“I think you did more than that. He couldn’t remember something pretty significant that happened to Leo.”
That perked her right up. “Leo? Did something happen to him?”
“Stop.” I brought up my hands, creeped out that my mom coug’d on my boyfriend. “Leo’s parents are stuck in the void. It was pretty terrible, and somehow, Bryan forgot.”
“Oh no.” She lowered her head, shaking it. “My spell. I took it too far. Oh God. I’m so sorry, Katy. I was only trying to help.”
“I know.” I reached for her, but stopped myself before touching her. That was when I recalled the dirt and grime on her hands and arms. “Why are you all dirty?”
She inspected all the smudges covering her skin. “Do you know how far you have to go to take out the trash around here?”
I had no idea, having never had to do the dirty deed myself. “Why are you taking out the trash?”
“I wanted to do something nice for Syd since he’s letting me stay here rent-free. I went to all the rooms and emptied the trash cans, then took the bag to the dumpster. It’s surprisingly farther than you think. I couldn’t see and tripped on the uneven ground.” She shrugged. “Call me a klutz.”
“Something else we have in common.” I laughed, relieved by her explanation and not sure why. “Hey, I have another question.”
“You’re quite inquisitive tonight.”
I shrugged. I had a lot of years of questions to make up for. “How’d you get Bryan out of the void?”
“Oh that. I tracked Alec’s echo to a deserted warehouse in Seattle, thinking I might find you. Instead, I found Bryan guarded by two dark elementals. I defeated them and pulled Bryan out.”
That didn’t answer the question. “But how?”
“The void takes the mind but not the body, and the senses are still there, just unresponsive. I told him who I was and asked him to help me find you. That’s what brought him back, sweetie. You.”
Holy hand jive. As if I didn’t already have enough reason to love the guy with everything I was. “That’s, um…something.” I couldn’t say anything more without my voice cracking.
“That most definitely is. Now, I want to get a shower and a few hours’ sleep before the next round of testing. I suggest you do the same.”
We said an awkward good-bye with a wave instead of a hug. I was relieved that Trevor was just having a bad dream. He’d be going home today. The tribunals would be over this time next week. Life would get back to semi-normal in no time.
I went to my dorm to clean up and change into a fresh creepy dude’s fantasy schoolgirl uniform. The gray pleated skirts were too short, the stark white socks too high, and don’t even get me started on the ugly yellow blazers that’d make your eyes bleed if you stared at them too long.
I really needed to get my shit together and move to Terrae. In fact, since I had no intention of sleeping, I decided I’d pack and have everything ready to move by the time the sun came up.
I tiptoed into the room so as not to wake my slumbering Barbie roomie and froze. Her side of the dorm was completely empty, as in not even a bed, no boy band posters, fuzzy pillows, nothing. Did she move? It wouldn’t surprise me. We weren’t the best roommates to stick in the same room together.
I flipped on the light and gave another cursory glance before crossing to my side and grabbing my duffel bags from under my bed. Although I’d love to have this room to myself, I still didn’t want to live in Ventus.
Shoving my stuff into the bags and setting my sketch pad on the top, I paused and studied the image on the page. It was Amethyst, the heroine I’d drawn to look just like my mom. Now that the real thing had returned, did I still need the superhero I’d used to replace her? I’d defeated Alec—several times—so did I need Onyx, the baddie I’d created for the soul purpose of killing him off?
In one word: yes.
Now that I’d given the characters life, I didn’t want to take it back. I couldn’t take it back. I had thousands of followers and, truth be told, I loved coming up with weekly webisodes, posting them, and reading the comments from the viewers. It was my thing. And, since I was no longer the prophecy, it was my only thing.
It didn’t take me all that long to pack up everything, so I had plenty of time to shower and get ready for my last day as a resident of the dorm full of air elementals. The showers were empty at this hour, so I took my time, relishing the hot water, shaving the appropriate areas where I’d rather not have any hair, and even had time for a deep conditioning of my ginger locks. It was heaven.
I’d just shut off the shower when the door to the communal bathroom squeaked open.
“I knew it was a bad idea for her to be in this dorm,” one girl stated.
Oh, please don’t let them be talking about me.
“I bet she’s the reason Jess dropped out,” another girl said.
I froze. Jess dropped out? That must have been why her side had been cleared. I didn’t like the blonde twat waffle, and God knew she’d made my life hell since we’d first met, but I didn’t want her to leave the academy.
“I heard she’s a witch like her mom.”
My mom was so not a witch, and I’d cut a bitch for saying otherwise. Well, except for the fact she had magic and cast a memory spell on Bryan. And the fact I had magic and cast a spell to get my water element to obey.
So, okay. Fine. Maybe we were witches. That didn’t mean they had the right to call us witches.
Yes, I’m aware that makes no sense.
“I bet she cast
