared her throat. “Did you still want to get together later?”

“Huh?” he asked with a blank expression.

“You said to come find you later.” Her lashes fluttered demurely.

My stomach cramped. Of course, he had. Her and likely half the school.

“Sorry, Drea. I’m busy.”

Heat hit her cheeks. “It’s Drue.”

“Okay.”

She flushed a deeper shade of crimson. I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing. But Drue seemed to sense my urge anyway because her eyes flashed. “Well, maybe another time. I need to get back to my friends.” She turned and made an exaggerated tripping motion.

Then her tray was flying through the air. Right towards me.

21

OATMEAL DUMPED OVER MY HEAD, sliding through my hair and down my face. But it was more than that. There was sticky syrup Drue had obviously drizzled on top of her hot cereal. And I tasted orange juice in the mix too.

The entire dining hall went silent. So quiet you could hear the hum of the drink machines fifteen feet away. Then Kai exploded.

“Are you fucking kidding me with that?”

“I-I’m sorry. It was an accident. I tripped,” Drue simpered.

“Bullshit.” He launched to his feet. “You wanted to get back at Aura because she’s been invited to sit here, and you haven’t.”

Phoenix rose, stalking around the table like a jaguar stalking his prey. “I saw the look in your eyes. Calculating. You wanted to embarrass Aura. Hurt her.”

Kai’s blue-green eyes swirled as anger heated them. “We don’t stand for someone hurting one of ours.”

Phoenix towered over Drue. “There’s one thing you should’ve known before coming here. There’s hell to pay if you mess with us. Did you know that, Drue?”

He sneered her name and Drue trembled. The fear and apology had been fake at first, but it was nothing but real now. “B-but she’s not one of you. She’s half-human. A mutt.”

Flames flickered from Phoenix’s fingertips. “What did you just call her?”

The entire dining hall was riveted on us. Their gazes on Phoenix, Kai, and Drue, but also on me. So many eyes. It felt like they were on top of me. All of them. People crowded around. The walls closing in.

My lungs seized as I struggled to catch my breath. They wouldn’t cooperate. I squeezed my eyes closed. You’re fine. Just breathe.

Only as soon as darkness greeted me, I smelled smoke, felt flames. My eyes flew open. I had to get out. Away.

I bolted before anyone had a chance to stop me, the oatmeal sliding down my body as I ran. I couldn’t find it in me to be embarrassed or ashamed. All I could think about was breathing fresh air. Not the kind thick from a crowd or heavy with phantom smoke.

I tore out of the dining hall and towards the front doors. Slamming one open, I kept running, my lungs burning. That only sent the panic higher. I felt the ghostly heat. Heard the crackle of the flames. I couldn’t breathe.

“Aura.” Large hands gripped my shoulders.

I whirled, striking out. Everything was a blur, my fists landing on a hard chest in a feverish pace.

“Aura, it’s me.” Arms wrapped around me. “You’re safe.”

It should’ve sent my panic into hyperdrive, being completely surrounded and engulfed. But the opposite happened. Everything in me eased. That now familiar hum took flight in my muscles. And then I could breathe.

I inhaled deeply, the pain easing in my lungs. I smelled pine and the hint of spice.

“I’ve got you.”

Atlas’s gentle rumble eased everything in me further. Fatigue hit me like a bus. My body trembled, and he swept me up into his arms. I pressed my face into his chest, searching for more of that comfort.

How long had it been since I’d truly let down my walls? Let someone take care of me? I didn’t remember. I hadn’t wanted to give my mom more to worry about. Hadn’t wanted Charlie to be scared his sister was losing it. Hadn’t even wanted to put more on Lainey’s plate. I’d had no choice but to pretend to be strong.

The same was true of every moment since I’d found out I was an elemental and had been forced into Kingwood. I couldn’t allow anyone to see a flicker of weakness. That was all shot to hell now. The entire school had seen me in the throes of a panic attack.

Since everything was shot to hell, I let Atlas carry me off to God knew where. I didn’t care. All I wanted was more of his warmth and comfort. The calming buzz that spread through me.

I closed my eyes and let the rhythm of his long strides bring a little more of that peace that always seemed to escape me. A door opened and shut. There was a change in temperature.

More doors. The flick of a light. Atlas set me down on a bathroom counter. His large hands came up to frame my face. He searched my eyes. “What happened?”

The first hints of embarrassment flooded me.

“Don’t. You don’t have to hide anything from me.”

I swallowed hard. “I don’t do well with feeling confined.”

It was all I could manage to say. All I could handle this close to a panic attack.

Atlas’s eyes flared. “Aura…”

“When there are a lot of people and they’re close…it’s not good for me. Same with feeling trapped. Everyone was staring. It felt like they were on top of me.”

His lips thinned. “I’m sorry Phoenix and Kai made a scene. They were trying to help in their own way.”

“I know, I just…I want to fade into the background.”

Atlas grinned. I’d seen hints of a smile on his lips before, but the full effect? It was devastating. He brushed my now-sticky hair out of my face. “I don’t think you could ever fade into the background.”

I wanted to reach out, to soothe Atlas the same way he was soothing me. Instead, I fisted my hands. “I did a pretty good job in my old life.”

“Somehow I doubt that.” He glanced at a clock on the wall. “You better get cleaned up if we have a prayer of making it to class on time.”

“Shit,” I muttered.

Atlas stepped back and I missed his heat immediately. He bent, retrieving some towels from the cabinet. “These are clean. Use whatever you want in the shower. I’ll find you a fresh uniform.”

My throat burned. “Thank you.”

His mouth curved. “You aren’t alone in figuring out this new world. I’ll help any way I can.”

The burning only intensified, my throat clogging with emotion. I nodded, and Atlas slipped from the bathroom. For the first time, I really took in the space. It was massive, just like the man himself. There was a huge soaking tub and a shower with more jets than I could count.

I slid off the counter and pulled off my uniform. It would have to be trashed. The syrup was already hardening into a solid.

Turning on the shower, I held my hand under the spray. It was warm before the count of three. I stepped under the stream of water. I hurried to shampoo my hair and clean my body, having to scrub at the caked-on food. I stepped out and wrapped a towel around my body and then my hair.

A new uniform hung on the handle of the door. I couldn’t help but smile. With Kai, I would’ve been worried he’d sneak a peek as I showered. With Atlas, I knew he’d never. He was too much the gentleman.

I used some of the lotion on the counter and didn’t miss the scent that clung to my skin from the body wash. I smelled like Atlas. It was comforting, the knowledge that I’d carry him with me for the rest of the day. I was half tempted to steal the bottle so I could have that comfort always.

Slipping on my uniform and into my shoes, I kept the towel on my head, hoping my hair would dry a little more. I stepped out into the bedroom and three sets of eyes flew to me.

It was Phoenix who spoke, his voice a low growl. “Are you okay or do I need to remove someone’s head from their body?”

22

“PLEASE, for the love of all that’s holy, do not murder anyone on my behalf.”

Phoenix wasn’t assuaged. He simply glared.

Kai grinned. “Come on, Pip. Murder is Phoenix’s love language.”

“He’s not wrong,” Atlas agreed.

Phoenix grunted. “She won’t mess with you again.”

I found that hard to believe. Drue might be scared for the moment, but this just meant she’d be more careful moving forward.

I unwrapped the towel from my head. “Shouldn’t we get to class?”

“We can play hooky if you want,” Kai suggested. “Stay here and watch movies all day.”

My chest tightened at his offer. He was trying to shield me in his own Kai way. “I have to face them eventually.” I gave a small shrug. “So, I had a panic attack? Life happens.”

Phoenix shifted from where he leaned against the wall. “Atlas said you don’t like feeling trapped.”

I sent Atlas a pointed look. He had the decency to blush. “Sorry. They were being nosy bastards.”

A muscle in Phoenix’s cheek ticked. “We need to know if something’s going to set you off.”

“Why?” What did it matter if something could send me into a tailspin? It wasn’t their problem.

Kai frowned at me. “You’re one of us now. We look out for each other.”

“Kai, I’m not royal. I’m as far from it as you can get.”

“So?” Atlas said. “We like you.”

Phoenix grinned, but it had a feral edge. “You’re not put off by some of our darker qualities.”

“You put Riven in his place,” Kai added. “And you’re easy on the eyes.”

Phoenix slapped him upside the back of the head. “Manners.”

Atlas stared at me, some unnamed emotion brimming in his eyes. “You see us. Not for our birthrights, but for who we are.”

I had the burning urge to crawl into Atlas’s lap and wrap myself around him in a hug. “You have a good heart,” I whispered softly.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “So do you, Aura. Don’t let anyone here steal that from you.”

I wouldn’t. I refused. I needed to remember who I was. What was important to me. I rolled my shoulders back. “Let’s go face some murderous mean girls.”

Kai wrapped an arm around me. “That’s my girl.”

I liked the sound of that a little too much.

“YOU’LL KEEP AN EYE ON HER?” Kai pushed as we all stood outside the earth classroom.

“I already told you three times that I would,” Atlas groused.

“You should walk her to fire class after—”

“Oh no,” I said, cutting off Kai. “I am perfectly capable of walking from one class to another.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for her in fire,” Phoenix said in that low, smoky tone.

“I give up.” I turned and started into the classroom, but Kai caught me by the back of the shirt and tugged me back.

He wrapped me in a tight hug, his lips skimming the shell of my ear. “Give ‘em hell, Pip.”

All of a sudden, I didn’t feel the need to go to class quite as strongly. I could stand here all day in Kai’s arms. Nothing else needed to exist in the world and—

Phoenix cleared his throat. “Let her go, Kai.”

“Jealous,” Kai muttered, but he released me.

I hurried into the classroom without meeting his gaze. I didn’t need to catch sight of that smug grin. I scanned the room for an empty seat. Thankfully, there was a lab desk that was completely empty in the back row. I made a beeline for it.

Whispers rose in the air. Questions about what the royals saw in me. That maybe I was more powerful than anyone knew. One girl whispered that I was blackmailing them to hang out with me.

I bit the inside of my cheek and focused on the front of the classroom. A short man with round glasses smiled at everyone. “Welcome to earth class. I’m Professor Moss and this is my teaching assistant, Atlas Terra.”

Most of the students bowed their heads in reverence, their eyes averting from my gentle giant. His jaw tightened at the sight.

“Today we will be meeting our earth magic. You’ve likely done similar exercises in your other classes. We’ll start with a simple meditation and then we’ll work on connecting with our inner earth.”

I fought the groan that wanted to surface but closed my eyes and followed Professor Moss’s instructions as he led us through the meditation. A large part of it was feeling connected to the ground, the energy that ran underneath us and into us each and every day.

The concept was one I could get on board with. That we were a part of the world around us. That we needed to treat it with care and reverence. But like in my other classes, I couldn’t feel it. Not in the way that Professor Moss described.

I let out a soft growl of frustration, my hands fisting around the bowl of dirt on my lab table. Large hands closed around mine. “Keep your eyes closed.”

That hum of energy picked up where Atlas’s skin touched mine. “I don’t feel anything.”

“You’re pushing. You need to let the earth magic flow through you. Don’t try to hold onto it or control it. Consider yourself the conduit.”

I imagined the sun hitting my face on a warm summer day. The way the grass felt under my fingertips at the park as I watched Charlie play. The breeze lifting my hair. It was all a part of that life force that ran through us all, human or elemental.

The buzz in my hands intensified. The dirt from the bowl flew in the air, hitting me in the face. I sputtered, my eyes flying open.

But the flow didn’t stop. My entire body buzzed now. The ground beneath me trembled. “Atlas…”

“Pull it back. You can do it.”

“What a fucking head case,” one guy called.

“She’s going to get us all killed,” a girl shrieked, running for the door.

A violent snap rent the air, like the loudest clap of thunder I’d ever heard. My eyes widened to saucers as a crack split the floor beneath us.

In an instant, Atlas dropped to his knees, planting his hands on the floor. He closed his eyes, focusing all his energy on the earth beneath us. A moment later, the shaking slowed. Then the floor itself was slowly knit back together.

I could do nothing but stare. Atlas’s eyes opened, his gaze locking with mine.

What the hell had I just done?

23

I PUT my head down and hurried to my next class. I did everything I could to zone out the whispers. Gossip at Kingwood moved as quickly as lightning, and word of my outburst was already everywhere.

Ducking inside the classroom, I aimed for the back row. But strong hands caught hold of my arms. “What happened?”

I blinked up into inky-black eyes. “Nothing.”

Phoenix scowled. “Atlas texted me that there was an issue in earth class.”

“So, your phones work here?” That was the easy thing to focus on instead of whatever the hell had just happened. But it was more. I would’ve given anything to be able to video chat with Mom and Charlie. To hear their voices and see their smiles. The ache that took root in my chest nearly took my breath away.

“Hey,” Phoenix said, leaning closer. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”

“What if I’m too far gone? What if they unbind my powers and I can’t control anything?”

His back teeth ground together. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Professor Cinders?” a feminine voice asked.

“Yes, Xena?” The woman at the front of the class replied.

“I think our class would feel a lot better if Aura wasn’t permitted to practice in here.”

Snickers and outright laughs peppered the air. Drue’s was the loudest. I willed my face not to heat.

Phoenix turned slowly in Xena’s direction. “What if I decide to take up a little practice on you?”

The guy sitting next to her, the same one from our water class, stood. “Back off, Phoenix. You can’t expect the rest of us to bite our tongues to protect your psycho girlfriend’s feelings.”

“Watch your mouth, Aiden.”

My gaze flipped back and forth between the two of them. The same dark hair and golden skin. Similar jawlines. Aiden’s eyes weren’t as dark as Phoenix’s, but they were close.

Aiden sneered at Phoenix. “You forget. You’re not king yet. I don’t bow to you.”

“Little brother, you’ve bowed to me since the day you were born. Never forget that.”

Aiden’s nostrils flared. “You don’t deserve the throne. You’re not equipped to lead our people. You can’t even protect your own family—”

Phoenix charged, lunging for his brother, but the professor lifted a hand, erecting a wall of fire between the two. I stumbled back a step, everything in me freezing in terror.

“I think that’s enough family drama for the day, don’t you, Mr. Ash?” She arched a brow to punctuate her point, then extinguished the flames. The only remnants of it were soot on the floor.

My hands still trembled, even as my muscles released. But all I could think about was Phoenix. His chest heaved as he struggled to regain control. The urge to go to him was so strong, as if I could feel the pain coming off him in waves.

I didn’t have a clue what was between him and his brother. A brother I’d had no idea he had. But they were vicious wounds. The kind that left scars you never recovered from. I knew something about that.

“Everyone take a seat, please,” Professor Cinders ordered.

As I walked by Phoenix, I let my hand brush his. The faintest touch of skin against skin. The barest touch. Just to tell him that I was there.

His eyes found mine. There was only one word to describe them. Ravaged. The pain there stole all the air from my lungs. But a second later, it was gone. The cold mask was in its place.

“Ms. Coleman,” the professor urged.

I snapped out of my haze and moved to the only empty lab table left. I tried to focus on the professor’s words, but I kept finding my focus pulling to Phoenix and then to his brother. A million questions swirled in my brain.

“All right, let’s give it a try. Remember, the key is that eternal flame within us all.”

That had me jerking to attention. Around me, students lit candles. They practiced growing the flames and then extinguishing them. None of them got very big, but still my heart hammered against my ribs.

A burst of light had me gasping and snapping my head in that direction. The flame from Aiden’s candle had jumped to his hands. He tossed it back and forth like a ball of fire.

My breathing came quicker with each pass of the flames. A million what-ifs played in my mind. It could catch on someone’s clothes. Their backpack. A stray paper.

Memories battered against the walls of my mind. Smoke choking me. The weight of the beam on top of me. The agony of my skin burning.

“Aura.” Phoenix’s voice cut through the memories trying to take me under. “Look at me.”

I blinked, trying to focus.

“It’s just you and me. Breathe with me.”

A few ragged breaths escaped me.

“That’s it. Nothing’s going to happen to you here.”

I gripped the edge of my chair, the hard corners biting into my palms. “Sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. It could be overwhelming for anyone. You go as slow as you need to.”

Slowly, I released my hold on the chair and looked up into Phoenix’s face. His beauty froze me to the spot. To see the glimmers of gentleness amidst the brutal warrior façade. “Thank you.”

“Do you want to try extinguishing the candle?” he asked.

“Here, Aura, I’ll get you a light,” Aiden called.

Before I could register his words, Aiden launched a ball of flames in my direction. Terror ripped through me as visions of fire closing in around me danced in my mind. I sat frozen to the spot, unable to do a damned thing.

Phoenix yanked the ball of fire from the air, stalking towards his brother. He threw out his hands, flames erupting from them and sending Aiden crashing to the floor. The fire circled his neck as Phoenix towered over him. “Apologize. Now.”

24

BLOOD ROARED in my ears as I took in the scene in front of me. The flames weren’t burning Aiden, but they were strangling him.

“I said apologize,” Phoenix growled.

Aiden’s eyes flashed with hatred. “Sorry,” he spat.

Phoenix didn’t release him.

“I think that’s enough, Mr. Ash,” Professor Cinders said.

With one quick motion of his hand the fire was gone, disappeared in a puff of smoke. Aiden launched to his feet, glaring at his brother. “My powers won’t be bound for long. Remember that.”

I tried to swallow, but my throat was so dry it seemed to stick to itself.

“All right, class. Focus back on your own work now,” the professor instructed.

Phoenix struggled to get his breathing under control as he stalked to the front of the classroom. He didn’t look my way once. Not as everyone practiced. Not as Professor Cinders lectured about the eternal flame within us all.

Drue sneered in my direction. “Looks like he’s not as fond of you as you thought.”

I did my best to pretend I hadn’t heard her, but Drue’s words dug into me. My gaze couldn’t help pulling to Phoenix. Shadows danced in his eyes. Glimmers of that pain cutting through his mask.

Phoenix’s eyes connected with mine. I felt it all in that moment. The pain. The rage. The devastation. Whatever had happened to Phoenix had torn him apart.

He jerked his gaze away, and Drue and Xena laughed. It wasn’t their laughter that hurt. It was the fact that Phoenix wanted to hide whatever he was going through from me. Maybe I hadn’t earned the full truth from him yet, but it didn’t change that I wanted it. Craved it. Everything about not knowing why he was hurting felt wrong.

“That’s all for today. If you have any questions, stop by my office during office hours,” Professor Cinders said.

Phoenix was already heading for the door. I grabbed my bag and took off after him. Professor Cinders had let us out a couple minutes early and the halls were empty. It gave Phoenix a head start with his long stride.

I picked up my pace, my bag smacking against my back as I practically jogged. I rounded a corner and stopped in my tracks. Riven had hold of Phoenix’s shoulders. “What happened?”

Phoenix’s chest heaved. Sparks flew off him as he struggled to control his emotions, but Riven didn’t let go. In fact, he did the opposite, gripping his arms tighter. “Talk to me. You know I have your back, whatever it is.”

“Aiden.”

It was only one word, but it seemed to carry all the information Riven needed to know. He went stock-still, those glacier eyes freezing further. “If he comes for you, you have to be ready to end him.”

Pain ripped through Phoenix, so intense I could feel it from twenty feet away. “I can’t.”

“You might not have a choice. He wants the crown.”

“He wants to hurt me. And it’s not like I don’t deserve it.”

Riven pulled Phoenix into a hard hug. The image of Riven caring so deeply for his friend, of doing whatever he could for Phoenix, it rocked me to my core. This wasn’t the cold, emotionless royal. This was a caring brother.

Riven released Phoenix but held his gaze. “You don’t deserve a damn thing he’s put you through. Aiden let what happened twist him into something ugly.”

The corner of Phoenix’s mouth pulled up. “And didn’t I do the same?”

“No, you fucking didn’t.”

Phoenix jerked his head in my direction, as if he’d known I was there all along. “Ask Aura. She just saw what I’m capable of.”

And with that, he took off down the hall.

Riven stalked towards me with those eyes so cold they burned. “What. Did. You. Do?”

The urge to bolt was so strong I almost gave in. “Nothing. I didn’t do anything.”

“It sure as hell doesn’t sound like it. I haven’t seen Phoenix wrecked like that in years. He told me to ask you.”

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. “His brother is in my fire class, and they had an altercation.”

Riven tracked my expression like a predator ready to pounce. “Because he was protecting you.”

Guilt swept through me, insidious and clinging to every nerve ending. “Aiden threw a fireball at me.”

Something flashed across Riven’s expression so fast I couldn’t pin it down. “You should be able to defend yourself against something as simple as that. You shouldn’t need Phoenix or anyone else to step in. You’re going to destroy him.”

“What the fuck, Riv?” Kai growled as he stepped between us.

“It’s the truth and you know it. Phoenix has a hair trigger. She could send him over the edge. Hell, he’s probably off hunting someone now, burning them to a crisp just to fight back the rage.”

Kai rolled his eyes. “Phoenix going on a murder spree isn’t exactly a new development.”

“You didn’t see him just now, Kai. Didn’t see what she did to him.”

Concern flashed across Kai’s expression. “Where did he go?”

“The hell if I know. Wherever he goes when he disappears every night,” Riven barked. “He’ll get his control back, but we need to deal with the real problem.”

“And what the hell is that?” Kai clipped.

Riven turned, zeroing in. “Her.”

25

ANGER FLARED SOMEWHERE DEEP. “You’d blame World War II on me if you could.”

“You’re gonna get him killed,” Riven growled.

“Lay off, Riv. This isn’t on Aura,” Kai argued.

The bell rang and classes began letting out. I didn’t have time for this. Didn’t want to stand around while Riven laid into me.

I stepped around Kai and started for the doors. He called my name, but I ignored him, picking up a jog. There was something Riven had said in the midst of his tirade. That Phoenix had likely gone wherever he did each night. Riven and Kai didn’t know where that was. But I did.

I ran across the quad to my dorm. The door banged against the wall as I charged through, heading for the stairs. My muscles burned as I took the steps two at a time. By the time I reached the roof, I was panting.

My hand closed over the door handle, and I paused, trying to catch my breath. I said a silent prayer that Phoenix was here and pushed the door open.

“I knew I should’ve picked somewhere else.”

Phoenix leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the roof, staring out at the horizon. He hadn’t even looked my way, yet he knew it was me.

I ignored the less-than-warm welcome and started towards him. There were no longer sparks jumping off him, but those smoky shadows were there, swirling and clinging. I didn’t let that stop me either. I lowered myself to the ground next to him and leaned back.

I didn’t say anything. I simply sat. After a moment I laid my hand over his, our fingers overlapping like an intricate tapestry.

Phoenix stared down at our joined hands. “How can you stand to touch me?”

I reared back. “Why wouldn’t I? You stepped in when I was frozen, scared out of my mind. You kept me from getting a face full of fire.”

“Could’ve killed my brother.”

“You wouldn’t have.”

He shook his head. “You don’t know that. I could feel how terrified you were. It was coming off you in waves. Wanted to kill him for that.”

“Phoenix.” I didn’t know what else to say. There were people in my life who had wanted to protect me. My mom, Charlie in his little boy way, even Lainey. But I’d never felt the fierceness that I sensed coming from Phoenix right now.

Phoenix turned back to the horizon. “He’ll have it out for you now. I had to stop him, but now he knows I care. It’ll put a target on your back.”

“It won’t be the first one.”

“He’ll keep coming for you.”

There was such defeat in his voice, it twisted my insides. My fingers curled tighter around Phoenix’s. “Why?”

“He’s always hated me. From the moment he realized falling behind me in the birth order meant he wouldn’t get to rule. And he blames me.”

“For what?”

Phoenix was quiet for a moment, just staring out at the forests surrounding the school. “Our sister dying.”

My fingers squeezed his reflexively, but I didn’t have any words to give him. Because nothing made that kind of loss easier.

Grief etched into the lines of his face, making Phoenix seem so much older than his twenty-one years. “He’s right. I couldn’t save her. I tried so damn hard. But I failed.”

“What happened?” I shouldn’t have asked. Shouldn’t have made him go there. But I had to understand this thing that had marked him so deeply.

“We were playing in the woods by the castle. Hide-and-seek. But assassins had gotten through the palace walls. They found her before I did. You’ve never heard screams like that.”

He shuddered as the memories rocked through him. “I ran the moment I heard the first one. But I was too late. There was so much blood. She was just lying there, her life flowing out of her. I tried to end them, but my powers were still bound.”

“Phoenix…”

“They turned their knives on me. I’ve never burned like I did that day.”

His words from the other night echoed in my mind. “You became the fire.”

“It’s the only way I could survive. I let it swallow me whole. My father’s guard found me. They had no idea how I was still breathing. The air was barely making it in and out of my lungs.”

My gaze tracked to Phoenix’s forearms, covered in tattoos. But beneath those tattoos, there was more. Scars. So many I’d never be able to count them all. They crisscrossed his skin like a patchwork of torture.

“They wanted me to suffer. To bleed out slow. And I did. But I made them suffer worse.”

Phoenix turned back to me. Little sparks danced in his irises. “I found every last one of them. For every slice they gave my sister, they gave me? I made them pay tenfold.”

I didn’t look away. I faced down that living, breathing rage inside Phoenix. That was his eternal flame. A piece of him. “Good.”

It was only one word. But it was what I could give him. The knowledge that I wasn’t scared of what lived inside him.

His fingers tightened on mine. “You don’t know, Aura. It’s a monster inside me. I have to feed it, or I could lose complete control.”

“How?”

Phoenix started to look away and then focused back on me, but it was as if he had to force himself to do it. That he didn’t want me to see this truth in him. “When it gets to be too much, I ask our guard for a list of criminals. The worst of the worst. Those that hurt people weaker than them. I find them. And I end them.”

He gripped my hand so hard my fingers tingled. “It’s a bloodlust. I don’t think it’ll ever be sated.”

I tugged my hand from his and Phoenix let me go instantly, but hurt streaked across his beautiful face. Only I didn’t leave. I moved closer, wrapping my arms around him. “I’m so sorry. It’s too much for anyone to bear. But you’re dealing. You use your pain to bring justice.”

Phoenix moved then, lifting me into his lap and nuzzling my neck. “Aura.”

