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Allyra laughed. “Don’t be so sure. He’s only surprised because Jason and I were so shockingly bad at working together.” She glanced at the crowd again and caught a glimpse of silky black hair being swished around in an all too familiar manner. She stood abruptly. “Excuse me,” she muttered and made her way into the crowd.

  Laureline was standing at the banquet table, apparently choosing between a lavish chocolate cake and a tower of éclairs. Allyra maneuvered until she was standing next to her.

  “What are you doing here?” Allyra hissed.

  Without missing a beat, a brilliant smile lit Laureline’s face, and she held out her hand to Allyra. “How lovely to meet you, Allyra, I’ve just been hoping I might get a chance to meet the famous Atmospheric that managed to survive the Between.”

  Allyra forced a smile to her face and shook Laureline’s hand, suddenly aware of the crowd around them and the fact that she wasn’t supposed to know who Laureline was.

  “You’re too kind,” Allyra replied, “Miss…”

  “Singh. But please call me Laureline.”

  Laureline took Allyra’s arm in a girlish and friendly way, drawing them from the crowd with the effortless ease of a born socialite. “Let’s get away from all this noise so that you can tell me all about yourself.”

  “What are you doing here?” Allyra hissed again once they were seated at an empty table. Laureline smiled beatifically. “My family is well connected, and I’ve been invited expressly by the Elemental High Master himself.”

  “Marcus?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Marcus is dangerous,” Allyra said carefully. Laureline certainly wasn’t Allyra’s favorite person, but being annoying and superficial didn’t qualify her to fall prey to Marcus, suspected to be a Revenant.

  Laureline laughed, clearly pleased with herself. “Please save your warnings. I know how to handle myself. And you should be grateful. Once I have Marcus eating out of my hand, I’ll get all the information the Rising needs, and you can give up this pretense of trying to win The Five Finals.”

  Allyra remembered Marcus’s probing of her mind, like talons digging into her brain. She wasn’t sure just how much Laureline knew about the Rising, but it was much more likely that Laureline would give up all of the Rising’s secrets than the other way around.

  “Laureline—” Allyra tried again.

  “I hear that Marcus is without a girlfriend at the moment. I’m sure I’ll be the perfect fit for him,” Laureline said smoothly.

  “You need to stop,” Allyra said urgently. “Think about Rob.”

  Laureline shot her a pitying glance. “You’re so naïve. Rob was fun, but that’s all it was. Wrapping Marcus around my little finger is going to be fun too.”

  Laureline got to her feet. “Wish me luck,” she said lightly. “The sooner I succeed, the sooner you get out of here.”

  Allyra grabbed Laureline’s wrist. “Please. Don’t.”

  Laureline shook Allyra off, an ugly scowl abruptly marring her face. “I can see through you,” she spat out viciously, her tone changing with jarring abruptness. “You’re not so special. Are you so afraid of someone else taking your place in the spotlight?”

  Allyra swallowed down a sharp retort and modulated her voice until it came out smooth and calm. “You can have your spotlight. I don’t want it. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

  Laureline laughed—an ugly, jarring sound. “And I’m supposed to believe that you care about me at all?”

  With a final swish of her hair, Laureline stalked off.

  Allyra stared after her, feeling utterly helpless.

  “Problem?”

  Allyra jerked her head toward the familiar voice.

  Alex. She’d slipped into a memory.

  The Great Hall of the Terra College was still filled with people, but now it was also filled with real joy and delight. This celebration was true and honest, whereas her reality could only pretend at it.

  Allyra stared at Alex, and she allowed herself to drown in his blue eyes. In a true moment of weakness, she found herself wanting to fall into his arms. For him to tell her that it would all be okay, that he’d seen a future for them that was secure and safe. But this Alex was not her Alex. He was younger and less burdened, and he didn’t know her at all.

  “I’m always trying to do the right thing, but somehow I always find myself making everything worse,” she said hesitantly.

