I've dealt with my share of homelessness. I've endured being the bad gal in the room. I’ve taken a lot of life’s punches on the chin. But never did I expect to be forced to attend an academy full of power-hungry delinquents.
Born with powers far too great to control, I ended up homeless at eight years old. With my family gone, I lived on the streets, learning quickly that the world was just as cold as my beating heart.
Because I carry all eight magic elements, enemies sought me out from every dark corner. Luckily, I was saved and taken in by Alaric Masters, headmaster of Tracker Hive Academy.
My name is Jade Storm, and I’m the youngest recruit to become a Tracker.
Now that I'm eighteen, Alaric is insisting that I attend the academy. I’ll do it but on my own terms. My only goal is to learn just how powerful I am and breeze through the next four years. I have no interest in joining any cliques, and I’m not here to make friends. If there’s one thing life has taught me, it’s that I work best alone.
However, the Troubled Four — Zeke, Zion, Zackery, and Zeus — have other plans. Quadruplets who together carry all eight elements, the boys are desperate to make me submit to their trickery. They’re stupid to think I’ll play by anyone's rules but my own.
I can handle whatever threats, traps, bullying, and schemes are thrown my way because I'm not here to be a good student. I'm here to keep my secret safe from those who will do everything to see me perish.
Game on.
1
Solace In Homelessness
Rain...
The thundering sound of multiple droplets hitting the cement floor soothed my lonely heart.
The cold trickled past the thin layer of cloth that clung damply onto my skin.
The rain never bothered me. It was a reminder, like many of the harsh conditions I'd endured, that this was my life now.
No more warm, homemade meals. Goodbye to loving hugs and cheerful laughter.
Forget about the roof that once hovered over my head, shielding me from the grim, unpredictable weather and the darkness that accompanied every corner of the city I currently stayed in.
There weren't many options for me.
I had chump change, but not nearly enough to take me on the bus ride out of this scary place.
Being only eight got me enough to get one big meal at the local fast food joint, with the occasional sympathetic tip for a hot beverage to keep me going through the tough nights.
Within this part of the city, I had three spots where I’d hidden the emergency items I'd gathered, things like water or warm sets of donation clothes for the rare occasions I got hurt and tainted my current set with bloodstains.
Being homeless sucked.
But at least I was alive.
I’d had to grow up fast, or else I'd be dead along with my mom, dad, older brother, and sister. People were still after me, and being a lone kid on the streets only made it easier for them.
Hugging myself tighter to combat the cold, I rested my head on my knees, staring at the buzzing street only a few inches away from the alley.
Watching everyone walk to and from made me wish to be like them. I was too young to have a job, and the only time I was walking or running somewhere was to get away from the evil men.
Since my family's death, I'd been hunted. No place was safe for too long. After the police reports and the attempts to put me in foster care, I’d discovered the truth.
I’d overheard the adults who were supposed to protect me offer to trade me to those same men who wanted me now, all for a little cash.
That was when I took the donated backpack, a few sets of clean clothes, the first aid kit, and my documents from the foster care lady's desk and bolted out of there.
I felt like a criminal, but I was a little girl trying to survive the grim, bitter world.
On weekdays, I stayed in the library, thankful to the librarian who took pity on me. Reading was one of the few activities that brought me solace. No one would ask where my mom or dad was, or spit and laugh at my predicament.
The room was filled with numerous bookshelves, stuffed from top to bottom with knowledge that I could learn, absorb, and use to my advantage.
The greatest benefit was the magic section, one that carried many spells that had aided