3
The bell rang, and my eyes snapped open, the classroom coming into focus. I looked around, taking in the scuffed tiled floor, the chalkboard covered with writing, the white plaster walls, and the lack of windows. Everything looked normal. Unchanged. There was no proof that anything I’d just felt had been more than a figment of my imagination.
But that energy flowing through my body had been so real. I tightened my hands into fists and opened them back up, but only a soft tingle remained. Then it disappeared completely.
Kate stood up, dropped her backpack on her chair, and studied me. “I’m guessing from the look on your face that it worked,” she said.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged and picked up my bag. “I’m not sure what was supposed to happen.” I met her eyes and managed a small smile, since it wasn’t exactly a lie.
But the energy I’d felt around me was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Which meant my imagination was running out of control. Because there was no proof that I’d done anything. What I’d “experienced” had existed only in my head. Right?
Kate glanced at her watch. “What class do you have first?”
I pulled out my schedule. “Honors Biology.” I scrunched my nose at the prospect. “They put me in all honors classes, and I have no idea why. I was in regular classes at my old school.”
“I’ve got Honors Bio, too,” she said. “Come on. I’ll explain the whole honors thing on the way there.”
I followed Kate down the hallway, although I kept bumping into people, since my mind was spinning after what had happened in homeroom. I’d felt something during that meditation session. Maybe it was the energy that Darius was talking about. And if this energy stuff was the reason behind the miraculous recovery of my torn tendon and the healed scar …
I pushed the thought away. There had to be another explanation. One that made sense.
Kate edged closer to the wall to give me space to walk next to her. “So, about the honors classes,” she said, lowering her voice. “You saw what was written on the board. Each color has a different meaning. Once we learn how to harness energy properly, we can use the different colors to help us … do things.”
“What kind of things?” I asked.
“Let’s take yellow—my personal favorite—as an example,” she said. “Yellow increases focus and helps us remember information. If you channel yellow energy before studying for a test, it won’t take as long to review everything, and you’ll remember more. It’ll make your memory almost photographic. Pretty cool, right?”
“It does sound useful,” I agreed. “Although I’m still not buying all this colors and energy stuff.”
“Give it time.” Kate smiled, as if she knew something I didn’t, and stopped in front of a classroom door. “We’re here. Want to sit with me?” She led the way to a table in the front, and I followed, even though front and center wasn’t my thing. “I’ll help you with the basics after school,” she offered. “You got the hang of channeling energy pretty quickly, so it shouldn’t be hard. Sometimes it takes the freshmen months to gather enough energy to feel anything significant. It was obvious from where I was sitting that you did it on your first try. That was pretty impressive.”
“I’m not sure I actually did anything, but sure, I’ll study with you after school,” I said. Even though this energy stuff sounded crazy, it was nice of Kate to reach out. I didn’t want to miss the chance to make my first friend here. “I could definitely use help getting caught up with my classes.”
“Great.” Kate beamed. “I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly.”
More students piled in, a few of them people I recognized from homeroom. Then, just as I’d started to think it was stupid to hope he would also be in this class, Blake strolled inside, with Danielle trailing close behind.
His eyes met mine, and my breath caught, taken aback by how he’d noticed me again. But he couldn’t be interested in me like that. It was probably just because I was new. And because, as embarrassing as it was to admit, he’d caught me staring at him. So I opened my textbook to the chapter that Kate already had open, focusing on a section on dominant and recessive genes as if it were the most fascinating thing I’d ever read in my life.
“I told you in homeroom that he’s taken, remember?” Kate whispered once Blake and Danielle were far enough away.
My cheeks heated. “Was it that obvious?”
“That you were checking him out?” Kate asked, and I nodded, despite how humiliating it was that she’d noticed. “Yeah.”
“I’m not doing it on purpose,” I said. “I know that he has a girlfriend. I would never try anything, I promise. But … have you seen him? It was hard not to at least look.”
“I know you’re not doing it on purpose,” she said. “He’s one of the hottest guys in the school—I get that. But Danielle doesn’t take it too kindly when girls flirt with Blake. Or check out Blake. Or even look like they’re interested in Blake. It’s in your best interest to keep your distance from both of them. Trust me.”
I was about to ask why, but before I could, the bell rang and class began.
4
The other sophomores from homeroom were in most of my classes, and Kate sat with me in each one, including lunch. I was so behind in the honors courses that I seriously needed whatever Kate said she would teach me after school to help.
“What class do you have next?” Kate asked as we packed our bags after advanced Spanish.
I pulled my schedule out of my pocket. “Ceramics.” I groaned. I wasn’t awful at art, but I would have preferred a music elective, since music was always my favorite class. “What about you?”
“Theatre,” she answered, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I want to be in the school play this spring, but I always get nervous on stage. Hopefully the class will help.”
“You’ll get in,” I said. “Besides, can’t you use that witchy energy stuff to convince the teacher to give you the part you want? Or mess up other people during their auditions so they don’t get the leads?”