“You can’t leave it all bottled up. You have to let it free, or it’ll kill you. This is how you let it free.” I couldn’t be sad that he did it either. Even if it meant people losing their lives. Because he sought those that were evil.

“Aura. You should stay away from me. I don’t bring good into people’s lives.”

His words were ragged, as though he were battling with himself to get them out.

I just clung harder to him. “I feel safe when I’m with you. I never feel safe.”

It was the simple truth. From that first night up on this roof, I’d felt eased by Phoenix’s presence. Just sitting with him had cleared away the remnants of the nightmare. I hadn’t felt that. Ever.

His lips skimmed my neck. “I’ll do anything to keep you that way.”

26

“I HAVE TO GO.” Phoenix’s hand stroked up and down my spine.

Ripping myself away from him was the last thing I wanted to do. There was a comfort and peace I found in his arms that transcended anything logical. A comfort and a peace similar to what I’d felt when Atlas had carried me back to his dorm.

My insides gave a twist at that. I shouldn’t have been feeling this kind of pull to more than one person. And when you added Kai to the mix…I was screwed.

I forced myself to slide off Phoenix’s lap. “Are you okay?”

He smiled at me, the curve of his lips reaching his eyes for the first time. The effect was devastating. “I’m pretty sure you’re some kind of human Xanax because I feel…relaxed.”

He said the word as if it were a foreign term. I searched his face for any lines of strain or those glimmers of pain. “Relaxed is good, right?”

“I think so. It’s been so long since I’ve felt it that it’s hard for me to say. I don’t feel like ripping my brother’s spine out through his skull anymore. That’s good.”

I grimaced. “I don’t need that mental picture, thank you very much.”

Phoenix chuckled, pulling me to my feet as he stood. He bent, brushing his lips against my hair. “Thank you.”

The hum through my muscles intensified at the contact. “I’m here whenever you need me.”

The offer was dumb, monumentally stupid. But I couldn’t stop myself. I would’ve given anything to ease Phoenix’s burdens, even just a little.

“I’ll find you later.”

“Okay,” I said softly.

Phoenix released me and ran for the edge of the building. I gasped, racing to the edge. But he landed with the grace of a ballet dancer. Then he looked up and gave me a wink.

Apparently, Phoenix also had an air gift, and it could be used for more things than I’d realized. I shook my head and moved to the door. I trudged down the stairs, hating that I could feel the loss of Phoenix’s presence already, loneliness settling in its place.

I halted in front of my door. An envelope was tacked to it with my name scrawled on the front. I pulled it loose and braced for another threat. Instead, there was a neatly typed letter.

Ms. Coleman,

Please report to the headmaster’s office at 4 P.M. for a meeting.

The Office of Headmaster Acker

I grimaced at the sheet of fancy stationery and had the sudden longing for one of the guys to go with me. Hell, I would’ve even taken Riven’s cold presence. Stupid, Aura. I needed to handle this on my own, because they weren’t going to always be around. I had to fight my own battles here.

Glancing at my watch, I tossed my bag in my dorm room and headed back to the main building. I let the stares wash over me, ignoring them. A figure stepped into my path. My head jerked up.

Drue’s eyes flashed. “Stay away from the royals.”

“You might want to be having this conversation with them, because I’m not the one seeking them out.” I tilted my head, studying her. “Oh wait, that didn’t go over too well for you last time, did it?”

She let out a low growl and leaned into my personal space. “They’re mine. As soon as my four affinities are revealed, everyone will know. I don’t want your tainted hands on them before then.”

“There is a little something called free will, Drue. They have to choose you back.”

She sneered at me. “Once my aether power is revealed, they’ll be so drawn to me, nothing else will matter.”

“Keep smoking the good stuff, Drue.” I sidestepped her and continued on the path, but I couldn’t ignore that flicker of fear rooted deep. There hadn’t been aethers for generations, but what if someone was somehow revealed here? What if the royals were destined for her?

There wouldn’t be any more teasing flirtation from Kai. Or kind caring from Atlas. My nights on the roof with Phoenix would be a thing of the past. It made me sick to think about.

I did my best to push the insidious thoughts to the back of my brain as I headed inside. I wound my way through the halls until I found the headmaster’s office. The woman behind the desk nodded at me. “You can go inside. They’re waiting for you.”

They. Crap. I wiped my hands on my skirt and opened the door. All conversation halted.

“You asked to see me?” I scanned the room, taking in Headmaster Acker, Dean Sinclair, Quincy, Professor Moss, and Professor Belthorn.

“Please, come in and have a seat,” Headmaster Acker said, motioning me forward.

That was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to bolt. Would’ve given anything to be back in Phoenix’s embrace. But I forced myself forward and into the chair closest to the door.

Acker leaned back in his chair. “I was just talking with Professors Belthorn and Moss. You had quite the show in their two classes.”

My hands wrapped around the arms of the chair, gripping tightly. “I didn’t mean to cause any issues.”

“We know, Aura,” Belthorn said with a gentle smile. “We just want to understand what’s going on so that we can best help you. That’s all.”

“And keep the rest of the students safe,” Dean Sinclair added.

Acker sent her a quelling look. “The students are all perfectly safe.”

Sinclair made a humming sound in the back of her throat as if she didn’t completely agree.

Acker turned his focus back to me. “We do need to understand what’s happening with your affinities, with your power. We wanted to talk with you more about your childhood, about any bursts of energy you might’ve had. And we wanted to discuss your father.”

“Did you find out anything about him?” Emotions warred within me. I wanted to know, but I was also terrified.

The door to the office swung open and a man I didn’t recognize swept in. “Yes, Acker, what have you learned about the girl’s father?”

The entire room moved as one, rising and then bowing their heads.

“Your Highness,” Acker greeted.

The man stared at me with light blue eyes that were hard as stone. “You don’t bow to your king of air?”

I struggled to my feet, tipping my head. “I’m new at this whole royalty thing.”

King Zephyr chuckled, but it wasn’t an entirely warm sound. “You’d better learn quick.”

No one argued with him. In fact, no one said a word for a long moment. Finally, Headmaster Acker cleared his throat. “Was there something you needed, Your Highness?”

King Zephyr’s eyes narrowed on Acker. “You didn’t think you should share with me that an extremely powerful half-human elemental was discovered?”

Acker’s expression remained completely calm, but there was something in his eyes that spoke of anything but. “We are still trying to determine if that’s the case.”

“Which is why I’m here. Thankfully, there are those on this campus who still keep me in the loop.”

His son, I was sure. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where Riven had gotten his pompous assholery.

King Zephyr rolled up one sleeve of his dress shirt and then the other. “I will do a double bind testing.”

Acker sucked in a sharp breath. “Your Highness—”

“That is inhumane,” Quincy sputtered.

King Zephyr glared at them both. “Do you deign to question me? I have ruled for decades. I know the tough decisions to keep our people safe. I do a double bind test or have her expelled, effective immediately.”

The entire room went silent.

My stomach twisted into a series of intricate knots. Quincy strode towards me and patted my hand. “He’s going to unlock your power for just a moment.”

“Isn’t that what you did at the testing? Won’t the same thing happen?”

He shook his head. “He’ll be unlocking you in a different way this time.” He frowned. “There will be pain, but—”

“She’ll deal with it so we can have the answers we need,” King Zephyr finished for him.

Quincy’s gaze hardened on the King and for a moment, I thought he might lunge at the man.

“It’s okay,” I hurried to say. “We need to know, right?” I couldn’t stand the idea of Quincy being hurt because of me.

He squeezed my hands. “You’re stronger than you know.”

When he stepped away, King Zephyr took his place, grabbing my hands roughly. The second our hands joined, a sick feeling swept through me, dark and foreboding.

A moment later, heat flared where our skin touched, quickly blooming to a burning pain. It swept through me like a wildfire raging. I doubled over, crying out in pain.

A foreign energy swirled through me, lighting every nerve ending on fire in the worst agony imaginable. I tried to hold onto it to not let it go, but I couldn’t.

Light flashed, followed by a deafening boom. Windows shattered, lights extinguished. And then there was nothing. Nothing but the knowledge that was exactly what Riven had accused me of being.

Combustible.

27

“FOR FUCK’S SAKE, someone contain her magic,” King Zephyr bellowed.

I was aware of guards charging into the room, of people moving around me. But all I could focus on was the pain coursing through my body. It was as if a fire blazed along each nerve.

The door to the office banged open and everyone in the room spun in that direction. The ground shook. “What the hell did you do to her?”

I let out the smallest noise at the sound of Atlas’s voice.

He charged towards me, lifting me in his arms and cradling me to his chest. The instant I was in his hold, the pain eased. It wasn’t gone but so much better than the fiery agony I’d been experiencing.

“We’re not done here,” King Zephyr growled.

Atlas glared down at the man. “Yes, you are. If you lay one finger on her, I’ll come for you.” He moved his gaze around the room, meeting the eyes of everyone in the space. “Aura is under my protection.”

Dean Sinclair gasped. “She-she’s half-human.”

“She’s. Under. My. Protection.”

Broken glass rattled with Atlas’s growl. I pushed my face into his chest. The steady beat of his heart against my cheek comforted me in a way I didn’t think possible moments before.

“You need to think long and hard about who you extend your protection to, Atlas.” King Zephyr’s eyes narrowed as he spoke and there was a calculating look in them. As if he was adding up all the things Atlas’s attachment to me might mean.

“It’s done. You won’t hurt her again.”

Atlas charged towards the door. Royal guards lined the hall, on edge after the power outage and explosion. They all stepped back, making room as Atlas strode down the corridor. Students whispered as we passed.

“I can walk,” I said softly.

“No, you can’t,” he gritted out as he started towards the royal dorm.

“Will you take me to my dorm? Please.” I didn’t want to get used to their dorm as my haven. Because it wasn’t. At some point they would lose their enchantment with me, and I’d have to go on with my regular life.

Atlas merely grunted but changed directions. He made it to Simmeran Hall in record time. A girl was exiting just as we approached. Her eyes widened at the sight of us. “E-excuse me, Your Highness.” She ducked to the side, holding the door open.

Atlas charged inside. “Room number.”

“Three-thirteen.”

He took the stairs two at a time, not winded in the slightest, even with my weight on top of his own. He strode towards the door. “Key.”

“Set me down.”

Atlas didn’t move.

“I can’t get it if you don’t set me down.”

He grumbled something under his breath but obliged.

My legs were shaky as I stood, the remnants of the pain still coursing through me. I slid my hand into my pocket and pulled out my key. My hand trembled as I tried to slide it into the lock.

Atlas plucked it from my fingers and unlocked the door, ushering me inside as if he owned the place. I flicked on a light and went straight for my bed, collapsing on it.

Atlas paced the tiny space. “Tell me what happened.”

My fingers dug into the blankets beneath me. “They wanted to test me. To see if these weird magical bursts were due to an issue with my binding or if they are sheer power.”

Atlas let out a growl that sounded more animal than human. “Those testings are barbaric.”

“I’m getting that now,” I mumbled as I rubbed my legs. They ached as if I’d just run a marathon.

He stopped pacing, turning towards me. “Are you still in pain?”

“It’s better now.” It had been from the moment he’d touched me. My mind circled around what that could possibly mean. I wanted to ask, but I worried it might give too much away, so I asked something else instead. “This means I have some sort of double binding, right? I shouldn’t be able to short-circuit electrical grids like this.”

Atlas’s lips thinned. “An issue with your binding might lead to small energy bursts. Moments where your full power leaks through. I’ve heard of it happening twice that I know of. But this?”

He sighed, sitting next to me on the bed. “I think someone was trying to hide how powerful you are. When a second binding is placed on someone, there’s a backup of energy. Normally, young elementals have a slow and steady leak with their bindings.”

“But you don’t get that if you have two?”

“Exactly. So, when someone is tested, there can be a large burst.”

I pulled my knees to my chest. “One that knocks out power and shatters windows.” I winced thinking about how much it would cost to get all of that glass replaced. I really hoped I wasn’t on the hook for that.

I looked over at Atlas, searching for the words I wanted. “What does this mean?”

Worry flickered across his expression. “There are challenges to having strong affinities.”

“Riven said I could combust and kill the people around me.”

Atlas muttered a curse under his breath. “That has happened in the past. But we won’t let it happen to you. The good thing is all four of us have had to learn to deal with powerful gifts. We know the danger signs and how to pull ourselves back from the edge.”

A tiny flicker of hope lit in my chest. “You’ll teach me?”

“Of course, we will.” Something else flickered across his face so quickly I couldn’t decipher it. “If you want us to.”

“I want you to. Why wouldn’t I?”

Atlas swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the movement. “Most people steer clear of me and Phoenix. Kai has them fooled into that charming façade, but not the rest of us.”

My fingers loosened their hold on the blankets as I turned towards Atlas. “I get why with Phoenix. He’s got that whole I’m terrifying and will murder you if you look wrong at me thing going for him. But you? Everything about you is kind and gentle.”

Atlas stared down at his hands, as if they held all the answers in the world. “Because I come from ruthlessness, Aura. And the truth is you should stay far away from me.”

28

MY HEART CRACKED at the despair in Atlas’s voice. The sheer grief there. I moved on instinct, linking my fingers with his. “Unless you tell me you boil baby bunnies for fun, I’m not going anywhere.”

I searched for a flicker of amusement on Atlas’s face, but there was none. Not even a twitch of his lips.

“My father killed my mother.”

My fingers spasmed around Atlas’s hand. “What?”

“It’s not even a secret. He did it publicly and with great fanfare.”

“Atlas…” What could I possibly say? I had a million questions, but more than that, I would’ve done anything to take away the hurt that lined his face.

He stared down at our joined hands. “My father’s a cold and heartless bastard. He was cruel to my mother from the moment they married. One day she found an escape. A guard who showed her kindness.”

“They began seeing each other?”

Atlas nodded. “They thought they were being so careful. But it wasn’t careful enough.” Grief etched itself into the planes of his face. “My father called a meeting of the entire kingdom where he exposed them. He tortured the guard in front of her and then beheaded my mother for all of us to see. A warning for what happened to those who betrayed him.”

My breath caught as I struggled to suck in air. “In front of you?”

He looked up, meeting my gaze. “He wanted me to know most of all.”

I released Atlas’s hand, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I’m so sorry.”

I whispered the words over and over. A mantra and a prayer. They would never be enough, but it was all I could give him in the moment.

“People here. They see my size, the fact that I’m quiet. They think I have that ruthlessness in me.”

I reared back. “Then they’re fucking idiots.”

Atlas’s eyes flared. “I could have it in me.”

“Never. Your instinct is to help, to ease someone’s pain, not to intensify it. If you had cruelty in you, then you wouldn’t have stopped to help a drenched girl in the middle of a nervous breakdown.”

The corner of his mouth kicked up. “I don’t know, you were pretty damn adorable. It was probably selfish on my part.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, the drowned rat look really works for me.”

He chuckled, but the sound fell away, his expression sobering. “You’re not scared of me. Not after I told you…”

I squeezed the back of his neck. “I could never be scared of you. The safest I’ve ever felt is with you and Phoenix and Kai.”

Hope bloomed in those hazel depths. “Good.”

I had been braced for a comment about how weird it was for me to feel that with all three of these men, but there was nothing. Just simple acceptance.

Atlas tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering in the strands. “I’ll do anything I can to help you master your affinities. We can start now, and once we know exactly what we’re dealing with, and you’re unbound, we can dig into the intensive training.”

My stomach twisted as anxiety rooted itself there. “Unless I detonate the entire campus when they unbind me.”

“That isn’t going to happen.”

I flopped back onto my pillows, everything from the past week hitting me like a ton of bricks. “I’m so tired. Of the secrets and unknowns. Of assholish people everywhere. Of not being able to let my guard down. I miss home. My routine, my room. I miss my mom and Charlie so much it hurts.”

I rubbed the spot on my sternum where I felt the pain. It was all just too much.

Atlas’s brows pulled together. “Charlie?”

My lips twitched as I took in the hint of jealousy in his voice. “My little brother. He’s ten and the best.” The hint of a smile died. “This is going to be the longest we haven’t spoken.”

Atlas’s expression softened. “That might be something I can help with right now.”

He slid a sleek-looking phone out of his pocket. “Do you know their numbers by heart?”

I jerked upright, nodding like a bobblehead. Mom and I had scrounged to get Charlie his own phone since there were times he walked home from school alone. “It’ll work to call the human realm?”

“It can call to any realm.” Atlas handed the device to me, punching in a series of numbers. “Now, just dial like you normally would.”

My fingers flew over the keypad and seconds later, it was ringing. I held my breath as I waited.

Charlie’s face filled the screen. “Hello?”

“You broke your promise. You’re already taller.”

He grinned into the camera. “Aura! I thought you couldn’t call for two weeks.”

“My friend let me use his phone so I could check up on you.” I tilted the camera towards Atlas, who gave a wave.

“Hi, Charlie.”

His eyes bugged. “Are you a freaking giant?”

Atlas coughed out a laugh. “Not that I know of.”

“What’s your affinity? I bet it’s fire. Aura, do you know what yours is yet?”

And so started the barrage of questions. Charlie asked everything about classes, the food, the campus, and whether I’d seen any elementals blow anything up yet. I left out my incident earlier today in my answer. Getting him to switch topics to his own life was like pulling teeth.

“What about Mom? Where is she?”

Charlie shrugged. “I dunno. She said she had to go out for a little bit.” He worried his bottom lip. “I heard her talking to someone on the phone about a binding.”

I stiffened on the bed, my gaze jumping to Atlas’s. “What did she say?”

“Just that they needed to talk about the binding. I didn’t hear anything else.”

My stomach cramped. More lies. And why? It wasn’t as if the elementals here weren’t going to find out about my level of power. I needed to talk to her, but I doubted I’d get the truth out of her over the phone.

A note slipped under the door of my dorm, and my eyes widened a fraction. Atlas caught the movement and rose to get the piece of paper.

“C-man, I gotta go, but I’ll call you again as soon as I can, okay?”

“Remember absolutely everything. I want to hear it all.”

I gave him a forced smile. “You got it, bud. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hit end on the screen and met Atlas’s stare. Rage pulsed around him as he gripped the note.

“What. The. Fuck. Is. This?”

29

“I’M GUESSING by the look on your face, it’s not a love note.” I pushed off my bed and peeked around Atlas’s large form.

You aren’t heeding my warning. Guess it’s time for you to find out what happens to mutts who don’t know their place.

How charming. I didn’t let the shiver fighting to surface cascade through me. If someone truly wanted to hurt me, they would’ve done it already.

Atlas’s nostrils flared. “Is this the first note?”

“Second. The first one was just as welcoming.”

He struggled to get his breathing under control. “Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”

I blinked up at him. “Why would I?”

“Why would you? Because someone’s threatening you.”

“And what are you going to do about it? Play bodyguard twenty-four seven? It’s someone who’s trying to scare me into leaving. But that’s not going to happen because I have zero desire to get dead. I’m going to stick it out in this miserable place with really delicious food and learn how to control my gifts.” I sucked in air at the end of my tirade.

Atlas stared at me for a moment and then grabbed my hand, tugging me out of the room.

“Where are we going?”

“To my dorm.”

I tried to tug my hand back, but it didn’t work. “Why?”

“That’s where the guys are.”

“They don’t need to know about this. It’s just someone trying to scare me. If they wanted to hurt me, they would’ve done it already.”

The growl that escaped Atlas had people scurrying out of his way as he led me towards Crown Hall.

“Atlas, be reasonable.” I dug my heels into the grass, trying to slow him down.

He whirled on me. “Do you want me to throw you over my shoulder?”

My jaw dropped as I gaped at him.

Obviously, he didn’t like my lack of answer because he bent and did exactly that. So much for my gentle giant.

I smacked a hand on his back. “Put me down! We look ridiculous.”

“Too late,” he said, striding towards his dorm.

“Do you just have a thing for carrying people?”

“Only stubborn, half-human elementals who wouldn’t know how to keep themselves safe if they tried.”

I pinched his side. “That was rude.”

Atlas grunted as he headed up the cobblestone walkway. I looked at the mini-castle from upside down. I hadn’t really taken it in last time, too worried about getting the sticky oatmeal out of my hair and then making it to class on time. It was breathtakingly beautiful and somehow even more extravagant than the rest of the campus.

The stonework was incredibly intricate, and you could feel the history in every piece. But even with the age of the building, it still had large windows that you knew let in loads of light. And I just bet that turret would make the best reading nook.

Atlas opened the door and stepped inside with me still over his shoulder. “Get your asses down here. Now!”

His voice shook the walls, the paintings on them rattling. Even upside down, I still took a moment to appreciate the beauty around me. The gorgeous artwork and gleaming woodwork. A chandelier hung in the entryway that had more crystals than I could count.

Footsteps thundered on the stairs. “What’s wrong?” Phoenix called as he hurried towards us.

“Why the hell is Aura on your shoulder?” Kai asked.

“I’d like to know the same thing. It’s really starting to be a compulsion of his,” I groused. “I do have two—”

My words cut off as my eyes bugged. I blinked a few times, trying to clear the image in front of me, but it remained exactly the same. Six foot three inches of male beauty in all its glory. “Kai…why are you naked?”

Phoenix spun around and cursed. “What the hell did I tell you about putting your junk on display? Aura doesn’t need that shit in her face.”

Kai shrugged. “You know I like to be relaxed and unbound at home. Atlas was the one who bellowed in his emergency tone.”

Riven strode into the entryway, tossing a blanket at Kai. “I really hate to think about all the things your ass has been on in this house.”

Kai waggled his eyebrows as he wrapped the blanket around his waist. “You have no idea.”

“We don’t want to know,” Atlas grumbled.

I patted his back. “For the love of all that’s holy, will you please put me down.”

A second later I was on my feet, the blood rushing from my head. I grabbed on to Atlas to steady myself.

“Someone tell us what the hell happened,” Phoenix ordered.

“Aura’s getting threatening notes.”

The room stilled at Atlas’s words and then Riven scoffed. “Of course, she is. You guys are treating her like some sort of lost puppy you can take in, and the rest of the students don’t like it.”

Kai glared at him. “Can you pause your dickish ways for one fucking second? What kind of threats?”

Atlas turned to me. “What did the first one say?”

I grimaced. “Something about not belonging here and that I should run while I had the chance.”

“And the second one?” Phoenix asked through gritted teeth.

“It said that she wasn’t listening and that she was going to pay,” Atlas said.

“Oh, hell no. Not cool,” Kai added. “We’re moving you in here.”

Riven’s jaw dropped. “Are you out of your mind? You really want to put a target on her? She’ll be enemy number one if you move her in here.”

That was all it took. The guys started yelling, each one louder than the last. They all thought they had the perfect solution to the issue. Except not a single one of them bothered to ask me what I thought about the whole thing.

Slowly, I stepped away from the chaos, my hands fisting at my sides. They were as close as brothers, that much I knew. I wasn’t going to be the reason they fought like this. And the truth was, Riven was right. More time with the royals would just mean a bigger target on my back.

Quietly, I slipped out the front door and into the night air. My chest gave a painful squeeze, as if my body were rebelling from walking away. I forced myself to do it anyway. It was the right thing to do. Even if I felt lonelier than I ever had before.

30

KERRY WHIRLED around in her chair as I entered our dorm room. “Where have you been? The campus is going crazy. Did you really blast out the windows in Headmaster Acker’s office? Someone said they saw Atlas carrying you out of there after telling the king to shove it.”

Her barrage of questions just kept coming. Like a drummer carrying out a solo on my skull, they hit one after the other. I collapsed onto my bed, pulling the pillow over my head with a groan.

Kerry went quiet. A second later, my bed depressed. “Aura? Are you okay?”

“No,” I said through the pillow.

She pulled up the corner a fraction. “What can I do?”

The offer was so kind, my heart ached. “Will you grab the overhead light? My head’s pounding.”

Kerry rose and flipped the switch, leaving us in only the glow from her desk lamp. She moved to her nightstand and pulled out a small bottle. She popped the cap and handed it to me. “These always help me.”

I snagged two and swallowed them dry. “Thanks.”

Her brows arched. “That bad, huh?”

“Long day.” Somehow, they just got longer and longer.

“Super-powered elemental discovery, huh?”

I groaned, lifting the pillow, and putting it behind my head. “It’s already making the rounds?”

“Did you think plunging the entire building into darkness would go unnoticed?”

“Don’t you have normal power outages here? What if it was that?”

Her lips twitched. “Accompanied by power bursts that blow out all the windows in a twenty-foot radius?”

“Eff my life.”

Kerry chuckled. “The good news is that a lot of people are scared of you now. They’ll probably steer clear rather than mess with you.”

I toyed with a loose thread on the blanket, twisting it around my finger. “But some won’t. Some will see it as a challenge.”

Her lips thinned and I had my answer. There hadn’t been a ton of opportunity for someone to sideline me, but after the unbinding, we’d begin combat practice. They’d have plenty of time then.

“Everyone knows the princes have your back. No one’s going to mess with you straight out,” Kerry assured me.

They’d be sneaky and conniving. But having some of the royals wanting to help me meant I’d have a whole new set of enemies. People like Aiden who wanted to mess with me just because the princes had taken an interest in me.

“Riven certainly doesn’t.”

Kerry frowned. “He’s not really fond of outsiders.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask why but I couldn’t find it in me to utter the words. He didn’t deserve my curiosity.

“What about you? How was your day?”

Kerry sighed, flopping back onto my mattress. “Oh, you know, the usual. Ridiculed and scorned.”

I shifted so that I could see her face. “That bad?”

“Not really. Just mocked today. No one tried to set my hair on fire.”

“Someone did that before?” What the hell was wrong with these people?

“It was Drue and Xena’s favorite pastime in high school. They’d do it and then make some quip about how they were just trying to make my fiery hair come alive.”

“Jealous cows.”

Kerry snorted. “I don’t think they’re jealous.”

“If they weren’t, they wouldn’t bother you. They’d simply ignore you. You’re hilarious and beautiful and kind; they’re none of those things and have everything to be jealous of.”

Kerry went quiet for a moment, staring at the opposite wall. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Rage lit in my veins at that. What was wrong with Kerry’s parents that they never told her how wonderful she was? Were they truly so caught up in the need for her to be powerful that they didn’t see all of her other wonderful gifts?

