down into the dumps. She’s been wanting this for ages, and she deserves it. I’ll never hold her back.
I pull her in and hug her tight. “I’m so happy for you, Mads,” I whisper in her ear. “We’ll have to work on getting you packed and finding you a school. Gotta get you trained up!”
Maddy hugs me back, her whole body quivering with excitement. “You sure you’ll be all right?”
“Don’t you worry about me,” I promise. “I’ll be just fine. So long as you promise to call.”
“I will.”
She’s still practically bouncing off the walls, but I manage to get her into bed—you’d think she was five, not eighteen—and then grab my laptop and settle down on the couch. It’s a one-bedroom apartment, and I don’t want the light from my computer to keep her awake as I research schools.
As I look into schools for elemental magic users, a heaviness settles into my chest.
Depending on people’s type of magic, they go to different academies, since how each kind of magic is controlled and used can really vary. There are seven types of magic, and each has its own specific training system. Elemental magic accounts for four of those types; then there are the illusionists, enchanters, and potion brewers. It’s this whole new world, this whole new life, that Maddy’s about to become a part of.
I’m okay without magic. Really. I am. When I turned seventeen and still hadn’t manifested any, Mom assured me I could still live a fulfilled life without it. I mean, look at all the normal humans who live great and exciting lives, no flying or water bending necessary.
But it also feels a little like I’m being left behind. Mom died, Dad skipped out on us, and now my sister has new magic and is going to go to a fun, elite school. And I’m just going to be here. Working as a bartender.
Fuck.
Scrubbing a hand down my face, I close the laptop. It’s late as hell, and looking at these school websites isn’t helping my mood. It’s just making me feel lonelier.
I crawl into bed next to Maddy, holding her hand.
If I don’t have a lot of time left with my sister, I should make the best of it.
Chapter 2
Three days later, I’m trying to clean under the damn couch when I hear a knock at the door.
I ignore it. We aren’t expecting anybody, and I’m not going to open the door for yet another Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon missionary.
But the knocking continues… and continues.
“I’ll get it!” Maddy yells.
“No, you won’t!” I shout back. If this is a creepy stranger, I don’t want Mads to have to deal with them. I get up and walk over to the front door, yanking it open.
“What the hell?” I snarl. “You haven’t heard of going away when someone doesn’t answer the knock?”
The person—it’s a woman, well dressed in a dark gray suit that flatters her tall figure, with her pale blonde hair pulled back in a tight ponytail—smiles at me. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I couldn’t get a contact number for you.”
“Good,” I reply shortly. I hate when strangers can get your telephone number. “We’re not interested.”
I start to close the door, but suddenly I can’t. I grab it with both hands and push, but it’s like—it’s like a strong gust of wind is blowing, keeping the door open.
The woman raises an eyebrow. “I’m here as a representative from the local Circuit.”
Oh. Now I know why the door won’t close—she’s got elemental magic, I’m guessing air, and she’s using that to keep it open.
I step back, allowing the door to open wider. “Then come on in, I guess.”
We have our own government for magic users. Local ones are just called Circuits, then there’s the District Circuit, which tends to run an entire state, and then there’s the High Circuit, who governs all the magic users in the country. We have a judicial system, cops, hospitals for magical illnesses and injuries, you name it.
I can’t think what I’ve done to get the attention of the Circuit. Maddy and I live a pretty chill life. Neither of us has broken any laws…
And then I remember. Maddy’s magic.
“You must be Elliot Sinclair,” the woman says. She holds out her hand. I don’t want to shake it, but I probably shouldn’t get on her bad side. I grip her hand, shake it once, then let go. Stepping around her, I close the door as she steps farther into the apartment, casting her gaze