The Tracker Hive Academy Year One - Avery Song Page 0,36

Jade skipping toward us from down the hall.

"Why is your twin back?" Zeus muttered.

"Maybe she missed her twin, Jade." Zeke grinned.

I looked at him, noticing the glint of merriment in them. He was in on my secret and was enjoying tugging his brothers along for the ride.

Attractive quality. Bonus points.

Shadow Jade hugged me. "Daddy and Bianca are on the field. They're helping the students out of the vine pit."

"Vine pit...oh, Jade's trap," Zackery concluded. "Wait. Did you trap them there?"

Shadow Jade and I exchanged a look, both of us beginning to giggle. "We did no such thing," we said in unison.

"Guilty," the four of them replied. We smiled and began to walk down the hall. "Hurry up. I'm extra hungry now," I declared.

"Still think she's pretty cool," Zion determined.

"Or insane," Zackery huffed.

"At least she's powerful," Zeus concluded.

"I call dibs," Zeke determined.

"No," the other three replied.

Watching Shadow Jade skip ahead, I pondered how I would get through the school year if these guys were attending. I'd have to take a long bath tonight with a black bath bomb to calm my mind.

And hormones.

Let's get this change room tour over with.

"This is the change room. Nothing much to see here. Showers are there. All lockers are magically enhanced. Use whichever element is your strongest to lock it. You can walk butt naked if you like, but don't drop any soap. People actually take that as a booty call," I explained, staring at my phone while I sat on the bench between two rows of lockers.

"Kill. Kill. Kill," Shadow Jade sang, inspecting the showers.

The four sexy Maxwell brothers were leaning against the lockers before me, listening to my chilled explanation.

"That's the end of this lovely tour that I humbly took you on. Any questions?"

"We should test you," Zeus declared.

I raised my head as I arched an eyebrow, glancing over to him. "Huh?"

"You’ve been able to tell who is who since you met us. That doesn't happen ever, but it could be due to your weird thinking process."

"Unique and talented thinking process. What exactly am I being tested for?"

The guys exchanged looks; Zeus and Zeke remained in their spots while Zion and Zackery walked behind me.

"We want you to join us."

"Join what? Is this going to be a cute cult gathering? How intriguing." I clapped my hands and raised my legs to cross them on the bench, sitting up a little taller.

"Why does she remind me of that girl from Suicide Squad?"

"The crazy one?" Zion clarified.

"Yup. Totally like that," Zackery concluded.

"Her actual name is Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, and I'm nowhere near her level of crazy," I elaborated. "I'm worse."

"Great," Zackery groaned.

Zeus clapped his hands, the lights switching off entirely.

"Night party!" Shadow Jade cheered. I mentally sighed but figured this was a good time for Shadow Jade to retreat. "Shadow Jade? Why don't you go check on Alaric?"

I need you back here but can't let the others know.

"Okay! Bye, bye." I heard her skip away. A light poked into the room when she opened the door, but it disappeared in an instant.

"Kill time?" Her voice echoed in my mind, and her dark element seeped into my body while the rest began to settle in confidence, ready for whatever test these guys were trying to pull off.

Not yet, but I'll keep you posted. You can go back to singing the Kill song.

"Kill. Kill. Kill!"

"What are you guys planning?" I asked, putting my phone away. "And who said I wanted to join you?"

"We're going to test you and see if you’re worth joining us on our mission here," Zeus declared. "And we think you'd want to join us if you want answers."

"This doesn't sound like an amazing agreement. You're assuming you have the answers that I need, and I could easily find out why you're here, to begin with, if I really wanted to," I disclosed.

Looking at the ceiling, I thought about it out loud, "Four powerful brothers with the combined force of all eight elements waltz into Tracker Hive Academy out of the blue. No warning to anyone but the professors and headmaster. They join the same day that I, Jade Masters, and my twin sister do, and someone discovers my little secret on our first encounter. Why is that?"

Glancing down to stare into Zeus's eyes specifically, I gave him a playful smile.

"As a Tracker, I know things don't happen by coincidence." My voice was low and deadly. "Every decision made by a group of individuals, whether it be a team or a set of