  Alex stayed silent, considering her words.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “Sometimes following our conscience is the only thing we can do. It’s not always going to be the best thing, or even the right thing, and each decision may not always result in the right outcome. But, I have to believe that the weight of a lifetime of decisions, each one done for the right reasons, will add up to a life worth living.”

  There was something so earnest and vulnerable about him and his words—an innocence that would be lost in the coming years.

  She smiled weakly and looked up at the crowd. Exuberant music soared as pairs of dancers twirled and weaved together in a beautiful, complex pattern.

  “What are you celebrating?” Allyra asked.

  Alex’s expression hardened. “A wedding,” he replied shortly.

  Allyra looked at the dancers, and through a break in them, she saw the wedding couple in the center. She recognized the dark-haired man holding in his arms a small, slender woman with long red hair braided with delicate white roses.

  “It’s your brother’s wedding,” Allyra guessed.

  Alex nodded.

  “But you’re not happy?” she asked gently.

  Alex laughed mockingly, “I didn’t think I was so easy to read.”

  He wasn’t, of course, except she knew him. Knew every line and angle of him. Knew every smile and half-smile.

  Before he could explain further, Mandla stopped at the table, his arms draped around two gorgeous women—one with light coppery brown skin and long curly brown hair that fell freely to her waist, and the other with hair so blonde that it looked almost white, twisted elaborately on her head.

  “What are you doing here all by yourself?” Mandla asked, slurring his words a little. “You’re missing all the fun!”

  Alex got to his feet with a grin.

  Mandla allowed his companions to turn him around but stopped suddenly, glancing back at Alex. “Oh, the bride has requested to speak to you.”

  The smile fell away from Alex’s face. “Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint the bride,” he said shortly.

  The memory started to fade.

  “Wait!” Allyra shouted out, suddenly desperate for one more moment with Alex.

  “Did you do it? Did you travel the world?” she asked.

  Alex shook his head and gave her a resigned smile. “I tried to run, but the responsibilities caught up to me.”

  And then he faded away.

  Chapter 13 – Jamie

  Their little breakthrough in team dynamics couldn’t have come at a better time as the focus of their lessons suddenly shifted. The day started as any other; they walked into a lesson, expecting combat training, but found all the weapons cleared away. The room was empty except for their teacher, a Cleaner, his features obscured by the silver mask. He was holding a velvet box, and he opened the box and showed them the contents—four identical diamonds placed around a single larger diamond.

  Gemma gasped. “A Gem Nexus,” she whispered.

  Their teacher nodded. “Yes. Do you know what purpose it serves?”

  “To combine the power of the different Elements,” Gemma replied.

  Their instructor nodded once more. “Different gems are aligned to the different Elements. Emeralds to Terras, citrines to Atmospherics, rubies to Infernos, sapphires to Oceanics and, finally, diamonds to Elementals. Diamonds are special because they are they only gem able to resonate to the energy of every Element. Therefore, they can be used to combine the Gifts of different Elements.

  “Elementals are able to control all fo
ur Elements, but their power can be replicated by a full complement of Gifted working together and combining their powers. Therefore, a Gate could still be opened even if an Elemental were not available.

  “Because Elementals have always been rare, it has been the cornerstone of Cleaner training to create full complements of Gifted, to train them to work together and combine their powers. A Gem Nexus is the first step to making the four of you into one.”

  Even for a terrible student, such as himself, the concept behind the Gem Nexus was simple enough. The four of them stood at the four cardinal points, forming the cornerstones of a diamond. Pete, the Terra, in the north. Gemma in the east, Jamie in the south, and finally, Eva in the west. The four smaller diamonds were placed between each of them and the largest diamond placed in the center of them all.

  Once they were all in place, Pete started the process, calling on his Gift and pouring his energy into the diamond to his left. When he’d found the resonant frequency of the diamond, it would start to glow—the signal for Gemma to join her Gift with his through the diamond between them. The process would be repeated until all four of them were joined, by which time all five diamonds would be glowing.

  At least that was the theory.