My mom had told me every day how amazing I was. We might have struggled financially, but our home was always overflowing with love. The thought sent a pang of longing through me. To have her arms wrapped around me and to tell me everything would be okay.

But she couldn’t. And even when she had before, that had been a lie. She knew more than she was saying and if I wanted to find out what that might be, I’d have to find a way off this campus and back to the human realm. Who knew how long that would take?

I reached over and squeezed Kerry’s hand. “Just because people are blind to the truth about you doesn’t mean that you need to listen to them. The best thing you could possibly do is to hold your head high and silence that noise. Pretend you don’t hear a word they say. It’ll drive them nuts.”

Kerry giggled. “Drue and Xena aren’t used to not being heard.”

“Maybe it’s time they got that lesson.”

“Maybe it is.”

Someone pounded on the door. “Pip? You in there?”

I stiffened at Kai’s voice.

Kerry’s eyes widened as she let out a tiny squeak.

“I heard something,” Phoenix growled. “Let me pick the lock.”

“You can’t do that,” Atlas argued. “She could be changing.”

“Dear gods, please let her be changing,” Kai muttered.

There was a smack, a grunt, then a scuffle.

I looked to Kerry with wide, panicked eyes and mouthed, Tell them I’m not here.

“Why the hell do you want me to do that? Do you know what I would do to be in the middle of that hot-guy sandwich?”

I choked on a laugh. More scuffling sounded in the hallway and that laughter died away. “It’s not a good idea. Hanging out with them will only bring more attention on me and it’s making them fight with Riven.”

I didn’t want to be the one to drive a wedge in their brotherhood, even if Riven was an asshole. But the words I didn’t say were the ones that were harder to swallow. They’d all take mates someday. I already knew my heart was attached to them in ways that went way beyond friendship. None of their kingdoms would stand for a half-human queen. I didn’t know a ton about elemental history, but I knew that much.

Kerry frowned at me. “They’ve always bickered. I’m sure they’ll work it out. You should let them look out for you.”

I shook my head. “Please?”

She sighed and climbed off my bed, crossing to the door. She opened it a fraction, leaving me shielded. “Your Highnesses?”

The scuffling stopped.

“Where’s Aura?” Phoenix asked, his voice hard.

“Not here.”

“She’s lying,” Atlas said.

My jaw dropped.

“Excuse me?” Kerry bristled.

“Atlas has some extra affinities. He can sometimes sense when people aren’t being truthful.” Kai’s voice took on a liquid silk quality. “Let us in, Kerry. We need to see Aura.”

“She doesn’t feel well.”

“What’s wrong?” Phoenix demanded.

“She has a headache and doesn’t feel up to company,” Kerry hurried to explain.

The guys were quiet for a moment. Then Atlas spoke. “I think it’s the truth.”

“You think?” Phoenix pressed.

“It’s not an exact science,” Atlas groused.

“We can take her to a healer,” Kai interjected.

Kerry shook her head, gripping the door tighter. “I already gave her medicine. She just wants to rest. It’s been a tough day.”

There was some grumbling on the other side of the door.

“Tell her we hope she feels better,” Atlas said softly.

That almost broke my resolve. I bit the inside of my cheek instead. It was for the best.

Kerry nodded. “I will.”

She closed the door and flipped the lock into place. Turning back to me, she frowned. “They looked really…sad.”

Guilt pricked at my insides. It had to be this way. Because if I didn’t cut things off now, I’d end up in shambles when they were the ones who walked away.

31

I SMOOTHED out my rumpled T-shirt as I slid on my Chucks. Grabbing my bag, I headed towards the door. Kerry was still sleeping, but I had an entire day off that I wasn’t going to let go to waste. I had some research I needed to do when it came to people with strong affinities. And I wanted to do that without anyone else looking on.

Opening the door, I stepped out into the hallway. And froze.

Three hulking forms were slumped over around the entrance to my room. Phoenix had his head tipped back against the wall, soft snores escaping him. Kai had fallen against Atlas at some point during the night and was using his shoulder as a pillow. Atlas’s neck was cricked at an angle that was sure to leave him in pain.

It was too much. They’d spent all night outside my room and for what? Because they cared. Suddenly it didn’t matter if my heart was going to get shattered at the end of this.

I cleared my throat.

Phoenix jolted, on his feet in a flash. “What? What is it?”

Atlas jerked upright, sending Kai flying with a slew of curses.

“What the hell, man?” Kai grumbled.

Atlas prodded his T-shirt. “Sick, man. You drooled on me.”

“I’m not in control of my mouth when I sleep. Can’t help it.”

“Like you can’t help getting naked at any given hour of the day?” Atlas shot back.

Kai shrugged. “My body likes to be free.”

“What are you guys doing here?” I asked softly.

Atlas climbed to his feet, crossing to me and pulling me into a hug. “We weren’t going to leave you unprotected. Not when you have someone who clearly has it out for you.”

My heart cracked a little more. “You didn’t have to sleep here. Nothing would’ve happened in the dorm.”

Phoenix’s eyes narrowed on me. “We weren’t taking that chance.”

“Damn straight. No one fucks with our Pip,” Kai said, standing.

My nose stung. “This is a bad idea.”

“Why?” Atlas asked, genuinely confused.

I worried a spot on the inside of my cheek, trying to find the right words. Ones that were honest but not too honest. “So many reasons.”

“Like?” Phoenix pushed.

“I’m making you fight.”

Kai scoffed. “We always fight. Do you know how many times I’ve beaten Riven’s ass?”

“Or I’ve almost squashed you like a bug?” Atlas added.

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled. “The point is that it has nothing to do with Aura.”

“The more time I spend with you, the more people will be out for me. Riven’s right about that.”

Phoenix glared at me, those dark eyes growing impossibly more shadowed. “We’ll end anyone that tries to mess with you.”

I groaned. “I’m not sure that’s the solution.”

Atlas studied me for a long moment. “That’s not what this is really about.”

I bit back a curse. Him and his damned lie detector intuition.

“Tell us.” Phoenix’s words were a demand not a request.

“You’ll bail on me.”

“What?” Kai whispered, shock lacing his tone.

I toyed with the hem of my T-shirt. “I know this friendship can’t be forever. You’re all going off to rule kingdoms. I’ll probably end up back in the human world. It’s not like I’m going to be a part of your royal courts.”

Phoenix moved first, wrapping his arms around me. “Aura, we’re not going anywhere.”

Atlas moved in behind me, his heat seeping into my skin. “No one gets to say who we have in our lives.”

Kai jostled his way into the circle at my side, nuzzling my hair. “I never follow the rules anyway. And I’ve decided I’m partial to spitfire half-humans.”

I couldn’t hold in my laugh at that. But it quickly fell away. “I don’t want to end up crushed at the end of this.”

Phoenix slid a finger under my chin, tipping my face up to his. “What if there is no end?”

My heart stuttered in my chest. That was too dangerous a thought to let have real estate in my head. “You barely know me.”

Atlas’s hand cupped my hip. “Sometimes all you need is one honest moment with someone to know what you need to.”

God, was that true. And I’d had those moments with all three of these guys. I’d seen authenticity and vulnerability. I’d seen them stand up for me when I’d been floundering. To put themselves between me and harm. They’d shared stories that had ripped at my heart. Shown care that told me their hearts were nothing but good.

Even with all of that, this still might end in disaster. “I could kill you without meaning to.”

Kai nuzzled my hair again. “Never gonna let that happen.”

“You can’t know that.”

Phoenix’s eyes blazed into mine. “Maybe not. But we know you’re worth the risk.”

My heart cracked a little more, the warmth from their presence making its way into those tiny fissures.

Atlas’s fingers tightened on my hip. “The question is, will you make that leap with us?”

Blood roared in my ears as my heartbeat picked up speed. “Yes.”

It was the only answer, even when I didn’t know exactly what it meant. Friendship? More? It didn’t matter because I would take whatever these men were willing to give.

But there was a greedy voice that played in the back of my head, wanting impossibly more. It asked, what if Riven were here too?

32

“HELL YEAH! I told you we were keeping her.” Kai grinned and then moved so fast he was a blur. One second I was standing in the hallway, the next I was thrown over his shoulder.

I let out a grunted oomph. “What is with you guys and the tackle carry?”

Atlas chuckled. “Obviously, you move too slow.”

I scowled at him from upside down. “There will be payback. And it’ll be epic. Like ex-lax in your coffee or toothpaste in your Oreos. Sex toys in the backpack you take to class.”

Kai tapped my butt. “You put sex toys in my class bag, and I’ll take ‘em out and use them on you in front of everyone.”

I squirmed in place as my entire body flushed.

Kai smacked me again, this time harder. “Pip…you’re talking about sexy toys, wriggling all over me. Unless you want me to fuck you senseless in the stairwell, please stop moving.”

I stilled. “You’re the one who picked me up.”

“Because we’re keeping you.”

He said it as if it made complete sense and I guessed in Kai logic, it did.

Phoenix pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. “Let’s get breakfast. I’m fucking starving after missing dinner.”

My stomach rumbled at that.

Atlas shook his head. “You haven’t been eating enough, Aura.”

“Do you blame me? Every time I go into that freaking dining hall, there’s some sort of drama.”

“You need to eat regular meals,” he growled. “Passing out is the last thing you need.”

Kai rested a hand on my ass as he descended the stairs. “And I don’t want you losing this.”

“Kai, if you don’t remove your hand from my butt, I am going to shave your head while you’re sleeping.”

He gasped. “My hair is fucking amazing. You wouldn’t dare.”

“I would.” Because if he didn’t stop touching me, I was going to lose all self-control and ask him to take me right then and there.

Kai lowered his hold to the backs of my thighs. It helped but not enough.

When we made it outside, I pinched Kai’s butt…hard. He let out a ridiculously high-pitched shriek and I wriggled out of his hold. I landed with a grunt, tripping backwards into Atlas’s hold. I looked up at him. “If you pick me up, I’ll pinch you too.”

He chuckled. “Come on. Let’s get you fed.”

We crossed the quad, heading towards the main building. I glanced over at Atlas. “Did they fix the windows?”

“Not sure.”

Phoenix looked between us. “What windows?”

Shit. I assumed he and Kai knew.

“What windows?” he gritted out.

Atlas’s eyes went hard. “The king of air tested her for a double binding yesterday.”

“What the fuck?” Kai clipped. “You’re just telling us now?”

Phoenix’s gaze cut instantly to me, scanning my body as if looking for any signs of injury. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

His brow arched.

I sighed. “It isn’t on my list of top ten things to experience again, but I’m good. My muscles are a little sore. That’s it.”

“No wonder you had a headache.” Kai rubbed the back of my neck as we walked, dropping a kiss to the top of my head as we passed the boarded-up windows. “Knew you were a badass.”

Phoenix was quiet, clearly mulling the news over in his head. Stewing on it. I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I’m fine. Please don’t try to assassinate a king.”

He grunted in response.

I looked up at Kai. “Was that him agreeing or disagreeing?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

Atlas opened the front door and held it for us. There were only a few students who were up already. Most were taking advantage of the day off and sleeping in.

“Will there even be food out yet?” I asked.

“Not everything,” Atlas said. “But enough to hold us over.”

My steps faltered as we entered the dining hall. There were scatterings of people at different tables, but I only had eyes for one. Riven sat at the royal table, his head bent close to Eva’s. They whispered to each other and then he smiled down at her, his eyes dancing. It was the kind of intimacy that was built over years.

I hated the way my stomach twisted at the sight. The reaction was beyond ridiculous. Riven hadn’t said a kind word to me. And yet seeing him look at her that way made my heart ache.

“Oh good, the Ice Queen,” Kai muttered.

I forced my gaze away from the table as I headed to a station that had breakfast casserole and an array of baked goods. “She seemed nice enough the other day.” I wasn’t about to turn into the kind of girl who tore someone else down because she was jealous.

Kai grabbed a plate, handing it to me. “That’s because you don’t know her.”

“She’s not that bad,” Atlas argued.

“She’s as ruthless as I am,” Phoenix muttered.

Atlas heaped casserole onto my plate and then added two biscuits, a croissant, and a donut. I looked up at him. “Seriously?”

“You need energy.”

“I also need to be able to not explode after eating.”

He shrugged. “Pace yourself.”

I glanced at Phoenix for help. He just grinned. “One bite at a time.”

I grumbled something about pushy elementals under my breath and turned for the table.

Kai pulled out a chair for me and nodded at Riven and Eva. “Riv, Ice Queen.”

“Manwhore,” Eva shot back.

I choked on a laugh. I couldn’t help it, I kind of liked her. “Hey, Eva.” I didn’t bother greeting Riven.

“Hey, Aura. What are you doing slumming it with these three?”

“They pretty much kidnapped me, and I decided I could at least get fed out of the arrangement.”

She chuckled and took a sip of her coffee as Atlas and Phoenix lowered themselves into seats.

Heat from Riven’s glacier gaze bored into me. I didn’t want to look at him, but it was as if I had no control over my traitorous body. My eyes pulled in his direction. His froze me to the spot. His gaze grabbing me by the throat and refusing to let go.

A muscle along his jaw ticked. “Heard you almost blew up the entire building.”

“It only would’ve been worth it if you were inside.”

Those eyes flashed. “You’re reckless.”

“You think this was my choice? If it were up to me, I’d have them strip me of every affinity and send me back home to my family.”

Only I wasn’t sure that was entirely true anymore. Because Kai, Phoenix, and Atlas had wormed their way into my hearts in a matter of days.

“It was your fucking dad who was behind it all. Take your anger issues out on him,” Phoenix barked.

Riven’s head snapped in his direction. “What did you say?”

The table went silent.

“What. Did. You. Say?” he pressed through gritted teeth.

It was Atlas who answered him, his voice low and calm. “Your dad showed. He did a double bind test on Aura.”

Emotions flitted through Riven’s eyes so fast I couldn’t pick up on a single one. He shoved back from the table, sending his chair toppling backwards. “Stay the hell away from my father. You don’t and I’ll strip your powers from you myself.”

33

EVA LOOKED at me with new eyes. Assessing ones. As if she were trying to see something that the rest of us were blind to. “I should make sure Riv is okay.”

No one said a word as she got up and headed for the door.

I didn’t want Riven’s words to hurt. He’d proven time and again that he was a callous asshole. Not to everyone. In fact, I’d seen him show kindness to each of the other royals. Kerry thought he hung the moon. But to me? There was nothing but disgust. And I had no idea why.

“Is it because I’m half-human? Does he hate them?” I stared down at my heaping plate of food, as if it would somehow hold all the answers I needed.

The guys around me were quiet.

I forced myself to look up, to study each of them. None of them seemed especially eager to meet my gaze. It was Atlas who finally did. “Riven doesn’t hate you.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” I muttered.

“He doesn’t,” Phoenix insisted.

Kai slid his hand under my fall of hair, massaging my neck. “He has a lot of pressure on him.”

Phoenix nodded. “His dad’s a real piece of work.”

I’d figured out that much in a five-minute meeting with the man. But I knew that couldn’t be all of it. “Just because your father’s awful doesn’t give you an excuse to be the same.”

“You’re right,” Atlas agreed.

Phoenix glared at him. “You know it’s not that simple.”

Atlas met his stare and didn’t look away. “I know he’s been through hell. But that doesn’t mean he gets to treat Aura like dirt.”

A muscle in Phoenix’s jaw ticked, but he nodded.

Been through hell. What did that mean? It was more than just having a less-than-stellar father.

Kai cleared his throat. “So, what’s on our agenda today?”

“I’m going to train Aura,” Phoenix answered as he broke off a piece of croissant and popped it into his mouth.

I arched a brow. “Are you now? I had plans today.”

Kai’s fingers stilled on my neck. “What kind of plans? Are you trying to ditch us, Pip?”

“How could I ditch stage-five stalkers? You probably injected me with a tracking device when I was sleeping.”

Atlas grunted. “Not a bad idea.”

I glared at him.

He just pushed my plate closer to me. “Eat.”

“If you’re not careful, this plate is going to end up on your head.”

Atlas grinned at me. “My reflexes are too quick.”

“One day my payback is coming,” I mumbled and took a bite of my breakfast casserole.

“We’ll all watch our backs,” Phoenix assured me.

“What kind of training are we doing?” Kai asked.

Phoenix lifted a brow. “We?”

Kai’s eyes narrowed on him. “Yes, we. Don’t be a greedy ass when it comes to Aura.”

“We’re going to work on fire.”

“So, Atlas and I can help with that,” Kai argued.

The bite of casserole I’d just swallowed turned to lead in my stomach at the word fire. “I don’t know if fire training is such a good idea.”

Phoenix leveled me with that inky-black stare. “Wouldn’t you rather work on it with me than in that classroom with those idiots breathing down your neck?”

I tore at my croissant, ripping it into little shreds. What I wanted was to never go back to fire class ever again. “It’s not like I’m going to have that affinity. That much is clear.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” Atlas said gently.

Kai turned to Phoenix. “You talk to your brother yet?”

Smoky shadows leapt around Phoenix. “I had a word…”

My stomach clenched at the menace in his tone. “No murder, right? Promise me no murder.”

The shadows pulled back a fraction. “No blood was shed, Pip.”

My breath released at that.

“Did he hear you?” Kai asked.

There was something beneath his words that I couldn’t quite read. A subtext that was beyond my understanding.

The muscles in Phoenix’s jaw began fluttering again. “I’m not sure.”

Atlas muttered a curse. “You need to stick close to her in that class.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s in all my classes.”

This time it was Kai who cursed. A string of expletives that were quite creative. “We all need to keep a close eye in the elements classes.”

“One of us needs to sign up to TA combat classes when they start,” Phoenix added. “If they go head-to-head in that class, he’ll do everything he can to hurt her. And he’s been trained by my father’s guard since he was five.”

“When they say combat, what do they mean?”

“Hand-to-hand, special weapons, the works,” Kai answered.

Each little piece of information only made the dread in my stomach grow. “Why do we need it?”

Atlas’s hand rested on my thigh, squeezing gently. “It’s tradition. There was a time when all of us would’ve ended up in battle after our training.”

“Hell, it could happen again if we’re not careful,” Phoenix grumbled.

“What do you mean?”

Kai glanced around the dining hall, but no one was close by. “Not everyone wants the kingdoms to live in harmony.”

Atlas’s eyes flashed. “Some just want more. Land, people, power.”

“And now you don’t have the aethers’ help bringing you together.” The thought made me incredibly sad. The creatures that existed to bring peace now were nowhere to be found.

Phoenix shot a look at Kai and Atlas. “It’s more challenging for sure.”

“What happened to them?” I asked.

“You don’t know?”

I shook my head.

Phoenix’s knuckles bleached white around the edge of the table. “They were hunted to extinction.”

34

HUNTED TO EXTINCTION. The words had echoed through my head as we ate and even on the walk to the clearing we stood in now. No community liked to revisit their darkest days. It was no wonder the story of the end of the aethers hadn’t made it to human ears.

No one knew who it was that had started the network of assassins who had killed every aether in existence. Whoever it was had been ruthless and organized. And the killing had continued into modern times. Even those with aether bloodlines in their family lineage had been at risk.

It made me nauseous to think about all they had done to the aethers of the world. But I guessed no realm was free of their version of racist assholes.

“Aura?”

My head jerked up at Atlas’s voice. “Sorry.”

His expression gentled. “It’s okay. Are you ready to start?”

I scanned the clearing. Pine trees surrounded the four of us. Their scent filled my senses. I’d become partial to their smell. It had a sort of calming effect. But not this time.

My stomach dipped and rolled as I took in Phoenix on the opposite side of the clearing. The shadows had gathered around him again, as if they knew Phoenix was about to let his power fly.

“What if I say no?”

“Then this all stops here and now,” Atlas said quickly.

Sparks danced off Phoenix’s shoulders as he glared at Atlas. “She has to deal with this irrational fear.”

His words made anger flare to life, swirling around me and eating away the worst of my fear. “It’s not irrational.”

Phoenix’s gaze flicked to me. “It’s a part of you. You control it. The only way it’s dangerous is if you refuse to learn.”

“No one controls fire.” People only thought they did. Until one forgotten candle burned too low. Or a cord frayed. Or a heater malfunctioned. All it took was one tiny spark to end it all.

“Aura?” It was Kai this time, moving in close, concern marring his features.

I gave my head a shake. “I’m fine. It’s just ridiculous to think you can control something that powerful.”

Atlas moved in on my other side. “Why are you scared of fire?”

My mouth went dry. I could smell the smoke. Feel the heat. The flames were coming.

Warm hands framed my face. “Aura, look at me.”

The worst of the panic eased at Kai’s touch.

“Breathe with me, nice and steady.”

It was then I realized my breaths were coming in short, ragged pants. I struggled to focus on Kai, the rhythm of his inhales and exhales.

“That’s it.” His hands slid from my face to my neck. “Keep it easy, slow.”

After a few more moments they evened out into something that resembled normal.

“What. The. Hell. Was. That. About?” Phoenix growled. Each word was punctuated as if it were its own sentence. As if he was holding back his rage with every syllable.

Atlas gave him a hard shove. “Pull it together. Your rage issues aren’t going to help.”

Phoenix’s nostrils flared as he struggled to get whatever was eating him alive under control.

“I was in a fire.” I blurted it out in the hopes it might distract those two from coming to blows. But I had no idea what came after that fact.

Atlas turned back to me. “When?”

“I was eight. We still don’t know exactly how it started.”

Kai let one hand drop away but left the other on my neck, his thumb stroking back and forth. “But you got out.”

“I almost didn’t.” The words were barely a whisper. “I got trapped in my bedroom. The window was too high to jump out of. The fire was outside my door. I hid in the closet. The floor beneath me collapsed and I fell through to the basement, and a beam landed on top of me. Thought I was going to die.” I rubbed at the raised skin on the inside of my arm.

Phoenix stalked forward, grabbing my arm. He let out a string of curses. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I shrugged. “I told you I didn’t like fire.”

“But not that you’d been burned. I wouldn’t have pushed so hard if I’d known you’d been through this.”

I tried to tug my arm free, but he held firm.

Atlas studied the scars leading up my arm as Phoenix held it. “You’re okay? Those look bad.”

I gave my arm a hard yank and finally broke away from Phoenix’s hold. I wanted a sweatshirt more than anything right now, but I hadn’t shoved one in my bag this morning. “I know they look gross, but they aren’t that bad.”

Atlas got right up in my personal space. “That wasn’t what I said and it sure as hell wasn’t what I meant.” He lifted my arm gently and traced his fingers over the mottled and twisted skin. “There isn’t a thing about you that isn’t beautiful. But I know these mean you were in excruciating pain. That you were terrified. That’s what I meant by bad.”

I swallowed against my suddenly dry throat. “Oh.”

His lips twitched. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers tangling in the waves. “I could only ever see beauty when I look at you.”

Atlas leaned forward and my breath caught, but this time for an entirely different reason than panic. He pressed his lips to the corner of my mouth.

The buzz that lit my muscles was like nothing I’d experienced before. It was its own form of fire that terrified me in a completely different way. Sensation swept through me like a flood on the heels of the buzz.

Atlas jerked back, his fingers flying to his mouth and eyes going wide.

“What the hell was that?” Kai clipped. “I could feel it.”

It was only then that I remembered his hand on my neck.

“The hell if I know,” Atlas said.

They all looked at me.

“You think I know? This whole world is new to me. But every time I’ve touched one of you, there’s this buzz in my muscles.”

Phoenix’s mouth thinned. “I felt it too. When we were on the roof.”

“Same,” Kai agreed. “I thought it might just be because of her level of power.”

“It could be that…” Atlas began. “But it’s odd that it would amplify when I kissed her.”

“That was definitely more.” My face flamed.

Atlas chuckled. “I’m a fan of more.”

“Shit, you two, I’m hard as a rock,” Kai griped.

And now my whole body was on fire.

Phoenix smacked Kai. “Not helping.”

“Could this just be an interaction I have with elemental magic? Like it could happen with anyone?”

Atlas let out a low growl.

“Not sure big man over there is down with sharing our half-human,” Kai said, grinning.

I sent my elbow back into his gut. “I’m not a toy.”

“Damn, that elbow is pointy,” he coughed out.

“And don’t you forget it.”

Phoenix studied me. “It could be that our magic calls to each other. I want to try something. Do you trust me?”

35

THE QUESTION CIRCLED MY BRAIN, but I answered before I’d had a chance to even recognize the truth of my one word. “Yes.”

I trusted Phoenix. Because he’d shown me his own scars. Opened up in a way that I knew was incredibly hard for him and shared his past.

His mouth curved and he leaned down, pressing his forehead to mine. “Good.”

That buzz flared to life in my body. The longer he kept hold, the more it intensified.

“Aura, can I kiss you?”

The words were spoken like a question, but Phoenix’s tone held nothing but demand.

“Yes.”

Apparently, it was all I could say.

Phoenix didn’t wait. He took my mouth in a hard kiss. His stubble bit into my skin, only adding to the array of sensation. He licked the seam of my lips and mine parted on a gasp.

Phoenix’s tongue stroked mine. He teased and plundered, eased off then dove deeper. I never knew what kind of sensation would come next.

Then he was pulling back. I stumbled forward as if unable to pull away from his mouth.

Kai caught my shoulders so I didn’t eat it. “You know I’m feeling real left out right about now.”

“Please don’t kiss me,” I blurted out.

He turned me towards him, hurt in his eyes. “Excuse me?”

“If you kiss me, I think I really will go all supernova like Riven said.”

The corner of Kai’s mouth kicked up. “I do know how to make the girls detonate.”

I ripped my shoulders out of his hold, scowling at him.

“What?”

Atlas shook his head. “Do you really think Aura wants to hear about your illustrious history?”

Kai’s mouth snapped shut. He opened and closed it a few more times before getting any words out. “They didn’t mean anything.”

“Would I?” If he treated one girl as if she was replaceable, he could do the same to me.

“Of course, you mean something,” he gritted out. “You’re different, you’re—” Panic carved into his face as he backed away.

I pleaded with my eyes for him not to run, but that was exactly what Kai did, taking a piece of my soul with him.