Her eyes darted around the hall, and she leaned in closer, lowering her voice. “We don’t use our powers to take advantage of others,” she said. “I’ll fill you in on everything later. Okay?”
I nodded and followed her through the art wing, resisting the urge to ask her more right now. Instead, I looked around. Student paintings decorated the walls, and what sounded like a flute solo came from a room close by. Kate stopped in front of the double doors that led to the theatre. “This is me,” she said. “The ceramics room is upstairs—you shouldn’t miss it.”
We split ways, and like Kate had told me, the ceramics room was easy to find. Kilns lined the side wall, pottery wheels were on the other end, bricks of clay were stacked in shelves in the back, and the huge windows were a welcome change from the stuffy classrooms I’d been in so far.
I looked around to see if anyone seemed receptive to having the new girl join them, and my eyes stopped when they reached Blake’s. He sat at the table furthest away, leaning back in his seat with his legs outstretched. The chairs next to him were empty. He nodded at me, as if acknowledging me as a member of a special club, and I noticed that no one else from homeroom was in this class. Could he be inviting me to sit with him?
Since everyone from homeroom seemed to stick together, I took that as a yes and walked toward Blake’s table, my pulse quickening with every step. I remembered what Kate had told me earlier about Danielle—how she was crazy possessive over Blake—but Danielle wasn’t here. And Blake was the only person who wanted me to join him. Refusing would be rude.
He moved his legs to give me room, and I settled in the seat next to him. His deep, liquid eyes had various shades of reddish brown running through them, and he was watching me as if he was waiting for me to say something. I swallowed, not sure how to start, and settled on the obvious.
“Hi.” My heart pounded so hard I feared he could hear it. “You’re in my homeroom, right?”
“Yep,” he said smoothly. “We also have biology, history, and Spanish together.” He counted off each on his fingers. “And given that you’re in Darius’s homeroom, it’s safe to say that you have Greek mythology with me next period as well. I’m Blake.”
“Nicole,” I introduced myself, even though Darius had already done so in front of the class this morning. “I heard that all of the sophomores in our homeroom have to take Greek mythology. Luckily I read The Odyssey in English last year, so I shouldn’t be totally lost.”
“There’s a reason we’re required to take Greek mythology.” He scooted closer to me, as if about to tell me a secret, and I leaned forward in anticipation. “Did you know that we—meaning everyone in our homeroom—are descended from the Greek gods?”
I arched an eyebrow. “Like Zeus and all of them living in a castle on the clouds?” I asked.
“Exactly.” He smirked. “Except that they’re referred to as the Olympians, and they call their ‘castle in the clouds’ Mount Olympus.”
“So you’re saying that we’re gods?”
“We’re not gods.” He smiled and shook his head. “But we have ‘diluted god blood’ in us. It’s what gives us our powers.”
“Right.” I wasn’t sure how else to respond, and I looked down at the table. Was he playing a joke on me? Trying to see how gullible the new kid could be?
“What’s wrong?” He watched me so intensely—so seriously—that I knew he was truly concerned.
“The truth?” I asked, and he nodded, his gaze locked on mine. So I took a deep breath, and said, “Everything from our homeroom sounds crazy to me. But you’re all so serious about it that I’m starting to think you actually believe it.”
“It’s a lot to take in at once,” he said.
“That’s the understatement of the day.” I flaked a piece of dried clay off the table with my thumbnail. “But Kate offered to teach me some stuff after school, and she’s been really nice by taking me around all day, so I told her I would listen to her.”
“Kate’s a rule follower,” Blake said, crossing his arms. “She’s only going to tell you about a fraction of the stuff we can do. But stay in homeroom with us, and maybe my friends and I will show you how to have real fun with our abilities.”
The teacher walked inside before I could respond, and the chattering in the room quieted. As much as I wanted to ask Blake what he meant, I couldn’t right now. We weren’t supposed to talk about our abilities when humans could hear.
Then I realized: I’d thought of other people as “humans,” like I wasn’t one of them anymore.
The scary thing was—I might be starting to believe it.
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Michelle Madow is a USA Today bestselling author of fast-paced, young adult fantasy novels that will leave you turning the pages wanting more! Her books are full of magic, adventure, romance, and twists you’ll never see coming.
Michelle grew up in Maryland, and now lives in Florida. She’s loved reading for as long as she can remember. She wrote her first book in her junior year of college and hasn’t stopped writing since! She also loves traveling, and has been to all seven continents. Someday, she hopes to travel the world for a year on a cruise ship.
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THE DRAGON TWINS
Published by Dreamscape Publishing
Copyright © 2020 Michelle Madow
ISBN: 9798699485406
This book is a work of fiction. Though some actual towns, cities, and locations may be mentioned, they are used in a fictitious manner and the events and occurrences were invented in the mind and imagination of the author. Any similarities of characters or names used within to any person past, present, or future is coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author. Brief quotations may be embodied in critical articles or reviews.
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