Stefan went flying. When he landed, shockwaves rippled across the earth. I had to cling to the ground with my claws to keep my balance. Emma fell over.
Delmare cheered with victory, raising her fists to the sky. Stefan remained on his back, four legs in the air, and didn’t get up. A couple of people sent them harsh glares and rude gestures before they returned to the exercise.
Emma got off the ground. She wrenched her eyes away from the disaster that was Stefan and Delmare and looked at me. She raised an eyebrow. “So… how are you supposed to teach me how to levitate stuff if you can’t do it yourself, since you’re not a Marked?”
“It’s all theory. It’s not much different than communicating across long distances,” I said. “The same techniques are used.”
I turned to face a large rock on the ground, about the size of my paw. “Try to lift that.”
“That?” Emma scoffed in disbelief. “It’s kinda big for my first time.”
“That’s what they all say,” I commented. Emma face-palmed, and I couldn’t resist a chuckle.
“Are you done laughing at your own jokes?” she asked. “I don’t want to be behind in this class, too.”
I cleared my throat and said, “Yes. Anyway. It’s the same as if you picked it up with your hand. It just takes mental energy instead of physical. Imagine lifting the rock into the air, but don’t move your arm. The intention is simple.”
“Well, if you can understand it, I’m sure it is,” she said. I laughed again.
Emma focused her eyes on the rock. A few moments passed, and nothing happened. But she didn’t break her concentration. The rock wiggled, and her mouth dropped open in shock. “I’m doing it!”
“Almost,” I said. “Now try lifting it.”
The sound of applause drew away our attention. Gabby had uprooted an entire oak tree and was levitating it three feet above the ground. Her face was strained, but the tree remained suspended in mid-air.
How the fuck was she doing that? She was a freakingFirst Year.She shouldn’t have that kind of power.
Elijah held his head up proudly, like he was doing it himself. If he wasn’t a Companion, I’d suspect he was. But Gabby was doing it all on her own. What was going on?
Professor Victor and Professor Lunesta looked similarly confused. Something was up here.
Emma seemed downcast. “Why does she has to beat me in everything?”
“Forget Gabby. That’s not normal,” I told her. “Why do you give a shit what she does, anyway? Focus on whatyoucan do.”
“Which is practically nothing,” Emma said in discouragement. “I’m tired of always being the weakest one in the class.”
She glanced at me. “You know I am. I know what people say about me. That whoever bonds with me is getting the short end of the stick.”
Fury rose up in me and made me feel like I was going to snap. I’d heard the rumors, too, but so what? They didn’t know anything about what was between me and my mate. “Screw those people. I believe in you,” I told her. “That should be enough.”
“You think I’m being stupid, but IknowI’m bound to the Phantom,” she protested. “How can someone like me ever be worthy of him? He’s an amazing shifter, and I’m nothing. I don’t know if I can survive in this world without him.”
Oh, Emma. If only you knew it was the other way around. “If the Phantom truly loves you, he’ll accept you however you are,” I said firmly. “But Iknowyou can do this. If he were here, he’d be telling you the same thing. Don’t prove him wrong.”
Emma sighed. She sent a last glance toward Gabby, who’d let the tree fall back on the ground, and steeled her expression. “Okay. I’ll try again.”
She fixed her eyes on the stone. This time, it wiggled immediately, rocking back and forth. Slowly, it rose into the air, turning slightly as if on a rotating axis. Emma’s expression brightened as she rose the stone in front of her face and kept it levitated.
“Way to go!” I cheered. Emma let the rock drop back down to the ground. She wavered on her feet.
“That took a lot more effort than I expected,” she said. “It was actually kind of… hard.”
“It’s not easy,” I confessed. “But with time, you’ll become more… Emma? Emma!”
Her eyes rolled back in her head as she collapsed. I changed back into a human immediately and caught her before her head hit the ground.
“Emma!” Odette called. She’d stopped chasing Theo around as she noticed her friend faint. She, Delmare, and Kiara came racing over. I cradled Emma in my arms, lifting her as I stood. She was so light and tiny. I never noticed before.
