by Kat Adams
“Eww, Mom. Gross.”
“Not like that,” she corrected and thinned her lips, giving me a mom look. “It’s not the man I’m drawn to, it’s the magic inside him. I’m sorry if I made it awkward.”
“You definitely made it awkward.”
“I’ll apologize the next time I see him.”
“And to Clay and Rob.”
She hesitated before nodding reluctantly. “Fine.”
“And you won’t be all weird the next time you see the five of us together?”
“Don’t push your luck, young lady.”
I accepted her answer, not wanting to do anything to change her mind or possibly upset her. My mom…ran hot and cold. There was no in between. She was either loving and nurturing and everything you’d ever want in a mom, or she was batshit crazy and doing terrible things to everyone around her. Interesting how I’d forgotten that about her until now, until she studied me with a look in her eyes I didn’t know whether to trust or not.
She stood and opened her arms. “Should we hug it out?”
Like she had to tell me twice. I ran into her embrace. Mom hugs had magical properties.
I returned to the bed once we ended our hug. “Now that you’re back and the Council knows you’re not dead and all that, are you planning on going back to Montana? Back to Dad?”
“No. There’s no life for me there.”
“Meaning?”
“I should have never married a Nelem, should have never left this world. I was naïve to believe I could lead a normal life and raise kids on a ranch in Montana.”
Jebus, woman. Her bluntness killed me. Did she just admit to regretting having me?
“Okay. Well, now that we’ve cleared that up.” I stood and went to the door to let her out. If she didn’t leave, I would. I couldn’t go through her disappearing again. It had left me broken for years. Going through it again… I’d never recover. “If having me was such a mistake, maybe it’s time you go back into hiding.”
“You’ve completely missed the point. My mistake was going into hiding in the first place. That’s why I returned. I’m here to challenge the Council.”
Her declaration stopped me in my tracks. I whipped around and studied her with eyes so wide, they hurt. I didn’t think anyone would admit to that out loud. I’d wanted to challenge the Council since the first day I’d arrived in this world. “Challenge them how?”
“By insisting they make me the prophecy again.”
As much as I didn’t want to be the prophecy and have to constantly look over my shoulder, I wanted her to be the prophecy even less. I was young. Quick on my feet. Had a wicked snark spark. And I had four powerful elementals by my side. “Stace said the prophecy had been fulfilled.”
She waved off the comment. “What does she know? She’s just a teacher.”
I clenched my jaw. The way she said it, like being a teacher was an insult, was an insult in itself. The need to defend Professor Stacey Layden—both for her chosen profession and the fact she’d been my mentor since I’d arrived at the academy—overwhelmed me. “For your information, she knows a hell of a lot. She practically runs this school.”
“Maybe it’s time for new leadership.”
“Mom!”
She brought up her hands, conceding. “Forget I said anything.”
I’d like nothing more. Bringing the subject back to her challenging the Council, I said, “You were saying about the prophecy?”
“I’m saying it never ends. The Council claims the prophecy has been fulfilled until the next dark elemental comes along.”
Good point, and the reason I never let down my guard when the Council declared the prophecy fulfilled. “Then why would you want to be the prophecy again knowing all that?”
“So you won’t have to be.”
That wasn’t good enough. That wasn’t nearly good enough. “But I am the prophecy. It’s what I do, and I’m good at it.”
“You don’t have to worry about it anymore, sweetie.”
“But Mom—”
“No buts.” She cut me off and lifted her finger. “Let me do this for you. Let me take that target off your back. Let me protect you the only way I know how.”
I didn’t need her protection. I needed her to be my mom. “Please don’t do this. Don’t take away something I want to keep.”
She sighed as she crossed the room to the door, passing me without a glance, and rested her hand on the knob, keeping her focus there. “It’s already done.”
“Then undo it.”
