The Crystal Chronicles

Chapter 13: The Time Has Come

When there came a firm knocking at my door late Friday night, I really wanted to ignore it and continue lying in the comfort of my bed. Amber groaned sleepily from across the room.

"I only have two more nights of sleep in this place; can't you get that?"

I turned over, squinting at my bedside clock as the world shifted back into focus. It was three o'clock in the morning! I was mentally and physically exhausted from training Skyros magic with Amber all day. I don't think I had ever worked so hard in my entire life. I rose from my bed anyway, stumbling over to the door, opening it up a smidge, and peering out into the darkness.

A pair of blue eyes shone back at me, just inches from my face, and nearly gave me a heart attack. "Haven!" I hissed, grabbing his wrist and pulling him inside. "What the hell are you doing?"

His eyes were bright and he looked wide-awake. He always seemed to be fuelled by restless energy. "You forgot about my training session."

I didn't want to even hear the word 'train' ever again. Amber and Zack together had managed to crunch years of training into mere days, and it was seriously wearing me out.

"We don't have a training session," I said, tiredly crossing my arms over my chest.

"We do now!" Haven said cheerily, flicking the light switch.

Bright light flooded into the room, and I blinked against it.

Amber sat up in her bed, glaring. "Haven, do you ever sleep?"

He paused for a moment, as if to consider the question, and then shook his head. "No time for stuff like that. Anyway, you need to come too."

She wrinkled her nose in disdain. "Definitely not."

"You don't like having fun?"

"No," she said dryly. "I'm a soulless being who experiences no enjoyment in life whatsoever."

Haven looked at her seriously.

Amber cleared her throat. "I'm kidding. I'm just not good with water."

"Well, that's just too bad," he exclaimed, clapping his hands together and making me jump.

"You won't even have to get in. Just come with us to keep watch."

Annoyed, Amber shot him a tired glance, but when she shifted out of bed, she was clearly trying not to smile.

"All right Alyssa, look alive. We don't have all night."

"Where are we going?"

"The pool obviously."

I didn't even have the strength to try to fathom how we would get into the pool area at this time of night. Haven clearly went anywhere he pleased. I looked down at my thin t-shirt and shorts.

"I don't have a bathing suit." I didn't even own one. It's not like I was expecting to ever go for a swim.

He gave me a once over, smirking. "You don't need one."

"What are you implying, exactly?"

He sighed dramatically. "You never need to get wet if you don't want to. You're an Aquarian, like me."

I stared. "What?"

"I love that Aquarian trick," Amber interrupted, putting on her shoes. "It's the coolest thing."

Haven pretended to be shocked. "Did you just say something positive about my element?"

Amber shrugged, not answering the question. "Would you hurry up, Alyssa."