6. Ivy #2
They press their tiny hands against their chest, a smile spreading across their lips as they twirl in the air once again. “I’m Ember, your sprite.”
“My sprite? I didn’t know I had one,” I mutter, and they nod.
“Do you want me to help with the pack or not?” they push, planting their hands on non-existent hips as they cock their head to the side.
Despite the uncertainty nestled in my gut, I nod before darting to my feet and hurrying toward my closet.
“Is there anything I specifically need to wear right now?” I call over my shoulder, blinking at my clothes as I search for some kind of uniform or something, but there’s no hint of one.
“No, you’re good.”
I sigh with relief, rifling through my options before settling on my favorite tank top and jeans I spied last night. Just as I slip my feet into a pair of Chelsea boots, a knock pounds at the door, spiking the worry in my veins.
“Who is that?” I blurt, popping my head around the door to find Ember performing some kind of stunt show as they whizz around my room.
“Food, I took the liberty of calling it in for you,” they explain, and I gape at them.
“Thank you, you didn’t have to do that,” I mutter as they come up close to my face. Close enough for me to spot their eye roll before they take off again.
“I did, I wouldn’t want you making me look bad,” they state, and I scoff at their sass levels.
“Right,” I grumble, trudging for the door, but when I open it, there’s no one on the other side. Just a silver tray on the floor with a silver dome covering the food and a bottle of water lying beside it.
Glancing up and down the hallway, I come up short when I find it completely empty. I can’t stop my eyes from lingering on the room next to mine for a split second longer than I care to admit before I grab the tray and slam the door shut behind me.
“Eat, I’ll talk,” Ember insists as I cut across to my desk, lifting the dome the second the metal touches the wood.
“French toast… how did you know?”
They wink, quickly waving their tiny hands. I take the hint, pulling out my chair before digging into the breakfast of champions before me.
“It’s almost ten, so I’ll get right to it,” they start, clearing their throat as they transform before me, appearing like a tiny person with two arms, two legs, and a cute little dress with a pair of glasses perched on their fiery nose.
“Enrollment points to take note of are: official classes won’t really start until tomorrow.
You’ll head to your enrollment gathering with the other new arrivals now, but they give you the rest of the day to explore and familiarize yourself with your new surroundings. Hugo said you?—”
“Hugo? You know Hugo?” I interject, the mention of my brother stealing my breath as I’m plagued with admiration and betrayal over the same person.
Long, fiery red hair drapes down their face, the same red hue framing them as they playfully tuck it behind their ears.
“Hugo trusts me to take good care of you,” she breathes bashfully, and I bite back a smile.
If someone had told me yesterday I would be here, at Neverbound Academy, talking to a sprite about my brother, I would have laughed in their face, yet here I am, doing just that. But more so, doing it with little questioning or understanding.
I’ve lost my mind.
Ember flutters and flies around the room for a second before reappearing before me.
“You’ll get your schedule at the gathering, along with a briefing on what the academy expects, which means we should focus on your core fire morals before we leave.
” She glances at an imaginary watch before returning her pointed stare to me.
“You’ve got eight minutes, and you need to brush your teeth,” she states, setting me in motion as I awkwardly slam the rest of my food in my mouth before rising to my feet.
“I can’t go anywhere looking like this,” I grumble, my mouth still full of food as I wave a hand at my head.
“Seven and a half minutes,” she reiterates, counting me down, and I groan, rushing into the bathroom to get ready as Ember continues.
“Being a Fire Protector is a privilege, a feat no one takes for granted. It is with the utmost priority that you treat your sodality as your family. They must stand above any other group of protectors, fated mates included. You mustn’t steal or create strife among members.
Once you harness your ability, you must advise the leader, Francesca Cohen.
Any necessary changes to your curriculum will be made from there. ”
Her words rattle in my mind as I swoop my hair into a low-slung ponytail before brushing my teeth and turning my attention to the familiar cosmetic bag set on the vanity beside me.
I don’t question it or give myself a moment to truly acknowledge the bathroom I’m standing in as I hone in on my reflection with my concealer wand in hand.
“Anything else I should know?” I ask, effortlessly sweeping through my makeup routine like a pro.
“Being a Fire Protector is probably the hardest of them all,” Ember states, making me startle, and I almost jab myself with my mascara wand.
“How so?” I dare to ask, peering at her from the corner of my eye, and she shrugs.
“Everyone is cunning, hotheaded, and destined for greatness in some way or another, but a lot of them let the heat of their powers go to their head, making it hard to actually keep to the Fire Protector morals.”
I hear what she’s not saying.
The other Fire Protectors are going to be a handful. By the sounds of it, I am too.
Excellent.
I part my lips, eager to understand an example of what she’s saying, when a beeping sound cuts through the air.
“What’s that?”
“Time to go,” she sings as I drop my lip gloss and search for my perfume.
I frown when I don’t see it instantly, certain that if my brother had gone to such lengths to make me comfortable here, he would have included that too.
“Top shelf of the cabinet,” Ember hollers from the bedroom, and my eyes dart to the vanity, which is lined with cabinet doors.
My favorite bottle sits dead center, and I gape in astonishment. How did she know that?
Two spritzes and I’m heading for the door, still completely unprepared for what’s to come, but before I can swing the door open, Ember appears right in front of my face again.
“Would you like me to continue assisting you out there, or would you prefer for me to wait here?” she asks, and my eyebrows gather in confusion.
“What would you like to do?”
She rears back. “Sorry?”
I run my tongue over my bottom lip as I reword my question.
“Do you want to come or would you rather stay here?” It’s her turn to frown, the silence bleeding between us and wasting time I apparently don’t have.
“With the way you were busting my ass about the time, you’re sure dawdling right now,” I state, and she shakes her head.
“It’s just… no one has ever asked me that before,” she mumbles, and I shrug.
“It looks like we’re both having a day of firsts, then, doesn’t it? So, are you coming or not?”
A smirk spreads across her face. “I’m certain you’re going to end up in some kind of trouble, and I’m a sucker for some drama,” she sings, disappearing through the door, and I yank it open to find her waiting idly on the other side.
Baffled, I gulp. “If it’s drama that you want, I’m sure I won’t disappoint.”