Page 128 of Firestorm
What’s going on there?I asked, raising an eyebrow.
My mom only stared at me. I snorted before going back to my plate of food.
It’s right in front of me, you can’t fault me for asking questions.I said.
Anyway,Mom said, sounding annoyed. I snickered while she rolled her eyes.As much as I’d like to meet her, I do not want your father meeting your Key.
She won’t,I replied.Skye is…she would eat him alive.
I certainly hope so,Mom replied, a hint of pride in her tone.She must be quite something, since she must be fit for a king.
I shook my head with a laugh.No, she is not fit for a king. But you have certainly done a fine job of making sureIam fit for aqueen.
Chapter 37
Skye
The fluorescent lightoverhead flickered again, and I rubbed my eyes. The auditoriums didn’t have any outside lightning, since they were sunken into concrete, and the artificial lightning was always failing.
I wasn’t the girl who daydreamed about hot guys while sitting in class but…that’s exactly what I was doing. I was in the back corner of myWater Affinitiescourse, sketching a way too detailed portrait of Aiden, running my fingers over his carefully drawn freckles and sighing deeply like I hadn’t just seen him an hour ago. I could still feel his hot arms wrapped around me, his chest vibrating as he laughed against me.
I shivered, flipping through my sketchbook to distract myself and settling on my weird sketch of the shadow. I could only work on it whileitwasn’t around, which was almostalways. It was really weird to be daydreaming about one of my Links while swooning over a…scribble.
The sketch didn’t even really look like anything. It was all shaded in shadow, the very vaguest shape of a man taking form within it. The more I looked at it today, though, the more it sort of looked like…Prince Rafael.
I cringed, flipping back to my sketch of Aiden. I didn’t even know why I was embarrassed. Every little girl dreamed of being in a Chainwith a prince. I was literally living that dream, but part of me was feeling a little…self-conscious.
He was aprince. He was rebellious, choosing to cover himself with tattoos and ripped black clothing instead of keeping the pristine image that was expected of him. I’d already known of how he’d graduated the academy and moved on to his conscription, which had been hotly debated. Zephyr and I had barely paid attention to the news those days, especially since I was a little young to care at the time.
I only remember my brother grumbling about how monarchs get out of everything and he would have proudly gone through with his conscription if our parents hadn’t died.
After his military time, the prince went on to do…absolutely nothing. He refused to take on any princely duties, and it seemed like everyone just…sort of…let it happen.
He was powerful, with a lot of free time. He could have come to meet me at any time, and yet…he hadn’t. Had he received the notification about his Key-results, taken one look at me and scoffed? Maybe he’d seen Wyatt or Aiden and thoughtno way, I’m out?
Or what if…
I sucked in a sharp breath.
What if he already had a lover? Or worse–manylovers?!
They’d definitely be more sophisticated than me. I was just some island girl from the Gulf, no prestigious accolades or exciting talents to share with the world. Well…I did…they were just illegal.
But Rafael was a prince. Would they kill the Key to a prince? Surely he wouldn’t allow that…
I shivered, rubbing at my chest slightly as a feeling of unease washed through me. That’d been happening more and more recently, and it was bothering me. I hadn’t seen or heard from Wyatt, so that couldn’t be the reason I was feeling this way. I was anxious about the prince, but that was a separate sensation from this one.
I pushed my hair over my shoulder and pulled out an old history book on affinities that Landon had checked out for me. I sifted through the pages, pausing on the section discussing the effects of connecting.
Everything I’d read told me that a Key should feel invigorated after completing a connection with one of their Links. I was, for the mostpart. When Aiden was near, I felt satisfied and content. But as soon as he left, I felt…uneasy. And I didn’t think it was from his being gone.
The heavy double doors at the head of the auditorium opened suddenly, surprising me out of my insecure thoughts. Every student in the auditorium looked to the newcomers, Headmaster Earl and another man that had the students whispering.
“Hello everyone,” Earl said, flashing a charming smile. I scrunched up my nose in disgust. The man put me on edge. “I’m just looking for a student. Skye Aria, are you in here today?”
My expression fell and I sat completely frozen as all one-hundred-something people in the auditorium turned at once and looked at me, alone in the corner.
I suddenly couldn’t breathe.
