Hey, Tas. I miss you like crazy today. I miss you all the time, but sometimes it’s sharper. I want to tell you it’s okay to have doubts about stuff, but remember that you can believe in me. I love you and I always will. Call me.

 

Madame Sill, my French teacher, was usually pretty good about letting us out when the bell rang, but today, she was in the middle of a complicated explanation—in French—and dismissed us about ten minutes late. I fidgeted, anxious to get to Marica. When Madame finally let us go, I sprinted down the almost empty walkway.

I was in a rotten mood. It had been nearly a month since Marica had introduced me to the element of air: weeks of surreptitious practice until I had thought I could control myself almost all the time. But my experience at the lake the day before had frightened me; it made me realize that my emotions were still overriding my power.

And speaking of the lake, Rafe was still mad about our fight there. When I had walked back down the path after a few hours of practice, Rafe was gone. He didn’t call that night, and he hadn’t shown up at lunch earlier today, although I knew he was in school; I’d caught a glimpse of him in the afternoon between classes, and I could feel him just out of sight several times throughout the day.

I wasn’t certain how I felt about that situation. On one hand, ending my relationship with Rafe might be a relief: it had never felt completely right, and I was uneasy during most of our time together. On the other hand, Rafe was the only person who knew every aspect of my current life. He was the only person I could talk with about Marica, my parents and my growing powers. As much as I knew he worried, he would never betray my trust.

Marica would be happy if Rafe were out of the picture. She never mentioned him, but when his name came up—as it did from time to time, when I told her about my practice—her lip curled in that disdainful way that I associated with her extreme displeasure. She wasn’t going to push me, but I knew where her preference lay.

At my locker, I shoved in the books I didn’t need and slammed the door shut. In my mind, I was already planning my afternoon session with Marica: a little showing-off of my plant growing ability, a little display of how well I could control the air now...I pushed aside the memory of the freak lightening storm the day before. I had nearly convinced myself that it was just a coincidence. If Marica didn’t know about it, I wasn’t going to tell her...

“Tasmyn! Wait a second!” Amber’s voice jerked me out of my brooding. She was behind me on the walkway, waving to get my attention. Annoyance flared, and I tried to keep it from showing in my face. Amber knew something was up. She’d pressed me at lunch today about why Rafe wasn’t eating with us. I could hear the suspicions in her mind. I needed to get out to Lake Rosu, and I was tired of making excuses to Amber—or anyone else.

She caught up with me and smiled. “Sorry, I just didn’t want to miss you. Are you heading home?”

“Um. . yeah. And I’ve got a ton of homework, so I can’t-”

“Tas, I really want to talk to you. Please. Come home with me. Or I’ll ride home with you. I just feel like something is going on and you’re not telling me.”

Temper threatened again, and I choked it down. “I can’t today, Amber. I’m sorry. I’ve got—I just can’t. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay? At lunch. Everything’s fine. Really.”

Amber’s brow knit together. “Wait a minute, isn’t today your tutoring day? Aren’t you supposed to be working in the library?”

I clutched desperately at that straw. “Ah, yeah, that’s right, thanks for reminding me! I’m going to head there right now. So I’ll see you-”

“I’ll wait for you. I’ll do some reading in the library. And then maybe afterward we can talk.”

“Amber!” Now the impatience and anger were in my voice. “I told you, I can’t. Not today. Please, give me a break.”

I saw the hurt on her face, but this time it didn’t bring guilt, only irritation. My heart began to pound, and I didn’t fight the surging rage. It was feeding on itself, waves of animosity breaking at the surface.

Amber didn’t seem to notice. She reached out to touch my arm. “Tasmyn, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but I know it’s something bad. Is it—are you still seeing Ms. Lacusta? I know you said you weren’t, but you’re acting so strange. Please, let me help you-”

“Oh for the love of God! Leave me alone!” I screamed the words, and as they left my mouth, I felt the surge of power explode and watched Amber fly across the open courtyard.

She hit the huge oak tree that dominated the center of the green and crumpled in a heap at its base.