  In practice, it was much, much harder.

  The Gift, as with everything in life, was subject to the natural order of things. Every drop of water, from the moment it pushed up through a rock or fell from the sky, raced toward the ocean. Drops of water coming together to form a tiny creek, then a gurgling stream, and finally, a raging river. All with a single purpose—to find its way to the ocean.

  The Gift was similarly single-minded—easily commanded by its owner, but defiant to the will of anyone else. The first time he tried to take hold of Gemma’s Gift, it slipped through his fingers like mist. The same thing happened the second, the third, and the twentieth time. The thirtieth time, it wriggled through his fingers like a fish, and the fiftieth time, he held on to the barest threads of it before it tore through his grip.

  Frustrated didn’t even begin to describe his feelings on the subject.

  * * *

  “Come on, Jamie,” Eva shouted, not bothering to hide the anger and frustration in her voice. “Get it together!”

  Three weeks since they’d first set eyes on the blasted Gem Nexus. Three weeks of endless failures. The fact that he had been unable to light up the diamond between him and Gemma meant that Eva had spent three weeks watching him struggle, forced to the sidelines. Jamie could hardly blame her for finally losing her cool. In fact, knowing Eva as he did, he was surprised it hadn’t happened earlier.

  “Eva,” Pete admonished, “you know that doesn’t help.”

  Eva spun toward him, her hands fisted at her sides. “Save your diplomatic bullshit,” she yelled. “Better yet, why don’t you shove it down your throat. Because your gentle approach isn’t working. Three weeks and we’re no closer to getting this done. And somehow, I don’t think we’re going to like the consequences of failure!”

  “Eva…” Gemma said softly.

  “Really, Gemma?” Eva mocked. “Now is the moment you choose to grow a spine? You really want to go toe to toe with me on this?”

  Gemma shrank back, and Jamie stepped out in front of her, facing Eva. “Fine,” he said evenly, “what do you suggest, Eva?”

  Eva took a deep breath, fighting to control her anger. “Jamie,” she said, shaking her head, her voice suddenly low and tired. “You need to stop fighting it. Give in to your Gift. Let the flow of it carry you away.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Jamie snapped back. “Stop talking in riddles. Do you really think I don’t want to get this right? That I’m blocking it?”

  “That’s exactly what I think. I think you’re hiding something, keeping something from the rest of us. Scared that joining your power with ours will somehow spill your secrets. So, you continue to fail—maybe subconsciously—but ultimately, you are responsible for your failure. For our failure.”

  “Thanks, Eva,” Jamie said sarcastically. “I can always count on you for encouragement.”

  “I’m not here to comfort you. You chose this, remember. The Cleaners gave you a choice—the soft, safe life or this. You chose risk and danger and thrill. Man up and live with your choice. There’s no room for fear here, and stop making us all live with the consequences of your regret.”

  There was stark and painful truth in her words. Something beautiful about her unflinching approach to it. Every word a knife breaking apart the shield of secrets he’d created around himself. Peeling layers from him like an onion. He wasn’t ready to be laid bare before them, so he attacked as best he could, gathering righteous anger and throwing it back at Eva.

  “And how am I supposed to trust you, Eva?” Jamie shouted. “You’re sleeping with Marcus. You came into my life because he told you to. So where do your loyalties lie?”

  Gemma grabbed his wrist. “Jamie…” she murmured, a sharp tone of warning hidden in a single word.

  “No,” Eva said quietly. “I have no secrets. Yes, I slept with Marcus, and yes, I became your friend because he told me to. But he did that only because he wanted to recruit you and Emma into the Cleaner Army. He wanted information on you for that reason alone, and now you’re here, and there’s nothing sinister in that.”

  “That’s not what you said to me at the Elemental Trials.”

  Eva rolled her eyes. “I was angry Jason was still in it and I wasn’t, and for a brief moment, I was paranoid. But trust me, there’s nothing more to it.”

  Jamie laughed bitterly. “Trust. There’s that word again, but somehow, I just don’t think it can be applied to you.”

