The Touch Reader (#1 of the Elemental Originals Series)

Chapter Fifteen

I flopped on my back with grunt, struggling to regain my breath. Clara laughed in my head as she landed next to me. I glared at her.

"Why are you lying on your back? We have work to do!"

"Oh, be quiet you. You're not the one that has to multitask for the Gala."

"Of course I do. I have to fly and dance in the air. Do you know how hard that is?"

"Obviously not, I don't have wings!"

Clara was about to respond when a voice interrupted her. "Damn Nocte, and I used to wish I had a dragon. I wouldn't want one like that."

Both our heads snapped to the voice, and I blinked in shock when I realized that it was Saeva. "Saeva?"

"Obviously. You haven't really gotten smarter since we last spoke, huh?"

Clara growled lowly as she straightened, her tail curling and her muscles tensing. "I would be careful of how you speak to my Rider, Mage, else you will have a reckoning to attend."

We found out for sure a bit ago that Clara indeed profited from my being a Touch Reader. While most Dragons could only communicate with their Riders or other Dragons, Clara can communicate with whomever she wanted, including animals, although she told me one day that most of them are impossibly boring and with a superiority complex or an inferiority complex.

Saeva grimaced slightly before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I would say that I'm trying to be better but if that was genuinely true then I wouldn't have said it at all. Any Rider would be lucky to have a dragon like you, and I know you're not stupid, Nocte. It's just habit at this point."

I looked at her curiously before exchanging a look with Clara. "Alright. Why are you here?"

She sighed. "For a couple of reasons, and I'll start with the second. I came to get your advice."

My eyebrows shot up even as I sat up. "What?"

"I came to get your advice," she repeated.

"On what?" I asked incredulously. There are very few things that would make someone ask me for advice, and because it was Saeva, I was literally completely confused on what she needed me for.

"Well, I like this guy, like I like like him-"

"Okay pause. Why are you asking me for advice on romance?"

She shot me an irritated look. "Just shut up and let me continue!" I rolled my eyes but nodded in consent.

"So, anyway, I have a crush on this guy, but I don't know if he likes me back."

"Is the person in question in one of your classes?"

"Yes, we're in Combat and Magical Creatures together."

"Is he a Rider or a Mage? Or both?"

"He's both, which is one of the reasons I don't know if he likes me."

"What's his element and name?"

"He's a Flash and his name is David." I blinked in surprise. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's in your Flash Control. That's one of the reasons I wanted your advice."

I took in a deep breath and then let it out. "Alright, yes, I know him. He's a good guy, smart and calm and has a power level that's a bit above average, but-"

"He's an above average Mage?! Oh, Moons, he'll never be into me now!" She cried out, covering her face.

I stared at her with wide eyes. "I'm so confused. I don't really see the problem?"