Wrath of Wind

by Kat Adams

  “What’s wrong?” He had a sixth sense when it came to me. I didn’t know if that was due to how well our element bonded when we were together or what. Our connection ignited the passion deep within me. When it broke free—and it always did when we lost control together—my calls were off the chart. Not just my earth call, but all of them.

  Or maybe it had nothing to do with our element. Maybe he was just that good at reading me. Clay’s words played back.

  Stop looking for things that aren’t there.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” I really did want to talk about it, but was never very good at talking about myself.

  “Does this have anything to do with the attack?”

  “Yes…and no.”

  He frowned. “Talk to me.”

  If I told him what Spencer did during lessons, he’d probably teleport out to find him and kick his ass. Considering how easily my handler beat Clay, and with his own primary, I didn’t know how Bryan would fare against him. My earth elemental was strong and amazingly levelheaded in battle, but even that might not be enough to beat Spencer, the man was that powerful, maybe even more powerful than me.

  Okay, fine. I sort of understood why the Council wanted to declare him the prophecy. Sort of.

  “Professor Layden just dropped a bomb.” I drew in several deep breaths to stop my fire element from surfacing, I was that upset. Bryan took my hand and pushed his control to me. I nodded in thanks. “The Council wants to declare Spencer the next prophecy.”

  He tensed in surprise, squeezing my hand. I winced as my cut protested. He loosened his grip. “Sorry. What do you mean, declare him the next prophecy? You’re the prophecy.”

  “Apparently not after tomorrow morning. We have to report to Dean Carter’s office first thing. I bet that’s what the emergency faculty meeting was about. They knew about the attack, just not who was there. Now they do, thanks to Spencer telling Professor Layden.”

  “Great. I don’t trust that guy to know his ass from a hole in the ground.”

  I frowned at the comment, not understanding it. Then again, I didn’t understand most idioms and blamed my mom for always getting them wrong. Yet another wildly awesome trait she passed on to me in addition to having the power to call the elements, before she took off and left me to deal with it all on my own.

  Thanks, Mom.

  “Come on.” He laced his fingers with mine, pulling me toward the dorms. “Let’s go talk to Leo. Maybe the three of us can put our heads together and come up with a plan. Right now, I just want to find Spencer and bury his ass up to his neck.”

  I couldn’t picture the visual and didn’t want to put any effort into trying.

  “What about Rob and Clay?” I could use all my guys right now, even though I was still annoyed with some of them. Together, they completed me and kept me sane, even the two hotheads who needed to work on their tempers.

  “Rob would just want to set him on fire. He found me after he left your lesson and bent my ear until I told him to go let off some steam. For the record, he’s not exactly happy with you right now either. Clay probably wouldn’t even show up. If he did, he’d find some way to joke about it before blowing it off.”

  “Not as of lately. Clay’s fire element is taking over or something. He’s been getting mad at everything. He seems to be channeling his fire pretty hard core.”

  He nodded as if he understood. If he did, maybe he could explain it to me. Clay’s change baffled the hell out of me. “I’ll text them to meet us in the ruins.”

  My heart spasmed at the mention of the ruins. It’d be the first time all of us would be back inside the structure at the same time since Alec had us trapped inside last year. “Why the ruins?”

  “We need privacy. If we so much as hint at speaking out against the Council, rumors of you being dark might resurface, and we can’t have me anywhere near a conversation like that. You know what people already say about me.”

  Which was grossly unfair. Bryan was the strictest, most rule-abiding guy I knew, for obvious reasons. I conceded with a nod. “And it will give us a chance to talk to Cressida.” Maybe she’d come to Bryan since, apparently, I’d done something to offend her.

  “Exactly. Come on.” He took my hand and teleported us into the ruins. My stomach flipped, and I had to draw in several deep breaths to keep its contents down.

  “I’m starting to see why Leo hates teleporting,” I mumbled and held my hand over my midsection.

  Bryan had his nose in his phone and looked up. “What was that?”

