Page 23 of Firestorm
I’d already had awful sleep my first night, having been awake most of the night so I didn’t risk a nightmare with my new friends sleeping five feet from me. I was incredibly nervous heading to my first class, hence why I needed to speak to my big brother.
Everything is good. I’m surprised I can speak to you this far.
Nothing about you surprises me anymore,he replied.Have you met any people yet? Are they weird?
I made two friends. Roomie and her Link.
I pushed through an image of the two girls, how they’d looked last night while watching me as I told them the story of Wyatt. I hadn’t told them Wyatt’s name, I was keeping that bit of info to myself still, which was the right call considering how adamant Willow was to find him.
Adorable. They have a full Chain?
I snorted. A guy walking past me gave me a funny look.
They’re in the system, loverboy.
Wonderful news. Any classes yet?
Heading there now.I pushed through an image of the courtyard and then blinked back tears.I don’t know how often I’ll be able to reach out.
I know, Skyes. Don’t worry. Don’t worry about me, either. Everything’s fine, here. Long story, but Lyla’s gone. Serena’s gone too, just like I promised. I’m…he trailed off, and I found myself panicking slightly. I’d never truly been away from my brother for any length of time our entire lives. The fact that I’d only had a mild breakdown while with my parents at the gravesite was surprising. I was expecting a full blown freak-out very soon.
Zeph?I cringed at how shrill I sounded, trying to find the logic in the situation. We were so far apart. Of course he wouldn’t be able to respond to me so easily.
Sorry. Everything is fine. Interviews today.
Okay. I’ll push through when I can.
Be so fucking careful. Love you.
You, too. Love you.
I blinked back tears as I arrived at the building of my first class. It was a huge, red-bricked building with a heavy wooden door that looked like it could keep out a giant. Luckily the door was standing wide open because there was no way I’d have been able to move it without calling on an affinity I wasn’t supposed to have.
I slid through the open door behind the dozens of other students and quickly found a seat at the top of the auditorium. I fumbled through my bag, looking for my notebooks and pens as I settled in. I glanced around the room quickly, seeing groups of friends meeting up to sit together while they all found their seats. A few people were alone, like me, on the edges of the room, which was perfect. If everything went to plan, I wouldn’t stand out at all.
I opened the overpriced notebook I had to purchase from the student store –because the academy rep who’d driven me here hadn’t stopped at any stores for me to get supplies– and put the date at the top of the page.
I was just about to glance around the room once more as everyone settled when a prickling sensation tingled down the back of my neck. It was soft. Gentle. Just a simple brush of awareness the average person probably wouldn’t pick up on. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t the average person. The soft brush turned into more of a nudge after a moment, and I almost sighed in irritation.
Someone in this room was a telepath, and they were checking me out.
It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Usually, I was in a more crowded place where I could disappear quickly, so the nudger wasn’t able to find me. Being stuck in a classroom meant they’d narrow down on me.
I wasn’t worried. My mental walls were impenetrable.
I settled my books and pens as if nothing happened. I leaned back, taking a sip of my awful coffee, then ran my eyes over the other students to see if anyone stood out.
I glanced over to the GTA at the front of the room. Her pale green eyes watched me with interest, but she wasn’t the one who had tried to read me.
That brush was subtle. That meant they were powerful enough that they didn’t even need to look at me to push into my mind.
I flipped through my book to find the right reading page as I checked over the front whiteboard. I chewed the back of my pen, fondly thinking of how Zephyr would tell me I was ruining my teeth or something. As much as I missed him, I couldn’t think back to our conversation at all. If I gave anything from my old life too much thought, I’d burst into tears, and I didn’t have time for that today.
I blew out a breath, trying to get my brain to focus on something else before I could humiliate myself on the first day, and the same nudging sensation pushed against me once more. I ignored it again.
I wasn’t cocky. There was no reason to be when I knew I was the strongest person in the room. I’d known how to look through someone’s mind without their notice since I was a child. But the subtlety in this check-over told me this person would probably notice if I checked back. And they would definitely know it was me.
Besides, telepathy was more common than not these days, peoplejust kept it to themselves. If you were found out, the government usually decided on the spot whether or not you were worthy of keeping it, and that was that. If you were deemed worthy, you’d get to keep your life, too. Along with a conscription into the army, of course.
