Page 19 of The Lost Elemental
“What you are. A mutt. No half-human is going to last more than a month here. I’ve got a week in the pool. What I can’t figure out is whether you’ll wash out or be killed.” She shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I guess it doesn’t matter to me either way.”
Drue and her followers flounced off before I had a chance to respond. I simply stood gaping after them.
Slowly, I turned in the direction of Kerry. “Did she just say wash out or be killed?”
“Don’t mind Drue. She’s just threatened because everyone’s been talking about this crazy powerful half-human elemental Quincy discovered. Drue thought she’d be the hottest shit coming in this year.”
“But no one gets killed in training, right?”
Kerry nibbled on her bottom lip. “I don’t know how to answer that question without freaking you out.”
10
“It’s not like the teachers expressly allow violence. It’s just that things happen in battle exercises and when working on our magic. Sometimes it’s a genuine accident, other times you can tell someone was trying to take out the competition.”
Kerry chattered away as I unpacked my meager belongings. She was trying to ease my mind but was only making things worse.
“But I’m not competition. I don’t have the first idea what I’m doing.”
Kerry nibbled on the corner of her lip. “Maybe everyone will figure that out quickly.”
“But right now, all they know is that I short-circuited the power at the testing.” I groaned as I collapsed onto my bed.
She sent me a reassuring smile. “It does make you sound like quite the badass.”
“The accidental badass.”
“That should be the title of a book.”
I chuckled, the first sound of amusement that had passed my lips in hours. But it quickly died away as I thought about what I’d face tomorrow. “How should I play it?”
I had to hope that Kerry would shoot me straight. She didn’t seem to have a mean bone in her body.
Kerry drummed her fingers against her desk. “It’s a delicate balance. You don’t want to be at the top of the pack unless you’re damn sure you can defend yourself. The competition around here is ruthless. Everyone is clamoring for royal placements after we graduate, and the girls are hoping to catch the eye of one of the princes.”
I leaned back against the pillows, covering my face with my hands. Learning what an ass Riven was, the thought of encountering another royal was enough for me to pull the covers over my head and never come out.
I peeked through my fingers. “What if I shoot for the bottom of the barrel?”
Kerry shook her head, something I couldn’t discern passing over her features. “You really don’t want that. The ones at the bottom get used for target practice.”
“I’m quick on my feet. I can duck.”
The corner of her mouth kicked up. “That’s good. But not good enough. Trust me, those of us hanging out down there are constantly covered in bruises.”
My hands fell away from my face as I turned towards my roommate. I hadn’t thought about where she fell in the hierarchy and that made me a self-centered prick.
She made a face. “I don’t need your pity. It’s just the facts.”
“It’s not pity. But I am sorry you have to deal with a bunch of crap from these jerks.”
She shrugged. “I’m used to it. They’ve always been able to sense my powers weren’t strong. I have air but barely enough to move the needle. My father was just relieved it was enough to get me into an academy.”
“This seems like a sucky way to determine how a world is run.”
“From what I understand, the human realm isn’t much different. Your world is simply run on money.”
I tucked my hands under the pillow beneath my head. “You have a point. And I definitely know what it’s like to be at the bottom of that barrel. It’s exhausting.”