“Kai,” Atlas called, but he was already darting through the woods.

What the hell had just happened? I wrapped my arms around my middle, hugging myself tight. For the first time since I’d been brought into the guys’ fold, I felt cheap. The fact that it was so easy for Kai to bail the second I pushed back.

“Aura—”

“No.” I cut Atlas off, shaking my head to punctuate the point. “You don’t need to make excuses for him.”

“I wasn’t going to. But there are some things about Kai you don’t know. Things that make any kind of real intimacy difficult.” Atlas shot a look at Phoenix. “A little help here.”

Phoenix stared down at his hands. “Guys?”

There was something about his tone that made me pause. “What’s wrong?”

“Step back,” he ordered.

“Why?” Atlas demanded.

“Because my hunch that I wanted to test is right, but I think I was a little too right.”

I reached out for Phoenix, but he jerked back.

“I think you touching me would be a very bad idea right now.”

Atlas’s eyes widened and he pulled me away from Phoenix. “What do you need, man?”

“Space and maybe a fire extinguisher.”

Atlas released me and lifted his hands as if he had instantly understood Phoenix’s cryptic request. A moment later, dirt lifted into the air and swirled around Phoenix. “I’ve got you.”

Phoenix flipped his hands over and flames shot from his palms through the opening in the clearing and into the sky. The fire looked more like a volcanic eruption than anything else.

Phoenix’s chest heaved as he struggled to keep the power swirling inside him under control. Panic ripped through me, not at the fire but fear for Phoenix. “Help him!”

“He has to release it, or it could end him,” Atlas said, his hands weaving the dirt around Phoenix, readying himself for the worst.

End him. Combust. This was what Riven was talking about. This was what could happen to me. And I didn’t have one percent of the control Phoenix had.

Sweat broke out on his brow and his arms shook, but the flames showed no signs of stopping.

Fear clawed at my insides. “What did you tell me, Phee? Let the fire swallow you whole.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea with this one,” he panted.

“You are that fire,” I told him.

Phoenix shot a quick glance in my direction. “It’s you and me.”

“The kiss…” Atlas trailed off, unable to finish.

“Our magic really likes each other, Pip.”

Nausea swept through me. It was my haywire power that was causing this. I thought about what Kai and Atlas had said when affinities had gone wild in water and earth classes. I had to pull it back. Phoenix couldn’t do that without hurting himself, but I could.

I closed my eyes. I couldn’t bring myself to picture fire within me. But I could picture that flow of energy, life force. I imagined a rainbow of colors, something happy and not at all threatening. I could feel it pulsing towards Phoenix as if the kiss had tied us.

Swallowing hard, I tried to slow the flow. But it wasn’t enough. Because Phoenix’s fuse had already been lit. I pictured the flow of colors halting and then reversing, pulling back to me.

“Aura,” Phoenix breathed.

“What is she doing?” Atlas asked in wonder. “I can feel it.”

I kept pulling, my hands fisting with the effort as I panted.

“That’s enough. I’ve got it,” Phoenix said.

But I continued to pull anyway. This was my mess.

“Aura, stop,” Atlas ordered.

I kept going.

He shook me. “Look!”

My eyes flew open, and my control snapped. But it didn’t matter. The only thing left was a tiny flame dancing on Phoenix’s palm. He closed his hand around it and then the fire was gone altogether.

I wavered on my feet and Atlas steadied me. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, unable to take my eyes off of Phoenix. “What was that?”

“Elementals’ magic has an effect on each other. If your magic is compatible, intimacy can magnify it,” Phoenix explained. “In our case, it really magnifies it.”

“You mean it supercharges it,” Atlas mumbled.

“I could’ve killed you,” I whispered.

Phoenix was in front of me in a flash, his hands going to my face. “No. This wasn’t on you, it’s on me. I should’ve done a smaller test—”

I ripped myself out of his hold. “Don’t touch me.”

Hurt flared in those dark eyes.

“I-I’ll hurt you,” I stammered. That fire could’ve burned Phoenix alive or even worse. “I could make you combust—”

“You won’t.”

I shook my head back and forth in a staccato beat. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry—I-I need to go.”

Phoenix called my name, but I was already running. It was too much. I couldn’t be responsible for that kind of destruction. For destroying another person.

My lungs burned, but I pushed myself harder. Tree branches smacked my arms and slapped my face, but I kept running. I could just make out the campus through the trees. Almost there. Almost away from the flames and the knowledge that I could kill anyone who touched me.

A force slammed into me, throwing me back. My skull smacked against the thick trunk of a pine. Stars swam across my vision. And then I saw nothing at all.

36

I FOUGHT AGAINST THE DARKNESS, forcing my eyes open in long, slow blinks. Air swirled around me, holding me captive as I tried to get my bearings. Everything came together in snapshots. Quick bursts of images that had panic setting in.

Drue sneered as she stalked towards me. “Time for someone to learn their place.”

I thrashed against the invisible hold of the air. The fact that I couldn’t see it, couldn’t truly fight against it, only had the panic rooting deeper. Memories flashed in my mind. The smell of smoke curling in the air. The heat singeing my skin. Flames licking around me.

Drue laughed as I clawed at the air. “Sorry, mutt. Not even your fucked up mutant powers are going to help you now.”

The blow came out of nowhere. A harsh uppercut that landed right under my ribs and forced all the air from my lungs. I coughed and sputtered.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” She went for my face this time, a punch to my cheekbone that had me seeing stars.

The world spun around me, and I lost my footing, but the air swirling around me kept me upright. My gaze jerked around, searching for the master of the air. I knew it wasn’t Drue. She was too focused on beating me to a bloody pulp to control this level of power. And her powers were bound. It had to be someone older.

Another blow landed on my jaw and blood flew from my mouth. Drue stepped out of the spray. “Ready to run, mutt? Back to the human realm and your pathetically boring life? I heard you scrubbed toilets at a disgusting pub. But even that has to be better than this.”

Anger lit somewhere deep, stoking a fire I’d kept buried for so long. “The only one who’s pathetic around here is you. What? You’re too scared to fight me woman-to-woman? You had to bribe someone to keep me bound first? Clearly you’re not the all-powerful aether you think you are.”

The air tightened around me, making it hard to breathe. Memories battered at the walls of my mind. My name being yelled. Screams of agony around me. Complete terror.

Drue’s face reddened, and she kicked out at my ribs. The crack of bone and white-hot pain beat back the worst of the memories.

I spat out a mouthful of blood. My teeth must’ve cut my cheek when she hit me. But I wouldn’t give Drue the satisfaction of knowing how much pain I was in. I grinned at her, bloody teeth and all. “Coward. Just like I thought.”

She leveled a one-two combination, ribs then jaw. “You’re not even good enough to be the dirt under my feet.”

I wheezed out a labored breath. “Then why are you so obsessed with me, Drue? If I’m a waste of space, you wouldn’t be following me around like a little fangirl. You’d be going on with your pathetic little life as a wannabe aether.”

Drue’s hands clenched into fists, her face so red it looked as if she might have a stroke. “I am an aether. It’ll all be revealed. And my first act as queen will be your public beheading.”

Ding, ding, ding. That was the trigger. I had to press there, hoping I could keep her distracted until I could get some sort of help. That someone would come close enough and I could scream.

“How does it feel to know you’ll never have all four powers? That you’ll never know what it’s like for the princes to love you?”

Drue grew impossibly redder. “They will love me! They’ll worship at my feet, just like the rest of the kingdoms.”

I snorted. The movement cost me, my ribs feeling like I’d been stabbed with a dozen ice picks. “Were you dropped on your head as a small child?”

“You don’t know. You haven’t seen. My affinities are strong even through my bindings. The fourth will be revealed in The Unveiling.” A grin spread across Drue’s face, but there was nothing happy or cheerful about it. It was feral, like a rabid dog. “And I’ll tear you apart for trying to keep me from my bond. This is just an appetizer.”

Drue hauled back, sending an uppercut to my jaw. My head snapped back, skull crashing into the tree. Darkness swam around me. It was too similar to the smoke that had almost taken me. Thick dark tendrils choking me and pulling me under.

I fought against it with everything I had. Clawing at the walls of my consciousness, I struggled towards the light.

Another punch landed on my ribs. Another crack of bone. And suddenly I couldn’t breathe.

The air wouldn’t come no matter how hard I pulled. I gasped and coughed.

Drue laughed. “Oops. Might’ve pushed a little too far.”

It was the laugh that turned the spark to flame. Rage burst inside me. There was no imagining of a rainbow cascade of colors, this was raw power. Brutal in its feralness.

Drue’s eyes widened as the ground began to shake. “What the hell?”

She started to run, but it was too late. Water burst from my hands in a tidal wave of power, heading straight for her. The stream knocked her off her feet and swirled around her, trying to choke her the way I was choking.

It was as if it was guided by some force that wasn’t me. Something that was trying to protect me.

Drue screamed for help.

Some part of me wanted to stop it, to pull it back. But I was already fading. Not enough air. Too much rage burning me alive. A thought pulsed through my mind, wondering if this was it, the combustion Riven had warned me about.

And then I swore I heard him call my name. But it was too late. I was already gone.

37

I WAS WARM. So warm it felt as if I were floating in a cocoon of light. I let out a low moan.

“I think she’s waking up.”

Some part of me recognized the voice, but I couldn’t quite put a name to it.

“Is she hurting? Maybe we should bring back the healer. He can give her more pain meds.”

That voice was familiar too.

I struggled against the foggy pull of the darkness, that warmth I’d found there. I wanted to move towards the voices around me. To crawl into them and never leave.

Light flashed in quick bursts as I managed short blinks.

A hand slid along my jaw, thumb brushing across my cheek. “There she is. Come on, Pip.”

It was the Pip that did it. Kai. I knew that voice. That feel of his skin against mine.

“Show me those beautiful gray eyes.”

I fought harder, slowly opening my eyes for longer periods.

“Are you in pain? Do you need something to drink?” Atlas pressed himself closer to me, his big body cocooning mine.

Where was I? Slowly the room came into focus. Large four-poster bed. Massive space with paintings that looked as if they could’ve been painted by Pollock. I inhaled deeply and knew it was Kai’s space. The scent of salt air and something else swirling in my senses.

“What happened?” I croaked.

Phoenix glared down at me, his grip on my thigh tightening. “That’s what we want to know.”

It came back in flashes. The air catching me off guard. Drue’s attack. The pain of each blow. Losing all control. I jerked against the pillows. “Drue.”

“Will be fine,” Phoenix said. “She said you lost it and attacked her, that she had no choice but to fight back.”

I gaped at him.

“But she was lying,” Atlas said with a certainty that had me relaxing a fraction.

“I was going back to my dorm and this gust of air took me out. It trapped me.” My voice trembled as I spoke, the feeling of not being able to move still alive in my muscles.

Atlas wrapped himself around me. “You’re safe.”

“Drue came out of nowhere. Said she was going to teach me my place.”

Kai let out a series of curses. “That fucking bitch.”

“She started hitting me. I think she cracked my ribs. Maybe punctured a lung.”

“She did,” Phoenix gritted out. “If Riven hadn’t gotten to you in time, you would’ve died.” His gaze traveled to a corner of the room.

I hadn’t even noticed him there, as if he were hiding in the shadows the way Phoenix often did. His gaze locked with mine. So much passed through those glacier eyes, but it moved so quickly I couldn’t pin down a single emotion.

Riven pushed off the wall. “I just called a healer, that’s all.”

“Sure,” Kai grunted.

Riven glared at him. “I need to go. There’s business I need to attend to.”

“Stay,” Atlas said. It was only a single word, but there was a plea beneath it.

Riven looked towards all of us piled on the bed and for the briefest moment, I swore there was longing in there. But it was gone so fast I told myself I’d imagined it.

He shook his head. “Some of us have responsibilities to attend to.”

“I don’t think there’s a damn thing more important than making sure Aura’s okay,” Phoenix clipped.

“Then do that,” Riven bit out. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the bedroom.

The door slammed, reverberating around the room. I couldn’t take my eyes off the dark wood as memories tickled the back of my brain. The feel of Riven’s arms as he cradled me to his chest. “Just hold on. We’re almost there. Don’t you die on me. I’ve done too much to keep you alive.”

I blinked a few times, trying to clear my head. That couldn’t have been real. Some messed up hopeful imagining. I needed serious therapy that I still craved this man who wanted nothing to do with me.

“Aura,” Atlas said softly.

I turned in his direction.

His expression softened as his fingers tangled in my hair. “He cares about you.”

I made a humming sound in the back of my throat. It wasn’t agreement or disagreement, merely an acknowledgment that I’d heard him.

Phoenix swept his thumb back and forth across my thigh. “We need to get our stories straight before the headmaster hears she’s awake.”

“Stories straight?”

Kai sent a worried look to Phoenix and Atlas. “Drue’s trying to turn everyone against you.”

“She attacked me!”

Atlas adjusted himself against the pillows. “That’s not the picture she’s painting. And you did have a hell of a power burst. That’s backing up her story.”

“I didn’t mean to. I just—I was in so much pain and she wouldn’t stop. She kept hitting and kicking me. I couldn’t breathe and then some dam in me just broke.”

Smoky shadows swirled around Phoenix as his dark eyes flashed. “What. Did. She. Say?”

My fingers dug into the blanket wrapped around me. “That she wanted me to run and that I was a mutt that had to learn her place. That you were destined to be her bond and her first act as queen would be to kill me.”

Phoenix’s breaths grew ragged. “She has to pay.”

Atlas’s hand clamped down on Phoenix’s shoulder. “But we have to be smart about this. Drue is surrounded by people right now, you’d never get in undetected. And she wasn’t the only one involved. Someone with an air affinity was involved too.”

Sparks danced in Phoenix’s eyes as his breathing came in quick pants. “I’ll get to her. They won’t even see me.” Tiny flames lit along his shoulders. “I’ll get the truth out of her. I’ll find every last person who played a role in this, and I’ll peel the skin from their bones.”

Phoenix started to rise but I reached out, grabbing his arm. “Don’t go.”

The sparks in his eyes turned to flame.

“Please don’t leave me.”

38

THE DESPERATION in my tone must’ve cut through Phoenix’s rage because the tension radiating through him softened a fraction, and the flames turned back to sparks.

“Shit,” Kai muttered. “When has anyone been able to talk him off a ledge?”

“Since Aura,” Atlas said, pressing a kiss to my temple.

Emotions swirled in me as Phoenix lowered himself back to the bed. I might’ve gotten Phoenix to stay, but I hadn’t magically fixed our problems. I was some supercharged battery pack to these guys, and we had no idea why.

Not to mention the fact that Kai had bailed on me the second I’d suggested I didn’t want to be a notch on his bedpost. My gaze moved to him, searching.

He winced, as if sensing my thoughts. “I’m so sorry, Aura. I never should’ve taken off. I should’ve been there—”

“Why did you?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but I cut him off.

“Truth.”

Kai swallowed, and for the first time, there was no happy-go-lucky mask. I could see everything. Those hints of pain, rage, and betrayal I’d picked up on the first day we’d met. The fear. I could practically feel it clawing at my insides.

“It’s better if I don’t let myself care. If I don’t let anyone too close.”

“You let Atlas, Phoenix, and Riven close.” I’d seen their bond in action. They were brothers, bickering and all. But they’d lay down their lives for each other.

“He means he won’t let women close,” Atlas said softly.

I stared at Kai, a million silent questions in my gaze.

He smoothed the blanket around me, his fingers ironing out each and every wrinkle. “There was someone once.”

The jealousy hit me swift and strong, worse than any of the blows Drue had leveled on me.

Kai traced nonsensical designs on the blanket as he seemed to lose himself in the memories. “I was young and stupid, easily led around by my dick. I thought Eleanor was so delicate. Fragile.” He scoffed. “I was so fucking wrong.”

I wanted to reach out. To touch him. But I wasn’t sure it would be welcome. “What happened?”

“There’s rarely a time when a prince is unprotected. Only when he sneaks off to spend some time with his love.”

A lead weight settled in my stomach.

“I have to give it to her. She was good. Played the role of besotted girl so well.” Kai’s gaze lifted to mine. “She tried to stab me in the back when I was in the middle of fucking her.”

I reared back.

He chuckled, but it was an ugly sound. “Shit, she could’ve at least let me come first.”

I knew he was cheapening it all to distance himself from the incident. But it still made me nauseous. “What did you do?”

Kai didn’t look away. “I snapped her neck.”

“She was working with the assassin network. The ones who want anything but kingdom unity,” Atlas said. “They’d been training her to be everything they thought Kai couldn’t resist.”

“They did a bang-up job.” A muscle ticked along his jaw. “My father and mother are some of the greatest proponents of unity, of all of the elemental kingdoms coming together as one so that we can help one another.”

“And that can’t make the network happy,” I said softly.

Kai ran a hand through his golden locks. “No, it doesn’t. They were going to kill me and have Eleanor say it was a guard from the fire kingdom.”

Sparks danced in Phoenix’s eyes. “It would’ve meant war. Countless deaths. Maybe the end of peace between the kingdoms forever.”

Kai stared out the window. “It didn’t seem worth it after that. The risk. Better to never let your guard down. To never leave yourself exposed.”

My heart cracked at the emptiness in Kai’s tone. The emptiness he must have felt in his soul. One conquest after the other without letting himself care, even just for a moment.

I pressed a hand to his chest, a faint buzz picking up there. “I’m so sorry, Kai.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“That doesn’t mean that I don’t hate that you’re hurting. That you’ve forced yourself into some sort of half-existence.”

He pushed off the bed and began to pace. “It’s not a half-existence.”

I struggled to sit up against the pillows. My face and ribs still throbbed. “Isn’t it?”

“She’s right, Kai,” Atlas said. “You only show your true self to us. No one else has a shot. At some point, you’re going to have to make that leap.”

Kai’s eyes blazed, the blue and green in them swirling.

I didn’t look away from his stare. “I won’t let you use me. I won’t be some dumping ground for your pain and anger. You want me? You’re going to have to shred that damn mask and keep showing me who you really are.”

Kai let out a low growl and stalked towards the bed. “You want to see the fucking mess that’s inside me? The fact that I’m never without a knife.” He slid a blade from his waistband. “Usually three.”

He pulled one from the other side of his waistband and another from a holster around his ankle. He placed each one down on the nightstand with a clang.

I looked from the blades to his face. “You do what you have to do to feel safe.”

“I don’t know how to let you in.” His words were pained, as if saying them took everything he had.

I reached out, gripping Kai’s shirt and pulling him towards me. My hand went to his face as I ignored the pain along my ribs. “You’re doing it right now. We have to show each other the ugly if we have any hope of living in the good.”

Kai swallowed hard. “We want you.”

Heat flared to life in my body, that buzz turning to a hum that had the potential to make me take flight. I looked around to each of the guys. “All of you?”

So much had been swirling around me lately. Discoveries and threats. Explosions of power and fears taking hold. I hadn’t had a chance to wrap my head around this possibility. That these friendships might become so much more.

Atlas leaned forward, his thumb tracing along my jaw. “All of us. Never wanted someone more.” He pressed a featherlight kiss to my lips, the barest tease of a touch.

Sparks danced in Phoenix’s eyes as Atlas pulled away. “You already know the answer to that question, Aura. You felt it the first time we were on that roof. There’s something meant to be between you and me.”

Everything in me tightened at those words, because they were true. I’d felt a calmness with Phoenix that had made no sense from that first moment.

“But royals don’t share. Not anymore.” It was something that Kerry had told me. After the aethers had died out, the royals had begun taking a single mate, leaving a king and queen for each kingdom.

“Do you think we give a fuck what’s expected of us?” Phoenix growled.

“This will only bind us closer together,” Kai added.

My gaze traveled to the door. “Riven doesn’t want me.”

Kai chuckled. “Oh, he wants you. He just thinks he can’t let himself have you.”

“Trust me, there’s been zero want vibes coming from that direction. More like abject hatred.”

Atlas’s thumb swept back and forth across my jaw. “Give him time, Aura. I’ve known him since we were born. He’s working things out.”

“But we can’t wait around for him to pull his head out of his ass,” Kai quipped. “We move forward. He’ll catch up or he won’t.”

“The power surges…” The whole reason I’d bolted from the clearing in the first place. “I could kill one of you and not even mean to.”

Phoenix traced circles on my thigh, sending a cascade of shivers over my skin. “We’ll be careful. The minute one of us feels an overload, we pull back.”

“All it took was one kiss in the forest—”

“You mean a make-out session,” Atlas said with a chuckle.

I glared at him. “You know what I mean.”

Phoenix linked my fingers with his. “We’ll slowly get used to the new power levels. It’ll take some time, but Aura, we know how to handle an overload of power. Even earlier, I would’ve gotten it under control if you hadn’t stepped in to play superhero.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. But I also couldn’t imagine walking away from Phoenix, Atlas, and Kai. Because somehow it already felt as if they had a piece of my heart.

Kai looked down at me, so much hope in his gaze. “All we’re asking is for you to try.”

“You’ll let me in?” I asked.

Anxiety flickered in those blue-green depths. “I’ll let you in.”

I looked around at all of them. Fear and hope warred within me in equal measure. But there was only one thing to say.

“I’ll try.”

39

THAT DROWNING WARMTH WAS BACK. But I was just fine with it. Because it meant I was surrounded by my guys. Their heat at my front and back, a cocoon of comfort and warmth. I let out a low, sleepy moan.

“God, someone kill me now with the sounds she’s making,” Phoenix said, a husky grit clinging to his voice.

Kai chuckled. “But it’s a hell of a way to go. Just think about the sounds she’ll make when we—”

A smack sounded. “Watch it,” Atlas warned.

“That hurt, A. Please tell me you’re not planning on being the guarder of her virtue.”

I blinked a few times. Morning light poured in through the windows, illuminating the room, the bed. My stomach gave a healthy flip. “Hi.”

Kai grinned at me, leaning forward and brushing his lips against mine. “Morning.”

I pressed my mouth together in a thin line. “Morning breath,” I mumbled, covering the lower half of my face.

His lips twitched. “Nothing but sweetness on those lips.”

I let out a snort of disbelief as Atlas propped himself up on the pillows behind Kai, his gaze sweeping over my face. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good.” The best I had in months. Since the nightmares had returned, and each night I’d woken drenched in sweat.

“Me too,” Phoenix whispered in my ear. That rough voice sent a pleasant shiver over my skin. He traced circles on my lower stomach with his thumb.

A cascade of sparks danced through my nerve endings. Hell.

Kai grinned. “How do you feel?”

“I, uh…” Those fingers were too damn distracting.

“Having trouble getting your words out, Pip?” he pushed.

I sent him a glare. “I’m just—”

Phoenix’s hand dipped a little lower. My thighs pressed together to relieve the ache.

“You’re just what?” Kai asked.

The corner of Atlas’s mouth kicked up. “She’s got a nice blush on those cheeks, can’t be feeling too poorly.”

Phoenix’s lips skimmed my ear. “You need something, Pip?”

I didn’t have words for what I needed in that moment. For someone to dunk me in an ice bath? Someone to fuck me senseless? To run screaming from the room because these three made me feel far too much? I liked option two the best.

Atlas reached over Kai, his fingers tucking the hair behind my ear, then trailing down my neck. “Need your words, Aura.”

“I—I want…”

“Yes?” Kai prodded.

“To feel.” It was the only thing I could think to say. I’d spent so much time trying to turn things off instead. The nightmares, the worry about making ends meet, the fear that I’d never make it out of the struggle I’d been stuck in.

“We can make you feel, Aura,” Phoenix growled.

His hand slipped beneath the hem of the sweats they’d given me to sleep in. My lips parted on a hushed gasp as Phoenix’s fingers began to explore. As if he were in no hurry, just out for a leisurely stroll.

Overnight my body had grown accustomed to touching them. The hum in my muscles had faded. But it flared to life again now. As if every cell in my body vibrated.

“Damn,” Kai muttered, his fingers hooking in the strap of my tank top and pulling it down. My breasts popped free, and his mouth was there, lips closing over my nipple.

I arched and moaned as the vibrations within me intensified. Liquid heat pooled in my belly, spreading throughout my muscles.

“So damn pretty,” Atlas said, his thumb tracing my lips.

Phoenix’s fingers dove inside me as his thumb circled my clit and my mouth fell open. I was panting now, and I didn’t even care. He moved faster as Kai’s teeth grazed my nipple.

I let out a sound that wasn’t entirely human and Atlas swallowed it whole, his mouth crashing into mine. It wasn’t what I expected from my gentle Atlas. He took and he took, as if he was desperate for everything I would give.

I lost myself in the swirl of sensations. Drowning in them and still thirsty for every last drop. Everything in me tightened and still I reached for more.

The ground beneath us began to shake. At first, I thought it was my body trembling, but then the chandelier above began to sway back and forth. But it was too late. I was already cascading over the edge.

Light danced across my vision in an array of colors, and I was spiraling down. A loud boom sounded and every light in the room went out.

Footsteps pounded down the hallway and then the door flew open. Riven filled the doorway. His gaze jumped around the room, landing on me last. His eyes darkened and I quickly righted my clothes.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he bellowed. “She almost wipes out the entire campus yesterday and you’re in here seeing if you can make her go supernova?”

“Don’t be jealous, Riv,” Kai smirked. “You know you’re welcome to—”

“Pull your head out of your ass. This isn’t about getting laid. There’s so much more at stake here and you damn well know it.”

The entire room went silent, and guilt pricked at my insides.

Riven shook his head. “Grow up. All of you.”

“Shit,” Atlas muttered as Riven stormed out.

I threw off the covers, scooting to the end of the bed. Phoenix called my name, but I was already chasing after Riven. I hurried down the stairs towards the banging in the kitchen.

As I stepped inside, Riven sent me a murderous look. I didn’t let it stop me. “We’re still figuring this out. It’s going to take time—”

“You shouldn’t be messing with it at all.”

Anger flared in my belly. “Just because you think I’m less than the dirt on your shoe doesn’t mean the rest of them do. I know there’s a lot we’re still figuring out about my power, and we need to be careful, but that doesn’t mean I should have to do it alone. I care about Kai and Atlas and Phoenix. They make me feel safe and cherished and—”

Riven whirled, smashing his coffee cup into the wall. “And you’re going to get them all killed!”

