“I got you a burger.” Rob joined us, setting a plate in front of me.
“And a mountain of fries,” Leo added as he took a seat, dropping a bag of delicious salty goodness next to the burger. I tore through the paper and attacked the fries first.
As we ate and laughed at stupid stories, keeping the topics light and superficial, we all ignored the heavier conversation that needed to be had. By the time we ran out of things to talk about, the dining hall had cleared out, leaving only those few stragglers there doing homework.
“Dining hall closes in ten minutes,” someone called from the back.
I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather while we had it. The rain would settle in and turn the island cold and gray soon enough. “Let’s get out of here and go somewhere we can really talk.”
Clay was the first to stand and stretched his hands high above his head, showing off his impressive and mouthwatering abs. “As long as we stay on campus.”
I wouldn’t make that mistake again, especially now that the Council had invoked the prophecy. I had a target on my back and shitty luck whenever I left Clearwater’s protective grounds. “The ruins?”
We all fell silent and exchanged uneasy looks. We still hadn’t been back there as a group since the attack where we thought we’d lost Rob. I regarded him and waited. It was his call.
He nodded and joined Clay, reaching out to help me to my feet. “What are we waiting for?”
13
“Who wants to start?” I asked once we were inside the dilapitated structure. Clay and Leo sat on a giant stone, taking turns picking at the moss growing on it. Bryan leaned against a wall, his arms crossed. Rob and I stood near the entrance, taking turns checking our surroundings to make sure no one else joined us and overheard something they shouldn’t.
I debated waking the phytoplankton growing on the stone walls just to give us a warm aqua glow, but I knew how much they hated to be disturbed. Unless we had a maniacal dark elemental about to kill us, there was no need to disrupt their peaceful existence.
“How about we talk about that cut on your hand.” Bryan nodded at my palm. I curled my fingers, covering it. I didn’t want to talk about the cut. I wanted them to talk to me about what happened on the extraction.
“I meant who wants to talk about today.”
“I vote we talk about your fandler.” Clay continued to pick at the moss growing on the stone.
“I don’t want to talk about Spencer.”
“I don’t want to talk about the extraction,” he countered in a harsh tone. “I just want to forget it ever happened.” He went back to picking at the moss.
The awkward silence took over as I jumped my gaze from guy to guy. Clay with his slumped shoulders and vacant expression. He, like Rob, hadn’t changed out of his extraction uniform. In fact, none of them had. Bryan used his foot to push a rock around the dirt floor, keeping his head down. They didn’t want to talk about it, it seemed, and I didn’t want to force them. But Rob had broken down in my arms, he’d been so upset. I turned to him. “How about you?”
“We were at the kid’s house.” He rubbed the back of his neck. I joined Bryan to hold up the wall and give him space. Rob stared at the ground, looking so utterly lost, it hurt my heart. “The dad was pleading for us to not take him.”
Bryan reached over and took my hand when I inhaled sharply as memories of my own extraction came flooding back. My dad didn’t even say good-bye, he was that eager to let me go.
But hey, who’s bitter? It wasn’t like he’d been gunning for parent of the year prior to that awesome moment.
“The mom…just stood there.” Clay’s expression twisted as he struggled with the recount of what happened. “While her husband cried and begged us not to break up their family, she just stood there.”
At least she was there.
“Did she say anything?” I braced myself for the same six words that had destroyed my world.
“Don’t freak out.” Rob kept his focus on me as he took a step, his hands up. “She said we knew this day would come.”
I pushed off the wall as my heart hammered in my chest. Everything grew a little colder, a little darker. Those were the same six words my dad had said over and over, like that was some sort of justification for my mom disappearing. “What did you just say?”
He took another step toward me. “Don’t freak out,” he repeated.
“You do know telling someone not to freak out has the exact opposite effect, right?”
The guys all knew what those six words meant to me. It could be a coincidence, but something deep in my soul ate away at that reasoning. Those were very specific words. I couldn’t breathe and wanted to teleport out and hide until I made sense of the turmoil now spiraling inside me. Since my teleporting skills relied on my air element actually listening to me, I dismissed that thought and danced from foot to foot as I eyed the entrance. I’d have to make a break for it the Nelem way. Why I had the sudden and overwhelming urge to escape, I had no idea. I only knew I had to get away from them.
“Katy?” Bryan stepped toward me from the opposite side of Rob. “You okay?”
Clay and Leo both stood and closed in. Shit. They were surrounding me. I inched closer to the opening and eyed it again. Almost there.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Rob hooked me around the waist and pulled me
