Falling Into Place (5 page)

Instructor McCleod came back with an
enthusiastic smile. “Elizandra, please follow Magister Draecyn. He
would like a word with you.”

Liz grabbed her bag as she stood. She didn’t
even look back when she walked out the door.

Emily hoped the little brat was being
expelled, but she had a feeling they were moving Elizandra ahead.
That was practically unheard of. Daddy was going to be overjoyed
for Liz, and Emily would slide further into the background.

* * * *

Liz stepped into the hall and was met with
golden brown eyes. The Magister’s dark hair was pulled back from
his face. There was a patch of hair on his chin.

“Elizandra, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m
Draecyn Montgomery.” He held out his hand.

He had a firm grip but quickly let her go as
his eyes lit up.

Something about his magic felt familiar,
which made no sense to her. She ignored that though. There were any
number of reasons why that could be.

She didn’t understand why a high ranking
Silver Council Enforcer was wasting his time on the new student at
the academy. He was the one who assigned cases to the enforcers.
Tremaine had mentioned him enough times.

Her stomach plummeted. Did he know where she
came from? What she did?

His voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
“I hear you are talented beyond your years as a mage. I would like
to enroll you in our accelerated program.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“You are doing things that the accelerated
students cannot even do.”

“I’m not in trouble?” she stammered.

Magister Draecyn chuckled. “Why on Earth
would you be in trouble, my dear?”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Something flashed through his warm eyes,
something filled with sympathy and secrets. “Please, let’s get you
settled into your new class.”

She followed Magister Draecyn across the
campus, and into another building that smelled of ozone and smoke.
There was a crisp chill to the air. Magic flowed through the
hall.

He paused at the door and turned back to
her. “Now, Elizandra, it is an honor to be moved ahead, and then
added to the ranks of our strongest pupils. You more than deserve
this.”

He swung the door open and ushered her
inside with a flourishing gesture. She stepped over the threshold
and locked eyes with the only familiar set in the room.

Robert sat in the front of the class. There
was only one empty seat, and that was next to him. He sat up
straighter, a pleased smile spreading on his face.

Her stomach did that flip flop again and she
drew in a breath before tearing her gaze away. Someone snorted, but
she didn’t look back, she knew she’d be trapped in those stormy
blue eyes once more.

“Instructor Barradin, this is Elizandra. I
believe you were waiting on her?”

“Yes,” the young woman, or seemingly young,
stepped around the desk and took her in. Her eyes held doubt, but
she looked up at Draecyn and nodded. “Please, Elizandra. Take a
seat next to Robert McCallister. If you find yourself falling
behind, he will hopefully be able to help you.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary,”
Draecyn said sternly. “Though a familiar face might do her
good.”

She wanted to groan. If anything, Robert
would be a distraction. There was something about him that
comforted her when nothing else seemed to, and it was
dangerous.

* * * *

School was finally over, and Robert hadn’t
managed to get Elizandra to look his way. Something was bothering
her, more so than usual. He was willing to bet his brother and
sister were behind her distance.

Emily had been nothing but nasty to Liz who
simply ignored her. James was constantly trying to get a rise out
of her, either through insults or flirting, which made Robert see
red. It wasn’t that he was jealous, but Liz clearly wasn’t
interested in James, and he obviously made her uncomfortable.

Robert stood next to Elizandra’s desk,
waiting patiently for her to look up at him. She didn’t. She
scooped up her bag and started for the door, completely avoiding
his gaze. His heart thudded in his chest as disappointment washed
over him.

“Geeze, Robert, don’t be rude.” Preston
nudged him. “Introduce me to your new friend.”

Robert closed his eyes and let out a heavy
breath. “Elizandra,” he said timidly, his hands in his pockets. For
a second he thought she would keep going until she escaped the
room.

She paused a second, and then turned back
with that blank stare of hers.
What would it take to make her
genuinely smile?

“Elizandra, this is my friend Preston.” He
nodded at Preston and rolled his eyes.