I reared back. “They said they could handle my power.”

He scoffed. “Your power is so far down on the list of problems, it’s not even funny. Do you think that everyone in this realm wants to go back to the way things used to be? To have the royals share a mate? To tie us all together in a bind that can’t be broken?”

“I think it’s a little early to throw around the word mate. This is new and we’re just figuring out—”

“That’s not how the rest of the realm will see it. They’ll see the princes involved with one woman, and they’ll want to end you and them. Assassins will come. Guards from royal lines that don’t want to share the power. So much worse.”

I blanched.

Riven sneered in my direction. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself involved in. What the people in power here will do to keep it.”

In a flash, he tore his T-shirt in two and it fell to the floor. Scars. So many there was no way to count them all crisscrossed his chest. They were of varying sizes and shapes. Some looked like cigarette burns, others like they were caused by a belt.

“This is what my father would do to his own son when he didn’t like something I did. Imagine what he would do to the other royals. To you. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll leave and never look back.”

Riven stalked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

A door slammed, echoing in the empty halls. I couldn’t move. Could barely breathe. All I could think about was what Riven’s father had done to him.

Tears slid down my cheeks and I whispered to the empty room: “I didn’t know.”

40

FOOTSTEPS POUNDED DOWN THE STAIRS. They weren’t angry-sounding, but they were hurried. I still couldn’t take my eyes off the marble floor. I could still see Riven standing there, evidence of his torture on full display.

Atlas gently took hold of my shoulders. “Aura?”

“I didn’t know,” I whispered. It seemed it was all I was capable of saying.

Kai muttered a curse.

“I’m going to fry his ass,” Phoenix quipped.

I trembled as I kept staring at the floor. “How could someone do that to their child?”

The guys went still.

Kai slid a hand along my jaw, tipping my face up to his. “Riv told you about his dad?”

More tears slid down my face. “He showed me.”

This time it was Atlas who cursed.

“How could someone do that?”

“Because he’s an evil fucker,” Phoenix growled. “The day we get to finally end him will be one of the happiest of my life.”

“Watch it,” Atlas hissed. “You never know who’s listening.”

“Not here,” Kai assured him. “I swept for bugs yesterday.”

“Bugs?” I asked.

Phoenix jerked his head in a nod. “There are always people trying to find out what happens inside these walls.”

“Or trying to break in to take one of us out,” Kai muttered.

My breaths started coming faster. Possibilities piled on each other, one after the other. “What is this? Some secret superspy realm?”

Atlas’s lips twitched. “Superspies?”

“You’re all talking about assassins and bugs and who knows what else. That doesn’t sound like spies to you?” My voice grew in hysteria with each word.

“Pip,” Kai said, so much affection in his voice. “This is just what it means to be royal. We’re used to it.”

“Well, I’m not royal. It’s the last thing I’m used to. Where I’m from, as long as you steer clear of the gangs, then you’re just fine.”

Phoenix trailed a hand up and down my spine. “We’ll make sure you’re safe.”

I looked up at him. “But who’s going to make sure you’re safe?”

“We look after each other,” Kai said.

Atlas nodded. “We always have.”

My insides twisted. “But I’ve made Riven feel like he’s on the outside now.” And knowing what he’d been through with his father, I couldn’t live with that.

Phoenix wrapped me in his arms. “It’s not you. He hasn’t agreed with our plans for a long time.”

“Plans?”

It was Atlas who answered, looking to Kai and Phoenix before he did. “We want to unite the kingdoms again. To choose a mate who will be all of ours and help us bring our people together.”

My mouth went dry. “So, you’ve always planned to…share?”

“Only if we could find the right woman,” Phoenix said.

Kai grunted. “Finding someone who connected with all of us, who we all felt drawn to, has been harder than you might imagine.”

“Impossible, you mean,” Atlas corrected, his eyes finding mine. “Until now.”

“I’m just trying to keep my head above water, not get killed or blow everyone around me up—I’m not exactly what you would call queen material. We barely know each other—” My breaths turned into pants as I struggled to find my air.

Atlas cupped my face. “Breathe, Aura. Follow me.”

I did my best to copy his nice even breaths.

He rubbed his nose back and forth against mine. “We just take things one day at a time. We…date.”

A manic laugh escaped me. “We date. In between me blowing power grids and almost getting murdered by mean girls?”

Phoenix let out a low growl. “You won’t have to worry about Drue again.”

I shot him a look. “You promised no murder.”

He snapped his mouth closed and stared out the window.

I gaped at him. “Are you…pouting? Because I won’t let you torture and decapitate someone?”

“Maybe,” he grunted.

Kai slapped him on the shoulder. “That’s what happens when you’ve got the ole ball and chain. They never want you to have any fun.”

Atlas smacked him upside the head.

“Thank you,” I told Atlas.

He grinned at me. “Anytime.”

“Hey,” Kai said, affronted. “If we’re doing this, I demand some rules. No ganging up on me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Ganging up on you is the only way we’re going to keep you under control.”

“That’s for damn sure,” Phoenix agreed.

“You’re all a bunch of assholes,” Kai muttered.

I laughed but instantly regretted it, my ribs flaring in pain.

Atlas’s hands steadied me in a flash. “What’s wrong?”

“My ribs. They hurt like a bitch.”

Kai winced. “The healer could repair your punctured lung and the breaks, but the bruising has to heal on its own.”

I lifted the hem of my T-shirt. My sides were a cascade of purples and blues.

“I might break that murder promise,” Phoenix gritted out.

Letting my shirt fall again, I leveled Phoenix with a stare. “No slicing and dicing, buddy.”

He let out a growl, but I ignored him and lifted the tea kettle from the stove, trying to get a look at my face. I couldn’t see much but could tell I had a nice shiner. “Awesome.”

The doorbell rang, a musical chime that echoed through the house.

“I’ll get it,” Atlas said.

“Good, because I’m not showing my face around here until all of this fades.”

Kai brushed a kiss across my lips. “You look beautiful even when you’re black and blue.”

Kerry’s voice sounded from the entryway. “Is, uh, Aura here?”

I turned from Kai’s hold and headed for the front door. “Kerry?”

Her eyes widened as she took in my appearance. “Oh God, Aura. What did they do to you?”

“It wasn’t a warm and fuzzy hug, I can tell you that.”

Worry lined her face as Atlas ushered her into the dorm. She barely looked at the royals, her focus solely on me. “I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t have been alone. Now they’ll really be out to get you.”

“What have you heard?” Phoenix barked.

Kerry jumped and I turned on him. “Dial it back a notch, would you?”

Phoenix did his best to relax his face and smile at Kerry, but he ended up looking like a rabid bunny rabbit or something. “Please, have you heard anything?”

Kerry twisted her fingers together, knuckles bleaching white. She nodded. “People talk in front of me. They don’t notice me, so it’s like I’m not even there.”

My heart ached for my new friend. One of these days, the world around her would see just how amazing she was.

I dipped my head to meet Kerry’s gaze. “What did you hear?”

She lifted her eyes to mine. “Drue, Xena, and their friends—they’re petitioning to kick you out of school.”

41

A WEEK AGO, I would’ve welcomed being kicked to the curb from Kingwood. But now…my gaze pulled to the guys beside me. I didn’t want to leave any of them.

“What do you mean, petition?” Phoenix bit out.

I placed a hand against his stomach. Tension wound the muscles tight, but as I swept my thumb back and forth, they released a fraction. “Let’s not bite Kerry’s head off for being the messenger.”

She swallowed, her eyes jumping around to each of the murderous faces. “They’re circulating a form. Asking students to sign it, saying they don’t feel safe with Aura on campus.”

My stomach twisted. As manipulative as Drue and Xena were, they weren’t altogether wrong either.

“Don’t even think it, Pip,” Atlas said softly.

“I could hurt someone without meaning to.”

Kai’s hand slid under my hair, massaging my nape. “We’re going to practice.”

“Because that went so well last time,” I grumbled.

His fingers dug deeper, working on the knots that had taken root in my neck. “Do you know how many times the four of us lost control?”

“Too many to count,” Phoenix muttered.

“It’s a gift, Aura,” Kerry said softly. “Being this powerful. It won’t be without its challenges, but it means you’re capable of great things.”

“Greatness has nothing to do with how strong someone is. It has to do with their heart. The goodness that lives in them.” The desire to help others when someone had nothing to gain. I’d seen that in all three of my guys. Their need to help their people, to help me.

Kerry’s lips pressed together. “That may be true, but it’s a lot more helpful if you have the strength to back it up.”

That ache flared to life in my chest again for my friend. “You have your own kind of strength.”

She flushed. “Maybe.” She glanced towards the door. “I just wanted you to have a heads-up. To see if maybe there was something your, uh, friends could do.” The pink in Kerry’s cheeks deepened on the word friends.

Sparks flashed in Phoenix’s eyes. “Oh, we’ll do something.”

I groaned. “No decapitation.”

“How about breaking a few necks?”

I leveled him with a stare. “Not that either.”

Kai picked up his phone and began tapping rapidly. “I put the word out. Anyone hoping to stay on our good side won’t sign that damn paper.”

Kerry winced. “They already had a lot of signatures.”

Atlas muttered a curse. “We need to go to Acker now before they get to him. Explain the situation.”

“Drue’s family is well-connected. If she’s the one behind this, it’s going to be harder to put her off,” Phoenix said.

Atlas scrubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw. “We need Riven to talk her down. She grew up in Zephyr. She’s one of his subjects. He’s our one shot to get this whole thing under control.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Couldn’t we try going to Headmaster Acker first? I can explain what happened. Maybe he’ll believe me.”

The last person I wanted to involve was Riven. Especially not after our latest blowup.

Kai shook his head. “The guys are right. We need him. If Drue doesn’t stop pushing, it’s going to make trouble for you eventually.”

“She’ll never let up. She thinks she’s your aether.”

Kai let out a groan. “I can’t believe she’s that delusional.”

Kerry let out a huff of air. “Ever since it was clear she had three gifts and they were strong, she’s been saying that the fourth would manifest at The Unveiling. She goes on and on about how you’re all destined to be hers. And she makes sure we all know it.”

A chuckle escaped Atlas and then a full-on belly laugh. “I wouldn’t touch that girl with a ten-foot pole. She’s evil.”

Kai shivered. “She’d probably hex your balls or something.”

Shadows danced around Phoenix’s shoulders. “That one’s not right in the head. It’s obsession. I know that kind of greed. Aura’s right—she won’t give up that easily.”

A sick feeling spread through me, inky-black like tar coating my insides. He was right. I’d seen that greed flash in Drue’s eyes. She wanted the royals more than anything. Not because she desired them as individuals, but because she wanted what being with them brought. It made me ache for how often they all must’ve experienced that. People wanting to be close to them for what the princes could give them, not who they were.

Kai glanced towards the stairs. “We need Riven.”

Atlas’s jaw worked back and forth. “When we explain the situation, he’ll come through.”

My stomach flipped at that. Counting on someone who had done nothing but push me away was a risk I wasn’t sure we could afford. But we had to try.

Phoenix glanced at Kerry. “Could you give us a minute?”

She flushed and I wanted to smack him. “Sure. I need to go back to the dorm and get ready for classes tomorrow.”

“I’ll be back in a couple hours,” I told her.

Kai grumbled something under his breath at that.

I shot him a look. “I will be. If I’m not getting booted out of this place by the bitch squad, then I need to do my homework, so I don’t flunk out.”

“We could help you study,” he pouted.

“Yeah. I’m sure you’d be real focused on the books.”

Atlas tried to hide a laugh with a cough.

Kai straightened. “Hey, I could be a great tutor.”

“Enough,” Phoenix barked.

“I’m gonna go.” Kerry skittered out the front door before her words were entirely out.

I glared at Phoenix. “Stop scaring the only friend I have in this place.”

“Hey, I’m your friend,” Kai quipped.

“You are a lot of things, Kai, but I’m not sure friend has ever been one of them.” I’d been too damn attracted to him from the moment we met.

The corner of his mouth kicked up. “Like ridiculously sexy and impossible to resist, right?”

I patted his chest. “I’m really worried about your ego.”

“Riven!” Phoenix bellowed.

All amusement fled me instantly. I felt the sudden urge to bolt and hide in another room. But I forced myself to stay put, to face whatever was to come.

There was no response at first. Then I heard the faint sound of a door opening and closing. Faint footfalls on the stairs. But I couldn’t make myself look up.

“What?” Riven asked.

The complete absence of emotion in his voice was what had me finally lifting my gaze. Riven was dressed again. Dark wash jeans that hugged his hips and skimmed his muscular thighs. A crisp button-down that looked as if it had been made exactly for his form. As I met glacier blue eyes, I swallowed hard.

“We need you, man,” Kai said.

Wariness instantly filled Riven’s expression.

Atlas wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into his side. With the contact, the worst of my anxiety, that on-edge feeling that always overtook me around Riven, subsided. Atlas inclined his head to me. “Drue and her cronies are trying to get Aura kicked out of school.”

Riven scoffed. “You called me down here for adolescent girl games?”

A muscle in Phoenix’s jaw ticked. “It’s not a game. If Aura gets kicked out, she’ll never learn to master her magic.”

“They’ll strip her before she leaves. She won’t be at risk of harming herself or anyone else.”

Phoenix glared at him. “You know that’s torture to an elemental. She doesn’t understand yet that it would be like killing a part of her soul.”

That blue heat flared in Riven’s eyes. “Better than getting one of you killed.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Kai shot back. “You know we can all take care of ourselves. How many times have we fought off assassins?”

Riven’s jaw hardened to granite. “This is different. She’ll bring death and destruction to all of us. It’s better if she’s cast out. Even if it destroys a piece of her.”

42

I BLINKED a few times as I stared at the coffee maker, waiting for it to deposit sweet, sweet caffeinated goodness. It beeped and I grabbed the pot, pouring two mugs. I poured enough cream and sugar into mine to basically turn it into a milkshake, then put two sugars in Kerry’s. Turning, I handed her the second mug.

She took it, studying me carefully. “You look rough.”

I sent her a wan smile. “Gee, thanks.”

Kerry stifled a laugh. “At least you know I’ll always be honest with you.”

“My eyelids feel like they’re made of sandpaper.”

The humor fled her expression. “Didn’t sleep well last night?”

I shook my head. I’d barely slept at all. After Riven’s refusal to help me, the scene had devolved. For a moment, I’d thought the guys would come to blows. I couldn’t believe that Riven despised me that much. I’d never done a thing to him. And after learning what the guys were up against at all times, I couldn’t imagine that me being in their lives would make that big of a difference.

I’d made the excuse of needing to get back to my dorm for homework, but really, I couldn’t stand hearing them fight. Not when I knew I was the cause.

“Maybe you can take a nap during lunch,” Kerry offered.

That wasn’t a bad idea. The last thing I wanted to do was brave the dining hall. “Do you have any of those granola bar things left?”

She pulled open a drawer in her desk and tossed a bar at me.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Help yourself anytime.”

I bit off a bite and then chugged the rest of my coffee.

Kerry’s eyes widened. “Don’t burn yourself.”

“Worth it,” I mumbled, grabbing my bag. “I’m going to head to the library before class. Want to come?”

“I think I’m going to get some hot breakfast.”

“Okay.”

A knock sounded on the door.

Everything in me stiffened. All yesterday evening, there had been yells of psycho or mutt thrown at our room. I wasn’t sure if I opened the door that I wouldn’t be greeted with a face full of acid.

Kerry hurried to open it. “Dean Sinclair.”

“Hello, Callie.”

“It’s Kerry.”

“Oh, yes, of course, Kerry.” Her gaze traveled to me, lips thinning. “Aura, the headmaster would like a word with you in his office. I’ll escort you there.”

The color drained from my face and the world around me swam. This was it. You didn’t get an escort to the headmaster’s office for good things.

I set my cup down. “Sure.” I shot a quick look at Kerry. “Will you tell the guys I can’t meet them for breakfast?”

I could only hope that she’d catch the true meaning of my words. Go find the royals and scream EMERGENCY.

Kerry bobbed her head in a nod. “Sure. No problem.”

Dean Sinclair nodded as she led me out of the room and down the hall. “And what guys would those be?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does if it’s the princes.”

Girls stared and whispered as we passed. I was sure word would make it to Drue, Xena, and their crew in a matter of minutes.

I opened the front door and stepped outside. “Why do you care if I’m friends with the princes?”

Sinclair spluttered, as if shocked I would ever question her about something like this. “It isn’t appropriate. They come from the four royal lines. They’ll marry nobles. Riven is already practically engaged to Eva—now that is an appropriate match. One that the Kingdom of Zephyr will take pride in.”

“But some half-human elemental wouldn’t be.”

She huffed as we headed towards the main building. “That’s not what I said.”

“But it’s what you meant.” I couldn’t help that her words cut. I didn’t care what Sinclair thought, but an entire kingdom? That would be a difficult force to fight against.

She bristled and picked up her pace. “I don’t make the rules. I simply abide by them.”

“Maybe the rules need to change.”

Her body gave a tiny jerk, her gaze snapping around. “Watch what you say.”

I snapped my mouth closed. I was already in who knew how much trouble. I didn’t need more.

Silence was my friend for the rest of the walk. I didn’t even greet the headmaster’s secretary, I simply stepped inside his office as instructed.

He looked up from a stack of paperwork. “Aura, thank you for coming.”

“I didn’t think I had a choice.”

Acker’s eyes twinkled at that. “Maybe not, but I still appreciate your presence.” He turned to Sinclair. “That’ll be all.”

Shock swept over her features. “You don’t want me to stay?”

“No, I’d like to talk to Aura alone.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or bad thing, but at least I wouldn’t have to deal with Sinclair’s judgment.

“Of course, sir. Just call me if you need anything else.” She shut the door behind her with a little more force than necessary.

Acker sighed. “I’ll pay for that one for weeks. She hates to be out of the loop.”

A laugh bubbled out of me. The last sound I expected to make.

The headmaster’s expression gentled. “How are you holding up?”

More laughter came with that question. So much it made my still-healing ribs ache. And then without warning, the laughter changed to tears.

“Oh dear,” he mumbled, grabbing a box of tissues and taking the seat next to me.

I pulled one free, trying to get control of myself.

“I know this has been a lot for you.”

“Everyone here except four people hates me.”

Acker’s brows rose. “I don’t hate you. Quincy is quite fond of you. You seem to have hit it off with Kerry and quite a few of the royals. That has to be more than four.”

“Fine, six.” I hiccupped.

He chuckled. “Our realm isn’t overly fond of things or people they don’t understand.”

“There are plenty of half-human elementals.”

Acker sobered. “But none as powerful as you.”

I let out a shaky breath. “I didn’t attack Drue.”

“I believe you.”

“Y-you do?”

Acker nodded, leaning back in his chair. He studied me for a moment. “Atlas came to see me last night.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. Of course, he had. My gentle giant would never give up on a problem without trying everything at his disposal.

“I’ve never known him to lie to me. Fib when one of the other princes was in trouble? Sure. But he has never once been dishonest about something that truly mattered.”

“He’s a good man,” I whispered.

“One of the best. But not everyone sees that. They know the stories about his father, they see his size, and they make their judgments.”

I tore at the tissue in my hands. “It hurts him more than he lets on.”

The corners of Acker’s mouth lifted in the hint of a smile. “I’m glad he has you in his corner.”

“I’m lucky to have him too.”

“You are. And because of him, I know that Drue and some helper were the ones to attack you.”

I twisted the tissue around my finger. “What does that mean for me?”

Acker sighed, looking out the window. “Drue is bound and determined to get you out of here. Her father is a close ally of King Zephyr. If she pushes hard enough, it might be out of my hands. But I’ll do everything I can to keep you here.”

My chest burned at the kindness. Something Headmaster Acker didn’t have to risk his own career for. “Thank you for trying to help me.”

“I like you, Aura. I think it’s good to mix things up around here. But for now, keep your head down and try to keep your affinities under control.”

“I’m trying.”

“Good.” He clapped his hands together and stood. “Now hurry along or you’ll be late to class.”

I glanced at my watch and cursed. Grabbing my bag, I ran out of the office and rounded the corner. I collided with a tall form, stumbling to the side. A hand caught my wrist, steadying me.

“Not watching where you’re going, Ms. Coleman?”

The voice had ice sliding through my veins. I instantly tried to tug my arm from King Zephyr’s grasp. “Apologies, Your Highness.”

My heart hammered against my ribs as his grip on my wrist tightened. His eyes zeroed in on my scars. “What happened here?”

My throat tightened as if my body didn’t want to answer him. “I was in a fire when I was little.”

King Zephyr’s eyes went glacial, a cascade of ice sweeping over them. “When?” he demanded.

I struggled to break away from his hold. “I-I was eight.”

“Where?”

“I, uh—”

“Release her.” Atlas’s voice was a menacing growl.

Rage coursed through King Zephyr and his grip tightened. “I don’t answer to you, boy.”

“I told you she’s under my protection. Would you throw such an insult at me? At my father?”

A muscle along King Zephyr’s jaw fluttered, but he released his hold. His gaze narrowed on my face. “We’ll be talking later.”

A shiver ran through me at words that were far more a threat than a promise.

43

ATLAS INSTANTLY PULLED me into his arms. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I rolled my wrist. It ached in a way I knew would leave bruises, but no permanent damage was done. “I’m fine. I just, he freaked me out.”

Atlas pulled back, his hands going to my face. Panic swept over his expression. “You’ve been crying.”

“I’m fine.”

“Not if you’ve been crying. I-I don’t know what to do about tears.”

A laugh bubbled out of me. “They aren’t a bomb in danger of going off.”

Atlas pulled me back into his hold. “I don’t like you crying.”

“Noted,” I said, muffled against his chest. “Atlas?”

“Hmm?”

“If you don’t let me go, I’m going to be late for water class and I really can’t handle detention on top of everything else.” It was a miracle I even remembered what class I had. This alternating schedule was too much for my brain.

Atlas grumbled something unintelligible but released me. “I’ll walk you.”

He peppered me with questions the entire way. I told him all about the meeting with Headmaster Acker and how the man was growing on me. Then the run-in with King Zephyr. “He wanted to know about my burns.”

Atlas’s brow rose as he held the door open to the academic building for me. “Your burns?”

“He saw the scars on my wrist when he grabbed me.”

A rumbling growl emanated from Atlas.

I patted his chest. “I’m fine. You made sure of it.”

He made another unintelligible grumble. “It’s odd that he would be fixated on scars.”

“He probably wonders why someone who’s supposed to be so powerful couldn’t protect herself from fire.”

Atlas came to a stop outside my classroom, his fingers tangling in my hair as he tipped my face up to his. “You were a child. None of us have control early.”

“I bet Phoenix did.”

He leaned forward and brushed his lips across mine. “Cut yourself a little slack.”

I let out a huff of breath but nodded. “See you later.”

“You know it.”

I slid inside the classroom just as students were finding their seats. Whispers intensified as I entered. I kept my gaze on the floor until I found my seat in the back corner. It was the only way I missed him. Glacier eyes met mine. A muscle in his cheek ticked. “I’m Riven. I’ll be filling in for Professor Belthorn today.”

As if this day could get worse.

“Don’t forget about me, Riv,” Kai said as he strode into the room.

Riven sent him an exasperated look. “There’s a reason Belthorn asked me to cover the class. You can’t even be bothered to show up on time.”

“Naw, Thorny’s just worried about me getting naked in front of the underclassmen,” Kai said, sending a wink in my direction.

Laughter erupted around the room, and I bit the inside of my cheek to hold mine in.

Drue sent a glare in my direction. “I can’t believe they haven’t sent you home already.”

Aiden leaned back in his chair, balancing on the back two legs. “It’s because she’s fucking my brother. Pays to spread your legs for a royal.” He sent me a wink. “Maybe you’ll give me a go later—”

Aiden’s chair was slammed back onto the floor, his head snapping forward.

“Were you talking during my class, Mr. Ash?” Riven asked.

“Fuck, Riven. I think you made me crack a tooth.”

“Then maybe you should pay better attention.”

Kai stalked towards Aiden. “Because if you don’t, accidents can happen.”

The girls in the class tittered as if this was the most exciting thing they’d seen in years. Drue sent each and every one of them death stares for laughing at something Riven had done. The girl really had taken a kick to the head. I wouldn’t be surprised if she started taking them out one by one.

Riven let out an ear-splitting whistle. “Focus. Even with your powers bound, those of you with water affinities will be able to do small acts of magic. Try to pull the water from the cup in front of you and move it from hand to hand. If you aren’t sure if you have a water affinity or not, just try. The practice can’t hurt.”

“But if you don’t have a water affinity, you aren’t half as cool as the rest of us,” Kai said with a grin.

Riven rolled his eyes and began walking us through a spiel similar to my other classes. Talk of feeling that water within us and around us, using that force to do what we wanted.

Kai moved towards me. “Want some help?”

I shook my head. I hadn’t had much luck in this class without Kai helping me, but I had to figure out how to access my power without one of the guys touching me. “Let me try it on my own.”

He nodded and moved on to another student who was already raising a ball of water out of his glass.

I stood beside my desk, trying to picture the water flowing through me. I didn’t picture a river this time but a small stream, one that was slow-moving, bubbling over rocks and fallen trees. Nothing happened.

A snicker sounded in front of me. “I guess you’re only powerful when you’re trying to murder innocent students.”

My eyes flew open at Drue’s words. “I doubt innocent is a word that could ever be used to describe one of your bitch squad. I’d say that’s justifiable homicide.”

Drue’s jaw went slack. “You did not just say that.”

Aiden chuckled. “Mutt girl has some spine after all. I like it.”

I glared at him and then turned back to my desk.

“Riven,” Drue singsonged.

He crossed to her desk. “What do you need, Drue?”

She batted her eyelashes at him. “I really want to stretch myself with this exercise. I want to be prepared when my powers are unbound.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Maybe you could help me? I was thinking of trying to combine water and air. Maybe creating a sort of funnel?” Drue laid a hand on his chest.

I couldn’t explain the reaction, but rage pulsed through me in hot waves, mixing with the image I’d been focusing on of the water flowing through me. One moment I was staring at Drue, tempted to rip her arm from her body, and the next I was flying over my desk, water spurting from my feet.

