Page 41 of The Lost Elemental

“I give up.” I turned and started into the classroom, but Kai caught me by the back of the shirt and tugged me back.

He wrapped me in a tight hug, his lips skimming the shell of my ear. “Give ‘em hell, Pip.”

All of a sudden, I didn’t feel the need to go to class quite as strongly. I could stand here all day in Kai’s arms. Nothing else needed to exist in the world and—

Phoenix cleared his throat. “Let her go, Kai.”

“Jealous,” Kai muttered, but he released me.

I hurried into the classroom without meeting his gaze. I didn’t need to catch sight of that smug grin. I scanned the room for an empty seat. Thankfully, there was a lab desk that was completely empty in the back row. I made a beeline for it.

Whispers rose in the air. Questions about what the royals saw in me. That maybe I was more powerful than anyone knew. One girl whispered that I was blackmailing them to hang out with me.

I bit the inside of my cheek and focused on the front of the classroom. A short man with round glasses smiled at everyone. “Welcome to earth class. I’m Professor Moss and this is my teaching assistant, Atlas Terra.”

Most of the students bowed their heads in reverence, their eyes averting from my gentle giant. His jaw tightened at the sight.

“Today we will be meeting our earth magic. You’ve likely done similar exercises in your other classes. We’ll start with a simple meditation and then we’ll work on connecting with our inner earth.”

I fought the groan that wanted to surface but closed my eyes and followed Professor Moss’s instructions as he led us through the meditation. A large part of it was feeling connected to the ground, the energy that ran underneath us and into us each and every day.

The concept was one I could get on board with. That we were a part of the world around us. That we needed to treat it with care and reverence. But like in my other classes, I couldn’t feel it. Not in the way that Professor Moss described.

I let out a soft growl of frustration, my hands fisting around the bowl of dirt on my lab table. Large hands closed around mine. “Keep your eyes closed.”

That hum of energy picked up where Atlas’s skin touched mine. “I don’t feel anything.”

“You’re pushing. You need to let the earth magic flow through you. Don’t try to hold onto it or control it. Consider yourself the conduit.”

I imagined the sun hitting my face on a warm summer day. The way the grass felt under my fingertips at the park as I watched Charlie play. The breeze lifting my hair. It was all a part of that life force that ran through us all, human or elemental.

The buzz in my hands intensified. The dirt from the bowl flew in the air, hitting me in the face. I sputtered, my eyes flying open.

But the flow didn’t stop. My entire body buzzed now. The ground beneath me trembled. “Atlas…”

“Pull it back. You can do it.”

“What a fucking head case,” one guy called.

“She’s going to get us all killed,” a girl shrieked, running for the door.

A violent snap rent the air, like the loudest clap of thunder I’d ever heard. My eyes widened to saucers as a crack split the floor beneath us.

In an instant, Atlas dropped to his knees, planting his hands on the floor. He closed his eyes, focusing all his energy on the earth beneath us. A moment later, the shaking slowed. Then the floor itself was slowly knit back together.

I could do nothing but stare. Atlas’s eyes opened, his gaze locking with mine.

What the hell had I just done?

23

I put my head down and hurried to my next class. I did everything I could to zone out the whispers. Gossip at Kingwood moved as quickly as lightning, and word of my outburst was already everywhere.

Ducking inside the classroom, I aimed for the back row. But strong hands caught hold of my arms. “What happened?”

I blinked up into inky-black eyes. “Nothing.”

Phoenix scowled. “Atlas texted me that there was an issue in earth class.”