Whatever happened, however bad Kai made me feel, I knew I’d never give him the magic-infused confection. If anything, I would eat it to stop myself from hating him. Maybe then he’d stop being so damn… important.
The professor winked at me, and I held my breath as he squared his shoulders to the gate and it opened. I craned to see what lay behind those bars but, as usual, the image was blurred with magic. I was running out of chances to get in. Since I’d missed this year’s exam, I only had my junior and senior years. If my gift didn’t come by then, I’d age out of my group home and be thrust into the streets again.
Every year the likelihood I’d gain a power dropped. There was only a 7% chance left that I ever would—but that was more than enough. All I needed to do was survive until that day—the day when my life would really start and I’d finally get my chance to go to my real home, GFA.
4
Kaito
I had those lace panties on my mind during every class, but I didn’t see Reina again until lunch. She was chatting with the redhead at her usual lunch table, laughing. Laughing. What was with this girl? Why couldn’t I break her? And worse, her nonchalance about the whole situation made the other students stop rubbing it in her face. I’d watched as several of them showed her pictures of her ass midair on their phones and she smiled and shrugged at them. There wasn’t much fun in tormenting her if she wasn’t going to be tormented. I wasn’t sure if she was brave or just stupid.
Wes walked over and put our lunch trays down in front of me. “What are you looking at?”
He traced my gaze to Reina. “You still thinking about that ass? Me too, bro. I wasn’t expecting all of that.” He laughed. “I swear the Serf girls are the biggest freaks.”
I sat down, pulling my tray toward me as my table filled up with several more of the school’s Elites, although I was the only one at this school who could truly wear the title. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Trevor, my number two, approach Reina’s table. He wouldn’t fucking dare. He smiled at her and her hand shot up to the charm on her necklace, the tell-tale sign she found him attractive.
My body moved, and before I knew it, I was right within earshot of their conversation. I walked up and gave Trevor a friendly pat on the back to remind him I could toss him into the air at any moment.
“Kaito,” he said, “I was just telling Reina that I enjoyed her performance this morning.”
I didn’t like the sound of her name in his mouth. I sighed, turning my gaze to her. “I’m surprised you’re back so soon. Perhaps I didn’t leave you there long enough.”
Reina’s hand dropped from her charm. “It’s actually kind of impressive that you managed to hold me up that long while you were in class. Not bad, Kai.”
I hated when she did that. It was so much harder to torture her when she acted nice. I clenched my jaw to keep from smiling. “Whatever,” I mumbled.
Trevor leaned closer to the redhead. “So, are you a Serf too?” he asked.
The girl nodded. Her eyes moved to me and widened. “Kaito, can I see your tattoo?”
I held my arm out to show her the black markings that snaked up from my wrist to my elbow on one side. She traced over the lines with her finger and I was surprised someone so vulnerable would be willing to touch me, knowing that she’d put herself in my magical range. It could have been a sign of surrender; after all, if I wanted to hurt her, there was nothing she could do about it.
“I had one for a year, but it wore off. I was thinking about getting another one myself because the Common in my neighborhood is pretty good at them,” Trevor said. He nodded to Reina. “You going to get one?”
She shrugged, tugging on her necklace.
“But a tattoo might cover the lovely bruises.” I smirked.
Reina frowned, looked up at me and asked, “ What bruises?”
“The ones you got when I dropped you on your ass, of course,” I laughed.
“Oh, there were no bruises. I just sort of, floated down, no problem,” she lied. I knew she was lying but there was no way I could call her on it.
“Reina,” I said, suddenly. “Do you ever think about that day at the pier?”
Her mouth dropped open.
A smile crept onto my face. “I do. You know, I still have the picture I took—” I snatched my arm away from Red. How dare she.
I leaned into her and she leaned back, fear flaring in her eyes.
“That was a huge fucking mistake. Who do you think you are? Yemoja Roux?”
Reina shot between us. “Wh-what happened? What’s going on?”
