“Ma’am.” Another voice enters the room.
I turn to find another lady there. Please don’t tell me they want to talk to me again. “Yes?”
“Sorry to bother you, but the Council wanted me to let you know before you all left,” she takes a timid step towards us and stares down at her hands, “Beth, you aren’t allowed to observe in the field until you become an asset to our community instead of a liability. You aren’t allowed to expand on your studies until further approved by the council themselves.” She scurries away.
What the hell? What better way to learn then in the field myself? At this point, they are trying to sabotage me.
Dad frowns and he takes both Mom’s and my hand. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
As we walk out of the mansion, Christina sees us and stops.
She looks at me and then at my parents. “Hey, are you guys okay?”
“Yeah, sweetie.” Mom’s smile spreads across her face. “We just had a quick visit and need to get going.”
“We will see you soon.” Dad gives her a quick side hug and heads over to the car.
Christina’s eyes seek mine, but I glance at the ground. She has to know something is up.
Her parents walk up and ignore Mom and I. “Come on, Christina. We need to get inside. You wouldn’t miss school if there wasn’t something important we had to attend to.” Her dad takes her arm and pulls her toward the door. She glances back at me one last time before disappearing behind the closing door.
I get up early since I tossed and turned all night. After taking a long, hot shower, I put on a sports bra, tank top, and work out pants. Today we have physical training class, so I have to wear something that’s easy to move in. I pull my hair up in a ponytail and try to keep all the negative thoughts that haunted me all night at bay.
The doorbell rings downstairs. Oh, dear god. Please don’t let it be another surprise.
There is some movement and then a knock at my door. It opens, and Charlie appears. “Hey, Christina is here.”
Before I can say anything, Christina walks in from behind him and then he steps out of her way.
“And here she is.” Charlie rolls his eyes and leaves, shutting the door behind him.
She walks into the center of the room. Her face is pinched, and her arms are crossed. Her eyes narrow into slits.
Sometimes it’s a pain in the ass to have a best friend.
5
The best way to derail Christina is by giving her a hard time. “Ringing the doorbell now?” I sit and cross my legs. “When did we take a step back in our relationship?”
Her eyes flare with anger. “Oh, no. You aren’t going to distract me. I heard what happened.”
Shit. Of course, she did. Her family is in the know since her parents expect to be the next set of elders on the council. As long as Christina passes with flying colors, their future is set in stone. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.” Maybe if I play dumb, she’ll think her source was wrong.
“Don’t even lie to me.” Her tone is about two octaves higher than normal. “You are now considered a liability and can’t move forward with your field training.”
My ears ring from that frequency. “Damn, Chris. Can you just talk like a human being for a second and not a damn banshee? We stay away from their kind for a reason.”
“You’re not being cute or funny.” She takes a few steps into my room and picks up my pillow, punching it. “Why don’t you take me serious?”
Is she for real asking me this question? She’s standing there beating the snot out of my pillow. “Well, take a moment and think about what you’re doing. Then ask me that question.”
“Fine.” She drops the pillow and plops on the bed beside me. “Not my finest moment, but that sucks. And I waited for you to call me and nothing. I got up early and headed straight here. Why didn’t you call me?”
Dammit. I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. “Look. I’m sorry. My parents were being all weird and lingering. I just escaped and was drained and fell asleep.”
She purses her lips to the side and nods. “I get it. Just been worried.” She lets out a deep breath and begins rubbing her fingers together.
Oh, no. She’s gearing up to say something. This is her tell. Please don’t let it be something awful.
“You know,” she says as she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, “you won’t be able to watch the prison reaping.”
Like hell I won’t. I’m not going to miss a once in a lifetime chance to watch something like that. I’ll find a way to be there.
“I know what you’re thinking, and you can’t go.” Her blue eyes turn to me and her eyebrows furrow. “You can’t get in any more trouble than you’re already in.”
The problem is that I don’t want to argue with her. She’s coming from a place of concern. So how am I going to get her to see my point of view? “What would you do if at your next test, your life saving ability gets in your way and you fail?”
Her head tilts back and she places a hand on her chest. “It can’t happen. I mean it won’t. It’s me just not knowing how to control my powers. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Now I have her attention. “I’m sure you’re right. But let’s say they freak out on you like mine are on me right now. What are you going to do?”
A huge sigh leaves her. She looks at me and bites her lip. “I’d do everything possible to figure out what’s wrong and fix it.”
Bingo. That’s what I wanted to hear. “Exactly. And that’s what I want to do.” I turn towards her and grab both of
