A bump from behind sent me around. When I recognized him, I sucked in a deep breath and dropped my jaw.
It was Leo.
Holy shiny balls. What the hell was he doing in the void? I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. Hard. He stared straight ahead, completely unaffected by the contact. I shoved him. I slapped him. I punched him. Nothing seemed to register.
Well, fine. I knew one way that always got to him. I grabbed him by the collar, pulling his lips to mine. I called water and pushed my element to him.
Our lips glowed, brighter and brighter. I had to squeeze my eyes shut to protect them from the light. The heat from our connection melted into me, and I smiled.
I quickly lost it when I realized the heat wasn’t from our connection at all. I’d somehow switched my call to fire—not good when touching an elemental without the power to control the same element. I pulled back just as he blinked and locked gazes with me.
And then burst into flames.
I screamed and screamed and screamed as my water elemental stood there and burned.
Jolting awake, I jerked upright and pushed my hair off my face. Well, that was even more terrifying than me being alone in the void. I decided then and there I’d drink however many gallons of coffee I needed to stay awake until I understood why I took a trip to limbo land every time I closed my eyes.
If only I could talk to someone who’d actually returned from the void.
You’re an idiot, Katy Reed.
My mom had rescued Bryan, which meant she’d been there. Not only that, she knew how to return from it. I had no intention of sleeping ever again, well, at least not tonight, and jumped out of bed. I dressed quickly.
Knowing the guys would insist on joining me, I decided I’d tell them where I went after teleporting there. It was quiet, so they must all be asleep. I was more than a little disappointed not one of them had joined me in the bed, but I’d get over it. It’d been a blessing in disguise. Now I could sneak away without any of the guys knowing.
I focused on the infirmary and popped out.
7
My teleport landed me next to the statue of Cressida Clearwater, which didn’t surprise me. I thought of the academy’s founder whenever I thought of anything to do with the academy. Cressida had the power to calm me, center me, even though she’d been gone for a very, very long time.
No, that wasn’t true. She wasn’t gone, not in the literal sense of the word. Her essence remained with the school, had become one with the school, to be more exact. I didn’t know who knew that and had never mentioned it in case it wasn’t something she wanted out.
I paused my quest to seek out my mom and ask her about the void, glancing up at the face of the original supreme elemental, the one who’d single-handedly saved our kind from annihilation when she’d fled the Salem Witch Trials back in the 1600s.
“Hi, Cressida. Sorry I haven’t been by to visit. I’ve been a little busy.” I swept the grounds with a keen eye, checking for anyone who might be listening in. It was dark, empty, not a soul in sight. Then again, it was almost four in the morning and the school did have a curfew—a curfew I ignored on a regular basis.
“My mom isn’t dead after all, so that’s kind of big news. She rescued Bryan from the void and is back now, so that’s more big news. Oh, and you probably already know this, but Spencer isn’t a powerful quad after all. He’s a leecher and teamed up with Alec von Leer to kill me, so go me.” I crossed my arms and stuck my hands in my pits to keep them warm. It might get hot during the day, but damn, it got cold at night. “That must have been what you meant when you said things aren’t what they seem.”
A cool breeze swirled around me, causing me to shiver. “Okay, so that wasn’t what you meant.” I sighed, wishing she could just tell me. These one-sided conversations got old sometimes. “Well, good chat. I’m off to talk to someone real.”
Open your eyes.
Not this again. If she wanted to talk to me, I already knew she had the power to manifest. She didn’t have to keep using those same three words as code to see her. “If you have something to say, would you just say it?”
Nothing. No warmth enveloping me to let me know she heard me. Not even a cold wind to tell me she disapproved of my comment. I waved at the statue and shuffled off.
The infirmary was empty when I walked in. I didn’t expect to find Syd here at this hour, but I did expect to find my mom. Maybe she’d already found a place to live. After searching the rooms and coming up empty, I was just about to leave when whimpering stopped me.
Was that Trevor? I figured he’d be released by now.
I turned and searched the rooms again, confused to find them just as empty as when I’d searched them the first time. “Trevor?”
“No,” he whimpered. It was definitely him. “Don’t. I don’t want it.”
“Trevor?” I said a little louder and picked up the pace, hurrying toward the sound of his tiny cries. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Where are