Finally, she pulled her attention to me. Her hazel eyes, so much like mine yet full of sorrow, of regret as she considered my request, caused my breath to hitch. Finally, she smiled, almost sadly. “Are you sure this is what you really want?”
“I’m sure.”
“All right, then. I’ll let Albert know the prophecy stays with you. Now, get some sleep.”
“Where are you going?”
“Syd offered up a room at the infirmary for me until I find a place to live. Since it’s the weekend, you could house hunt with me, if you’d like.”
“House hunt?”
“Well, I can’t stay at a hospital indefinitely. I need someplace to call home.”
That meant she was back. Nothing else mattered. Not the reason she left. Not the reason she’d returned. None of that hit me as hard as the fact she planned to stay. “I’d like that. Thank you for coming back.”
She smiled awkwardly in a way that shot me back to being a kid, to a time when it only took a simple gesture like a crooked smile to make my day. “I’ve got big plans in store for us.”
“Such as?” I tried not to stiffen at the comment but couldn’t stop myself. I hated surprises of any kind, especially since the last one she’d dropped on me was her disappearing for six years.
“Just wait and see. Sleep tight, baby.” She left me alone to contemplate what sort of plans, big or otherwise, she had in store.
As much as I didn’t want to sleep and wake to the news that my mom had disappeared again—it’d take a long time for me to get over that fear—I could no longer function until I had a few hours of shut-eye.
I kicked off my shoes and took a quick shower to wash the warehouse off me, then collapsed onto my bed, finding sleep immediately.
I was in the void Bryan had described, running around, screaming for help, and not making a sound. People walked in all directions, narrowly missing bumping into each other. No one spoke. No one blinked. They just shuffled around aimlessly.
And then I stopped fighting it. I stopped running, stopped screaming, and slowly wandered around in the darkness for no reason. No purpose. No desire to do anything. I became one of the catatonic zombies.
I woke to the sound of my own scream.
Well, there went any chance of me getting another wink of sleep in the next, oh, say fifty years.
After getting ready to face the day by applying makeup and doing my hair to look a little more ginger spice and a little less ginger Medusa, I debated going to the infirmary to check on my mom to confirm she hadn’t disappeared on me again. A knock made my decision.
I fully expected Clay standing there when I opened the door, since we both lived in the same house, so when Leo greeted me, it took me a minute to adjust to the piercing blue eyes and crazy wisp of blond curls in contrast to Clay’s assaulting green eyes and equally crazy wild hair. He’d showered and removed the bandage covering the lump on this forehead. He was dressed casually in nice-fitting jeans and a loose shirt the same color as his eyes, since it was Saturday and we weren’t required to wear our uniforms on weekends. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey, babe.” He walked in, pausing long enough to kiss me hello. I pulled him back and really kissed him as he tried to walk away, grateful to have one of my guys here to greet me. I pressed my body to his, forcing us backward until the wall stopped us. My tongue swayed with his. He thrust his fingers into my hair, pulling it free from the band holding it in a high,
messy bun, and swung me around so my back was against the wall.
The kiss changed from a gentle welcome to one of heated hunger. The past twenty-four hours had been hell. I felt it and knew he felt it too. Now we both needed a little release. He kicked the door closed and walked me backward to my bed, losing his shirt, relieving me of mine as well along the way.
We fell to the bed tangled in each other, kissing, teasing, neither coming up for air. He trailed his lips down my neck, through the valley between my breasts, taking a hard nipple in his mouth. I arched my back as chills peppered my skin. It sent jolts of erotic energy straight to my lady bits, drenching them.
“Can’t play favorites,” he muttered and switched sides, taking the other nipple into his warm mouth and teasing me with his tongue. “Bee wouldn’t like it.”
“Huh?” I asked in a daze. What his tongue was doing was nothing compared to what his hand was now doing. He slowly ran his fingers up my inner thigh and didn’t stop until he found my clit. I almost shot off the bed when he brushed across the sensitive nerves.
