Page 99 of The Lost Elemental

“Sorry,” I muttered.

“Fire,” Acker pushed.

I handed the bowl back to him and glanced at Phoenix.

“You’re not alone,” he promised.

Weaving my fingers through his, I flipped over my hand. I gave only the slightest push on my internal flame. Sparks danced from my palm, and I instantly pulled back.

Acker’s jaw tightened. “Air.”

I swallowed, my throat sticking on the action. I released Phoenix and held both hands out. I still hadn’t quite figured this one out. The air lived in me, that much I knew, oxygen fueled every part of my body. I tried to call on it, willed it to move out of my muscles and into the room.

A faint breeze lifted my hair, swirling it in the air.

Quincy dropped to a knee, bowing his head. “Aether.”

A chill skated over my skin.

“Get up, you old fool,” Sinclair huffed. “It’s some trick. Maybe she’s pulling from the royals’ magic.”

Quincy pierced Sinclair with a hard stare. “Your disrespect will not be forgotten. She is an aether.”

“We don’t know that. Not for sure,” King Zephyr said. “We need to test her. I have the foremost scholars in my kingdom—”

“No.” Headmaster Acker’s voice cracked like a whip.

King Zephyr arched a brow. “You deny me?”

Acker didn’t back down. “She is my charge. And if she is an aether, it is crucial that she stay on unbiased ground.”

A muscle in King Zephyr’s cheek fluttered wildly. “I will be part of the testing.”

Acker nodded to him in a deference that was missing a moment ago. “Of course. All of the kings will be invited to the testing.”

King Zephyr’s eyes flashed. “I also demand that she is contained until the testing can take place. Who knows what she’s capable of? This could be some sort of Nova situation. She will have to stay in the dungeons.”

“Hell no! Are you fucking kidding me?” Kai launched to his feet, charging towards King Zephyr.

Riven was in front of Kai in a flash, shoving him back. “Don’t.”

“Get your hands off me!”

King Zephyr’s eyes narrowed on Kai. “You should listen to Riven. You could do something you can’t take back. You’re a royal, but you aren’t king yet. I’m the one who holds the power.”

For a moment I thought Kai would still try for the king.

“Don’t, Kai,” I pleaded. “I’ll be fine.”

He gave Riven a hard shove and stalked back towards me. “You can’t restrain her. If she’s an aether, she’s ours.”

Atlas pulled me back against his chest. “She’s ours no matter what she is.”

Even amidst the chill, fear had settled in my bones, and warmth spread through me at Atlas’s words. I turned into him, nuzzling his neck. “Thank you.”

“It’s your soul that matters, Aura. Not whatever is surrounding it. I don’t care if you have no affinities or all four. You’ve made me feel more seen and accepted in the past two weeks than I ever have before.”

My hands fisted in his shirt. Three words played on my tongue. Words that were so ridiculous to share after how short a time I’d known Atlas. Yet I felt it swimming through me, lighting me from the inside out.