“What about Rob and Clay?” I could use all my guys right now, even though I was still annoyed with some of them. Together, they completed me and kept me sane, even the two hotheads who needed to work on their tempers.
“Rob would just want to set him on fire. He found me after he left your lesson and bent my ear until I told him to go let off some steam. For the record, he’s not exactly happy with you right now either. Clay probably wouldn’t even show up. If he did, he’d find some way to joke about it before blowing it off.”
“Not as of lately. Clay’s fire element is taking over or something. He’s been getting mad at everything. He seems to be channeling his fire pretty hard core.”
He nodded as if he understood. If he did, maybe he could explain it to me. Clay’s change baffled the hell out of me. “I’ll text them to meet us in the ruins.”
My heart spasmed at the mention of the ruins. It’d be the first time all of us would be back inside the structure at the same time since Alec had us trapped inside last year. “Why the ruins?”
“We need privacy. If we so much as hint at speaking out against the Council, rumors of you being dark might resurface, and we can’t have me anywhere near a conversation like that. You know what people already say about me.”
Which was grossly unfair. Bryan was the strictest, most rule-abiding guy I knew, for obvious reasons. I conceded with a nod. “And it will give us a chance to talk to Cressida.” Maybe she’d come to Bryan since, apparently, I’d done something to offend her.
“Exactly. Come on.” He took my hand and teleported us into the ruins. My stomach flipped, and I had to draw in several deep breaths to keep its contents down.
“I’m starting to see why Leo hates teleporting,” I mumbled and held my hand over my midsection.
Bryan had his nose in his phone and looked up. “What was that?”
“Never mind.” I glanced around the structure, expecting to see Cressida appear and growing frustrated when she didn’t. I flattened my hand against one of the stones that made up the wall, searching for that warmth she brought when she came to me. It remained cold, dark, and empty. My hand began to ache, so I lowered it and absentmindedly rubbed the cut on my palm.
“They aren’t coming.”
I turned, surprised the guys would turn down the opportunity for us to all hang out together. I got that Clay and Rob were mad at me, but that shouldn’t be enough for them to avoid me. “Why not?”
“Rob and Leo are working on a paper due tomorrow.”
Fine, I’d give them that. We were here to learn, after all. As much as I hated to admit it, school came first. Dammit. “And Clay?”
“Never responded.” He shook his head and tucked his phone into his pocket. “Told you he wouldn’t.”
The disappointment crushed me. He couldn’t be that mad over me cutting class earlier. It had to be something else. “I’ll stop by his room later to check on him.” And wring his neck for ignoring us.
“Your hand still bugging you?”
I stopped rubbing it and hid it behind my back. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not fine.” He grasped my wrist and pulled my hand to him, examining the cut. “Katy, this looks infected. We should have Syd take a look at it.”
We didn’t need the academy’s healer involved in anything involving me, especially in the wake of last night’s attack. “It’s no big deal.” Other than that it throbbed constantly. And it made my entire arm ache. And I hadn’t been able to warm up since it happened. It was like my hand had been submerged in dense, icy water.
Other than that, though… Totally no big deal.
“Besides,” I went on. “With the Council wanting to declare Spencer the prophecy and me wanting to fight it—”
“Wait,” he interrupted. “You want to fight the Council on this?”
“I do. He’s not prophecy material. He’s just in it to up his social status. You should have seen the way he showboated in front of Layden. If word got back to the Council that I have some weird cut on my hand that won’t heal, they might use that as reason enough to shut me down.” When he didn’t say anything, I did. “Well?”
“Well what? What do you want me to say to that? Being the prophecy puts a target on your back. Every dark elemental wants to be the one to beat the prophecy. If the Council wants to give it to someone else, let them. Katy, this is your chance to get out from under that. Why wouldn’t you take it?”
“Do you trust the guy to defend our world?”
“It’s his world too.” He took my hands. I winced when he brushed across the gash. His expression changed as he first eyed the cut, then riveted a rounded look to me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
He lowered his gaze to my hand again.
“Bryan, what’s going on?”
“I, uh…” He dropped my hand like it was on fire. When he retreated a step, a coolness washed over me. “I think we need to see Syd.”
“I already said no. I’m fine.”
“Katy, you’re not fine.” He kept staring at my hand.
I held up my palm and studied the cut. Sure, it was ugly and would leave a gnarly scar that would no doubt prohibit me from ever getting a solid fortune from a palm reader, but I’d live. “It’s just a cut.”
“There’s something seriously wrong.” He grabbed my wrist. “We’re either going to Syd or we’re going to Professor Layden. Your choice.”
“Would you just tell me what’s going on?”
“I’m sensing…something. It may be nothing, but until we have Syd take a look, I can’t be sure.”
“Okay, fine. If it’ll get you to stop being all weird, I’ll go see Syd.”
“Now?”
With a
