kind of a loner—but there’s a huge difference, I’m realizing, in being alone because you decide to be and being actively shoved out by everyone else.
Even Dmitri’s sticking by me, to my shock. We’re still not talking, and that still sucks, but he walks me to and from each of my classes and glares at people, which is definitely something.
He might not have romantic feelings for me, and I might have misread that whole thing, but Dmitri’s a decent person. I like to think he knows I wouldn’t do something as awful as steal someone’s magic, and I know he’s a good guy who’ll stick up for someone who’s being unfairly accused.
But the question that keeps floating around in the back of my mind is… am I being unfairly accused?
As much as I want to… I can’t entirely dismiss the idea that I might be the cause of all this. How, I don’t know. I wasn’t even there for most of the attacks, just the two in Tamlin’s class. But I’m the only lead anyone’s got, and it wouldn’t be the first time something weird happened around me. Do I have a flashing neon sign above my head saying Chaos and Calamity Welcomed Here or something?
The next two days are awful, what with everyone either flinching away from me or glaring daggers at me in the halls. The professors are all on edge too, and even though classes usually ramp up in the second half of the semester, everybody seems to be having trouble focusing.
Even though a bunch of people saw Roman escort me from Wellwood Hall with his arm around me, we’re still playing things cool in public. There’s a good chance a lot of people know or suspect something is going on between us, but that doesn’t mean we have to broadcast it and eliminate any doubt in their minds.
God, I hope he’s not in trouble.
Roman might have no problem with burning bridges for my sake, but I care about him, and I don’t want him to lose a job he’s worked very hard to get and is damn good at.
We’ve just finished Tamlin’s class a few days after the incident, and the four of us are headed down the hallway—Cam, Asher, and Dmitri acting like bodyguards around me—when Hardwick’s administrative assistant, Cheryl, walks up.
“Miss Sinclair?” She gives me a smile I hope to God is sympathetic. “The dean would like to see you in his office, please.”
Oof. Why am I not surprised?
“Alone?” Cam demands, stepping forward protectively.
“It’s okay,” I blurt, before any of the guys can get into an altercation with her and land themselves in hot water.
Asher helps me, grabbing Cam and Dmitri by the elbows and tugging them back.
“We’ll get to class,” he says quietly. “Find us after?”
He might be playing the peacekeeper, but the look he shoots me tells me he’s just as worried as the other two. Squaring my shoulders, I nod at him. I’m not going to let them know I’m scared, or they’ll never leave me. And I have to go to this meeting.
Might as well get it over with, right?
I follow Cheryl out of Wellwood Hall to the west side of campus where the administration buildings are.
To be honest, I’m bracing myself to possibly see Aurora sitting in Hardwick’s office. She’s the administrator from the Circuit who came to our house after Maddy got her powers to offer her a spot at Neptune Academy, the school for water elementalists. She came to talk to me in the hospital after my sonic boom sparked too—she was the one who told me about Griffin Academy.
She’s also, I’m guessing, the person they’d send if it was time for me to have my magic stripped.
I take a deep breath and follow Cheryl into Dean Hardwick’s office. There are a few people standing around, but none of them are wearing Aurora’s familiar power suits or have her pale blonde hair.
She’s not here.
My legs nearly buckle in relief.
When it first manifested, I really wasn’t sure I wanted to keep my magic, but I love it now, problematic as it is for me. I don’t want to lose it.
Although I might have to, if it turns out I’m the one responsible for people losing their powers.
The room’s occupants all turn to look at me when I enter, and I recognize them—it’s Tamlin, Professor Binns, and a third-year professor named Emmitt Macombe.
Hardwick stands as well, nodding at me from behind his desk. “Ah, Elliot, thank you for joining