Together we fall

06 | Emerson

Emerson was still watching Ember when she inconspicuously slipped away from the large group and out into the hall.

He glanced around to make sure no one else was looking as he followed her at a distance, dodging the clusters of elves. He pushed through the crowd of prodigies and parents as he struggled to keep his friend in his vision.

He caught sight of her long, blond hair and trained his eyes on her so he wouldn't lose her.

When she was nearing the doors of the cafeteria, she glanced back, her striking ice blue eyes flicking from left to right.

Emerson quickly ducked his head behind a tall, frizzy haired women so Ember wouldn't see him following her. The women turned and immediately Emerson's jaw clenched, tightening in his throat as he stared at sharp features and a tall build.

It was Lady Stina, an appointed regent who worked with both of his parents on Team Valiant.

He quickly dropped into a bow. "Lady Stina."

She glanced at him. "Oh. Hi, Emerson."

Emerson had always been intimidated by Stina Heks. She wasn't necessarily mean, but there always seemed to be tension in the air when she was around. His parents didn't particularly love her either, but they never spoke badly of her.

They were more like frenemies.

Beside Stina, her daughter, Sienna Heks growled. "That's one of Ace's friends!" She shouted at her mother. "I bet Emerson told Ace to put that muskog in my locker!"

Emerson held his hands out in peace, taking a step back. "No I didn't."

Sienna's father, a man named Valin, placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Don't speak badly of Ace. His mother's a regent, remember?"

"Yeah, Sophie Foster. The girl who saved the world. Blah, blah, blah." Sienna's nose crinkled as she spoke.

"Don't speak of Sophie that way!" Valin said, his eyes flaming the tiniest bit.

"Why do you care, dad?" Sienna asked, raising an eyebrow. Her hands rested on her hips as she scrutinized her father's face, searching for an answer with her navy blue eyes.

Stina covered her laugh with her hand. "Because he used to have a crush on her."

"What?" Sienna and Emerson said in unison.

Valin shot Stina a dirty look. "I did not!"

"You did too."

Emerson had to bite back his laugh. As the three of them started arguing again, he slipped away, realizing he'd lost Ember in the crowd.

He ran out the doors of the cafeteria and into the hall, searching madly for Ember's golden hair. But she was nowhere to be seen.

He decided to run down the left corridor, towards the Level Three wing. He figured she might've gone to her locker.

As he ran, he had to dodge bubbles of floating candy like Prattles and Lushberry Juice. He entered the Level Three wing, and passed clusters of students chatting excitedly. Girls wearing ornate gowns giggled and boys talked quietly about registering for matchmaking packets.

Emerson was about to turn down another hall when he heard the quiet whimpers of a girl a few feet ahead of him. He walked ahead and turned into a dim-lit corridor to find Ember sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, quietly crying.

Her head was in her hands and she was trembling, her small frame shaking with tremors.

Emerson bent down and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up, startled.

Ember had always been beautiful, but there was a certain vibrance to her eyes in the dark of the hallway, a new type shine to her wavy blond hair. Her features were gorgeous, soft and tender. She never wore makeup, but she was still breathtaking without it.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, sliding to the floor beside her.

"Yeah," she mumbled, wiping her eyes with her frilly sleeve.

"Your dad told me about your midterms," he said quietly, resting his hands on his knees.

Ember shook a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Oh."

Emerson ran a hand through his hair. "I think you'll manifest really soon," he said.

"I don't know . . ." She trailed off as her gaze dropped to the floor.

"Your mom has like a million—"

"Only five."

"Okay, whatever." Emerson bit his lip. "I'm just trying to say that the odds of you manifesting are extremely high."

Ember trailed a hand along the floor as she said, "I'll be expelled if I don't get an ability soon."

"Yeah," he agreed. "But you're going to manifest, okay? Just take my word for it."

He gave her a grin as he held out his hand, waiting for her to take the invitation.

She stared at him for a moment before taking it. "Okay," she whispered as he helped her stand. "Thank you."

"No problem." He paused. "We better get back. They're probably wondering where we went."

Ember nodded.

They continued down the hall in silence, watching the scattered groups of students converse.

They were nearing the cafeteria when a tall figure ran smack into them, coming from a separate corridor.

He was a handsome man, with intricately styled blond hair and piercing ice blue eyes. They looked a lot like Ember's . . .

"Who are you?" Ember asked.

"My name," the man said, smoothing his crisp white tunic, "is Lord Cassius Sencen. Who might you be?"