Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Ender
Ispun the cardboard water bottle on the table, tuning out Ivy and Gwen’s mundane conversation.
Gwen had recovered from yesterday’s rock creature attack, having spent time in the infirmary with Nurse Adair.
The two of them acted like nothing happened.
Ivy’s leg was covered by her pants, but she still favored it when she walked.
I had questions but didn’t ask. I wasn’t going to get in the middle of whatever illegal magic the two of them had tangled themselves up in.
For the fourth time, I glanced over at the table Selene and her friends usually sat at for lunch. She wasn’t there.
“Hey, man. You okay?” Nick asked.
“Yeah.” I stopped twirling the bottle. “Just distracted.”
Nick’s gaze followed mine to Sydney and Denise. If it had been dinner, I would have assumed she was with Vivian, but she had a different lunch period.
“Ah.” Nick smirked and leaned back in his chair, running a hand through the curly blond hair he took an inordinate amount of pride in. “She’s not even over there. Or is that the problem?”
“It’s not like that,” I said, my voice low.
“Oh, come on, man.” He patted my back with a thud. “I’m just messing around.”
“Hmm,” I grunted.
Nick was the closest I had to a best friend. He was flawed, but so was I. His biggest problem was following Gwen around like a mindless lovesick puppy. I vowed to never lower myself to such behavior.
“I’ll see you later.” I stood, grabbing my bottle, and headed toward the door leading to the end of the courtyard.
“Where are you going?” Nick called from his seat.
“Fresh air,” I tossed over my shoulder. A walk would do me some good.
“Where is he off to?” Gwen asked.
As I got farther away, I barely heard Nick say, “Chasing tail.”
I shook my head and walked outside, the urge to feel fresh wind against my skin beckoning me.
I stopped short of the field, intending to cross it and go into the woods for a short walk, but Selene sat under a tree with her nose in a book.
Her brown locks fell just below her shoulders—not in her normal braids.
The wind caught a few of the strands, blowing them across her face.
I rubbed my eyes with one hand, feeling pressure build behind them, and sighed, then started toward her. Why? I didn’t know.
Chasing tail, maybe?
I passed David, who looked up from his own book as I walked by.
Normally he sat with Selene, Sydney, and Denise.
He had probably chosen a shaded picnic table outside rather than the girls flaunting over him in the cafeteria.
He would learn just like I had—don’t be friendly and the ones with any self-preserving instinct will stay away.
My shadow fell across Selene, blocking the sun, and she looked up. Her eyes narrowed when she recognized it was me, as if I was the most insufferable thing at this academy—more so than the notorious Professor Eaten, who’s rumored to eat students.
“What do you want?” She didn’t take her eyes off me.
“Learning anything interesting?” I asked, avoiding the question I didn’t have an answer to.
“Not anything I don’t already know.” She sighed and her cheeks reddened a touch, as if she hadn’t meant to say more than one word.
I glanced at the cover—Water Magic and Its Beyond. “You know everything about water mages despite being an earth mage? Is that because of your sister?”
“My mother taught me everything my sister and I needed to know.” She flinched, and I couldn’t help but notice her use of the past tense.
I could relate—my parents were gone. Priscilla Hart raised me and was the only blood relative I had.
She was a distant cousin, but she took me in like I had been her own, and so had Mr. Scott, her elderly assistant—we had called him the house manager.
“Sounds like she was very knowledgeable.” I nodded.
“She was.” Selene went back to her book.
I ignored her blatant hints to leave her alone and sat next to her, intrigued by Selene Thomas, even if she wasn’t going to tell me anything. Talking wasn’t the only way to learn things about someone—actions alone spoke a great deal.
Selene closed her book and huffed. “Seriously. What do you want?”
“I’m just enjoying the sun.” I grinned. Something about the blush of irritation on her cheeks warmed me.
Her honest refutation, instead of groveling like the other academy girls, was refreshing.
I didn’t deny my good looks, and I trained hard.
Some of the lusting led to resentment by other students.
Selene went to stand.
“Wait.” I put up a hand, stopping her. “How did you know the academy was in danger?”
She eyed me for a moment before slowly settling back down. Her gaze was locked on the grass in front of her as she cracked each knuckle of her right hand with her thumb.
“Something felt off. I thought I heard a scream in the woods,” she said after some hesitation.
Huh. She was going to talk—at least a little.
“What do you mean, felt off?” After she had stood up that day, I had suddenly felt a bit ill, but I hadn’t known why.
“I’m not sure.” She took a deep breath. “Did you tell anyone”—the cracking sound of her knuckles drew my attention to her hand and then back to her—“what happened … what I did?”
“No.” I met her gaze as she watched me with regard. “And I won’t.”
The headmaster had talked to me briefly, but I hadn’t told him exactly what she did.
Ivy never asked, and Gwen had no recollection of that afternoon.
I had a feeling Selene didn’t want anyone to know.
She had torn apart the sides of a mountain.
Her power was stronger than mine as a level four, and that wasn’t common.
She had to be a level five earth mage.