Page 2 of Origins

“Mr. Voltaris, that is quite enough,” Professor Vitalis warned.

The fact that Jack was also being scolded did very little to alleviate my temper. But at least I was about to be away from here. Maybe after I finished talking with Flora, I’d be able to go outside and take a breath before returning to class.

With that in mind, I gathered my things in one arm and made my way toward Callie. She held the door open and allowed me to pass through, following closely behind me as I exited the classroom. It was a little irritating that Flora sent someone to babysit me, especially because she called me to her office at least once a week to “check on me.”

Flora understood the fact that my dad’s reputation preceded mine, and she was well aware of the hurdles I’d have to face to become the hero I wanted to be. No one cared that I had earned a full-ride merit scholarship, and they never would.

“You can stop thinking like that.” Callie chirped.

I froze in my spot. What the fuck did she just say to me?

“Thinking? Like what?”

“The whole ‘my dad’s a villain, everyone should feel bad for me’schtick.”

Callie’s kitten heels clicked against the white tiles as she closed the gap between us, filling the space beside me. My skin tingled at her presence, but I tried to ignore it.

“If no one cared about you, my mom wouldn’t make time for you,” she continued.

My brow furrowed as I studied every inch of her face. She looked remarkably like her older sister, the hero Chrona. But she had the same lips as her brother: full, heart-shaped, and pink. The difference was, instead of that ugly smirk Jack always wore, her expression seemed to hold genuine kindness.

I knew all about Callie’s mom, her dad, and both her siblings, but until today, I’d been blissfully unaware of her existence. The other two brats had always been in and out of the media, helping their family rid the world ofevilvillains without a second thought—without wonderingwhythe villains were like that. But I’d never heard anything about Callie. Maybe... she could be different?

“You’re a mind reader?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Something like that.”

I pressed my fingers to the back of my neck, rubbing soft circles at the seam between my spine and skull.

“... Care to explain?”

She glanced at me, her lips parting and shutting as if she wasn’t too sure herself.

Was she embarrassed?

Surely not. Her whole family was blessed with extraordinary abilities; it was hard to picture a Voltariswithout an absolutely mind-blowing power.

“I—” Her tongue darted across her lips. She crossed her arms close to her chest, almost as if she were hugging herself for support, and I did my best not to notice how the buttons of her shirt gaped when pressed to her breasts.

“Um, well... My power never fully came in.”

She shifted nervously from one foot to the other.

“Isn’t that supposed to happen when you’re, like, five at the latest?”

That’s what our biology texts said, anyway. My powers manifested before I was even born. Apparently, my mom was constantly running a fever during her pregnancy. Her doctors were baffled. They ran all sorts of tests, trying desperately to figure out what could possibly be making her sick until they realized I was heating her up from the inside. That’s what my dad told me, anyway. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to hear the story straight from my mother, so I wasn’t sure if my dad changed any details.

“Uh, well, yes.” She looked at the ground. “When I was a kid, I could do more, but as I’ve gotten older, it’s tapered off. On a good day, I can read a mind or two, but it’s mostly just empathy…. Which is exhausting, by the way.”

A laugh stole the end of her words, hitting me with enough force to cause an inexplicable warm and fuzzy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Callie may have been a Voltaris brat, but... I wanted to hear her laugh again.

I resumed walking, hoping to clear my mind

“I can imagine.”

I resumed walking, hoping the movement would help quell the unwanted feelings that were threatening to rise into my chest. The sounds of our footsteps bounced off the vaulted ceilings and echoed off the award-lined walls.A silence fell between us, and even if it was a comfortable one, I didn’t like it.

“So… If your empathy tires you out that much, I’m assuming you don’t have many friends?” A strange question, I’ll admit, but I was hoping I might learn something that would make me like her less.

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