Page 46 of Gift from the Stone

“Yeah. I can’t wait to see Oakly and the archives,” she answers vaguely, pushing her food around her plate.

“What about your classes?” I ask, watching her closely. The way she won’t look up from her food and the way her body tenses against mine lets me know she doesn’t want to answer me truthfully.

“My classes are fine. It’s just I’m much further ahead in my Air Element than even the second years, and Gaster’s teachings have far surpassed my Enchantments class. So I get bored, then I feel guilty because I have quite the advantage over the rest of my class.” She gestures her hand around the table to us.

When I first set her up with these classes, I didn’t expect her to take so quickly to everything Gaster taught her, or that she’d learn so much from us, and she hasn’t complained, so I didn’t realize she was bored. Now that I think about it, he’s taught her things the academy doesn’t even teach, things that come from centuries of wisdom and age.

And she’s more than likely surpassing most fourth years in air and earth, and I have no doubt her fire will catch right up, although no one can know about those two elements.

Her control is truly unmatched. You’d never know her elements were bound with no use until recently. They obey her command like she’s been using them every day of her life. It took me and my brothers years to match the level of control she wields.

“If you’d like, tomorrow, we can run a field test and see if you surpass the fourth years in Air Elemental class, and if you do, I’ll withdraw you and you can spend that extra time with me, Tillman, or Gaster. If you don’t, I’ll move you up to that class.”

“What kind of field test?” she asks skeptically.

“The fourth-year final. It’s a series of tests that’ll show your control and the strength of your air element but on a practice basis. You won’t really be graded on it, unless you pass it, then I really will document the passing grade.”

“Will I have to do this in front of the whole class?”

I shake my head, easing the worry I see on her face. “No. The four of us will be there, but we’ll have to have one unbiased instructor there to administer the test and base the final grade.”

“Oh, well, that won’t be too bad then. You’ve all seen me use my air element plenty of times. When will we do it?”

“First thing in the morning, before you go to Gaster’s, so depending on how it goes, we use tomorrow to set up your new schedule, with or without an Air Elemental class.” I decide, pulling my communicator out, letting the instructor know to meet us at the training fields first thing in the morning.

Looking at Draken then back at me, I can see unfairness flaring in her eyes, and I know what’s coming before she even asks.

“Why does Draken still have to take a Fire Element class? We all know he surpasses them.”

“Good fucking question, little wanderer.”

“He won’t stop burning people who piss him off. There have been countless complaints, so he must stay in the class until he figures out how to control that,” I tell her, rolling my eyes at his bullshit.

“Draken.” She tries to play it off as her being stern, but her giggling at the mock horror on his face betrays that notion.

“They all deserved it. I shouldn’t be punished for that.” He tries to justify. Willow and Caspian both laugh, only encouraging his nonsense, but luckily, Tillman’s on my side and backs me up that Draken won’t be getting out of his own classes.

“What about my Enchantment’s class? I’d hate to leave Oakly, but I think I just distract her when we go over things I already know, and she doesn’t call me out about it.”

“There aren’t many other options since we can’t expose your other two elements, but I was thinking you should join Draken’s shifter class, at least tomorrow, and see how it goes. He isn’t allowed to shift because of the nature of his animal, so we can say your animal is rare and on a need-to-know basis only. But I think it would be beneficial for you to learn shifter culture and how to control your dominance.” I’m fighting myself on that decision because she’d be the only female in that class.

We can’t put lower dominant females in a class full of strong shifter males. That’d just be asking for trouble. Seeing her dominance come out to play today and go toe to toe with Draken, there’s no doubt she’ll handle herself in there with the others.

“I didn’t even think about that. Oh, I think that would be good.” She smiles and claps her hands excitedly. Draken’s overprotective stare says otherwise.

She’ll be fine.

Eight

Willow

Ruthless dictator.

“You’re seriously going to make me work this hard, knowing I have a test in a little while?” I groan, rolling onto my back on the mat for the hundredth time.

After a wonderful night of sleep, sandwiched between Tillman and Draken, I feel refreshed. I woke up ready to put the events of yesterday behind me, hit training hard, and save the world. That was until his ass started slinging me around like a damn chew toy.

Now, I’m over it and want to quit.

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