“Crap!” I yelped as panic coursed through me.

The entire class whirled in my direction. There were plenty of choice words. Freak. Psycho. Witch. Were there witches in this world? That would explain a lot.

“Shit,” Kai barked. Kai lifted his hands, using his own water to encircle my own. “I’ve got it contained, but I can’t pull her down.”

Riven strode in my direction. “Deep breaths, Aura. You have to relax.”

“I-I can’t.” My breaths only came faster as I floated towards the ceiling. Shit. Shit. Shit.

A moment later Riven was hovering next to me in the air. “Look at me.”

“I don’t think looking at you is going to help.”

“Why not?”

“Because I know you hate me and that’s just going to make me panic more.”

Riven took my hands in his. “I don’t hate you, Aura.”

Was that the first time he’d said my name? I thought so. The way it slipped from his lips, it was as if it had been spoken in a foreign language. And I had no choice to obey.

I met his gaze. It held me captive. As if it alone could’ve held me air-bound. “What if I fall?”

“You won’t fall.”

“Maybe you’ll get lucky, and I’ll break my neck.”

He squeezed my hands. “Focus, Aura.”

There was my name from his lips again. That alone had my heart doing an erratic dance.

“Picture the water slowly draining out of you, as if you were a balloon.”

I gave a jerky nod and closed my eyes. I imagined that life force flowing through me slowly dissipating.

“That’s it. Nice and easy.”

I let out a little more with each breath until I felt solid ground beneath my feet and my eyes flew open.

Riven dropped my hands in an instant. “You have to learn to control the bit of the affinity you have access to.”

“I’m trying.”

“She’s out of control,” Drue hissed. “I can’t believe you’d even let her in class.”

Riven sent Drue a withering stare. “That’s not your choice to make. And it’s best you remember that.”

Her head instantly bowed as he stalked towards the front of the classroom.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Riven’s back. What had just happened? For the first time I’d seen some empathy in his glacier eyes. And more than that. My hands still buzzed from his touch.

44

WINDING THROUGH THE HALLWAYS, I listened to the dwindling sounds of students. Even though this was the elemental version of college, there was that same instinct to bolt after the last bell rung. I felt the pull too. I would’ve given anything for my bed and a long nap. Instead, I trudged towards the library.

Stepping inside the cocoon of quiet, I breathed a little deeper and inhaled the familiar scent of books. Instantly, a little more calm found me. I released on this roller coaster of a day. The meeting with Headmaster Acker. The run-in with King Zephyr. Losing control in water class. Riven being…nice.

I could still see Kai’s smirk in my mind as I’d left class. “Told you he didn’t hate you, Pip.”

I wished I could believe that. I shook off the echo in my mind and walked farther into the space.

Quincy exited his office, sending me a warm smile. “You here to see me or work on a project?”

“It’s always nice to see you.” He was one of the few warm faces in my orbit.

“But…” he prodded.

“I wanted to do a little reading on elemental history.”

Quincy arched a brow in question.

“Everyone here has grown up with this stuff, but I haven’t. Even my history class glosses over things more than taking a deep dive.”

He nodded. “I understand. There are centuries to cover and you’re feeling out of your depth.”

That, and I wanted to know what the hell was going on with me. The memory of that surge of power this morning flooded me. It was terrifying and exhilarating. And something told me it was just the tip of the iceberg.

Quincy led me through the maze of bookshelves. “We keep the good stuff in the back. Most students never make it past the first few rows of shelves.”

“Once a nerd, always a nerd.”

He chuckled. “I have always been partial to the nerds.”

“Me too,” I agreed.

Quincy slowed as we entered a section with endless rows of leatherbound tomes. I looked up, studying them carefully. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to touch these?” They looked as if they would be easily damaged or destroyed.

“What are books if not for reading?”

I scanned the titles on the intricate spines. “I really don’t want to get beheaded for accidentally tearing a page out of a precious artifact.”

Quincy grinned and patted me on the shoulder. “If any accidents occur, I’ll cover for you.”

“Thanks, Quincy.”

“Anytime. Books are arranged by subject here and by year there. If you have any questions, I’ll be in my office.”

I nodded, but I was already being pulled towards the books in front of me. Without taking my eyes off their spines, I set my bag down on the table behind me. Moving to the shelf, I studied my options. Affinities and Warfare: A History of Battles in Ancient Times. Aethers and the Elements. Royal Lines Throughout History. Untamed Magic: Unique Powers and Abilities.

Bingo. As gently as possible, I pulled the last title from the shelf. It was bound in maroon leather with pressed gold lettering.

I carried it to the table and set it carefully down. Parts of it were dusty, but others weren’t. As if someone had pulled it from its spot recently. With the sleeve of my sweater, I cleared away the rest of the dust. Then I opened the front cover.

The pages inside had intricate and ornate lettering. It was so beautiful I almost couldn’t bear to turn each one. But I pulled out my notebook and got to work. Every chapter was fascinating. From unique ways the affinities could manifest to other powers.

There was one on the sort of lie detector ability that Atlas had. It wasn’t a reliable gift in terms of turning it off and on. But if emotions were heightened, these truth-tellers could read the authenticity of another person’s words.

As I turned the page to a section on the aethers, my chest constricted. How much better were the elementals when the aethers were among them? More unified and at peace. Now there was so much more greed and game playing.

I read about the first discovery of an aether, how once her powers were unbound, the four princes fell irrevocably in love with her. How she united the kingdoms and used her dominance of the four affinities to defend their throne.

My gaze caught on a handful of sentences. It was a throwaway paragraph. But it made my heart stop.

Leading up to The Unveiling, Sercia had intermittent bursts of power, especially when her emotions were heightened. The professors at Kingwood worried she might be one of the Novas.

Novas. I hadn’t heard that term before. Quickly, I flipped to the back of the book and the index. I traced my finger down the pages until I found Nova listed. There were three pages on which they were referenced. I’d already seen the first, so I flipped to the second. It was an entire chapter.

With each word, dread filled my stomach. Novas are extremely rare, but when unbound, can cause extreme destruction. While extremely powerful, they are equally unstable. In the past, they have been used by kings as weapons of mass destruction, sent out to obliterate opposing troops until they incinerate altogether.

Nausea swept through me. Incinerate altogether. The memory of flames bursting through the door flared in my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut and forced it away.

Breathe, Aura. Just breathe. So I had some similar traits to one of these so-called Novas. That didn’t mean anything. I just had to keep reading. There had to be another explanation.

“Drue’s father is extremely upset,” a low voice cut into my spiraling thoughts. It was familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“So? He always has his panties in a twist about something.”

That voice I knew in an instant. The cool croon of Riven.

“Show a little respect, he’s been a loyal ally of mine,” King Zephyr snapped.

It was hearing his angry tone near Riven’s that allowed me to place it.

“He presses beyond his station,” Riven said.

The king was quiet for a moment. “Why do you say that?”

“He’s testing you. Seeing if you’ll do his bidding. All because his daughter is being trounced in her classes by a half-human.”

“That girl has been nothing but trouble from the moment she arrived. Trust me when I say it would be better for us all if she was removed from the school.”

Riven didn’t respond and his silence surprised me. I would’ve thought he would readily agree with his father. I scooted into the chair next to mine, trying to get a visual of the two men. If I leaned to the side, I could just make them out.

King Zephyr’s eyes narrowed on his son. “What do you know of her?”

Riven gave a casual shrug. “Nothing other than her power may be unstable.”

In a flash, King Zephyr shoved Riven up against the shelves, his head hitting one of them with a crack. “Don’t lie to me, you worthless piece of trash. I know you’ve been around her. Don’t forget I have eyes everywhere.”

Riven didn’t say a word and it only seemed to enrage King Zephyr more. He grabbed Riven by the throat and squeezed. “Answer me, boy!”

I was on my feet before I could consider the wisdom in it, running towards the pair. “Let him go!”

King Zephyr stumbled backward, releasing Riven. It wasn’t because I was intimidating, more so that I’d startled him. He quickly straightened. “You dare give me an order? Riven is my property. I could shred him to pieces right here and no one could say a thing.”

“Father,” Riven interrupted.

“Shut your worthless mouth.”

The sound of a cart and humming reached us. Quincy appeared with a look of surprise on his face. “Your Highnesses. Aura. So lovely to see you in the library. I was just restocking. Oh, that reminds me, King Zephyr, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Quincy kept right on going, taking King Zephyr’s arm and leading him away, all while asking him inane questions about an upcoming realm holiday. He was a master.

Riven stared at his father’s retreating form, not saying a word. It was only once King Zephyr disappeared did he turn in my direction. His eyes blazed with that blue heat. “What have you done?”

45

“HE WAS STRANGLING YOU. I had to do something.” I might’ve wanted to punch Riven at times, but did he really expect me to stand around while he was about to be killed?

“I had it under control,” he gritted out.

I couldn’t help but scoff. “Yeah, it really looked like you had things well in hand.”

“You don’t know him. You don’t know the kind of target you’ve just placed on your back. He’s already wary of you. This will make it so much worse.”

There was a hint of panic in Riven’s voice that had empathy washing through me. “He already has a target on my back.”

He whirled in my direction. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing. I just don’t think he likes me very much. Like father, like son,” I muttered.

Riven’s eyes narrowed on me. “It’s more than that. Tell me.”

“Why?” I pushed.

He let out a growl of frustration. “So I know how big of a mess we’re in.”

Something about the use of the word we had me softening. I glanced around and kept my voice low. “He cornered me outside the headmaster’s office. He’s never been kind to me, but this time he was so angry.”

“What about?”

“He saw the scars on my arm. He wanted to know how I got them. Where. How old I was.”

Panic filled Riven’s expression. He grabbed my hand and tugged me deeper into the stacks. “You didn’t tell him anything, did you?”

“Just that I got them in a fire when I was young. Why does it matter?”

A muscle along his jaw ticked wildly. “You don’t know my father. He uses any information to his advantage.”

I was quiet for a moment. “I can’t imagine growing up with him as a parent.”

Riven let out a long breath, sagging against a bookshelf. “It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.”

“I’m sorry you went through that. I’m sorry he hurt you.”

“I don’t need your pity,” he snapped.

I didn’t let his words hurt me, because I knew now that Riven attacked to keep people at arm’s length. To keep them from seeing all the things he hid from the world. But it wasn’t going to work with me anymore. I saw Riven. He wasn’t dark or light, he was an endless array of gray. In every tone and shade.

“What?” he barked.

“It’s not going to work.”

“What isn’t?”

“This prickly cactus thing you’ve got going on.” I gestured to him as I spoke. “I know that for Kai, Phoenix, and Atlas to love you, there has to be good in there. And they do love you.”

He scowled at me. “I’m not good. I’m the most selfish person on the planet.”

My eyes flared at that. Riven was used to getting his way. Spoiled in so many ways. Pompous for sure. But there was goodness in him. I saw it in the comfort he’d given Phoenix after his meltdown with his brother in fire class. I saw it in how he worried for his friends. That wasn’t the actions of someone who was selfish above all else.

“I’m not so sure that’s true.”

Riven sent a withering look my way. “You don’t know me.”

“Okay, then tell me something about you. One thing that you don’t usually tell the rest of the world.”

He stared at me, not blinking. It felt as if he were unraveling all the layers of my soul with that one look. And then he spoke. “I don’t think I’ve ever taken a full breath.”

My brow furrowed but I remained silent, hoping he would keep talking.

“Do you know what that’s like for someone with the gift of air? It’s a special kind of torture. But I don’t have the luxury of a full breath. I have to keep moving, always looking over my shoulder, never letting my guard down, forever thinking ten steps ahead.”

“That has to be exhausting,” I said softly.

“You have no idea.”

I wanted Riven to take that full breath now. In this little respite we’d created from the world. But I knew he’d trained himself not to. “I never stopped running either.”

His gaze lifted to my face, holding me captive. “What were you running from?”

“Memories. Nightmares. To just try and keep my head above water.”

“Your life in the human realm, was it that bad?”

There was a gentle curiosity in Riven’s words. The first question that he’d really ever asked me other than something along the lines of what were you thinking? For the first time with him, I lowered my guard. I let him see all the emotions as they bubbled to the surface.

“My life was wonderful in so many ways. I have the best little brother you could ever imagine. My mom is hilarious and kind and caring. My best friend is a nut but always has my back. We struggled to get the things we needed, but we never ever lacked love. And those struggles just make you appreciate what’s important that much more.”

Riven moved in closer, staring into my eyes. “What’s the most important?”

“Each other. Nothing else matters if you have the people you love.”

Pain ripped across his face. An agony so intense I could feel it with every piece of my soul. “Aura…” His hand cupped my cheek, fingers trailing to my neck.

A hum lit deep in my muscles and my heart hammered against my ribs.

Riven leaned his forehead against mine, inhaling deeply. “You smell like mountain air and cinnamon. The best damn thing I’ve ever scented.”

My breath caught in my throat, unable to move.

Riven closed the distance between us, his lips meeting mine in a kiss. Gentle at first but then catching flame. His fingers tangled in my hair, tilting my head back and simply taking. There was no smooth artistry, only desperate need.

A door at the front of the library slammed, and Riven jerked away from me.

I couldn’t move at all. Everything within me vibrated. As if my whole body were on pins and needles. “Riv—”

“This isn’t happening.”

His words cracked like a whip, slicing into my skin.

I bit the inside of my cheek. “I’m not the one that kissed you.”

Riven’s eyes flashed with that now familiar blue heat. “You were looking up at me with that damn, life is beautiful sob story bullshit, practically begging me to kiss you.”

I reeled back. It hurt worse than anything else he’d ever said. Because I’d let him see into those places I didn’t share with others. “I don’t beg.”

Riven scoffed, that mask slipping back into place so easily. “That’s good, because hell will freeze over before something ever happens between us.”

He turned and stalked away without a backwards glance.

And I just let him go, cursing myself for giving him the power to wreck me.

46

I SAT cross-legged on the grass, the cool night air swirling around me. It smelled of the pine trees surrounding me and a hint of something that was only of the elemental realm. Everything was quiet. The only sounds were the forest animals and the breeze rustling the branches.

It should’ve been relaxing. Peaceful. Instead, all I could hear were Riven’s words in my head. How little he thought of me. How I’d given him a piece of me, my history, and he’d spat on it and thrown it back.

A hand squeezed my knee. I looked up into inky-black eyes.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of centering yourself going on,” Phoenix said, the corner of his mouth kicking up. But underneath that lay worry.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “I’m not sure my head is in the Zen-centering stuff.”

Phoenix’s thumb swept back and forth across my thigh. “We can leave this for another night.”

I shook my head. “The Unveiling is tomorrow. If it turns out I do have a fire affinity, I need to be able to control it.”

Phoenix laced his fingers through mine. “I’ll be there. I’ll be able to help you if things get out of control.”

“Unless I’m a Nova.”

His spine snapped straight at that word.

Hurt flared in me at his movement. “You know about them.”

Sparks danced around Phoenix, but he didn’t speak right away. “Most people don’t know about them because they’re so rare. Usually, the kind of power surges we see are just from strongly gifted elementals.”

“But you knew about them.”

He nodded. “You’re not a Nova, Aura.”

“You don’t know that.”

Phoenix’s hands framed my face. “You’ve had outbursts of power, but you’re not unstable. I would’ve felt it.”

I shook my head. “I have that weird double binding in place. That could be disguising it.”

“I think I would still feel the instability through that.”

“You should’ve told me it was a possibility.”

His thumbs swept back and forth across my cheeks. “Why should I worry about something that I know isn’t true?”

I looked up into those fathomless eyes. “Because I deserve to know the truth. Even if it’s ugly.”

Phoenix let out a huff of air. “Fine. I promise to share every morbid possibility with you no matter how impossible.”

“Good. Thank you.”

He chuckled and climbed to his feet, extending a hand to me. “Now, let’s prove that you can control your magic.”

I let Phoenix pull me up. “Please don’t make out with me and make one of us go boom.”

He sent me a wink. “That’s for later.”

A laugh escaped me even though it was the last sound I expected.

“But you have to work for your reward.”

I groaned. “Fine. What’s the grand plan?”

Phoenix leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. There was a flare of that buzzing through me, but it subsided the moment he pulled away. “Just a little to power you up.”

My hands trembled, but I nodded. “Walk me through it again.”

“Fire is life. It’s the burn that spurs us to chase our dreams, that enflames our passions, that feeds our fight. You have all of that. I’ve seen it. So I know there’s fire in you. But I also think you’ve done your best to shove it down because of what happened to you as a child.”

I let out a shaky breath. “You’re probably right.”

Phoenix held tight to my hand with one of his, then he lifted the other. “I’ll never hurt you.”

“Okay,” I breathed.

A small flame erupted in Phoenix’s palm. My breathing picked up its pace, but I didn’t pull away.

“My flame won’t harm you. It’s a piece of me. Because I care for you, so does it.”

Suddenly I saw the fire in a new light. It was so much like Phoenix. Bright light on the inside, smoky ash swirling around the outside. It looked menacing, but the truth was it was simply trying to protect itself.

“Run your hand over the flame.”

I held onto Phoenix tighter as my heart gave a jerk. But I wouldn’t run away. Not from Phoenix.

I hovered my hand to the side of the flame. I could feel the heat of it as real as any other fire. Memories slammed against the walls of my mind, trying to break them down. I squeezed my eyes closed and pushed back. This was me and Phoenix. Nothing else.

Opening my eyes, I met Phoenix’s gaze. “I trust you.”

I lowered my hand so that it passed through the flame. I didn’t linger in the heat, but I didn’t flee either.

Sparks danced in Phoenix’s eyes as he leaned in to take my mouth in a kiss. “You giving me that? There’s little better.”

I fought the urge to throw myself at him and instead, took a step back. I thought of my own internal flame, like Phoenix’s, something that would never hurt me. Heat flared somewhere inside me. I inhaled and searched deeper. I could feel it there. But there was something blocking me. A wall of sorts.

I probed it with my mind and realized it wasn’t a wall exactly. It was blocking me from the fire, but it was more like a thick viscous substance. I could move through it, only it was like walking through tall snowdrifts.

Pushing through the odd substance was like parting an especially thick curtain. But I kept moving anyway. I peeled back the shield and fire burst from me. Not from my hands like I’d seen from Phoenix and my classmates, but straight from my chest. It snapped my spine backwards, sending the flames into the sky.

Phoenix cursed and ran towards me. “You’re okay. Just breathe and pull it back.”

“I-I can’t.” It was like the fire had been locked away for so long, there had been an overflow. The flames inside me showed no signs of stopping, only growing stronger. “I’m going to burn down the forest.”

“You won’t. The trees are imbued with magic. Protected from the elements. Just breathe.”

But I couldn’t. It was all too much. My ribs tightened around my lungs, making it impossible to get air. Flashes of memory, of voices, swirled in my mind. The past mixed with the present. I heard Riven’s cruel tone and then someone shouting my name. I saw faces I recognized and ones I didn’t. I was running from the smoke monster, diving into the closet in my bedroom. Slamming the door closed and crying for help. But I knew the monster was chasing me.

In a flash, Phoenix hauled me into his arms, cocooning the flames and me. I screamed for him to stop, but he took it all. He held me as the fire raged around us, whispering calming words into my ear.

I didn’t know how long it lasted, but eventually the inferno burned out. My lungs heaved as ash rained around us. But I could only think of one thing.

“What if I was the one who started that fire?”

47

THE LOOK of pity that swept over Phoenix’s face told me he thought it was possible. I wriggled in his arms, trying to break free. “Let me go.”

He only gripped me tighter. “Just hold on. I don’t know what happened in that fire. But if you did start it, that was an accident. You were only eight years old, with no idea you were an elemental.”

“My family almost died in that fire, Phoenix. Charlie was just a baby.”

His lips skimmed my temple. “I know. And no matter what the cause is, that’s terrifying. But it wasn’t your fault.”

Tears burned the backs of my eyes and my throat constricted, trying to keep a sob from tearing free. “I don’t want to hurt people.”

“I know, Pip,” he whispered against my hair. “You’re not going to hurt anyone. I won’t let you.”

I tried to pull back. “You can’t promise that. You shouldn’t have pulled that move just now. I could’ve killed you.”

Phoenix’s hands slid to my waist, gripping me tightly. “I know you won’t hurt me. And the fire is a part of you. It had just been trapped away for too long. But you burned through all the excess. You’ll be stabler now.”

I shook my head. “You don’t know that. One little kiss and I nearly went thermonuclear—”

Phoenix cut my words off with his mouth. There was nothing gentle or restrained about this kiss. He was proving a point. That we could be as reckless as we wanted to without being at risk.

I wanted to pull away. To tell him to stop. But the second his lips met mine, I was lost to all reason.

Phoenix nipped my bottom lip and then his tongue drove into my mouth. The flash of pain flipped a switch. All the anger and frustration I’d felt at everything I’d experienced these past couple weeks poured out of me. I met Phoenix stroke for stroke in a battle for dominance.

My legs hooked around his waist, some deep need to get closer. Phoenix gripped my ass with one hand, holding me in place with the other.

My skirt rode up, and I couldn’t help the moan that slid from my mouth as I rocked against the hardening ridge in Phoenix’s jeans. Sparks danced in front of my eyes, and I realized they were coming from me. No, from both of us.

I should’ve been terrified, but I couldn’t find it within myself to care. I only wanted to lose myself in Phoenix. In whatever this magical force was between us.

Heat pooled low in my belly as I rocked against Phoenix again. “Please.”

Phoenix balanced me against the trunk of a tall pine. “What do you need, Aura?”

Fire blazed in those dark eyes, but I could only say one thing: “You.”

He let out a low growl as one of his hands ducked beneath my skirt. Heat flared against my skin and then fabric was fluttering to the ground.

I gaped at Phoenix. “Did you just incinerate my panties?”

He let out a low chuckle that skated across my skin. “Saves time.”

“Those were one of my favorite pairs.”

“I’ll buy you another set. A dozen sets.” Phoenix’s mouth trailed down my neck.

Air swirled around us. I heard the zipper of his jeans and then they were falling to the ground. Damn elemental tricks came in handy.

He pulled back, flames in his eyes burning hotter. “Tell me I can have you.”

“You already do.”

Phoenix’s tip bumped my entrance, but he halted. “Condom.”

I swallowed, my eyes meeting his. “I’m on the pill. Have you been checked?”

His face softened. “We don’t get diseases that way.”

Handy.

“We can wait.”

“No.” I gripped him tighter. “I need you. This.”

It was all Phoenix needed. He slid inside me on a slow glide. I couldn’t hold in my groan at the stretch. Everything about it just felt right.

Phoenix’s hips began to move. How he was holding me against the tree with one arm, I didn’t know and didn’t care. All I wanted was more. Of him. Of this thing between us. Of everything.

He picked up his pace, thrusting impossibly deeper. My fingers dug into his shoulders, and I knew it would leave marks. Maybe there was a darkness in me because I found myself wanting to leave that mark on Phoenix. For him to leave his mark on me.

Phoenix thrust harder and sparks danced around us. Some part of me knew that if we hadn’t just expended all that energy, there would’ve been a sea of fire around us.

“Aura,” he growled.

It was my name in that smoky tone that sent me over the edge. This was no easy spiral down. Everything in me shuddered and then burst apart. A million different pieces exploding and then reassembling into something altogether different.

My chest heaved as I came back to myself. This new me. One that had lost herself to a man who would do anything to protect me.

I winced as Phoenix slid out of me and he froze. “Too much?”

Leaning forward, I took his mouth in a slow kiss. “Perfect. I like knowing I’ll feel you tomorrow.”

He grinned against my lips. “I don’t hate that.”

I unwrapped my legs from around Phoenix’s waist and lowered them to the ground. They trembled, but I held steady. Phoenix bent to pull up his jeans, and a laugh bubbled out of me.

“Not really a sound I want to be hearing after I just fucked you senseless, Pip.”

That only made me laugh harder. “We somehow managed to have the hottest sex of my life while staying almost fully clothed.”

Phoenix’s eyes danced. “I always was an overachiever.”

I bent over and snatched up the little piece of lace from my underwear. “This was uncalled for. How the hell am I supposed to walk home?” The school kilts weren’t overly short, but they weren’t long either. One gust of wind and I could give everyone quite the show.

“Do you really think I would let anyone get a look at that perfect ass?”

I arched a brow.

“Other than Atlas, Kai, and Riven, I mean.”

I stiffened at the sound of Riven’s name.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just getting a little cold. I should get back to my dorm.” Even though I was covered in soot and ash and would be walking there panty-less.

“Nope.” Phoenix guided me in the direction of the royal dorm. “You’re having dinner at the house with me, Kai, and Atlas.”

I breathed a sigh of relief that Riven wasn’t in that group, but I still didn’t want to chance running into him. “I don’t know—”

“It’s already decided, Pip. You can shower in my room, and I’ll get you some fresh clothes. It’s important that we spend time together.”

He had a point there. And more importantly, I wanted to see Atlas and Kai. It had only been a matter of hours, but I missed them.

“All right.”

Phoenix tugged me up the walkway and towards the door. Thankfully, no one had seen us in our state. We looked like characters out of some post-apocalyptic thriller.

He opened the door to loud, boisterous voices from the living room. The guys were obviously watching some sort of sports match, but the second we stepped into the living area, three sets of eyes snapped to us. Great, Riven was here.

Kai’s eyes widened. “I thought I felt the ground shake. Please tell me you two didn’t blow something up.”

Phoenix chuckled. “Nothing destroyed, but it’s safe to say Aura is a three-affinity elemental. Her fire magic was just locked.”

Riven glared at us both. “And you thought it was a good idea to set it free?”

“The unbinding is tomorrow. This is her best shot at remaining stable through that,” Phoenix said calmly.

“It’s foolish,” Riven gritted out as he stalked towards the exit. Just as he was about to pass us, his nostrils flared, and his head jerked in Phoenix’s direction. “Did you fuck her?”

He could smell that? That was a hell of an air gift. My face went crimson.

Smoky darkness gathered around Phoenix, and he gave Riven a hard shove. “Watch your mouth! I don’t know what’s crawled up your ass lately, but it’s time to remove it. You can be an asshole to me, but I won’t let you talk that way about Aura.”