Her brow arched as her hazel gaze flicked to
Preston.

A grin spread on Preston’s face. “It’s a
pleasure to finally meet someone who isn’t like everyone else.”

Her head tilted to the side as she looked
back at Robert.

Preston frowned. “Did that come out wrong? I
swear I meant that as a compliment.” He brushed his hand over his
face before holding his hand out as he took a step forward. “I mean
it, I’m glad you aren’t like any of our stuffy classmates.”

One corner of her mouth tipped up before she
took his hand. “Nice to meet you, Preston.”

He looked back at Robert who was doing his
best to keep his face a pleasant mask, but an uncharacteristic
sense of possession had swept through him. His hands were fisted in
his pockets as he stared back at Preston with a frozen smile.

“Come on, Robert,” Preston goaded. “We have
a project to start on, and Mrs. Barradin did suggest the three of
us work together.”

“Right,” he answered on an exhale, and then
started for the door. Robert turned back to Elizandra. “Please say
you’ll join us?”

“Of course,” she answered, but her
expression was gone.

* * * *

The diner was quiet, but there was a vibrant
energy that settled into Liz, welcoming her. There was magic beyond
that of mages in the place. Liz preferred it to the stifling energy
in the academy.

Preston watched her as she skimmed through
the book. Robert was also reading the text. No one in the class had
figured out the assignment.

She didn’t figure she would solve the
problem any easier than Preston and Robert, who were both gifted
mages with a lot more training than she had.

Her focus was mostly on averting her
attention from Robert who made her tingly all over. She didn’t want
to think about the way she wanted him to wrap his arms around her
and hold her, among other things she refused to even consider.

Her legs were curled up under her, her hand
was tangled in her hair to keep it off her face as she pretended to
read.

“Come on, Ace, tell me you figured it out,”
Preston practically pleaded.

Then it clicked. She knew exactly what it
meant. One night, when she couldn’t sleep she was playing with
different types of energy. Tremaine had told her how to combine two
totally different spells to form a new. She’d been doing it ever
since, and never figured out the significance. It came naturally,
but apparently it was an advanced technique.

She tapped her finger on the page and looked
into Preston’s cool blue eyes. His hair stood in every direction
from the many times he’d dragged his fingers through it.

“It’s not that hard,” she told him. “They
want you to combine two different elements to form your own
spell.”

“How in the world do you do that?” Preston
slumped back in his seat. “That’s impossible.

Liz took a look around the empty diner.
Preston’s mother ran the place, and most of the customers were
Other, so hopefully she wouldn’t scare a nosy human.

She caught her lip between her teeth and
dragged Preston’s empty plate over. Drawing two circles on the
plate, she created one ring of fire and one ring of arcing
electricity.

Robert’s jaw fell open, and then he
whispered, “How?”

Her eyes flashed up, but all she saw was
amazement on his face.

Preston whispered in awe, “I’ve only ever
seen advanced mages use two elements at once, and never separate at
the same time.”

“You need to concentrate fire to one hand
and lightning to the other.” Her eyes lifted to Preston’s then
Robert’s. “Now watch.” She dragged her fingers toward the middle
and the spells merged, expanding as they zapped and sizzled the
salt still on the plate.

Preston reached out and touched before she
could pull her hands away.

He yelped in pain as he blew on his fingers.
“Wow, that’s insane.”

Robert chuckled, but when she met his gaze,
he smiled back at her. “Can you teach us?”

She nodded slightly. “Sure. Hold out your
hands.”

Preston frowned, but put his hands out.
Robert did the same but held his palms upright. “Like Robert,” she
told Preston and then held her own out. “Imagine a flickering flame
in one palm.”

Robert’s right palm flared to life, while
Preston’s left did. “Now concentrate and envision the electricity
dancing in your other hand.”

There was a spark in Robert’s. He gasped and
she felt the charge as he moved to put his hands closer.

