I press my palms against my eyes hard enough to see stars. This is too much. First, I find out magic exists. Then I discover I have impossible electricity powers. Now my pilot is a goddess who might have chosen me as her champion for a cosmic war?
My chest tightens, and I have to fight for each breath. Because no. No way. I’m not equipped for this. I don’twantthis. Why the hell would I be chosen for this? Why not Nina, or Evie, or Vera, or even Callie? Aren’t they all far more qualified than I am?
Deep breaths,I think.You’re in a library. Libraries are safe. Libraries are normal. Libraries definitely don’t contain books that reveal your entire life has been orchestrated by divine beings.
But it’s harder to breathe now than ever. The walls of the library are closing in on me, the sounds of pages turning and pens on paper suddenly so loud that they’re nails scratching deep into my brain, making it impossible to think.
I need to get it together.
So, I turn to a technique one of my therapists gave me over the years: grounding myself in my surroundings to center myself.
Think about five things I can see: books, stressed students, Sam’s fort, that weird stain on the ceiling that looks like a phoenix, my coffee getting cold. Four things I can feel: theleather book under my hands, my nails digging into my palm, the hard chair, my heart trying to escape my chest. Three things I can hear: pages turning, someone muttering about Pyropsychology, my own panicked breathing. Two things I can smell: old books and coffee. One thing I can taste: fear.
Okay, that last one wasn’t helpful. But still, the techniquedoeshelp, and as the world comes back into focus, I zero in on the table that used to be Miles’s territory. I’d catch him watching me from there sometimes, like I was a puzzle he was trying to solve.
Did he know? Did something about me screamher family’s pilot is a storm goddess who gave her magic that no witch should have?
Now some second-year sits there, chewing on her pen and looking bored.
When did Miles’s spot become just another table? I’ve been so caught up in Kieran’s tournament that I didn’t realize until now that the whispers about Miles’s death have faded. No more hushed conversations in the hallways. No more theories about who killed him and why. No more nervous glances at the restricted section where his body was found.
It’s been what, five weeks? And it’s already like he never existed. Like someone being murdered in the restricted archives is just another Tuesday at Blaze Academy.
I’m finally returning my focus to the book when a chair scrapes across from me, and someone starts to sit down.
Avery Chambers. Oliver’s emberlinked partner. She settles into the chair with practiced grace, her honey blonde hair caught back in a simple silver clip.
“Hi.” Her smile is warm, but there’s something determined in her brown eyes. “Mind if I join you?”
“Um, sure?” I slide the divine interference book under my Flame & Dominion textbook, trying to look casual.
“Saturday morning studying.” She glances at my disaster of papers. “The tournament really is wrecking every first-year’s schedule.”
“Tell me about it.” I shift in my chair, trying to figure out why she’s really here. Because no one makes small talk about study schedules unless they want something, right? “What’s going on?”
“I wanted to talk to you about something.” Her voice goes higher, just slightly. “I heard Oliver might invite you to tonight’s Forge Night party.”
“There’s a party tonight?”
“You didn’t know?” Relief flashes across her face. “It’s at the Scorched Circles. Should be fun. Fire displays, drinking, the usual recipe for questionable decisions.” She pauses. “Oliver loves making sure everyone’s included.”
The way she says it—practiced, like she’s explained away his attention to new girls a hundred times before—makes my heart hurt a little. But I can hardly focus on that, because if the party’s at the Scorched Circles, Logan and I won’t be able to train tonight.
Disappointment fills my chest. Because even though the training sessions are exhausting, seeing Logan is the big thing I look forward to each day. Our time together gives me faith that I can get through anything Blaze Academy throws at me, and that there’s someone on my side here, always.
“That’s nice of him,” I finally say, trying to be as diplomatic as possible.
“Oliver’s wonderful that way.” Avery’s fingers find each other in her lap, twisting together. “The thing is, he and I are emberlinked.”
“I know,” I say carefully.
Obviously I know. Everyone knows.
“Right. Of course.” Her laugh comes out shaky. “It’s just that I worry about him sometimes. He trusts everyone so easily and gets excited about new people without thinking about consequences.”
“Consequences?” The word comes out sharper than I intended.
“Emberlinked pairs share everything.” Her voice drops. “Joy, pain, heartbreak. When he’s happy, I feel it. When he hurts...” She shrugs, trying for casual and missing by miles. “Something’s been off with him recently, and I’m worried he’s getting attached to someone who might not feel the same way.”