“Boo was getting all the attention. Bee was getting jealous.”
“Did you just name my boobs?”
He grinned up at me. When he winked, it was a good thing I was already off my feet. My knees would have given out. His soothing touch, cool and gentle, always did that to me. “That I did. You have Boo.” He kissed my right breast. “And Bee.” He kissed my left.
“Boo and Bee. Clever.” A little adolescent, but clever nonetheless.
Leo poised himself above me and wedged between my legs, resting his hard cock against my slick entrance, and stared down at me. Those blue eyes pierced my heart in all the right ways. “I’ve missed you, babe.”
He drove hard, surprising me at the quick penetration. I hissed in a breath as my body adjusted to the thick invasion. Grabbing his shoulders, I locked my heels and lifted my hips to seat us together.
The bed squeaked as he plunged in and out of my body in long, steady thrusts, stroking over all the right nerve endings. My clit jumped for joy at the attention and throbbed for more. I rolled my hips, meeting him push for push. His coarse hairs brushed across my sensitive, elated nerves. My entire body trembled as the impending big O built.
“God, how I’ve missed you.” He increased his pace. I matched it, my climax building, building, until it was right there. Leo held me at the small of my back, lifting me off the bed, and slammed our bodies together. Over and over. It was exactly what I needed to explode.
And explode I surely did.
I cried out and bit down on his shoulder as my orgasm consumed me, crashing like angry waves against the shore during a storm. When Leo’s release took him, I cried out again at the power of his thrusts. We rode the waves of our climaxes until there was nothing left.
“That was some greeting,” he said and kissed me gently. “I just stopped by to say hi.”
“Hi.” I cupped his face in my hands and stared into those deep pools of blue.
He kissed me one last time before pushing off the bed and dressing. I propped myself up by my elbows and watched the fine, fine show. Leo’s body was a work of art. Not a ton of body hair. Golden skin stretched across lean muscle. Tight abs. Rippling pecs. The tattoo of a wave on his shoulder added to his overwhelming sexiness.
Once he dressed, the show ended, so reluctantly I pulled on my clothes and took a seat at my desk to redo my hair and makeup.
He grabbed Jess’s chair and wheeled it over, sitting next to me. “I actually came over to talk to you.”
“You have my undivided attention.” I combed my fingers through my hair to work it back into the high messy bun.
He watched the movement with keen interest. “The guys and I talked after we all left the infirmary and agreed to disband the quad squad.”
Even though I’d expected as much, the news didn’t please me. It reminded me that I no longer had all four of my guys here at the academy with me. “Because Rob isn’t a student anymore?”
“That and I’ve decided I’m ready for my final tribunal.”
I stopped messing with my hair to stare from my reflection. “What’s that?”
“Elementals have their initial tribunal to determine their primary and how many other elements they have the power to call. Their final tribunal is a series of three tests to prove they’re ready.”
“Ready for what?”
He paused for an uncomfortably long time. “To leave the academy.”
I picked my jaw up off the floor and swung around to face him. “You’re leaving me too?”
“I’m not leaving you, babe.” He took my hand and brushed his lips across my knuckles. “I’m just ready to be something other than a student at Clearwater. I’m twenty-three. It’s time I start adulting.”
I got it. I hated it, but I got it. Swinging back around, I went to work on my face, touching up my makeup where it’d smeared from our vigorous horizonal workout.
“Do the guys know?”
“Yeah. We talked about what to do for our internships if we weren’t the quad squad. No one wants to do extractions after losing that kid. Rob got out of having to go through his final tribunal when the Council hired him as a hunter. Bryan wants to get into alchemy, which surprised us since transforming matter into something else could be considered dark magic. But that wasn’t the shocker. Guess what Clay wants to do?”
“Whatever would require the least amount of work.” My genius air elemental was fun, kept things light most of the time, and rarely took anything seriously—this past week aside. Then again, after what we’d all been through since school had started, none of us had much reason to smile. Instead of finding an internship that would take advantage of that big brain of his, Clay would probably find one that allowed him the freedom to do nothing.