Riven’s breathing became ragged. “You’re all playing with fire. I tried to tell you to stay away from her. You just wouldn’t listen. What? Does she have a cotton candy-flavored puss—?"

He hadn’t even finished the word before Phoenix hauled off and decked him. Riven stumbled back, holding his jaw. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Get out of my sight before I do something far more permanent,” Phoenix growled.

Riven shook his head and spat blood onto the floor. “You’ll regret this.”

We were all silent as Riven stormed up the stairs and then a door slammed.

“Well, that was fun,” Kai said.

Atlas moved into my space, one hand lifting to cup my cheek. “I’m sorry. Don’t listen to him. I don’t know what’s going on in his head, but we’ll talk to him.”

I shook my head. “Don’t. It’ll only make things worse.” Just like that kiss in the library had. “I’m gonna go back to my dorm. Riven doesn’t want me here and it’s not fair for me to invade his home.”

“We’ll come with you,” Atlas offered.

“I think I need a little alone time.”

“Let us walk you at least,” Kai pushed.

“Sure.” I’d let them walk me to my dorm, but I wasn’t sure how things could work past that. Not when one of their brotherhood was so determined to tear us all apart.

48

MY STOMACH CRAMPED as I brushed invisible wrinkles out of my robe. We all looked as if we were about to join some crazy cult. And maybe we were.

A hand reached out and gripped mine. “It’s all going to be okay.”

I looked over at Kerry and nodded, but I knew my expression was anything but convincing. And it wasn’t just The Unveiling we were walking into. It was how unsettled things were with Phoenix, Kai, and Atlas. How I couldn’t see a path through, yet I wanted them more than my next breath.

I found myself wishing that I could take back my decision to sleep in my dorm last night. I wanted at least one more night with the guys. To feel them wrapped around me. To feel safe and cherished. Instead, I’d lain awake last night staring at the ceiling.

Shivering, I hopped up and down. “Did they have to do this before dawn?”

It wasn’t like I’d been asleep when my alarm went off, but it was freaking freezing out here even though it was spring.

Drue sent me a glare. “Show a little respect for our traditions, mutt.”

I didn’t even have it in me to snap back at her, I was too damn tired.

Kerry smiled at me. “Sunrise and sunset are when our magic is strongest. It’s when it’s best to break the bindings.”

My magic didn’t need any help in the strength department. I could only hope that pouring out all that fire yesterday would keep things under control.

The doors to a chapel-like building swung open and Professor Caelyx and Professor Cinders held them in place.

“Showtime,” Kerry whispered.

Xena squeezed Drue’s hand ahead of us. “I can’t wait for your aether status to be revealed.”

Drue beamed down at her as if she’d already been crowned queen. “You know I’ll find a role for you in my cabinet.”

A snort sounded from behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Aiden walking next to a kid I only faintly recognized. “I thought you were besties with those two.”

He rolled his eyes. “They’re morons if they think Drue is an aether.”

“I hate to break it to you, but they’ve fully drunk the Kool-Aid.”

Someone hissed at the students to be quiet, and I turned around. As we approached the stone chapel, I could see that the only light came from sconces on the wall and ornate stained-glass windows. But it wasn’t much. It gave the space an eerie glow that had me fighting a shiver.

As I stepped inside, I saw the teachers and staff lining the walls. At the front of the space was an altar. Headmaster Acker and Quincy stood front and center. Behind them were the royals. Kai sent me a cheeky wink. Atlas, a kind smile. Smoke curled around Phoenix who was glaring at Riven. And Riven himself had his death stare pointed firmly on me.

“What did you do to him?” Kerry whisper-hissed.

“Pissed in his Cheerios apparently.”

I forced my gaze to the steps that took me deeper into the chapel. Everyone filed in and took a seat in antique wooden pews.

Headmaster Acker lifted his hands. “Welcome, students. This is one of my favorite traditions here at Kingwood. Today you will find out who you were always meant to be. For some of you, it will be who you’ve always suspected.”

Drue sent a smug smile to Xena at that.

“For others of you, it will be a complete surprise. Just remember, there are no mistakes, only unfulfilled destinies.” He looked to a guy in the front row. “Corpus Andrews, come forward.”

Corpus rose, his expression serious as he walked towards the altar.

Acker nodded at him. “Do you swear to use your affinities for the good of elementals everywhere?”

“I do.”

Acker gestured to Quincy who stepped forward and raised his hands. Sparks of color swirled around Corpus. They all landed on him and then disappeared into his skin. He grunted but stayed still.

Quincy smiled at him. “You are unbound to encounter the affinities.”

Corpus bowed his head. “Thank you.”

He moved to Kai first. Kai held out his hand and a small stream of water lifted from his palm. Corpus held out his hand flat and cut it through the stream.

I held my breath, but nothing happened.

“No tie to the Kingdom of Torrent,” Acker called.

Corpus moved on to Atlas. This time he held out his hand, palm up. Atlas moved a bowl of dirt and lifted sprinkles in the air with his gift. Specks of earth landed on Corpus’s palm and the ground beneath us trembled.

“Tie to the Kingdom of Terra,” Acker boomed, and Corpus grinned.

He stepped in front of Phoenix, running his hand over Phoenix’s flame, and then Riven, letting air swirl around his hand. But nothing happened at either station.

The Unveiling continued, student by student. Most only had one gift. Some had two. And one student discovered he had three, much to his shock, but his water affinity was weak. Given each reaction of the element, we could all tell roughly how powerful each affinity was.

“Drue Hitchens.”

Drue stood, a smirk on her face, and walked towards Headmaster Acker.

Acker looked down at Drue and something about his expression told me he wasn’t her biggest fan. “Do you swear to use your affinities for the good of elementals everywhere?”

“I do,” she simpered.

Acker nodded to Quincy who stepped forward and raised his hands. Those same sparks of color swirled around Drue. She let out a hiss of pain when they disappeared into her skin.

Quincy gestured at her to proceed. “You are unbound to encounter the affinities.”

She gave a small curtsy. “Thank you.”

I bit the inside of my cheek as she approached Kai, a smile playing on her lips. My hands curled into fists, fingernails biting into my palms. I wanted to run up there and drop-kick her into next week.

Kai held out his palm and the stream of water erupted. Drue slid her hand through it in a slow glide. Droplets of water rained around them in a downpour, a clear show of strength. She beamed.

I wanted to punch her.

“Tie to the Kingdom of Torrent.”

Atlas glared at Drue as she approached, and I didn’t miss the wariness in her expression. But she held out her palm. Atlas floated dirt into it and nothing happened. No flickering rumble, not even the dirt on her palm responded.

Drue’s jaw dropped.

“No tie to the Kingdom of Terra.”

She whirled on the headmaster. “There was a mistake. He needs to do it again.”

“I don’t make mistakes when it comes to affinities,” Atlas growled.

“He is correct, Ms. Hitchens. Please move on to fire.”

“I told you it was a mistake!” Drue yelled, stomping her foot.

Atlas took a handful of dirt and deposited it on her head with his magic. “See? No reaction.”

Laughter rippled through the audience.

“You’ll pay for that,” Drue hissed as she moved along. She reacted to fire and air, but none of that mattered to her because her dream of making us all wait on her hand and foot had just gone up in smoke.

“Aura Coleman.”

I jerked at the sound of my name even though I’d known I was next. I hurried down the steps and onto the altar.

Acker gave me a gentle smile. “Aura, do you swear to use your affinities for the good of elementals everywhere?”

“I do.”

Quincy stepped forward, hands raised. “Stick with me.”

I nodded. The beautiful rainbow light swirled around me. The sparks danced and then landed on my skin. The pain stole my breath. As if each one was burning away my insides.

Quincy held out a hand to steady me, but I breathed through it. Worry lined his features as he nodded. “You are unbound to encounter the affinities.”

“Thank you,” I croaked.

I moved towards Kai. He was smiling at me, but I saw the concern beneath it.

I’m okay, I mouthed.

He nodded and held out his stream of water. The moment my hand connected with it, a funnel of water swirled around us. It was unlike anything that I’d seen with the previous students, even those with the strongest water affinities.

Kai laughed as he called the water back to him. “Safe to say that’s a tie.”

Acker sent him a quelling look. “I prefer to make those calls, Mr. Torrent.”

“You got it, boss man.”

Acker shook his head. “Tie to the Kingdom of Torrent.”

I stepped in front of Atlas who gave me a smile that was all my gentle giant. “You’ve got this.”

He sprinkled dirt into my palm, and the ground shook as though we were having an earthquake that could take down the entire school.

“Pull back, Mr. Terra.”

Atlas did and the tremors instantly subsided.

“Tie to the Kingdom of Terra.”

Atlas grinned. “Told ya.”

I shook my head and moved to Phoenix. My breath was shaky as I released it.

Phoenix leaned forward. “We’ve done this before and you let out all your power. It’s perfectly safe.”

I nodded but still jolted as the flame erupted from Phoenix’s palm. I stared at it, reminding myself it was a part of Phoenix and then lowered my hand to cut through it.

A circle of flames erupted around us, and my breath caught in my throat. It’s just Phoenix. What me and Phoenix make together. It can’t hurt me. A second later the fire was gone.

“Tie to the Kingdom of Ash.”

I almost started crying right there. I’d made it through my affinities. I hadn’t combusted. Maybe there was hope I wasn’t a Nova after all.

“I told you that you could trust me,” Phoenix said softly.

“Which is why I put my life in your hands.”

He didn’t touch me, but the look Phoenix gave promised lots of that to come.

I grinned down at the floor as I walked to stand in front of Riven. I lifted my hand and with it my eyes. They locked with the glacier ones opposite mine.

There was so much I couldn’t read in those eyes. But the one thing I could see as clear as day was rage. I swallowed back my hurt and waited for Riven to move. He didn’t.

“Mr. Zephyr,” Acker prodded.

Riven gave his head a small shake and then lifted his hands. The moment his air touched my skin, everything within me exploded. Those sparks that had disappeared within me flared to life in an inferno that I knew would swallow me whole.

Panic gripped me and I could only say one thing: “Run.”

A crack of energy split through me and then I was hurtling into the dark.

49

I WAS SWIMMING in a cascade of colors. It made sense when I thought about it. The elements were made of all the colors of the rainbow. So why wouldn’t that be the source of the energy that fed them all?

There was a hum all around me. In the air. In my body. In the voices.

Voices. Some part of me wanted to swim towards them. The familiar honeyed-whiskey of Kai. The rough yet gentle timbre of Atlas. The smoky rasp of Phoenix. I even wanted the cool smoothness of Riven.

That had me frowning. I didn’t want Riven. Not after the library. Or the cruelness at the royal dorm. Not after he made me care and then stabbed me in the heart.

“She’s frowning. Is she in pain?” Atlas asked.

Phoenix let out a low growl. “If she’s hurting, I’m going to fry every nerve ending in Riven’s body.”

“I think she’s trying to wake up,” Kai argued.

I struggled to open my eyes. I wanted to see them. My Golden God. My gentle giant. My smoky demon with a heart of gold.

I blinked a few times, the bright light making me wince.

“Turn down the lights,” Phoenix barked.

Someone did as he ordered.

A woman looked down at me. “How do you feel?”

I squinted at her. I was pretty sure it was the same woman who had helped me after The Revealing. Groaning, I tried to sit up.

“Easy, Pip,” Atlas said, moving in behind me. “You’ve been through a lot.”

Kai was on his knees in front of me, hands going to my face. “You scared the hell out of us. I thought you promised never to do something like that again?”

“What happened?” My head thrummed and every muscle in my body ached. It felt like I’d been electrocuted and run through a washing machine. But touching Kai and Atlas, it helped somehow.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Headmaster Acker said, looking down at me. “What do you remember?”

“The Unveiling. I remember water, earth, fire. I remember walking over to Riven and—” My gaze flew to his. “I reacted to your magic.”

Riven’s mouth thinned into a hard line, but he didn’t say a word.

Phoenix lowered himself next to me on the couch and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close.

“I don’t think you should be touching her,” Dean Sinclair shrilled.

Phoenix leveled her with a look that had her stumbling back a step.

She whirled on the headmaster. “Sir, we don’t know what she is, but they have an effect on each other’s magic. You must think some distance is necessary.”

“We don’t know anything yet. Let’s all take a breath,” Acker said calmly.

Quincy leaned forward in his chair. “You reacted to all four affinities, Aura.”

My eyes widened. “Couldn’t it have just been a reaction to my weird double binding?”

He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I don’t think so. It’s quite possible you are the first aether in centuries.”

“That’s hogwash,” Sinclair huffed, turning to look behind me. “You can’t think they’re right.”

I glanced over my shoulder and my blood chilled. King Zephyr was looking at me like I was a bug he was about to dissect.

“I think we need some additional testing. I’ll take Aura back to my kingdom and—”

“Hell no,” Atlas clipped.

“Not happening,” Kai echoed.

Phoenix merely smoldered, flames flitting around him as he held me tight.

Acker cleared his throat. “Let’s all take a beat. First things first. Let’s find out if you have access to all four elements.”

My mouth went dry. “Okay.”

Phoenix leaned his forehead against mine. “You’ll be wiped out. You don’t have to worry.”

I nodded.

Kai sat back on his haunches. “We’re with you.”

Atlas pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Always.”

“Start with water,” Acker said.

I turned over my palms and imagined the flow of liquid through me. A second later, a stream poured onto the floor. Kai quickly helped me contain it and once I took a few deep breaths, I could call it back.

Acker handed me the bowl of dirt. “Earth.”

Hovering my hand over the bowl, I thought about the life force that flowed through me. The dirt in the bowl vibrated and then sprayed around us.

Sinclair spluttered, having gotten a face full of it.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

“Fire,” Acker pushed.

I handed the bowl back to him and glanced at Phoenix.

“You’re not alone,” he promised.

Weaving my fingers through his, I flipped over my hand. I gave only the slightest push on my internal flame. Sparks danced from my palm, and I instantly pulled back.

Acker’s jaw tightened. “Air.”

I swallowed, my throat sticking on the action. I released Phoenix and held both hands out. I still hadn’t quite figured this one out. The air lived in me, that much I knew, oxygen fueled every part of my body. I tried to call on it, willed it to move out of my muscles and into the room.

A faint breeze lifted my hair, swirling it in the air.

Quincy dropped to a knee, bowing his head. “Aether.”

A chill skated over my skin.

“Get up, you old fool,” Sinclair huffed. “It’s some trick. Maybe she’s pulling from the royals’ magic.”

Quincy pierced Sinclair with a hard stare. “Your disrespect will not be forgotten. She is an aether.”

“We don’t know that. Not for sure,” King Zephyr said. “We need to test her. I have the foremost scholars in my kingdom—”

“No.” Headmaster Acker’s voice cracked like a whip.

King Zephyr arched a brow. “You deny me?”

Acker didn’t back down. “She is my charge. And if she is an aether, it is crucial that she stay on unbiased ground.”

A muscle in King Zephyr’s cheek fluttered wildly. “I will be part of the testing.”

Acker nodded to him in a deference that was missing a moment ago. “Of course. All of the kings will be invited to the testing.”

King Zephyr’s eyes flashed. “I also demand that she is contained until the testing can take place. Who knows what she’s capable of? This could be some sort of Nova situation. She will have to stay in the dungeons.”

“Hell no! Are you fucking kidding me?” Kai launched to his feet, charging towards King Zephyr.

Riven was in front of Kai in a flash, shoving him back. “Don’t.”

“Get your hands off me!”

King Zephyr’s eyes narrowed on Kai. “You should listen to Riven. You could do something you can’t take back. You’re a royal, but you aren’t king yet. I’m the one who holds the power.”

For a moment I thought Kai would still try for the king.

“Don’t, Kai,” I pleaded. “I’ll be fine.”

He gave Riven a hard shove and stalked back towards me. “You can’t restrain her. If she’s an aether, she’s ours.”

Atlas pulled me back against his chest. “She’s ours no matter what she is.”

Even amidst the chill, fear had settled in my bones, and warmth spread through me at Atlas’s words. I turned into him, nuzzling his neck. “Thank you.”

“It’s your soul that matters, Aura. Not whatever is surrounding it. I don’t care if you have no affinities or all four. You’ve made me feel more seen and accepted in the past two weeks than I ever have before.”

My hands fisted in his shirt. Three words played on my tongue. Words that were so ridiculous to share after how short a time I’d known Atlas. Yet I felt it swimming through me, lighting me from the inside out.

Phoenix moved in close on my other side. “Her aether status is clear. Aura’s meant for us and us alone.”

I couldn’t help but notice one of the foursome was remarkably silent. Not that it surprised me.

King Zephyr scoffed. “My son will mate Eva. A match that makes our kingdom strong. Not some mutt whose parentage we don’t even know.”

Kai let out a growl, and I reached out to snag his hand. “Don’t. I don’t care what he thinks about me.”

Headmaster Acker sighed. “To discover whether Aura is indeed an aether, we need to conduct some testing.” He sent me a sympathetic smile. “Until we can be certain you aren’t a Nova, we need to place you in a binding cell. It will keep your magic contained should anything go…awry.”

Phoenix turned towards Acker, flames lighting along his shoulders. “Those cells are barbaric.”

“They aren’t warm and cozy, but they will in no way harm her,” Acker argued.

“There are rats down there,” Atlas gritted out.

I shivered at that. I really didn’t like rats. But the longer this back and forth went on, the more likely it was for one of the guys to do something that would get them killed. I pushed to my feet. My legs trembled, but I stayed upright. “I’ll go.”

50

I TUGGED Kai’s sweatshirt tighter around me and tried to imagine it was him hugging me. Even as I tried to hold on to that image in my mind, I shivered. The dungeon was dank and smelled like musty sewage. Apparently, it was where they kept those who had attacked the campus or students who had gone rogue.

I guessed I qualified as the latter. I had certainly turned their realm upside down. Staring down at my hands, I tried to decipher who they belonged to. Nova or aether? Bringer of destruction or bringer of unity?

Neither was a destiny I wanted. My chest ached. I wanted to hear Atlas promising me everything would be okay. I wanted Kai cracking inappropriate jokes. I wanted Phoenix and his fierce protectiveness.

I pulled the sweatshirt up over my nose and breathed deep. It still smelled like Kai. That scent of salty air and the hint of something else. At least Headmaster Acker had allowed the guys to gather some clothes and toiletries for me.

But now I was completely alone. I almost wished for some criminal to be down here with me. Then I wouldn’t be losing my mind to the dripping of water and the scurrying of mice feet. I was going with mice, not rats.

Metal clanged and groaned. I quickly sat up straighter, squinting against the dim light of the dungeon. Every cell was open air, but the bars were infused with magic to keep all of our powers inside. It was a bummer because I wouldn’t have minded sending a stream of flames right up ole King Zephyr’s ass.

Footsteps sounded on the stone. Quite a few pairs, if I wasn’t mistaken.

“There’s no reason to delay the questioning,” King Zephyr barked.

“The rest of the kings haven’t arrived,” Acker argued.

A man I didn’t recognize slapped Acker on the back. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep him on the up-and-up until Ash and Terra can get here.”

It was the sound of his voice, so similar to Kai’s that allowed me to recognize him. King Torrent had the same golden tan skin and light hair. Only his was interwoven with strands of silver. He beamed at me, tipping his head in the slightest bow. “Aura, it’s an honor to meet you.”

I bowed in return. “Your Highness.”

“Please.” He waved me off. “Call me Aenon.”

King Zephyr snorted. “She’s not an aether. We’ll prove as much first thing tomorrow morning.”

Aenon sent me a wink. “Don’t listen to him. We’ll have you confirmed and out of this hellhole before you know it.”

King Zephyr glared through the bars. “Who is your father?”

I reared back at the animosity in his voice. “I have no idea.”

“I find that very difficult to believe. I’m sure he visited you at some point.”

“Unless it was when I was a small child and I don’t remember, he never graced me with his presence.” I could’ve shared that I didn’t have any memories prior to the age of eight. That the fire had stolen them from me. But King Zephyr didn’t deserve that piece of information.

“What about the binding?” Aenon asked. “Do you have any memory of someone performing a ceremony over you?”

“Never,” I answered honestly.

Aenon turned to Headmaster Acker. “It’s possible they wiped her memory.”

Acker nodded. “It would take someone with a great deal of magic to do that.”

King Zephyr turned to a handful of guards stationed towards the back. “Collect the mother. She’ll know more.”

In a flash, I was on my feet and at the bars. “Leave my mom alone. She isn’t a part of this.”

King Zephyr sneered at me. “She knows more than she’s letting on. If you want to save her an interrogation, then you should speak now.”

I should’ve thought of this possibility. They were so obsessed with discovering who my father was, of course they would go after my mom. But if they took her, what would happen to Charlie?

My heart hammered against my ribs as my breathing picked up. I couldn’t catch full breaths of air.

“Aura,” Aenon said. “Breathe. I’ll look out for your mother.”

“M-my brother. He can’t be alone.”

“Him too,” Aenon assured me.

King Zephyr rolled his eyes. “You can’t seriously be buying this wounded bird act, can you?”

“Zephyr…” Aenon warned then turned to his own guards. “You will accompany King Zephyr’s men. No harm will come to Ms. Coleman and the boy.”

It should’ve made me feel better, but my stomach twisted. How did I know that Aenon was any better than King Zephyr?

Aenon motioned the men towards the door. “Let’s leave Aura to rest. She’s had an eventful day.”

I almost laughed. Rest? There wasn’t a chance I could find unconsciousness.

He sent me a reassuring smile. “I’ll leave two of my guards here as well to make sure you’re safe.”

King Zephyr scowled at him. “Two of mine will remain as well. Wouldn’t want any prison breaks.”

What good would a prison break do me? There was nowhere I could hide when I might go boom if I didn’t learn how to control my affinities. But I didn’t say any of that. I simply met King Zephyr’s stare, refusing to bow to him.

His cold eyes flashed. Unlike his son’s that hid a depth of emotion, his were absent of anything other than anger and calculation. They were dead eyes.

King Zephyr turned on his heel and stormed towards the stairs, Aenon following leisurely behind him. Headmaster Acker leaned towards the bars. “Hang in there. I’m trying to get you out as quickly as possible, but I have to play by the royal rules.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

Then Acker was gone too. And suddenly I was bone-tired. The kind of fatigue it would take years to recover from. I wandered back to the cot and lowered myself to it. Pulling the hood of Kai’s sweatshirt over my head, I curled up into a ball.

The urge to cry was so strong, it was almost overpowering. But I knew if I gave in, I’d never stop. Instead, I forced myself to focus on what was right in front of me. I counted the stones in the floor, row after row. If I lost count, I made myself start over.

My eyelids grew heavy as my eyes burned and at some point, fitful sleep pulled me under.

Voices. Shouting and demands to leave. I rubbed at my eyes as I swung my legs over the side of my bed, my unicorn tucked under my arm.

A man’s voice, a mean one, growled like one of the monsters in my storybooks. “You can’t hide from me. I’ll always find you.”

A deafening boom rocked the house, and I cried out.

Footsteps thundered down the hall. Then a man was crouching in front of me. “Hide, Aura. Use your best spot. Don’t let him find you.”

I jerked upright, sweat making my T-shirt cling to me. I’d never seen that man before. Yet something about him was achingly familiar. Was he just a figment of my imagination? My chest squeezed. My father?

Had my mom lied? Had he been a part of our lives?

The telltale sound of groaning metal had me snapping my gaze to the dungeon entrance. The four guards remaining were suddenly on alert. It was almost as if I saw them falling before I heard the pops. Four bursts of sound like muffled firecrackers.

A silent gasp ripped from my lips as they fell. Crumpled to the ground like puppets whose strings had been cut.

I clamored to my feet, struggling to see into the dark. I could just make out a hooded figure. He raised his gun. “You’ll never live to rule.”

A flash of light. A flare of muted sound.

Pain bloomed in my chest. Then I was the one falling. Like one of those puppets who had lost its strings. And the only thing I could think was that I had never told my guys I loved them.

The End for now…Aura’s story continues in The Last Aether.

Want more of Aura and her mates? Check out this exclusive bonus scene from Kai’s perspective by TAPPING HERE.

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ENJOY THIS SPECIAL PREVIEW OF SPARK OF FATE

PROLOGUE

LACEY BELTED out the lyrics to one of my favorite songs as she turned onto the two-lane road that would take us home. The sing-along would’ve been fun if it wasn’t for the fact that she was singing in an octave that made dogs howl.

“Come on, sing with me, little sister.”

“That’s not singing,” I yelled over the music and Lacey’s screeching.

She turned down the stereo. “That’s just the price you have to pay for forcing me into driving you tonight.”

“I didn’t force you.”

“You looked at me with those sad puppy eyes when Mom said she was too tired.”

I twisted, glancing over at Lacey. “The music wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“There’s a reason Jason wouldn’t go with you…”

I winced at the reminder. My boyfriend had made it clear he’d rather put hot pokers in his eyes than listen to my favorite local band.

Lacey stole a quick look in my direction when I didn’t say anything. “He’s a tool. You know that, right? You deserve so much better, Ro.”

“He’s not a tool. We just don’t like the same music.”

“I don’t like them either, but I still came with you tonight.”

“And have been giving me crap the whole time.”

She reached over and squeezed my leg. “Big sister prerogative.”

“Big sister torture,” I mumbled. Lacey loved to remind me that she was older, wiser, and a whole bunch of other things. The only thing she never used as a weapon was the fact that I was adopted. Not even during our worst fights. It was our sister code. My poor hair choices and childhood buck teeth were fair game; the fact that we weren’t blood-related was not.

“Same difference.” Lacey drummed her hands on the steering wheel. “You should break up with him. You know the only reason you’ve stayed with that douche for this long is because you’re scared of the unknown.”

That wasn’t exactly true. But it wasn’t a lie either. Jason was comfortable, easy, like a pair of slippers worn exactly the right amount. At least, that was how he had been. It felt as if things were changing. Life was moving and rearranging without my knowledge or permission. Now, nothing felt right.

“I can’t imagine not being with him.” Jason had been my first…everything. That was hard to walk away from.