  “Never mind.” I glanced around the structure, expecting to see Cressida appear and growing frustrated when she didn’t. I flattened my hand against one of the stones that made up the wall, searching for that warmth she brought when she came to me. It remained cold, dark, and empty. My hand began to ache, so I lowered it and absentmindedly rubbed the cut on my palm.

  “They aren’t coming.”

  I turned, surprised the guys would turn down the opportunity for us to all hang out together. I got that Clay and Rob were mad at me, but that shouldn’t be enough for them to avoid me. “Why not?”

  “Rob and Leo are working on a paper due tomorrow.”

  Fine, I’d give them that. We were here to learn, after all. As much as I hated to admit it, school came first. Dammit. “And Clay?”

  “Never responded.” He shook his head and tucked his phone into his pocket. “Told you he wouldn’t.”

  The disappointment crushed me. He couldn’t be that mad over me cutting class earlier. It had to be something else. “I’ll stop by his room later to check on him.” And wring his neck for ignoring us.

  “Your hand still bugging you?”

  I stopped rubbing it and hid it behind my back. “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not fine.” He grasped my wrist and pulled my hand to him, examining the cut. “Katy, this looks infected. We should have Syd take a look at it.”

  We didn’t need the academy’s healer involved in anything involving me, especially in the wake of last night’s attack. “It’s no big deal.” Other than that it throbbed constantly. And it made my entire arm ache. And I hadn’t been able to warm up since it happened. It was like my hand had been submerged in dense, icy water.

  Other than that, though… Totally no big deal.

  “Besides,” I went on. “With the Council wanting to declare Spencer the prophecy and me wanting to fight it—”

  “Wait,” he interrupted. “You want to fight the Council on this?”

  “I do. He’s not prophecy material. He’s just in it to up his social status. You should have seen the way he showboated in front of Layden. If word got back to the Council that I have some weird cut on my hand that won’t heal, they might use that as reason enough to shut me down.” When he didn’t say anything, I did. “Well?”

  “Well what? What do you want me to say to that? Being the prophecy puts a target on your back. Every dark elemental wants to be the one to beat the prophecy. If the Council wants to give it to someone else, let them. Katy, this is your chance to get out from under that. Why wouldn’t you take it?”

  “Do you trust the guy to defend our world?”

  “It’s his world too.” He took my hands. I winced when he brushed across the gash. His expression changed as he first eyed the cut, then riveted a rounded look to me.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  He lowered his gaze to my hand again.

  “Bryan, what’s going on?”

  “I, uh…” He dropped my hand like it was on fire. When he retreated a step, a coolness washed over me. “I think we need to see Syd.”

  “I already said no. I’m fine.”

  “Katy, you’re not fine.” He kept staring at my hand.

  I held up my palm and studied the cut. Sure, it was ugly and would leave a gnarly scar that would no doubt prohibit me from ever getting a solid fortune from a palm reader, but I’d live. “It’s just a cut.”

  “There�
�s something seriously wrong.” He grabbed my wrist. “We’re either going to Syd or we’re going to Professor Layden. Your choice.”

  “Would you just tell me what’s going on?”

  “I’m sensing…something. It may be nothing, but until we have Syd take a look, I can’t be sure.”

  “Okay, fine. If it’ll get you to stop being all weird, I’ll go see Syd.”

  “Now?”

  With a nod and a long-drawn-out sigh, I gave up the fight. To me, it was just a cut. To Bryan, it was something more. I trusted him more than I trusted myself. He won. “Now.”

  He wasted no time as he grasped my wrist and teleported us out. The void took over, and the battle began between my insides and outsides, until we abruptly landed on the porch of a blue house with white trim. The large white posts holding up the cover over the porch flanked a short set of stairs behind us.

  Bryan approached the red door and knocked before turning the knob and walking inside. “Mom?”

  “Bryan? Is that you?” Rose Gunderson, beautiful brunette, her hair pulled back in a low ponytail, walked out of a room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She had on a pastel sundress that hung loose on her slender frame, and white tennis shoes. The pearls around her dainty neck classed up the outfit. As soon as she spotted her son, her smile warmed her hazel eyes and lit up her expression. She crossed the room to hug him. She then pulled me into her arms.