“Wait.” She closed her hands over his palms
before he could meld the spells. His magic washed over her and she
barely held back a whimper as their gazes locked. Her voice came
out breathless. “You want to be outside the first time you do that.
It can cause a big blast.”

There was another crackle and Preston
jumped. His spells fizzled out as he bounced in his seat. “I did
it, I really did it.”

Liz yanked her hands back and shoved them
under her thighs as her gaze swung to Preston who was beyond
excited.

He waggled his brows at Robert. “If I
thought you wouldn’t punch me, I would lay one on her.”

“Oh no, thanks anyway,” Liz blurted out.

Robert glared at Preston, and there was a
snarl in his voice. “You heard her, buddy. She’s not
interested.”

Preston snickered. “So, tomorrow,” he swung
his crystal blue eyes her way with a charming grin, “we should head
to the Old Grove after school, and you can show us how to combine
the spells.”

“Tomorrow then,” she turned back to Robert
nervously.

He glanced down at his watch and his brows
rose. “We really do need to get going. We’ll see you in the
morning, Preston.”

He stood and Liz followed. “Please forgive
me, this form of travel doesn’t agree with everyone.”

Before she could answer, his hands landed on
her shoulders. Their eyes locked and her stomach fluttered. There
was a whoosh of air and then they were standing in the hall between
their rooms.

His voice was gentle, “Are you feeling
well?”

“I am, thank you,” she ducked into her room
and dropped her bag and jacket onto the bed before rushing to the
washroom to clean up.

James sat at the dining room table, stewing.
Elizandra was moved four years ahead.
Four
. That had never
happened in the history of the academy. No one knew where she came
from, she had no parents. No background. No official training.
Nothing that explained why her power was so incredibly potent for a
fresh mage, and there was no mistaking she was fresh because she
always looked so surprised when she cast anything new.

“You should be proud of Elizandra,” his
father explained as he took a seat at the table. “Stop scowling,
James. It’s a great accomplishment for any young mage. It should
only inspire you to do better.”

His eyes flashed to his father. “I am the
best in my class. I was never asked to move up.”

“You are not doing magic even beyond
Robert’s class. You are doing magic a level or two ahead of your
own, James. That does not mean you should be moved ahead. Besides,
I’m told you are disruptive in class and rarely participate because
you feel you are too good to be there.”

“Elizandra doesn’t even say a word in class
unless it’s to the teacher. She acts as if she is better than
everyone.”

He saw Emily’s brow crease as she opened her
mouth. “I think she may ignore everyone because no one is very nice
to her.” Her eyes dropped to her folded hands. “Not even me.”

Robert’s voice was low and dangerous. “You
should give her a chance. She avoids you because she doesn’t want
you to feel as if she is trying to take anything from you. No
matter what you think, she is not.”

Emily’s eyes closed as her head dipped in a
nod. James could not wait to punish her for rethinking what he kept
drilling into her head. He needed Emily to help tear Elizandra down
so she would do as he wanted, just like Emily.

James glared up at Robert. “Are you worried
your little girlfriend can’t handle the fact that she’s nothing and
no one?”

Robert smirked. “Oh, she’s someone all
right. She is better than anyone in my class, and I know this after
only one day of working with her.”

“She’s your girlfriend?” Emily whispered in
horror.

Robert’s expression softened as he took a
seat next to Emily. “Elizandra is part of the family. She is not my
girlfriend, but arguing semantics with our brother will take far
too long and never accomplish anything.”

Emily let out a breath.

Robert gave Emily a smile. “I do think you
can learn a lot from Elizandra, Emily. Perhaps you should try a
little harder.”

Wilhelm gave James a cold look. “Elizandra
is one of us now. You should learn to be more respectful.”

His mother sighed. “She hardly speaks to
anyone. It’s hard to welcome a child with open arms when she is
less than enthusiastic to acquaint herself with us.”

Robert’s gaze flicked to their mother. “And
have you really given her a chance?”

“She doesn’t make it easy, Robert. She
avoids everyone but you and the new maid.”