Trevor stepped forward. “So Red’s not ungifted?”
Reina shook her head. “She is. Trust me. She didn’t do anything.”
I crossed my arms. “Are you telling me you didn’t know?”
Her gaze snapped to Red. “Emma. Tell them.”
“It’s true,” she said, mystified. “I didn’t do anything. I’m a Serf.”
“Wow. That’s a bald-face lie if I’ve ever heard one,” I spat.
Reina leaned closer to Red, her voice dropping to a whisper. “If it’s true, you can tell me.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t do anything. I swear, Reina.”
She was certainly lying. I wasn’t sure, but her gift seemed to purge secrets. My mind raced at the implications. It was incredible. With a single touch, she could coerce confessions out of criminals. Or gather secrets from the underground organizations that ran this city. Forget Elite, forget GFA—if I understood her gift correctly, she could have a one-way ticket to become Fae. So why was she hiding it? As the four of us looked around in confusion, I was grateful no one was asking the important question. What her gift actually was. If they did, they might think more carefully about what I’d said. I needed to make a quick exit.
I eyed the trays that lay in front of the girls. Red had a cold slice of pizza and Reina had an untouched sloppy joe which was the only option for free lunch—clearly one she didn’t like much. Reina had been stuck with free lunch ever since her parents were killed, and she ended up in the group home. On the corner of her plate was something not from the cafeteria. A delicious-looking piece of candy. I tapped the trays and swiped the candy before using my gift to dump the remaining contents on the girls.
They gasped.
“Adios, ladies,” I laughed, and I popped the candy into my mouth.
5
Reina
I’d be lying if I said it never got to me. If that were true, I never would have put that magical morsel on my tray for Kai to find. I’d originally planned on eating it, and I could have hidden it until I got the chance, but something dark inside me wanted him to take it, most likely the part of me that he’d scarred. I scooped a handful of sloppy joe from my lap and dropped it on the floor. “That was weird, Em,” I said. “He really seemed to think you used a gift on him.” I nervously picked at the food on my lap. “But what else could make him say all that stuff?”
“But, I didn’t,” she whispered.
“Did you see anyone else touch him?”
She scrubbed at the pizza sauce with her dry napkin, no doubt guaranteeing her a stain. “Just Trevor.”
“And it couldn’t be him because his gift is paralysis and that can only last a few seconds.”
Emma stopped dabbing at her shirt. “Do you think someone tried to frame me?”
“Like, without touch magic? It’s impossible. Yemoja Roux isn’t here. Unless...”
Emma’s eyes widened.
“Unless Kai was trying to frame you. I mean… maybe he was pretending.” I smiled at the unlikelihood of it as I pushed more lumps of meat off my lap.
Emma nodded with a weak smile, and I scanned her face for any sign of deception. She was telling the truth, I was certain of it. Yet, somehow, I had just witnessed a gift being used on Kai.
A gasp sounded behind me and I turned to see a girl gaping at the table of Elites. Kai stood on the table, drawing the attention of the entire cafeteria. He nodded to
Vinny, a muscular jock with a sound manipulation gift. Vinny opened his mouth wide and put his hand on his cell phone. Music filled the cafeteria, pouring from Vinny’s mouth like amplified speakers. The lyrics rang out.
I wanna be honest, I can’t hide it.
Anyway, I don’t care.
My eyes are already on you.
Come to me
Let me lay my feelings bare.
That’s when Kai began to move. One spin and the thrust of his hips was all it took to send every girl there into a frenzy, crowding around his table like fangirls at a concert. But Kai didn’t stop there. He loosened his tie.
Down, down, let’s fall
I wanna fall together.
My mind went immediately to the magical morsel. He’d eaten it and there was nothing I could do now but watch the show. I sat on my table, crossing my arms with a grin as I soaked in the glory of my victory. I had to admit, I felt the leftover shreds of my former crush stir inside me as his gaze met mine. He pointed to me and smiled. Actually smiled, and I gulped with uneasiness as he bit his bottom lip. I’m glad I’m over him. I felt my daydreams mix with the spectacle, stirring feelings I’d thought long dead.
