Page 7 of The Lost Elemental

Most of the people in the audience simply looked bored. Others nervous. More appeared so excited they could barely sit still.

Drue and her bitch squad fell in that category. Though one of the girls nibbled on a fingernail. I remembered reading about how some elementals wouldn’t be strong enough to be admitted into the academies.

For the first time, a wave of empathy washed over me. I couldn’t imagine living with that kind of pressure. To know that your whole life would be decided on something you had no control over.

But that was my lot in a way too. I had no control over my medical bills that had my mom struggling to crawl out from under mountains of debt. Just like I had no say in the fact that the debt meant there was no way I could take the scholarship across the country. I had to help my family climb out from under that weight.

“Let us begin.”

Dean Sinclair’s voice had me turning back around. A man in navy robes stepped forward. His hair was nearly completely white, and his eyes had a hazy quality to them. He nodded to a guard standing by the front row.

The guard motioned to a guy sitting in the first seat. He didn’t look old enough to be here. His slender frame and freckles looked as if he belonged in middle school, not graduating high school.

The boy got to his feet and climbed the stairs to the stage. People whispered around us until Sinclair scowled at us all. She nodded at the man in the robes. “Quincy.”

The man motioned the boy forward. There was a small, reassuring smile on his face that made me like him. He lifted a hand. “I promise this won’t hurt a bit.”

The freckled boy nodded, swallowing hard.

Quincy’s hand began to glow. A light spread over the boy from head to toe, a cascade of rainbow colors. He jerked around. “What’s happening?”

The girls behind me giggled and scoffed.

“It’s all right,” Quincy said as the light faded. “No elemental gifts.”

Sinclair nodded, pointing to the back wall. “You can exit through the stage door.”

He staggered in that direction. Kai clapped him on the back as he passed, whispering something in his ear that made the boy laugh. There was that hidden hint of kindness again. He straightened, looking my way. Instantly, the cocky smile was on his lips. The falseness of it made my stomach twist.

Riven elbowed him in the ribs, inclining his head towards Sinclair and Quincy, with a scowl in my direction. The urge to stick my tongue out at him again was so strong. But I didn’t dare it with the dean and some sort of high priest in attendance.

What were Riven and Kai doing here anyway? They weren’t old enough to be staff at the school, and they obviously weren’t in the elemental guard. It looked as if they were simply watching. Maybe they were student government from one of the academies or something.

A girl I recognized climbed the stairs, twisting her fingers together as she went. Her name was Emily and we’d shared a few classes this year. She was quiet and kind, and I knew her mother was human and her father an elemental.

Quincy smiled at her and said something too quietly for the rest of us to hear. She nodded and he held up his hand again. That colorful, glowing light returned. Only this time, sparks danced within the light around Emily’s body. As if there were a faint shower of shooting stars around her.

Her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. Quincy smiled. “Hello, elemental.”

Sinclair nodded. “Congratulations. Please head this way for your assignment.” She gestured in the opposite direction as she’d sent the boy. Emily hurried to obey.

Lainey blew out a long breath. “She’s so freaking lucky. Why couldn’t my mom have fallen in love with an elemental? I’m hoping she had a torrid affair she’s too embarrassed to tell me about.”

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. “There’s always hope.”

The testing continued, one after the other. All of the outcomes were expected. Only those from elemental households testing positive.

Lainey gripped my hand like a vise as the guy sitting next to her tested negative. I squeezed her hand back. “Go get that hottie harem.”

That was all the confidence she needed. Lainey stood, throwing back her cascade of black hair. Her military boots clomped on the steps, and I didn’t miss one of the guards checking out her butt. I couldn’t wait to tell her.

Lainey beamed at Quincy. “I’m ready for my destiny.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad to meet such a confident young woman.”

He held up his hand and the light glowed around Lainey. It made her look absolutely gorgeous, but there were no sparks in the light. Her shoulders slumped and my heart squeezed.

Quincy leaned forward, patting her arm. “Your destiny may not be in one of our academies, but I have no doubt it’s powerful.”