Page 27 of Elemental Hall: Nautica
Am I about to poison myself?
I raise the glass of clear fluid in the sunlight, trying to spot any imperfections in the liquid. This is the moment when I’ll know if I’ve managed to pass the challenge or if I’ve just made a huge mistake.
Already, there are plenty of students throwing up at the side of the clearing. It seems that the elementalists testing uswon’tuse a deadly poison, but they’re not above using something milder, something that gives us more than enough incentive to complete the test properly.
I think I’ve purged the glass of poison. I think I’ve changed it back to cool, clear water, but there’s only one way to find out. I set the glass to my lips and drink, draining it to the last drop.
It’s water, only water.
I set the glass down and stand there smiling until Elemental Mistress Halan is sure that I’m not going to vomit. Then I go to stand with the group of those who have already succeeded. It already contains Nissa, Cara, and Orion. Aria must have made some small mistake, because she’s throwing up with the others. That means she’ll have to try again tomorrow and every day until she gets it right. I want to run over there and hold her hair back from her face, but we have strict instructions not to interfere with the outcome of the test, or Nissa would probably already have healed everyone who got poisoned.
It’s Darius’s turn. He picks up the glass the elementalist running the test hands him, and I see a look of concentration on his face as he summons elemental power. He raises it as if in a toast to everyone assembled, then drinks it down in one. He stands there casually, clearly with no ill effects.
I smile a little at that. It’s good to know that what I taught him worked. For a second, I remember the instant of that teaching, our hands on one another’s, our power intermingled…
“Is everything okay with you and Orion?” Cara whispers beside me.
I look over guiltily, frowning as I try to make sense of the question. “Yes, why?”
“It’s just that your eyes always seem to be on the Umbran when he’s around. And… well, by this point, usually people are sneaking into one another’s dorm rooms at night.”
I fight the urge to blush. It’s true. Nautica might officially have separate dormitory buildings for male and female students, but they’re close enough to move between easily and no one seems to police the comings and goings. Judging by some of the sounds in the night, there are plenty of people sneaking in to be with those they’re seeing.
“No, everything’s fine,” I assure Cara, but she looks doubtful. “We’re just taking things slowly.”
“All right,” Cara says. I can see I haven’t convinced her. It probably has something to do with the rumors still floating around about Darius and me. Sybil seems to be determined to keep spreading them, determined to drive a wedge between Orion and me so that she can step into the gap.
I wonder if there’s any world where Sybil and I could have been friends. She’s pretty, smart, and she seems to get along with everyone else. She’s cruel only to me, and the explanation forthatis obvious enough: Orion. I’m half tempted to go over and tell her that Orion and I aren’t really a thing, just to try to make things right between us.
Two things stop me. First, I’ve given my word to Orion. Our agreement gets him out of a tight spot, and it means that I’m not on the fringes here. Orion’s girlfriend is tolerated in a way that a simple girl from a fishing village never could be.
Second, Sybil is a little busy throwing up in the bushes right now. I must admit, after she tried to kill me, that’s good to see.
After the last student tries the challenge, we’re finally free to leave. I start to drift back in the direction of the dormitory before realizing that I should probably seek out Orion. I’m pretty sure we should leave on one another’s arms or something, if we’re going to quash the rumors. I look around, spot him, and hurry over, putting my arm through his.
“What’s this about?” he whispers as I lean into him.
“People are getting suspicious that our relationship isn’t real,” I whisper back. To anyone watching, it will look like we’re whispering sweet nothings in one another’s ears. “All these rumors are making it harder.”
“The rumors don’t matter,” Orion assures me.
“They do to some people. Cara asked if things were okay between us. She thinks, because you’re not sneaking into my room every night, that we can’t be a real couple.”
Orion frowns briefly. “Well, I can think of a way to fix that.”
Is it wrong that I briefly consider the option? “You arenotsneaking into my room.”
“Not that,” Orion says. “But if you sneak out tonight and I do the same, people will make their own assumptions about what we’re doing.”
It could work. At the very least, it’s the easiest way to keep the pretense of our relationship going. I nod.
“All right. I’ll see you tonight, near the bay where we study.”
***
The moon shines in through the window of my dorm room, the light helpful, since it will make it easier for me to see my way. It will be easier for me tobeseen, too, which is part of the pointof tonight. There’s no point in sneaking out so well that no one notices.
I move quickly and quietly across the floor, heading out of my room into the hall. There are a couple of the other girls out there, and I give them a quick look before heading for the stairs. I don’t say that I’m going to see Orion, but the very fact that they’ve spotted me leaving in the night should make that obvious.