Lacey took my hand and squeezed, the bracelets she’d bought us when we’d spent a week at the beach last summer lining up so that they were touching. “You deserve someone who accepts all the pieces that make up the beautiful human you are. Someone who lights your nerve endings on fire. Someone who’d want to go to the worst concert in the world, just for a chance to spend a little more time with you.”

I eyed my sister. “And you know what that feels like?”

“Maybeeeee…” She drew the word out.

I jerked in my seat, turning to face her and pulling my hand free. “Spill. Right this second. I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me.”

Lacey’s laughter filled the car. So full and uninhibited. She never worried about what that laugh might sound like, if it was too loud or shrill or anything else. She was free. “Well, we met—”

Her words cut off as a deer darted in front of the car.

Everything went into a sort of surreal slow motion. Lacey slammed on the brakes, jerking the wheel. The light dusting of snow sent the wheels into a spin. No, not the wheels, the whole car.

The world blurred. I didn’t know if Lacey was screaming or if I was. There was a sickening crunch of metal, then a shattering of glass. Pieces hit my face, slicing my skin. My side burned as if I were being stabbed with hot metal. The pain stole all the air from my lungs.

I squeezed my eyes closed, willing my breath to return, and silently crying out for anyone or anything that would listen. I gasped, the air filling my lungs again.

“Lace?” I croaked.

The only response was the hissing of our engine.

“Lacey?” I tried to turn myself to get a view of her, but I was stuck.

“Rowan?” she wheezed.

“I’m here.” I stretched a hand over, finding hers. Lacey’s hand was slick. Was that blood? I hooked a finger in her bracelet, as if that could keep us tethered no matter what.

My vision blurred again, and I swore I could feel my heartbeat reverberating through my whole body. “Can you reach your phone?”

“I-I don’t know. It was in the cupholder.”

I tried to reach my purse and cried out in pain.

Lacey sucked in a sharp breath and began to cough. Violent, racking coughs that felt as if they rocked the car.

“Are you okay? What’s happening?”

She kept coughing and wheezing. It sounded wet, but I couldn’t see, couldn’t move. I stretched farther, trying to get to my purse. Tears streamed down my face as my side felt as if it were being ripped open.

Then everything went quiet. No more coughing. Only the hissing of the car and the blinding pain in my side.

“Lacey?” I whispered.

There was no answer.

I shook her hand. “Lace, wake up!”

Nothing.

The tears came faster, harder. I pushed my body farther, praying that I could just reach my phone. If I could get help, it would all be okay. Instead, my vision tunneled and there was nothing but black.

CHAPTER 1

I CURLED my knees up to my chest, leaning my head against the wall as I stared out the window. I’d wanted a window seat for as long as I could remember. A cozy little nest where I could watch the world. Now, I’d do anything to give it back. The price of the tufted cushion and pretty view were too high.

My fingers tangled in the threads of my bracelets as I stared at the rose gold beads. There were two now. Two because the owner of the other no longer walked this earth.

My heart squeezed, that same familiar pang that had punctuated so much of the past six months. Sometimes the pain came out of nowhere, as if it could sense that, just for a split second, I’d forgotten my sister was gone.

Other times, it was a steady beat in my chest, a constant reminder that because of me she’d never sing off-key while driving down country roads again. I sucked in a breath, but the air felt like it was made of razor blades.

That was the thing about grief—it made everything a million times harder. Everyone dealt with that burden differently.

My father wanted to forget. I think if my mom would’ve let him, he would’ve put every photo of Lacey into boxes in storage. He didn’t have that option, so instead, he’d moved us across the country. From a suburb outside of Baltimore to the middle of nowhere Washington.

He’d traded the job he’d had for as long as I could remember at a small local accounting firm for a new one at a sleek firm in Seattle. He’d started dressing differently, got a haircut that looked like it could be found in GQ magazine instead of the same slightly shaggy one he’d had all my life. It was as if he were making himself into an entirely different person, one who hadn’t had a daughter named Lacey.

I swallowed against the burn creeping up my throat. He barely remembered he had a daughter named Rowan either. We’d been here a little over a week, and his work hours kept getting longer and longer. He’d started opting to stay in a company apartment in the city during the week.

It left me to sit on the window seat alone. I didn’t want to wander the house, listening to the faint strains of the television that came from his and my mom’s bedroom. I didn’t think she knew what graced the screen, she just needed the noise to distract her from the pain.

I shifted in my seat, letting my gaze drift away from the bracelet. The little town of Cloverdale was quaint. An hour and a half outside of Seattle, it was set at the foot of a large expanse of national forest land. Everything around us was greener than I’d ever seen before.

Dad had said it was just the place to rebuild. A place that was safe and perfect for us. Yet he wasn’t here to set the foundation for whatever it was he’d envisioned.

From my window perch, I could see our picture-perfect neighborhood. I would’ve preferred my window to face the back of the house, where the seemingly endless forest began. That would’ve made me feel safe in my solitude. Protected and immune from any stares.

I watched as a couple of kids raced down the street on scooters, chased by a guy laughing as he ran. His laugh was completely uninhibited, as if not a single thing weighed on his shoulders, his head thrown back, golden-blond hair ruffling in the breeze.

His steps faltered as he passed in front of my house. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, and his gaze cut right to me. The deep blue of his eyes froze me to the spot. I sucked in a sharp breath, but it didn’t cut like razor blades—no, this time the air felt as if it burned me from the inside out.

The guy cocked his head to one side, studying me. Something about that gaze felt like it could see everything I fought so hard to keep a lid on. All my pain and guilt and grief.

I scrambled off of the window seat, almost falling to the floor in the process. I hurried out of my room and down the stairs. The soft strains of what sounded like a soap opera came from the bedroom down the hall.

I moved into the kitchen, searching for any signs that my mom had ventured out here this morning. Dishes in the sink? Crumbs on the counter? A banana missing from the bunch?

There was nothing.

I opened the pantry and pulled out bread and a bag of chips. I went about making a sandwich. Turkey with sharp cheddar and a spicy honey mustard that used to be Mom and Lacey’s favorite. I added lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onion.

I cut it in two and placed it on the plate with a handful of chips. Grabbing a bottle of lemonade from the fridge, I made my way down the hall. The muted voices grew stronger, one asking, “How could you, Iris? And with my brother?”

I knocked softly on the door. There was no answer. I turned the handle and pushed the door open.

The room was dark, no light except for the glow from the television. My mom stared at the screen, but it was an unfocused stare, one that told me she had no idea what was actually going on in front of her. She didn’t care if the shirtless man on-screen had just had his heart broken. She only wanted the numbness the show could provide.

“Hey, Mom,” I said softly.

She blinked a few times and turned towards my voice. “Rowan.”

Her voice was rusty, as if she hadn’t used it in years. I started towards her, setting the plate and lemonade on her nightstand. “I made you a little something to eat. Can I open the curtains so you can see better?”

Mom shook her head, the movement slow as if she were sedated. “No. My head hurts. I don’t want the light.”

My gaze shifted to the bowl shoved to the far side of the nightstand. The pasta I’d made her for dinner last night had maybe a few bites missing. “You need to eat. You’ll get sick if you don’t.”

She’d ended up in the hospital twice in the past six months after fainting spells. She’d lost so much weight, she was practically skin and bones. Whenever I’d tried to talk to Dad about it, he’d brush it off and tell me she needed time to heal. It didn’t seem to me like she was healing. She was disappearing right in front of my eyes.

“Please, Mom,” I urged.

Her eyes narrowed a fraction. “Leave.”

I stiffened, my fingers curling into my palms. “Mom…”

She turned away from me, back to the screen. “I can’t look at you.”

The pang lighting along my heart was back, more vicious than ever, but I didn’t say a thing. I couldn’t. I didn’t have any words to give. I didn’t seem to have the ability to move either.

My mom’s hands tightened in the blankets. “Every time I look at you, all I see is Lacey.”

CHAPTER 2

THE BACK DOOR slammed and I ran across the deck, down the stairs. The breeze whipped my hair across my face as I charged for the trees, but I couldn’t get any of it into my lungs. It was as if my ribs had tightened too much. It was impossible to let any air in.

The pine branches slapped against my arms as I ran down a path. It was dumb, so incredibly stupid, to run into a forest that you had no map for or knowledge of, but once I started, I couldn’t seem to stop myself. My lungs and throat burned, but I welcomed the sensation.

It distracted me from the words wreaking havoc on my mind. I can’t look at you. All I see is Lacey.

I choked back a sob, almost colliding with a tree. My feet tangled and I threw my hands out to catch my fall. The rough bark bit into my palms.

My chest heaved and my side cramped as I straightened. My gaze swept around, jumping from one thing to the next, trying to get my bearings.

It was breathtaking and that only made everything hurt more. The trees looked as if they were made of emeralds, and the mossy ground looked soft enough to take a nap on.

The sound of rushing water pulled me forward. I climbed up an embankment as tears tracked down my cheeks. I eased myself onto the ground and watched as the water rushed by below me, a mixture of deep blues and greens capped with white. It all swirled together, reminding me of the chaos that lived inside me, but more beautiful.

I pulled my knees to my chest and rocked myself back and forth. I focused on the sound of the water, letting it drown out the echoes of my mother’s words. If it was this loud at the beginning of fall, I could only imagine what it was like when the snow melted off the mountains.

Lacey would’ve loved it. She would’ve demanded that we take picnics out here, invent stories about the faeries that surely lived in the hollowed logs in the forest, and built us a fort that would be hidden in the brush.

I could see it as clearly as if she were sitting right next to me. Her dark brown hair cascading down her back as she tipped her head back in laughter. My stomach hollowed out, the pain carving its own home there.

The water wasn’t loud enough. Nothing ever would be, not to drown out the pain of losing her.

“What are you doing out here? Don’t you know a boundary when you see one?”

My head snapped up, and I scrambled away from the deep voice. The sun piercing through the trees blinded me for a moment. I could only make out a form. Ripped jeans. A dark gray T-shirt pulled tight across a muscular chest. Tattoos that peeked out from underneath the sleeves.

“S-s-sorry. I didn’t know this was private property.”

He took a step forward, his face coming into view from behind the sunbeam. It was the kind of face that stole your breath and made you stupid. All sharp angles and hard planes. And eyes that were the lightest blue I’d ever seen. It was a complete juxtaposition to his hair that was so dark brown, it was almost black. Those almost angelic eyes sucker-punched me right in the chest. Because they held a pain that was so familiar, it felt like I was looking in a mirror.

“It’s not private property,” he gritted out.

“But you just said…”

His head tilted in a way similar to the blond guy’s, as if he were looking at a pile of puzzle pieces, trying to figure out how they all went together. “Who are you?”

I looked around the forest, searching for a phantom someone to save me from this handsome stranger’s questions. “I don’t think I should tell you my name.”

The corner of his mouth kicked up. The action pulled on a scar on his lip just to the side of his cupid’s bow. “Don’t take candy out of the back of vans either, I’m guessing?”

“Stranger danger and all that.”

Those ice-blue eyes lit as he took me in. “If you’re concerned about safety, you probably shouldn’t be out in the middle of the woods by yourself.”

He had a very solid point, yet even with him hulking over me, I didn’t want to leave. “Is it okay if I stay? Just for a little bit?”

The question seemed to take him by surprise. He took a half step back, eyes narrowing in on my face. They moved over my cheeks to my eyes and that was when he must’ve seen it, the remnants of my tears. I was sure my eyes were bloodshot and my cheeks red.

I didn’t let myself wipe the evidence away. I was so tired of hiding what I was feeling around everyone. It was exhausting. For one brief moment, I simply wanted to be.

I wanted to listen to the water and soak the peace of this place into my bones. To store it up so that I could carry it home with me. Maybe it would stay with me, tide me over until my mother had another outburst, or my father eventually forgot he had any daughters at all.

A muscle in his cheek ticked. “It’s not a good idea. There are wild animals out here, sometimes hunters too.”

“You’re out here.”

“I live here.”

“In the woods?” Images of a makeshift shelter filled my mind.

“In my cabin. I know my way around here, know what to look out for. You don’t.”

I didn’t know why I was trying to convince this rude guy to let me stay. Combative wasn’t my usual M.O., but as I stared at him, I realized that I felt a little less alone. Just for a minute, I wasn’t the girl who had lost her family six months ago. Lacey might’ve been dead, but Mom and Dad had pretty much left me by choice.

That sting had dulled when this guy stepped out of the trees. The reason made no sense. I gave my head a little shake.

“No, you refuse to leave?” he asked, his voice hardening around the edges.

That hardness cut. Again, the why made no sense. He was a stranger. I shouldn’t care what he thought about me at all.

“I’m leaving.” I started to push to my feet, my palm stinging as I pressed it to the ground to rise. I shook my hand trying to alleviate the bite of pain.

The guy’s hand snaked out, catching my hand in his. The moment our skin touched, it was as if he’d burned me. A zing of electricity snapping at my skin.

He snatched his hand back so fast, he was a blur, horror filling his expression.

I stared at my palm. Small streaks of blood dotted the scrapes from the tree and little crescent-shaped fingernail marks cut across the flesh. Had our touch caused the scrapes to spark and burn? It didn’t make sense.

I looked up to ask him if he’d felt something too, but he was gone.

CHAPTER 3

I PADDED DOWN THE STAIRS, my thick, cozy socks muffling my steps. I paused on the bottom step and listened. The quiet sounds of the TV still drifted from my parents’ room.

I started for the kitchen. Pulling open the fridge, I surveyed the contents. There wasn’t a lot left. Some things for sandwiches, a carton of eggs. I lifted the carton of milk and shook it. Not even enough for a bowl of cereal.

I grabbed the eggs and some cheese and moved to the counter. I whisked two eggs and poured them into a pan. As they cooked, I grated some cheese, sprinkling it over the top at just the right moment. When it was melted, I slipped them onto a plate.

I went back to the fridge, grabbing a soda and some salsa. At least I had caffeine. My life might be a total and complete disaster, but I had Diet Coke.

I sat down at the table and began to eat. I barely tasted the eggs, my mind drifting to the guy in the woods yesterday. I could’ve sworn I’d seen a sort of understanding in those ice-blue eyes, something that told me he knew the pain I’d been drowning in for the past six months.

The sound of the front door opening and closing drifted through the house that felt more like a ghost town. Sneakers squeaked against the hardwood floors.

My dad appeared in the kitchen, startling when he saw me. “Rowan, I didn’t know you were up.”

“I didn’t know you were home.”

He certainly hadn’t bothered to come up to my bedroom to let me know he was.

Dad moved to a cabinet, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. “I got home late last night and went for a run first thing. Didn’t want to wake you.”

The running was new, too. Sleek workout gear I’d never thought my dad would wear. Trendy joggers and one of those form-fitting, long-sleeved shirts.

“I probably wasn’t asleep,” I muttered. My hours of sleep were few and far between, peppered with nightmares and waking up in a cold sweat, calling out Lacey’s name.

“Well, I couldn’t have known that.”

He could’ve. My parents used to always check in on me and Lacey when we were supposed to be asleep. They’d stealthily open our doors, peeking their heads in. Dad used to say, “Just want to make sure you’re alive and breathing.”

That familiar sting lit along my heart. Now, one of us wasn’t alive and breathing, and I was the only daughter left. One that wasn’t theirs by blood. I used to think that made me special—I had been a choice, not happenstance. But now, I wondered if it made me dispensable.

Dad cleared his throat. “First day of school tomorrow. Do you have everything you need?”

School. I couldn’t wait. I’d take any excuse to escape the walls of this house that felt more like a haunted prison. The mother, who was more like a ghost than a living human, wandering the halls. Even when she never left her room, I could still feel her everywhere.

“We need groceries,” I told him.

He straightened, pulling open the fridge. “Oh, I thought your mom—”

“She’s not even eating. She barely leaves her bedroom. Do you really think she’s going to drive to the grocery store?”

Dad turned to me, shutting the fridge door in the process. “You could have a little compassion for her—”

“I do have compassion. It’s why I’ve been cooking for her every day. It’s why I make myself go into that bedroom even when she says she can’t bear to look at me.”

“Rowan.” The single word was a harsh plea. He squeezed his eyes closed for a brief moment. “I’ll go to the store this afternoon before I head back to the city.”

“You’re leaving today?” I’d barely seen him and he was already disappearing, just like everyone else in my life. Sister, mother, boyfriend who couldn’t deal with my grief.

“I have a meeting first thing in the morning.”

I didn’t say a word. I wouldn’t beg him to stay. It would only hurt more when he left anyway.

Dad grabbed the notepad and pen from their spot by the phone. “Here. Write down what you think you’ll need for the week. I’ll leave you some cash in case anything else pops up. You can take Mom’s car if you need to run errands.”

If he’d handed me her keys, I would’ve dropped them. I had my license, but I hadn’t driven since before the accident. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t been the one behind the wheel, I couldn’t handle the fear that swamped me each and every time I’d tried.

My hand instinctively went to the scar along my ribs. The raised flesh was less angry now, but it would forever be a reminder of that night. The doctors didn’t know how I’d survived. It had taken hours for fire and rescue to get me and Lacey out of the car. They said I should’ve bled out. Somehow, I hadn’t. Some days, I wished I had.

The doorbell rang, startling me from the morbid walk down memory lane. We’d met a couple of neighbors when we were moving in, but no one had come by the house. I hadn’t ever heard the doorbell.

Dad and I both froze for a moment. “Let’s see who that is.”

I wanted to tell him he could handle it for once. I didn’t want the responsibility of pasting on a smile for strangers. Instead, I pushed to my feet and followed him to the front door.

He opened the door to reveal a man and the blond guy I’d seen out my window yesterday. He was even more striking close-up. That blond hair ruffled in an effortless, artful way. His eyes were a deep blue that reminded me of the water in the creek I’d seen yesterday. An angular jaw and rosy lips completed a look that I was sure made him popular with the girls in town.

The man beside him held out a hand to my father. “Mr. Caldwell, I’m Mason Pierce. I’m on the town council, and when I heard you had a daughter my son’s age, I volunteered us to bring your welcome basket.”

I took in the basket in the blond’s hands. It was full to bursting with what looked like pamphlets and gourmet snacks.

The guy held it out to me. “Welcome to Cloverdale. I’m Holden.”

Holden. It fit him. “Nice to meet you. I’m Rowan.”

I reached out, taking the basket from his outstretched hands. Our fingers brushed as I did, and a shock of electricity sparked between us, freezing me to the spot for a moment.

Holden’s eyes flared, seeming to swirl and change colors for a moment.

I pulled the basket towards me, unsure of what to say. There must have been static electricity in the air around here.

Dad released Mr. Pierce’s hand. “Please, call me Bruce. Thank you for coming by. I’m sure it’ll be nice for Rowan to have a familiar face at school tomorrow.”

I fought the wince that tried to surface. The last thing I wanted was this guy taking pity on me.

His eyes scanned my face, seeming to search for something. “I’d be happy to show you around to your classes.”

Mr. Pierce grinned. “Holden is student council president, so he knows all the ins and outs to Cloverdale High.”

It was fitting, this golden boy being student council president. He was probably captain of the football team and dating the head cheerleader, too.

I tried to smile but knew it probably came out as more of a grimace. “Thank you. I appreciate it, but I got a tour earlier this week, so I know where I’m going.”

Holden frowned, lines bracketing his perfect mouth. “Okay, well, I’ll save you a seat at lunch then.”

“Sure, thanks.” I wouldn’t be taking him up on that. Holden’s beauty meant that he was surely the center of a lot of attention. I wanted nothing but to fade into the background.

“So where did you guys move from?” Mason asked.

“Baltimore,” Dad answered. “I took a job with an accounting firm in Seattle.”

Mason let out a whistle. “That’s a hell of a commute.”

“Unfortunately, it’s forcing me to spend most of my week in the city.”

“Well, if your wife or Rowan need anything, my card is in the basket. I’m always happy to help.”

Dad put an arm around my shoulders. “There certainly is something to this small-town thing.”

I almost shuddered at the contact. How long had it been since my dad had touched me? A hug? A pat on the shoulder? Anything? I think it had been Lacey’s funeral.

Tears burned the back of my throat. “Nice to meet you,” I whispered and hurried away from the entry. I needed space. To breathe. Anything that would erase the pain eating me alive.

CHAPTER 4

I LOOKED up at the sky as I stepped out the front door. The sun had decided that the first day of school was the perfect time to hide behind clouds so thick it barely felt like day at all. I really hoped it wasn’t an omen.

I set down my backpack and slid on my jacket. No, not my jacket. It had been Lacey’s. A leather creation she’d scrimped and saved for months to buy. She could pull off the edgy look with ease. On me it looked a little forced, but I didn’t care. I’d wear anything if it meant feeling a little closer to her. Especially on the first day at a new school.

I wound my way through our neighborhood and towards town. The downtown area was quaint with old brick buildings and carefully curated storefronts. There was even an old-fashioned soda shop with a huge jukebox and teal booths.

Maybe I would opt to do homework there after classes, if it wasn’t crowded. Anything that would prolong going back to the ghost house. Dad had left as soon as he’d stocked the fridge and shoved money into my hands. He’d affixed Mason Pierce’s business card to the front of the fridge and told me to call him if I had any issues.

He didn’t want to know about whatever problems waited for him at home. What would he do if Mom starved herself to death? Would he even notice?

My fingers curled around the ties of my bracelet. I focused on the motion, twisting and untwisting the cord around my finger. It had become almost a meditation of sorts, something to keep me grounded when all I wanted to do was float away.

I turned the corner as I skirted downtown, the high school coming into view. The brick of the buildings fit with the rest of town. It wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small either. Somewhere in between. The woman who had given me a tour had told me that the students who went there weren’t just from Cloverdale but the whole county.

That knowledge had helped me breathe a bit easier. The more students, the easier it would be to disappear into the background. But as I watched cars pour into the parking lot and buses come to a stop in front of the main building, my heart stuttered in my chest.

I pulled the cord tighter around my finger. I could do this. No one knew me here. I had a completely fresh slate.

I crossed the street and made my way through the parking lot. The cars were a total mixed bag. Some looked as if they were held together with duct tape and a prayer, some were the typical used-but-in-good-condition sedans, and a few were more luxury vehicles. I even spotted a brand-new Range Rover.

I kept my head down as I walked towards the entrance, only stealing a few furtive glances to try to pick out the groups. I was hoping for casual friendships. The kind where you sat together at lunch and assemblies but never actually discussed more than homework and the latest gossip.

I needed to find that middle-of-the-road group. The one that nobody paid any attention to because they simply blended. Those were my people.

My gaze caught on a group of girls who stood by the front doors. They all seemed to circle one girl in the center. She was tall and lean, with long blonde hair that looked so shiny she should’ve been in a shampoo commercial. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and laughed.

The sound was meant to be carefree, but I could hear the lie in it. There was a slightly false tinge to the vibration that I recognized because I heard it in my father’s laugh and in my own. I couldn’t help but wonder what the girl was hiding behind that fake laugh.

I turned my focus to the doors, pulling one open. The halls were already filling with people, and I did my best to dodge around them as I moved towards my locker. I breathed a sigh of relief when I reached it without getting lost or knocking into anyone.

I spun the dial on the lock and it popped free. Swinging my backpack around, I unloaded the notebooks and binders I wouldn’t need until after lunch. I pulled out my schedule, scanning it for what felt like the hundredth time. First up was astronomy, then pre-calculus, and finally art. I’d be holding it together until art. God, I hoped that the teacher was good.

I was so focused on my schedule, I didn’t feel the shift. Typically, I was tuned to that change in tone, always on the lookout for those soft whispers. The ones people thought you couldn’t hear but that were worse than if they’d screamed whatever they were saying.

I stole a quick glance to the side. A group of three girls and two boys were speaking in hushed voices, but every so often, they would all look my way. I turned back to my locker, hoping to hide my red cheeks behind the metal door. I took a steadying breath. They probably didn’t get a whole lot of new kids around here. They were just curious.

“Her sister was killed in the accident. Can you imagine?” A female voice drifted down the hall.

My breathing picked up, and I scrambled to zip my backpack up.

“I heard it took them hours to get her out of the car. She should’ve died,” another girl said.

I could see them out of the corner of my eye, that same group of girls who’d been at the front of the school. They stared blatantly at me, not caring at all if I noticed. It wasn’t the act itself that bothered me, it was how it made me feel. It was as if their gazes scraped at my skin, leaving me raw and bloodied.

“That’s awful. You’d never be the same,” a brunette girl murmured.

My ribs tightened around my lungs, cutting off my air supply. I needed out, away from their eyes and words. I slammed my locker closed and hurried down the hall. I dodged people left and right, a few muttering curses in my wake when they dropped a schedule or book.

I hurried farther into the depths of the school, looking for anything that resembled respite. Most of the classrooms were lit and already filling with people, but there was one up ahead that looked dark.

My vision went hazy as I struggled to get any sort of air into my lungs. Memories flashed in my mind. The feel of Lacey’s hand in mine. The pain in my side. The darkness stealing me away. Shouts and lights. The pain.

I yanked the door open to the darkened classroom and stumbled inside. As I did, I slammed into a hard form and gasped. Then I was falling.

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ALSO BY TESSA HALE

The Shifting Fate Series

Fated Visions: A Shifting Fate Prequel Novella

Spark of Fate

Mark of Stars

Bond of Destiny

Royals of Kingwood Academy

The Lost Elemental

The Last Aether

The Queen of Quintessence

For up-to-date information on all Tessa Hale titles please visit tessahale.com.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you so much for coming to Kingwood Academy with me! I have always been fascinated by elementals and it has been so much fun to create a world for them.

So many people have walked with me on this journey. A huge thank you to my editorial team, proofers, and cover designers. To the couple of early readers of this book, Sam, Monica, Crystal, and Lori, who gave me such valuable feedback and enthusiastic encouragement. And to my amazing writer friends who have cheered me on every step of the way.

But most of all, thank YOU! Yes, you, the reader of these pages. I’m so grateful you picked up this book.

ABOUT TESSA HALE

Author of love stories with magic, usually with more than one love interest. Constant daydreamer.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Enjoy this special preview of Spark of Fate

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Also By Tessa Hale

Connect With Tessa

Acknowledgments

About Tessa Hale