“But Darius,” I answered for him, and he nodded. I rolled my eyes before brushing my fingertips over his palm and giving his magic back to him. Turning around to follow him back inside, I stopped when I noticed Darius standing by the edge of the field with Tobias and Kalen. Looking over at Lycus, he shrugged.
“They came to see if you were indeed a fire element like all of us,” Lycus shrugged.
“You’re all fire?” I asked.
“Yes, we all have a low ability in all elements. Fire is our strongest manifestation, except for Darius. He is a dark elemental. Tobias has a few other gifts, the compulsion and his ability to tell if someone is lying. He can also manipulate a person’s emotions,” Lycus explained as we walked toward them.
“What about Kalen?” I asked, already knowing he could read auras.
“Fire, but he is a lot weaker, being that he is just a pure dark fae. He can also read auras better than anyone I have ever met. Tobias’s twin was almost as good as Kalen at reading auras.”
“Tobias’s twin? The one who died?” I asked.
“What makes you think he is dead?” Lycus asked, and I shrugged.
“The way Tobias acted when I asked about him but also, I think I have seen him before,” I murmured, trying to remember why I felt that way. Lycus said nothing, or maybe he wasn’t allowed to answer the underlying question for that one.
“So, Kalen… besides the auras?” I asked, and he shrugged.
“He has a low manifestation in all. He seemed like he had never manifested. Maybe it was his upbringing? Although he’s a strong empath which is unusual for dark fae. It makes him a better observer of emotions,” Lycus said, and my brows furrowed. We stopped by Darius and the others.
“I looked through all of your records. I didn’t find anything that indicated you were strong with this element or any other for that matter,” Darius said. I shrugged, and he studied my face intently for a moment.
“Do you have any other gifts besides being able to harness the fire element?” Lycus asked curiously.
I cleared my throat, especially knowing Tobias was right there, and I wouldn’t be able to lie without him noticing straight away. I couldn’t risk questions that would let them know I was a harmony elemental. That would really grind Darius’s gears if he knew I would be as strong as him with magic, possibly stronger, seeing as I still wasn’t aware of the limits of my magic if given a chance to use them.
Chapter 63
“What’s the next class?”I asked, changing the subject.
Darius eyed me suspiciously, and Kalen stared at me. His eyes were more around my body than on me, so I knew he was assessing my aura, making me nervous about what he was seeing. I was careful not to let it touch my lighter side, but I wasn’t sure exactly how auras worked. I could feel them but not see them the way he did.
“You have a theory class with Darius,” Lycus said, oblivious to the strange questioning tension surrounding us.
“Come on, we will be late,” Darius said, though the look on his face never changed. I reluctantly followed him to the classroom.
When Kalen wandered into the room with me, I stopped and looked at him.
“Darius said I could join you.” He smiled, bumping my shoulder and pointing to a desk next to Darius’s. With a sigh, I pulled the chair out and sat in it. Kalen sat beside me.
The lecture was boring, and I felt extremely exhausted and heavy. Kalen nudged me halfway through.
“You okay?” he whispered, and I nodded, feeling sluggish.
Only a few minutes after he asked, my stomach cramped and twisted painfully. Forgetting about the shredding with my excitement of being trusted with magic earlier, it wasn’t until I felt my underwear dampen that I gasped.
Moving my legs, I hoped I had imagined it. When I did, horror washed over me, and I glanced down at my jeans to find a small red stain on my inner thigh. Glancing around the room, everyone was deep into discussing whatever the heck Darius was talking about. Sweat began to bead on the back of my neck as the cramping got worse, and I felt nauseous. My chair screeched as I slid it back before running from the room.
“Aleera?” Darius snapped, but I didn’t stop. Instead, I took off, wanting to get back to my old room.Please, please, please, I prayed before I felt my pants become saturated. The sounds of people walking in my direction had me rush into the first bathroom I came across.
I bolted into the cubicle, locked the door, and dread filled me.How did I forget?I felt the blood drain from my face when I found my pants completely soaked; I could feel blood trailing down my legs and filling my shoes.
For six years, I had put off the shredding, and now I knew why they said not to. Still, I had no choice. However, I regretted that now, as my feet became slippery on the tiled floor. I looked like I was bleeding to death, my blue jeans now soaked red; frantically, I started ripping toilet paper out of the holder, trying to clean it up. It was no use, and I was mortified. How would I get back to my room, and what would happen tomorrow when it was over and I started shredding my non-existent power?
Struggling to see through my blurred vision from the bloody tears I was shedding, I tried to clean the mess I was making, the tiles beneath me pooling with blood. My tears made the mess worse. It was another side-effect of shredding; our tear ducts changed. Our entire body changed for the shredding. Even my tears had turned to blood.
Giving up, I sat on the toilet. I had no idea how long I was in there, but I couldn’t bring myself to open the door and have everyone see me like this. It wasn’t bad enough that I was tormented daily and now had to be tortured over something I had no control over. Shame washed through me.