  Eva shrugged. “That’s up to you, Jamie, but I’m not the one keeping secrets here.”

  “You’re sleeping with Marcus.”

  “I was sleeping with Marcus, and that’s not a secret. I’m not ashamed of it. He is the Elemental High Master and I liked that. And he was amazing in bed,” Eva said smoothly, drawling out her words languidly.

  “Damn, Eva, we really didn’t need to know that,” Pete said with a grimace.

  “And why not? Let’s get all our secrets out on the table. In fact, allow me to get us started,” Eva said viciously. “Gemma, you pretend like you’re the ultimate rebel, with your purple hair and dalliance with the kitchen staff. But secretly you can’t stand the fact that your brother is so much better than you at everything that matters. That your parents don’t even see your little rebellions because they’re so busy worshiping the ground at your brother’s feet. You’re desperate to have your parents see you—that’s why you entered the Elemental Trials, and that’s why you’re here.”

  Eva spun on her feet and pointed to Pete. “And you, Peter Andrews—rich and handsome, and by all appearances, the perfect heir apparent to the Andromeda fortune. So why are you here? What are you running from?”

  Pete strode over to Eva and grabbed her by the shoulders. He towered over her, but she refused to back down.

  “What, Pete?” Eva taunted. “Scared that I’ll spill your little secret? That everyone’s going to figure out why you don’t have a wife by your side, making little grandbabies to carry on the Andrews line? It’s obvious that’s what your father wants, and you’re usually so good and doing everything he wants…”

  Pete shook Eva hard, and his Terra strength meant she was flung around like a rag doll in his hands. But before Jamie could intervene, Eva had shoved Pete into the wall.

  “I seem to have hit a soft spot,” Eva said, but the bite in her voice was gone. She seemed almost reluctant to carry on, her eyes locked with Pete’s. “Scared that Jamie will finally notice the longing glances you throw his way?” Eva whispered softly.

  Pete’s hazel eyes turned to anguish, and he stilled for a moment, frozen like a statue. Without a glance at any of them, he strode briskly from the room, slamming the door behind him.

  Gemma stood, utterly shocked, and Jamie turned to Eva, shooting her an
accusing stare. She shrugged carelessly. “Truth and trust—that’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

  Chapter 14 – Allyra

  The words on the page seemed to blur into a single smudgy inkblot. Allyra rubbed her hand across her tired eyes and tried to focus. The reality was that she’d been trying to read the same sentence for the last half an hour, and if questioned, she feared she’d be unable to repeat said sentence.

  It was a horrible waste of time.

  She was exhausted. Allyra slammed the book shut. It was all very well trying to do research on the Living Weapons, but in truth, she had no idea what she was really looking for. It was like searching for some fabled creature of legend with nothing to lead her but a raw and painful belief in its existence.

  All she had to show for two hours spent poring over a pile of old and dusty books were paper cuts and sore eyes. The only mention she’d managed to find about the Living Weapons was in the journal of a History Master of the Atmospheric College from the turn of the twentieth century. Her heart had skipped as she read about the weapons of legend, said to have been carried by the original Five themselves. With trembling fingers, she had traced the spidery writing on the page, desperate to find out more. But with every word she read, it had become more and more obvious that this particular History Master could at best be described as a conspiracy theorist, and really, that was just being polite. He had firmly believed in the existence of the Living Weapons, which was a good thing, but then, he had also believed that they weren’t weapons at all but rather keys in disguise.

  The more she’d read, the more it seemed to be the barely coherent ramblings of a madman. Dispersed amongst the mentions of the Living Weapons were copious references to out-of-body experiences and secretive organizations plotting to take over the world. The History Master had lived in a time before UFOs, but Allyra thought that he had missed his true calling in being an alien hunter.

  The end of the journal had revealed that the History Master had been sent on sabbatical. Which sounded like the politically correct way of saying send the crazy professor away where he can rant and rave without disturbing the peace.