  Bryan’s mom was a hugger.

  I’d first met Rose at the infirmary last year when the battle against Alec earned me a stay. She’d hugged me then and every time we’d seen each other ever since. Not once had she ever passed judgment over the fact I shared the status of girlfriend with three other guys in addition to her son. She simply accepted me, and I loved it. “What are you two doing here?”

  “Is Syd here?” Bryan removed his blazer and folded it before draping it across the back of a chair by the front door.

  “No, he had to go out on a call. The Council needs to get that poor guy some help. He’s on call 24/7. They’ve been so busy lately.”

  He ground out a sigh. “I want him to look at something.”

  “Are you hurt?” Panic laced her tone.

  “No, not me. Katy.”

  She darted her attention to me. “Are you hurt?” Her tone wasn’t any less laced with panic than when she thought it was her son. The simple action flattered me.

  “I have a little cut on my hand.” I overemphasized the word little, but didn’t show her the wound. “Bryan’s worried it might be infected.”

  “Let me take a look. I’m no healer, but I am a mom. That gives me certain powers, like being able to detect a fever with my hand, how to heal wounds with a kiss, and how to get a stubborn little boy to eat all his veggies before leaving the dinner table.”

  I so loved Bryan’s mom.

  “Sure.” I offered her my hand. She examined it, turning it this way and that, before nodding and letting me have it back. “Well? What’s the diagnosis?”

  “It’s nothing a little antibacterial ointment and a bandage can’t fix. I’ll be right back.” After she left the room, she called back, “Bryan? Can you come grab the ointment for me? It’s on the top shelf, and I can’t reach it.”

  “Coming, Mom.” He kissed my cheek. “I’ll be right back.”

  I took the opportunity to text Clay. When he didn’t respond, I called. He didn’t answer. I texted Leo and asked him to check on Clay before shoving my phone back into my pocket. I didn’t even have it all the way in when it buzzed, so I pulled it back out and checked the screen. My heart spasmed when I saw the number.

  Why would Professor Layden be calling me? Did something happen at the latest battle? Was I about to receive news I’d never recover from? What if it wasn’t her calling at all, but someone from the Council using her phone to tell me a dark elemental got the jump on her and she was gone? For one painful moment, I was positive I’d just lost the person in my life that’d stepped in as a surrogate mom after Ms. Wilkerson.

  “Hello?” I answered cautiously.

  “Hi, Katy.”

  Oh, thank God. I released the breath I’d been holding. “Professor Layden? Are you okay? Why are you calling me? What’s going on? Are you okay?” I babbled and didn’t care. I’d never been so relieved to hear the sound of a professor’s voice in my life.

  “Slow down. I’m fine. I’ve told you before, you can call me by my first name when we’re not at school.”

  I’d never felt comfortable calling a teacher by their first name, which was why Ms. Wilkerson remained Ms. Wilkerson even after graduation. “Why are you calling?”

  “I didn’t like the way we ended things on the training field.”

  That made two of us. “Why would you recommend they give the prophecy to Spencer?”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I don’t think you understand why I’m doing this. You and Spencer don’t seem to get along, and, to be honest, I don’t approve of his methods. I’d rather see him train on his own than teach those methods to you.”

  I rubbed my temple with my free hand as I tried to comprehend everything she said. “You’re doing this to protect me?”

  “By decreeing him the prophecy, he’ll be too busy training to be your handler.”

  I never thought about that. At least something good would come if I lost my title to that arrogant asshat. I drew in a deep breath, working myself up to tell her that I planned to fight it. “Professor, listen, I—”

  “Call me Stace.”

  Fine. It was easier to say anyway. “Stace.” I stopped when arguing in another room caught my attention.

  “That’s why we need Syd to take a look at it.” Bryan’s voice was forceful, hard, and intense. “It’s not going to go away by slapping a bandage on it, Mom. I know you felt it too.”

