Midnight Truth (Shifter Island #4) - Leia Stone Page 0,17

cool garden,” I said, waving at the flowers. “You must really like—”

“I will not pretend to like you,” the high mage said, whirling on me. “Nor will I pretend I want to see a half-breed at our fine, exclusive establishment.” He curled his lip into a cruel sneer. “Let’s get this over with quickly so we can both be done!” He spun around and then stalked off through the garden to a clearing.

Un-freakin-believable. What a douchebag extraordinaire! Reyna was right; he was the worst! Anger flooded my veins, but I reined it in when I saw the orb bobbing overhead. If everything I did was recorded, I didn’t want to fly off the handle at this dude. Best to just get this over with quickly and be done.

Glaring at his back, I crossed my arms and followed after him, wishing I could burn the rest of the hair from his head. As we reached a clearing in the garden, I noticed there was no setup. No table or chairs, no cups of water, and, most importantly, no fire extinguisher. Shocker.

The high mage of fire faced me once more, his impassive expression back on his bland face. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a Kleenex.

Huh?

I thought he was going to blow his nose or something, but instead, he crumpled it into his fist.

“This test is two parts. Part one. Burn this before it hits the ground.” Then he dropped the wad of tissue. Just like that, no other warning or explanation.

I scrambled forward as the scrunched-up Kleenex fell to the ground, but it hit before I could even focus on my fire power, let alone use it.

The white Kleenex sat on the lush grass, a visible display of my failure.

“That’s it?” I asked as irritation and indignation swelled beneath my ribs. No way.

The high mage scowled. “The test allows for three attempts. That was your first.”

Like I couldn’t count.

He leaned over and picked up the Kleenex. As soon as he’d straightened, and without any other warning, he dropped it again.

This sneaky bastard was trying to get me to fail.

I released a stream of fire from my left palm like Spiderman aiming one of his webs—only Spiderman had clearly practiced more.

The high mage stumbled backward as my arc of fire nearly grazed him. I’d totally missed the Kleenex wad. It landed on the ground, still 100% whole and white as a cloud.

“Oops.” I winced. “Sorry.”

Sort of.

He glared at me as he adjusted his robes which were in twisted disarray from playing dodgeball with my fire.

“Clearly, you have not learned accuracy!” He huffed and then strode over to pick up the Kleenex for the third and final round.

My body tensed. What happened if I failed this portion? Would they not allow me to go to school here? Worse, would they not let me be Gramps’ heir? Would they steal his power?

Pushing all of those thoughts and fears from my mind, I held my hand out and called up the heat of my fire magic.

This time, when the high mage rose, time seemed to slow. My senses were heightened, and I became aware of every little thing. The slight breeze, the bird trilling in the distance—hell, I was so focused I could hear his seething inhale as he straightened.

The male mage turned his palm toward the ground and released the tissue.

I pointed my fingers at the Kleenex while tracking it with my gaze. Releasing a stream of fire from my palm, I watched in triumph as the orange and red flames swallowed the white tissue with a sharp hiss.

“Yes!” I shouted as the glowing embers fluttered toward the ground and then turned to ash. “Take that!”

I pumped my fist in the air, and the high mage of fire sighed as if exhausted by my antics.

“The second part of this test will measure your ability to protect yourself. Prepare to be attacked.” As he spoke, his eyes nearly glowed, growing brighter until his gaze was filled with live flames.

Knowing how quick he was with the tissue, I wasn’t about to wait and ask questions. The high mage of fire said Prepare to be attacked, then I was pretty much counting on an entire wall of fire to hit. With my breath, I called up the wind.

He extended his palms, both lit with an orange glow. I threw the force of a gale at him in a desperate bid to snuff out his flames, but a sphere of his fire sailed through right toward my