Down, down Let’s fall
I’ll fall only for you.
My stomach sank when Kai didn’t stop there.
One by one, he popped open his buttons, his muscular chest coming into view inch by inch. Heat tore through me, but was quickly extinguished by dread when the other girls spun into near hysterics. This was getting out of hand. Before I could think about it, I was fighting through the crowd. Kai’s gaze followed me as I elbowed my way through, reaching up for his hand. I had to get him out of there. I searched the cafeteria for an escape route and noted that if I could get him away from his table, we could make a break for it—preferably before his pants came off. His hand closed around mine, but instead of pulling him off the table and through the crowd, an all too familiar sensation tore through me and I rose into the air.
We ascended together, spinning slightly as if suspended on an invisible carousel.
“Oh my god, Kai. I’m so sorry.”
He smiled. “Why? Don’t be sorry. I’m glad I finally got your attention.”
“No, you don’t understand... That candy on my tray, it was gift-infused.”
He tilted his head back. “Well, it feels great—”
The music cut. My hair stood on end as every person in the room besides Kai and me were completely immobilized. They were a mausoleum of statues, timeless and horrifying. Was it some extreme form of Wes’ magic? No, I saw no trace of ice. There wasn’t a single student at our school who had that kind of power, or teacher. Which meant...
“Ms. Bennet, Mr. Nakamaru, to my office immediately. And put on your shirt,” Principal Angora said. Her words were sharp, but they were nothing compared to the spectacle of the entire student body rooted in place.
Kai reached for my hand but I pulled it away. I wasn’t used to being in trouble; in fact, no one was. In all the years I’d been bullied, I’d never seen a teacher intervene, much less the principal. I knew it was bad, but I wasn’t sure why this incident in particular garnered so much attention or what the consequences would be.
Even as we moved into the hallway, we saw more ensnared students. One girl reached for her locker but could never touch it. A guy with a contorted face looked like he’d been mid sneeze when Principal Angora’s gift hit. They were frozen in place and I shuddered that a gift so strong could live within someone I’d passed every day. A glance at my cell phone told me that time was still passing. Even if it seemed like the three of us were the only ones who were able to continue our lives.
As we stepped into Principal Angora’s office, I heard the slam of lockers behind me and I exhaled the relief that all had returned to normal. Even when the door closed, I could hear the chatter of nosy students that caught a glimpse of Kai and me being marched to our fate.
We sat across from Principal Angora, her dark dingy office littered with books and files, some stacks partially covering the only window at the back of the room behind her desk. The light behind her head shadowed her face, but I could see her well enough to know I hadn’t given her a good look before. She had half-moon glasses that hid a beautiful face, though she was at least a decade beyond her prime.
“Excuse me,” I said, without thinking. “You don’t use touch magic. How’d you freeze everyone?”
She folded her hands together and I tried to ignore the way Kai’s gaze was burning my cheek.
Principal Angora sighed. “I shake everyone’s hand on their first day of school. Don’t you remember?”
I gaped. “That’s amazing. How long can you keep them frozen?”
“Just a minute or so,” she said blandly. She got up and started filling a glass of water at the bubbler in the corner as a surge of questions flooded my brain.
“How long can they stay in your range after you touch them?”
She dug through her desk drawer and pulled out a small blue packet. “A few months. But I make appointments to check in with students who have fallen out of my range.”
I blurted, “Why aren’t you Fae? With your power, you could easily—”
“Summer vacations, holidays, home by five, not to mention this is a much safer profession than Fae. I'm not the showy type. But we’re not here to discuss me,” she said as she emptied the contents of the packet into the water, giving it a slight glow before it settled back to looking like ordinary water.
I eyed the glass absent-mindedly. “Sorry, yes. I know. You’re just so amazing.”
“I’m flattered,” she said, but her dry expression said otherwise. “You,” she barked at Kai, who finally tore his gaze away from me. “Drink this,” she said.
