“Exactly. It’s not the rock that makes it home.” He winked, making my insides twist and dance. His comment made me smile. He made me smile. Always. “We can glue some eyes on it and give it a name. How about Rocky?”
“How about you go to class?”
“Yes, dear.” He bowed, winked again, and popped out.
I laughed and shook my head at his crazy antics. When I turned, I stilled at how Trevor stared at me with wide, sad eyes. He looked like I just took his pony away.
“Who was that?” he asked in a small voice.
The kid broke my heart with that heartbroken expression. “A friend.”
“Do you kiss all your friends like that?”
Four friends, in particular. It was none of his business how I greeted any of my friends. “Has anyone ever told you that you ask a lot of questions?”
He nodded. “All the time.”
Students began to trickle in, saving me from another interrogation from this wide-eyed first year. Professor Layden entered the room, the black robes flowing from the brisk pace, and started right in. “Take your seats, everyone. We have a lot to cover in the next two hours.”
I sat off to the side for the first hour, listening to Layden lecture, watching the room’s response. Half dozed off. The other half looked like they struggled to stay awake. I knew moving 3C to the first two hours of the day was a bad idea. If we didn’t do something to liven it up, we’d lose them all.
I stood and raised my hand. “Professor Layden?”
She stopped lecturing and frowned in disapproval over my interruption. “Yes, Katy?”
“Since today is Monday, how about I give them a demonstration on air?”
Her frown deepened. “A demonstration?”
“Sure.” I approached, placing my back to the class and lowering my voice for her ears only. “Trust me on this one. I’ll fill you in after class.”
She stepped to the side, giving me the stage. I faced the students and drew in a deep breath. I only had one shot at this. If I didn’t do something to impress the first years—aside from the whole saving-their-world thing—they’d never see me as the prophecy.
Starting with something small, I called air and created a soft cyclone around me. Some of the students seemed impressed. Most, however, didn’t, so I increased the power in my call. The cyclone grew in size and intensity, lifting my skirt. I killed my call and pulled the skirt down before I showed the entire class the color of my underwear. They all laughed, so I laughed too.
“Oops.” I smiled sheepishly and called air once again, this time keeping the twister above my shoulders. It danced around my head, lifting my hair straight up. The class laughed again as I whipped my head back and forth. “What? Is there something in my hair?”
My element warmed. It enjoyed this as much as I did. “How about we give them something to talk about at lunch?” I asked my element. It responded by breaking into several mini-tornados, dancing from student to student, messing up hair, blowing papers around, and earning some claps when it returned to me. I closed my hands into fists, and the call died.
The class erupted into applause and laughter. Even Professor Layden clapped and nodded her approval. Maybe being a TA wasn’t going to suck after all.
After 3C let out, I hung behind. I didn’t have another class until right before lunch and wanted to ask the professor about the tribunal.
“Great idea on the demonstration.” She used air to tidy up the room, resetting chair desks and sweeping up a few loose sheets of paper. Air was quickly becoming my favorite element due to its versatility and usefulness, especially in many ways outside of a battle. I’d only really used my powers in lessons and to defend myself during attacks. I needed to expand my horizons.
“I’d done demonstrations before,” she went on. “But it can be a challenge to control an element and control a classroom at the same time.”
“That’s why you have me.” We fell silent as I watched her finish cleaning the room, impressed with her control.
When she finished, she turned to me. “Was there anything else?”
“I, uh…” How could I ask her about the tribunal without sounding like I was accusing her of making a mistake? “You see, it’s just…” I sighed, dropping it. God, I was such a coward.
“Are you worried about your training with Spencer?”
That, I had no problem talking about and eagerly changed the subject. “Why does the Council want me training him anyway?”
She frowned. “Katy, he’s not here to learn from you. He’s here to train you. I thought I made that clear. He’s not just your partner. He’s your handler.”
Fuck. My. Life.
5
Since Professor Layden got me out of Elemental History, I had an hour to kill before my Ancient Divination class, a whole hour to dwell on the realization Spencer Dalton had come to Clearwater to continue my training. I didn’t want to go through another year of grueling lessons, of backbreaking mock battles that left me light-headed and cranky. If I wanted to feel like I’d just taken a ride on a roller coaster on crack, I’d hit up Disneyland.
The weather was beautiful—after all, it was still August—so I walked around, taking in the warmth of the sun and admiring how well-groomed they kept the grounds. Not a blade out of place, the lines between the grass and cement paths crisp and clean. The trees had all been trimmed up, their branches high and proud.
As I walked along the path, I dwelled on the fact I had a new handler. Me. The prophecy. The one who took on Alec von Leer and lived to tell the tale. Why’d the Council feel the need to switch handlers on me? I had the four strongest elementals on campus training me. We’d defeated the dark side, for Christ’s sake. Give us a little credit.
But no. Instead, the Council imported a