  “Bryan, keep your voice down. She’ll hear you.”

  “Katy?” Stace spoke over Rose. “Are you still there?”

  “Just a sec.” I crossed the room and stopped at the entrance to the hall. The bathroom door was slightly open, and their voices carried through the narrow passageway like a megaphone.

  “I don’t know what I felt,” Rose told Bryan.

  “You’ve felt it before. So have I.”

  Felt what? What were they talking about? Did they feel the cold when they touched my hand? Did it rob them of all their warmth like it did me? I stared at the gash and shuddered. There was definitely something not right about it. First, Bryan’s reaction at the academy. Now, the fact both Rose and Bryan had felt whatever they felt before worried me, considering their family history.

  What if this was the start of my descent to the dark side? There’d already been rumors of me going dark when I refused to choose a primary. Being so vocal about questioning the Council didn’t help me any. And I was so much like my mom. What if the rumors of her going dark were true?

  I had to get away from Bryan and his mom before anyone else figured it out and grouped them in with me. They had a hard enough time battling the rumors as it was. I didn’t need to add fuel to that ignorant hate fire.

  I needed to leave and fast. Concentrating on my air call, I focused on Clearwater and tried to teleport. It didn’t work. I tried again. And, again, it didn’t work. Awesome, without Bryan I’d have to Uber it back to the academy.

  As quietly as possible, I snuck across the room and reached for the doorknob to leave. Once I was outside, I hurried away from the house and waited until I was at the road before bringing the phone to my ear. “Stace?”

  “Oh, are you talking to me now?” She was annoyed. I was pretty sure the background noise I heard was the grinding of her teeth.

  “Sorry. I was, um…interrupted. You were saying?” I put her on speaker as I ordered a ride and chewed on the inside of my lip. It had to take more than a weird cut on someone’s hand to turn them dark. I’d battled the grand poohbah of darkness. I didn’t even like the dark. I couldn’t be turning. I just couldn’t.
/>   “While you were interrupted, I checked with Albert Stephens to confirm. Tomorrow, Spencer Dalton will be decreed the prophecy. You’ll be in Dean Carter’s office to officially relinquish the title in the morning. As a member of the Council, I’ll be there to bear witness. As your faculty advisor, I’ll be there to make sure you do.”

  I took it off speaker and brought the phone to my ear. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I know you.”

  “Hardly. We’ve known each other less than a year and spent one summer working together at a gym.” She was dangerously close to triggering my ginger. Stacey Layden might know me better than any of the other professors at the academy, but that did not make us BFFs. Who was she to claim to know me?

  “You want to keep the prophecy.” She said it so sharp, so exact, it sliced right through my bullshit like a hot knife through warm butter. “I won’t allow it.”

  And boom, there went my temper. She pushed the one button she knew would trigger my anger. I was almost twenty-two, for Christ’s sake. I didn’t need her permission.

  “It’s my decision,” I said as a car turned down the street. Please let it be my ride. If not, please let it hit me and put me out of this torturous phone call with my overbearing professor.

  “It’s the wrong one. Katy, you nearly died battling Alec last year. Just because you’re a quint doesn’t make you indestructible. Elementals bleed. Elementals die.”

  “I’m aware of that.” I ended the call and waved the car over. As I climbed in and confirmed the address of Clearwater with the driver, I couldn’t shake what she’d said.

  Elementals bleed. Elementals die.

  11

  I didn’t sleep as I thought about what it meant to turn over the prophecy to someone else. No more grueling lessons that never seemed to end. No more being forced to remain inside the protective walls of the academy since I’d also be turning over the neon target on my back to someone else. No more surprise attacks by some maniacal dark elemental hell bent on fulfilling the prophecy for Team Dark.

  Bryan blew up my phone all night. Text after text, call after call, until he got the hint and stopped altogether. I’d have to face him and my bad decision to sneak away like a coward at some point, but that point wouldn’t be at two o’clock in the morning with my delightful roomie ten feet away.