Page 4 of Forging Darkness

“And you’re sure he meant Silver?”

“Who else could he have meant?” I mean, really?

“Maybe he meant ‘her’ as in ‘the one,’” Sterling suggests with raised eyebrows. “Maybe he fell in love and wanted you to be the first to know.”

My heart skips a beat before resuming its normal pace. That doesn’t even make sense. Sterling needs to lay off the romance novels.

Ash discretely elbows Sterling in the ribs.

I shoot Sterling a deadpan stare. “Get real.”

Greyson is quiet for a blessed moment, his brow creasing as he thinks. “The only choice we have is to find him. He’s going to need our help.”

“You four!” Seth stands at the front of the class, pointing in our direction. “Out of the gym. If you’re not going to pay attention, I don’t want you in my class.”

Hunching my shoulders, I shrink down as far as possible, properly scolded in front of a class full of peers. This is shaping up to be a great day.

Sterling pops up off the mat. “Thanks, man.” He salutes Seth as if he’s just done him a solid.

With downcast eyes, I follow the others out, feeling the stares of my classmates as we make the never-ending walk past the different training sectors.

In the locker room, I skip a shower since we didn’t get a chance to spar before being kicked out of class. Greyson and Sterling finish changing before Ash and me, and we find them both leaned up against the wall in the hallway, waiting. Greyson’s head is down, and he’s typing out something on his phone. It’s a moment before he looks up.

“Let’s go somewhere we can talk.” He tilts his head to indicate the direction and starts off. The rest of us follow.

“So why do you think he’s only called you? It’s not like he doesn’t have his brothers’ numbers. In fact, he would have had to do some research to find yours. You didn’t get a phone until after he left.” Sterling speaks the other question I didn’t want to be asked.

Looking into Sterling’s blue-green eyes, I take the coward’s way out and shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

We’re about to round a corner when the sound of shoes beating against the stone floor echoes off the corridor in front of us. We all pause. A mischievous round of laughter rings out a heartbeat before Blaze and Aurora careen around the bend, crashing into Greyson.

He catches them both, one in each arm, miraculously keeping them all on their feet.

Aurora’s face is flushed red. A sheen of sweat makes her face glow and her eyes bright. Her long mane is ruffled in a few spots and fine hairs stick to her forehead.

Blaze is equally disheveled. His gaze darts behind him as if he’s expecting someone to appear in pursuit any moment.

“What have you hellions been up to?” Greyson asks.

“Nothing.” Blaze’s response comes too quickly. Paired with the fervent glances he keeps lobbing over his shoulder, it’s obviously a lie.

“Emmy!” Aurora wiggles out of Greyson’s hold and jumps at me. I absorb her weight with an “oomph” and return the hug. It’s impossible not to fall in love with her. She pulls back and peers up at me, the very picture of innocence. “Blaze and I need to lie low for a bit.”

Uh-oh.

“So you’ve been up to no good.” A grin spreads across Sterling’s face. “I approve.” Holding up a hand, Blaze slaps him a high five.

“What trick did you play today?” Greyson asks, a touch of weariness permeating his words. In Steel’s absence he’s the one who keeps having to talk to the teachers when the twins pull something on the staff or another student.

“It’s not our fault he doesn’t have a sense of humor. And really, what do they expect in a student science lab? We need to be free to learn and explore.”

This ought to be good. I do my best to plaster a neutral expression on my face, wanting to support Greyson, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold it together.

“Whatexactlydid you do?” Greyson presses.

Aurora snuggles into my side, using my arm as a partial shield and leaving her twin to face the firing squad on his own. He shoots her a quick look that screamstraitor. Toeing at an invisible scuff on the ground, he opens his mouth to confess, when someone shouts the twins’ names from down the hall.

“Whoops, gotta go!” Blaze says and grabs Aurora’s hand, pulling her from my side. With a half-wave they dash off, disappearing around the bend only a half-second before Eric, the younger grades’ science teacher, appears around another corner, his eyes wild and covered from head to toe in a moss green substance.

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