“I’m fine. This is blending in. I’m a teenager. Just because Mom is gone doesn’t default you to being her,” Viv huffed, her face reddening.
My throat went dry and not due to the cold I was getting over—seclusion had apparently weakened my immune system.
Viv turned and walked away before I could respond.
I hadn’t intended our conversation to go south. My hope was for her to hide in her friend group, but the entire student body was starting to know her name—more than just being “one of the new sisters”. I wanted her to have a chance at a normal life, and this was as close as it got. Something inside me found it hard to let things be that way. Mynormalfor the past sixteen years of my life was different from everyone else’s. I didn’t socialize. Viv had the same life, just a different mindset. She still had aspirations. Mine had died when I watched Mom boil from the inside out at the hand of a water mage that had turned dark.
My head hurt, and I couldn’t blame the pulsating pressure on the cold I was getting over or the daily migraines I’d been getting from caffeine withdrawal.
**
Biology lab was hardly interesting, and I was thankful training was the only thing left for the day. I needed to drop my books off at my locker first. My parachute pants—as Viv called them, despite their lack of puffiness—doubled as trousers and workout pants, so I wouldn’t need to change. They were efficient, unlike her typical jeans or the school-provided trousers.
The numbers on the lockers descended the closer I got to my locker, 143. Iridescence turned the front of them from azure to indigo, most likely a byproduct of tempering steel. The lockers were secured with standard padlocks—nothing important should be kept inside. Not that there was a student who could manipulate metal, but it would be easy to break with the right tool.
Down the hall, a group of sophomores flicked their gazes behind me and magic crawled along my skin. A forceful gust of wind wrapped around me, sending my books and papers sailing across the black cobblestone floor. I ignored Ivy and her posse behind me, quelling my anger without showing a physical response. I bent down to pick up a piece of paper, but a white heeled boot stepped on it. I looked up to see who owned a boot that was overly fashionable for the middle of Alaska.
“A little clumsy, are we?” Ivy said, grinning as Gwen joined her and the twoboysstood off to the side.
I gritted my teeth and moved to pick up my other books and papers, but before I could, another bout of wind swirled through the hall, lifting my books into the air. They perfectly stacked on top of each other right in front of me. I reached out, letting them settle in my hands, and glanced at Ender, whose hand was out in front of him.
Ivy’s jaw dropped as she stared at Ender. She regained her composure and fixed her annoyingly beautiful, curly black hair that had been ruffled by the magic. Ender’s gaze flicked to her,then back to me. A low grumble came from him as he scowled and brushed past me. His shoulder never made contact, but his radiating warmth still reached me.
“What was that about?” Gwen asked Ivy, and I didn’t plan to stay to hear her answer.
Yes. What was that about?
I deposited my stuff in my locker and grabbed my water bottle, embossed with the academy logo, before heading to training. I’d found it on my bed as part of the welcome basket.
Training was outside again today, and time flew by. My sister sat at the corner of the field, watching. I decided to ditch the rest of my training and headed her way, going unnoticed. A perk of keeping a low profile.
Viv’s class regularly ended early, and she often watched the junior and senior training sessions. I knew what she was thinking: She could take any student here, including any of the popular four. And I didn’t doubt it—except one. I’d seen Ender fight, and he was beyond in tune with his element, more than anyone else his age and even most professors and guards.
“Come to scold me for being out in public?” Viv calmly asked as I sat down next to her.
“No.” I plucked a blade of grass. “Just came to see if you wanted to sneak out later and eat some Oreos on the east dorm’s roof.”
Viv let out a low chuckle that slowly faded into silence. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I threw the blade of grass at her, using a touch of magic to send it flying into her face. She swirled her finger toward the blade, drawing the water in the air to create a bubble around it and sending it back at me. It struck my black T-shirt, soaking the edge of it.
We both laughed, and I realized how much I had missed us. We saw each other most nights, but it wasn’t the same. Ourworld had been flipped upside down two weeks ago. Her mission was to live. Mine was to survive. To keep her safe and kill the mage before they set foot anywhere near her.
“I hate that you let them walk all over you,” Viv said, vacantly watching the match. She meant Ivy and the others. Nick was talking to some girl, and I was surprised the four of them weren’t together. I scanned the field for Ender and the other two but found him alone, leaning against a tree.
The moment I laid eyes on him, his gaze flicked to mine. This time, instead of looking away, I glared at him. I had no clue why he had helped me with my books earlier, but his stunt had only put a larger target on my back for Ivy and Gwen. At least his shirt was on—smug jerk.
“Wow,” Viv said. “I haven’t seen that look since Mom took away your pet bearded dragon.”
“He’s trouble,” I said without missing a beat.
Viv went to say something, but I held up a finger. Something unidentifiable ached annoyingly in my stomach and my senses woke. Something was off.
A millisecond later, a distant scream came from the woods.
“Did you hear that?” I stood, glancing around the field. No one seemed to notice.
“Uh, no?” Viv copied my movement. We were close to the woods and everyone near us was engaged in watching the training, the hum of other students’ conversations easily masking the scream.