He took a sip and his smile slowly faded. He turned to me, fire blazing behind his eyes. He stood. “What the fuck?” He turned to Principal Angora. “I’m sorry for the language, but...but...she fucking drugged me!”
I slouched in my chair, pulling my arms to my body to avoid letting him touch me.
“Sit down, Mr. Nakamaru.”
Kaito sat slowly.
“Ms. Bennet, is this true? Did you drug Mr. Nakamaru?”
“No, ma’am.” Technically, I didn’t. But Kai deserved whatever happened here. After all, if he hadn’t decided to throw my tray of food on me he never would have noticed the confection, and I had to admit the thought of him embarrassed for a change felt good.
“Mr. Nakamaru, how did this infused confection end up in your system? You are claiming Ms. Bennet drugged you. Would you care to elaborate?”
“She had a piece of drugged candy on her tray and I ate it. She should have stopped me! She just let me eat it knowing it was drugged!”
“Did she offer you this candy?”
“Um...no. I...um...well...I took it from her tray. But she knew! She should have stopped me! It’s one hundred percent her fault!”
A big part of me wanted to laugh watching as Kai scrambled to get out of this one. I hadn’t wanted any of this to happen, but I did have to admit it was funny as hell. I struggled to keep a smirk off my face.
“Mr. Nakamaru, as I see it, you saw a piece of candy on Ms. Bennet’s tray, and without her permission, you took it and ate it. I’m certain Ms. Bennet knew it was drugged, but she could not have foreseen that you would steal it. The blame is entirely yours,” the Principal told him. “However, Ms. Bennett, you brought drugged candy into this school which is in direct violation of our rules.”
Well, I couldn’t argue with that. That part was true enough. But the look on Kai’s face when the Principal blamed him was worth it .
“The administration has been told to stay out of the affairs of the students. A little competition in the hallway teaches the Common or Serf students how to survive after graduation as well as encourages Elite students to improve and hone their gifts. But we have a strict policy against child pornography or drugs of any kind including infused confections, an
d our school has been flagged for both.”
Kai looked down at his unbuttoned shirt and began to frantically button up.
Principal Angora went on. “As you know, we have a zero-tolerance policy for such extreme situations.”
As if he hadn’t heard a word the Principal had said about him being to blame for his being drugged, Kai nodded. “Thank you, Principal Angora. Kick her out.”
I clutched the arms of my chair so tightly I felt my fingernails cut the wood. Would she really do that?
“Actually, you are both expelled.”
Kai stood. “Both? What the hell did I do? She was the one with the drugs.”
The principal held up her phone, my bare ass floating across the screen. I winced but was pleasantly surprised by the nice shape in the image.
Kai pressed his lips together. “But you can’t expel me! I’m your best student.”
“Then I imagine you’ll have no trouble getting another school to take you.”
Kai sputtered and spun to me. “And why are you so quiet?”
“I don’t care,” I said. “Besides, we are both guilty.”
“You think that orphanage is going to pay for a private school? This is the only public school in the district. Good luck with your two-hour commute.” Kai was so angry he was practically spitting. But I knew where I was going.
“You can save your concern. I’m going to GFA.”
6
Kaito
I stormed out of the school, slamming the door behind me. Fuck this school and fuck Reina. My stomach sank as I imagined my parents’ reactions when I told them the news. It would likely be worse than when I was rejected from GFA for the second year in a row. My mom had gone into a full-on episode, screaming at me about how I’d brought shame to the family and how much I’d embarrassed her. She cried as she smashed various objects around our townhouse. But my father’s reaction had been much worse. He stared at me for a long time, shook his head, and hadn’t spoken a word to me since. Not that we were ever a happy family to begin with. My parents had sacrificed a lot to move us here, all to improve my chances of getting into GFA. And now I’d been thrown out of the second-rate public school that I attended.
The Fae & The Fallen: Gifted Fae Academy - Year One Page 2