“Nope. He’s interning for Dean Carter.”
I swung around again. “He wants to intern with the headmaster?” Yep, that was definitely a shocker.
“And Lulu.”
Now it made more sense. Lulu’s teleportation skills were epic. She popped in and out of rooms at random, sticking the landing every time. I rarely saw her walk anywhere. It would be a dream internship for an air elemental who preferred teleporting over any other mode of transportation, including his own two feet.
“Well, this is as good as it’s going to get.” I pushed away from the desk and stood to slip on my shoes before crossing the room to the door. “Want to get some breakfast?”
“Sure.”
Our trip was cut short. We hadn’t even made it out of the room when Dean Carter’s voice broadcast through the air. “Weekend leave has been suspended. All students are required to report to the training field immediately. As this is a school function, house uniforms are required.”
Leo and I exchanged confused looks.
“Guess I better go change.” He kissed me. “See you there, babe.”
Just like that? He didn’t even question the request. No, not request. Requirement. On a Saturday, when students should be doing anything but attending a school function, especially after only one week of school.
Reluctantly, I faced the wardrobe and curled my lip. I hated our uniforms. They were every creeper dude’s freaky fetish schoolgirl fantasy. Short-short pleated gray skirt. White knee-high socks. Cute little buckle shoes. The only thing missing in the dress code were required pigtails. I changed quickly and hurried out of my room to meet up with the guys.
Maybe one of them knew why we were being herded to the training field.
4
As I walked out to the field, along with all the other students heading in the same direction, each with their own looks of confusion, I didn’t feel any better. The closer we all got to our destination, the more students appeared. Even those I knew left every weekend joined the rest of us with no life outside the academy.
“Montana! Wait up!”
I spun around and waited for both Clay and Leo to reach me before I asked, “What’s going on?
”
“Emergency assembly,” Bryan explained as he joined us. We all sported our house colors, Clay and me in yellow, Bryan in green that pulled the same color out of his hazel eyes, and Leo in blue, matching the stunning color of his gaze. Together, we crested the rolling hill and paused at the sight. The training field had once again been transformed into an arena with huge bleachers on every side, oceans of yellow, red, green, and blue filling them as the students sat in their designated house seats. “I’ve only seen the academy do this one other time.”
“When?”
“When they announced the curfew. That wasn’t on a Saturday, though. I’ve never seen this or remembered having the headmaster suspend weekend leave.” He stopped at the corner of the field and turned to me. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“If this is about the quad squad disbanding and you looking to intern as an alchemist, I already know. Leo told me this morning.” I still hadn’t recovered from the news that Leo planned to enter his final tribunal on top of that.
Bryan kissed my cheek and squeezed my hand. “Never mind, then. We can talk more after the assembly.” He walked off toward the wave of green blazers sitting in the Terrae house bleachers, where I belonged and would be as soon as I moved out of Ventus.
“I’ll find you after the assembly, babe.” Leo kissed me before meeting up with two other guys from Aquae and disappearing in the sea of blue.
“Guess it’s just you and me, Montana.” Clay took my hand and led me to the wall of yellow that made up the bleachers for Ventus. There were twice as many as the other houses since there were twice as many air elementals. It made sense. Air was the easiest element to call, so even the weakest elemental had a place to call home if they had the power to summon the element. “At least until you desert me to go live with the dirt people.”
“Don’t be so overdramatic. Earth is my primary. It’s where I belong. Besides, when I wear yellow, I look like I have jaundice.”
“No argument there.”
“Hey!” I jerked my hand back.
He chuckled deep and low, turning to pull me into his arms and kiss the top of my nose and tickle my chin with his beard. “I’m just kidding. You look good no matter what you wear. Especially when it’s your birthday suit.” He waggled his eyebrows.
