Page 33 of The Lost Elemental

I shuddered. I swore I could feel flames licking my skin. Squeezing my eyes closed, I breathed deep.

“Aura?”

My eyes flew open. “Sorry.”

Concern flashed across Kerry’s face. “Are you okay? I don’t think Phoenix will hurt you. I’ve actually never heard of him hurting a woman. I just…he has a vindictive streak.”

Bizarrely, I wasn’t worried about him hurting me either. I mean, he scared the hell out of me in a lot of ways. But the fear I felt didn’t center around harm.

“It’s just been a really long day.”

Kerry winced. “I heard Xena doused you in water class. Sorry about that.”

A sound of frustration escaped my throat. “Nothing stays secret around here, does it?”

“Not really.” She nibbled on the corner of her lip. “You need to be careful.”

“About what now?” The number of things I was currently juggling in my brain to watch out for were about to drown me. Mean girls. Royals with a penchant for torture. Elementals who may have bound me as a child. The list went on and on.

“Girls are going to have it out for you since you sat with the royals. They’ll make it their mission to knock you down a few pegs.”

Maybe I could hide in the library during lunch periods. No royals. No mean girls. No classmates at all.

I turned to Kerry. “Do you know any invisibility spells?”

She laughed. “I don’t think that’s one that I’ve heard of.”

“Let me know if you do.”

“You’ll be the first one I tell.”

“Thanks.”

Kerry pushed off her bed and stood. “We should get to the dining hall if we want dinner.”

Dread pooled in my stomach. I didn’t have it in me to go another round with Riven or to be pulled into the four princes’ drama for their amusement alone. I sent Kerry a pleading look. “Do you think you could bring me something back?”

Sympathy washed over her expression. “You’re going to have to face them all eventually.”

“Tomorrow is as good of a day for that as any, right? I just need some sleep first.” After a decent eight hours, a belly full of food, I’d be ready to battle again. But tonight? I just wanted to put on my pajamas, pull the covers over my head, and pretend none of these problems were real.

Kerry nodded. “Want anything in particular?”

“That pizza looked pretty dang good.”

“It’s amazing. I’ll bring you a few pieces back.”

I blew a kiss in her direction. “A goddess among mortals, I tell you.”

She laughed as she headed out the door. “And don’t you forget it.”

As the door closed, I collapsed back against my pillows. My brain swirled in a million different directions. I tried to reach back into my memory to the years before the fire. The time when I might’ve encountered an elemental who could’ve bound my magic even further than the innate spell all elementals were subject to.

Every time I reached for a memory, it was as if I knocked up against a cement wall. I’d need a wrecking ball to get through it. Only all I had were my bare hands.

All I was left with were questions. Some part of me wondered if it could’ve been my father. Did he know who I was? Had he returned in some effort to keep me safe? And who the hell was he?

Maybe I could find someone to hypnotize me into remembering. I instantly pushed that idea aside. The last thing I needed was to end up clucking like a chicken every time someone said the word egg.