I removed my sweater and tossed it to the ground, creating a barrier between my white shirt and the grass, scooted to Bryan, and straightened on the grass, resting my head on his thigh. He stroked my hair, sending chills across my scalp. I tucked my skirt under me as best I could. There wasn’t much material to tuck. “I don’t need a new partner. I’ve got you guys.”
“Yeah, you do.” Clay’s tone was heated, thick with intent. No hidden meaning there.
“Enough,” Rob barked, taking charge of the conversation. My fire elemental was all about control, which I loved about him. “Reed, how exactly did the Council want you partnering with this guy?”
I rolled my head to look at him, focusing in on the uncertainty in his ever-darkening gaze. Something about me partnering with the new guy had Rob upset. He wasn’t alone. That same suspicion brewed in each of the guys’ gazes. I knew the feeling. “He’s here to continue my training. Spencer Dalton is my new handler. Surprise.”
“Hell no,” Rob growled.
Bryan said at the same time, “No way.”
“You don’t need him,” Leo protested.
“I don’t think it’s all that bad,” Clay said, shocking us all and earning glares from the rest of the guys. “Think about it. The five of us are the strongest callers at the school and barely made it out of those ruins alive.” He darted a quick look Rob’s way. “Some of us were closer to death than others.”
Rob nodded and said nothing. No words were needed. We all knew how lucky we were to be alive, especially Rob, who had a little help from Cressida.
“Montana is a freakin’ quint and nearly died fulfilling the prophecy. What if we’re not so lucky next time? Having another powerful elemental—a quad—on our side isn’t a bad thing. I say we give the guy a chance. Maybe he’ll teach her something we couldn’t.”
Bryan made a face. “All that teleporting scrambled your brain.”
“I don’t like Reed working with any other handlers,” Rob added. “I’m going to talk to Dean Carter.”
“Maybe we should ask our girl what she wants.” Clay picked at the grass and tossed it into the air, using his element to keep it dancing.
“How about it, babe?” Leo asked. “Do you want to train with this guy?”
“I don’t even want to have coffee with this guy,” I fired back. “But Clay’s right. You guys taught me how to control my powers and counterattacks. Maybe Spencer can teach me more.”
Speaking of the shaggy-haired, blue-eyed devil, Spencer walked out of Ventus in our house colors, spotted me sitting with the guys, and seemed to deflate before changing direction.
Time to turn off my bitch switch.
As much as I didn’t want to play nice with him and still didn’t know why, I swallowed my pride and called out, “Hey, Spencer!”
He stopped and turned, tilting his head at my beckoning, which was totally understandable. We didn’t exactly part on the best of terms at breakfast. I waved him over and refused to watch him approach, not trusting my reaction. If the guys caught on to so much as a hint that I liked anything about him, there’d be hell to pay.
And, for the record, I didn’t like anything about him. Just to be clear.
“Good morning?” It came out as a question, and a cautious one at that. He kept a careful distance as he glanced around the group.
I stood, brushing the grass from my backside. The guys did the same. “Spencer, I want you to meet the quad squad.”
Rob stepped forward first, his hand extended, his shoulders squared, his chest clearly puffed. “Rob Emmett, fire. I’m the squad leader.” They shook hands. Hard. Rob narrowed his eyes into a glare as he continued to grip Spencer’s hand.
The corners of his mouth tipped up. “Pleasure.”
“Clay Williams, air.” When they shook, it was friendly. At first. But then Clay dropped his smile and eyed Spencer, slowly removing his hand and stepping back, his focus never leaving the new guy.
What was that all about?
“Leo Jackson, water.” He stepped forward and shook Spencer’s hand. No battle for dominance. No weird glare. At least one of my guys had some manners.
“Bryan Gunderson, earth.” Bryan shook his hand. When Spencer tried to take his back, Bryan kept it, drawing Spencer’s gaze. He set his square jaw and kept his spine ramrod straight. With his barrel chest and broad shoulders, he dwarfed Spencer’s lean frame. “We’re her boyfriends.”
“All of you?” He bounced his attention to each guy, who all stared back with hard, unwavering expressions, daring him to say something. Spencer’s eyes rounded when he got it. “Oh? Oh. Oh! I see.” His ears turned red.
Clay stepped forward, his muscles flexed, his chin out. I’d never seen him so stern before. It was unsettling seeing my carefree air elemental so serious, so intimidating. That was Rob’s job. “Since today is air, I’ll be on the training field with you.”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary.”
“Oh, but it is.”
Spencer’s lips tipped up again, amused at Clay’s challenge. He gave one more look to the rest of the guys before conceding with a nod. “Very well. I shall see you on the field.” He regarded me, determination and something else I couldn’t quite place shining in his gaze. “Katy, always a pleasure.”
Once Spencer was out of earshot, I turned to Clay. “What was that?”
“He’s not air.”
“He’s undeclared,” I explained.
He shook his head. “No, I mean he’s not air, like I didn’t feel it in him. I tried to steal his air when I took his hand. Don’t look at me like that, it was just for fun. But when I tried, the element didn’t respond, like it wasn’t even there.”
I whipped around and watched Spencer
