“At first, absolutely. He was famous, this amazing battler who took down every opponent, and was very easy on the eyes.” She smiled warmly and shrugged. “So, of course I was enchanted. Who wasn’t? But then I saw what he was doing to you. The battles during your training. The forbidden calls. I began to see him the way you saw him.” She nailed me with a look. “Dark.”
I didn’t know whether to thank her or yell at her for taking so long to see what I’d seen from the first day I’d met Spencer. Neither seemed appropriate after the fact, so I remained silent.
“I vowed I’d never doubt you again, Katy. I’m following through with that vow. I’m sorry I accused you of attacking other students. I won’t doubt you again. If you say Sammie attacked you, then that’s exactly what happened. My question is, why?”
Something Tweedledum had said to Tweedledumber came back to me when they’d attacked. “The prophecy has fallen,” I muttered.
“What did you just say?”
“It’s something Alec said to Spencer. He said the prophecy had fallen, and then they both disappeared, like just totally tapped out right in the middle of a battle.” I hopped off the table to move around as I worked out the theory aloud. I did my best thinking while pacing. “Sammie didn’t take back the prophecy to protect me. She did it to tip the balance in the dark side’s favor.”
“Oh my God. In their blind determination to save our world, the Council handed her the key to destroying it.” Stace paused. “I think it’s time to call in the quad squad.”
I thought she’d never ask. I whipped out my phone, texting the guys. Clay popped in almost immediately after I hit Send. “Hey, Montana. Texting is like rubbing the lamp. You rub me the right way, and I come…” He trailed off when he realized we weren’t alone. “Hey, guys. Didn’t, uh… Didn’t see you there. Ha-ha.” He rubbed the back of his neck and averted his gaze.
An audible pop announced Bryan’s arrival. “What is it? You said it was urgent.”
“This is going to take all of you,” Stace explained. Rob popped in. Even Leo teleported in. My cavalry had arrived.
“What’s up, babe?”
I looked to Stace, who nodded for me to answer. “We’re going to take down the prophecy.”
21
I hated hospitals. I hated them even more when I was a patient.
Okay, fake patient.
But I still hated hospitals.
Stace and Syd had convinced the Council I’d suffered a mental break from heat exhaustion—which wasn’t a thing for elementals with the power to control fire, mind you—but the old guys had bought it. I’d be right as rain with just a little rest. Just to be on the safe side, they’d agreed to keep me collared until the prophecy deemed it safe to remove the elemutus.
Fake prophecy.
God, I hated this. Now, for the past week, the guys and I had been planning the downfall of the woman who’d given me life. We’d plotted every day after classes—which I didn’t attend but still had to do the work, so that was awesome—and had finally come up with a plan that would work. I hoped. She needed to be stopped, and I was the one powerful enough to stop her. I didn’t want her dead. I just wanted her where she couldn’t hurt others.
It didn’t take a master’s degree to figure out she’d been the one attacking the students, filling their minds with that creepy fog to disorient them enough to convince them I’d been the one to attack. Good luck proving that.
I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the woman since the attack and subsequent fallout. Tonight was a party in her honor for learning of the counter ward (that she’d created) and hunting it down (that she’d hidden). Her heroic efforts restored the barrier. Go, Sammie.
And tonight, I’d expose her for the dark elemental she was. How many times would the Council be fooled by the shiny coins? First Spencer. Now Sammie. Who was next?
Not my problem, I decided. If they wanted to continue to lead this world through fear tactics, they could count me out. Did that make me dark? No. But it would in the Council’s eyes when I did what I had to do. The thought of going after my own mom gave me hives. I didn’t want her as an enemy. I would rather have her as a mother.
But, alas, the reality of the situation didn’t yield itself to that scenario. Samantha Reed had chosen her side. I’d chosen mine. It wasn’t exactly brother against brother. It was worse. It was mother against daughter.
And it would tear this world apart.
My hands shook as I went about the task of applying makeup. I’d given up on my hair and tied it into a sloppy red mop on top of my head. The blue sweater I’d snagged from Leo covered the majority of the white uniform dress shirt so only the starched collar and tail showed. I wiped my hands on my jeans to dry my palms.
“This is hopeless,” I muttered and threw my eyeliner. It landed in the sink below the mirror in the room I’d called home for five nights and six days. Five lonely nights listening to the annoyingly loud ticking of the clock on the wall. Six long days of staring at the ceiling every time one of the Council members perched outside my door had come in to check on me. Pretending to be totally mellow and in an almost catatonic state was harder than it sounded. I deserved an Academy Award for my performance. Maybe a parade. A cookie at the very least.
At least the guys visiting me every day helped with the isolation. I never knew how much I’d miss going out until I couldn’t. Locking people away didn’t help with their mental stability. It only drove them more insane. I definitely related, having been on lockdown for
