“You know enough to love me.”
He studied me intently. “That I do.”
“And we’re back to talking like Yoda.”
“You’re avoiding the question.”
I lifted my head. “Was there a question?”
“Reed, please?”
I groaned and dropped my head back down on the pillow. “Ugh. Something about me. Something about me.” I chanted that several more times before it came to me. “I think she chose the wrong guy. Clearly, she should have chosen the wolf over the sparkly vamp.”
“You’re impossible.” This time he groaned as he rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling.
Curling onto my side, I rested my head on my elbow and studied him. He no longer smiled, so, out of the goodness of my heart, I gave in to his request. “Fine, here’s something. I don’t think my mom likes me.” I focused on his chest to avoid his eyes. “Or maybe doesn’t like the adult me.”
“That’s crazy.” He cupped my face and kissed me gently. “How can anyone not like the adult you? You show that side of you so rarely.” He laughed when I smacked his chest and took my hands in his so I wouldn’t keep beating on him. “I’m only kidding. You two haven’t seen each other in almost six years and didn’t exactly part on the best of terms. It’s going to take more than a few days to find your groove. Besides, it’s been crazy with all the tribunals, magically enhanced elementals, and the barrier at the academy failing. She’s kind of been a little busy. We all have.”
“Maybe you’re right.” I rested my head on his chest and played with the coarse hair. “Okay, your turn. Tell me one of your innermost thoughts.”
“There’s only one thought that’s been on my mind.” He sighed long and hard, staring at the ceiling. “I’m just going to say it.” He looked down at me. What I saw robbed me of breath. It was more than concern swirling in his dark gaze. More than worry. It was fear, stark and vivid. “What if when they test you tomorrow, they discover the darkness?”
It was something I’d been worried about since the Council had started testing the students. I was magically enhanced, and tomorrow, that would be out in the open for everyone else to see. “I can always try to conceal it.”
“You couldn’t even control it a week ago.”
“I know, and that’s the problem.” I looked at him, searching his soul and expression for comfort. When the strength in his gaze gave me strength, I admitted to him, “When I get close to the barrier, my hand glows.”
“Like how it does when you’re about to go dark?”
“Or around a strong concentration of dark magic. It burns and throbs. Stace thinks it’s the light and darkness battling it out inside me.”
He stiffened. “You talked to Stace about this?”
“She’s my faculty advisor.”
“I’m your guy,” he countered. “You don’t keep something like this from me. From us. Look what happened last time you tried to hide what was going on with you.”
Fair point. “Do you think she’s right? Do you think it could be the two elements duking it out?”
“Maybe your light element is warning you somehow, like a beacon, lighting up when it senses darkness.”
“Maybe. Yet another mystery centered around me, I guess.” I rested my chin on his chest. “What happens to the magically enhanced elementals? Is the Council really taking them to Carcerem?”
He studied me for several seconds before interlacing our fingers. He pulled me closer, curling me to him. I rested my head back on his large chest.
“Yep.”
I lifted my head to regard him. “But they didn’t do anything wrong.”
“It’s not my call, Reed. Do I agree with it? No. Can I do anything about it? Another no. Now, get some sleep. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
Thoughts of me spending the rest of my life in prison consumed my mind as I drifted off to sleep. This time, I didn’t dream of the void. This time, I dreamt of living in a six-by-eight cell, surrounded by truly dark elementals.
I think I liked the dreams of the void better.
11
Day three of tribunals. The troubling dream of me taking up residence at Carcerem had jolted me awake and kept me anxious enough that I didn’t get any solid amount of sleep after that. Rob tried to calm me down, even pushing his control to me as we held each other, but it wasn’t enough to sooth my rattled nerves. After our vigorous horizontal workout, coupled with my exhaustion over the first two days of tribunals, I was in serious need of slumber.
Now as I stood in front of the mirror in the cabin’s small bathroom, tightening and retightening my ponytail to keep my red hair off my face during my tribunal, applying just a touch more mascara on the left eye to balance out the lashes, then applying more to the right when I went overboard on the left, I couldn’t stop myself from trembling.
I’d skipped the coffee this morning—which, in itself, should be commended—and opted for decaf tea. I was shaky enough. My nerves didn’t need the added jolt.
“Thought I’d find you here.” Bryan appeared behind me in full uniform and nodded his greeting through the reflection. He took up the rest of the bathroom with his large frame. His hazel gaze danced, as it always did when he looked at me, and when our eyes met, he flashed that crooked smile.
I stiffened and fought the urge to turn, run into his arms, and squeal like the schoolgirl I was. Less than twelve hours ago, he couldn’t stand the sight of me. “You were looking for me?”
“Well, yeah. My girlfriend
