hard on his project. I gave up and shut my text, my thoughts of the test and Jace becoming too much.
The bell rang, and I jumped to my feet, relieved. Only two more blocks to go. I nodded to Mr. Liam as I moved toward the door where Reese waited for me.
“I guess we’re not going to get a straight answer about the humans from any of the faculty,” Reese said, rubbing his hand along my arm.
“I guess not,” I agreed, then halted his hand. “Please, not in front of Jace.” I looked toward the corner of the room, but Jace was already nearing us. I stepped aside as he bolted through the door, glaring at Reese as he passed.
I shook my head. I knew Jace hated Reese, but why was he giving him the evil eye when I was the one he was disgusted with? I was the one who’d betrayed him—lied about myself to him. Maybe he couldn’t bring himself to even look at me, and Reese was a good target for his anger.
Lana sidled up next to us. “I suddenly feel like going to class is pointless,” she said with mock laughter in her voice. “I mean, if they have my whole life planned out, what do I really need to learn?”
I took her arm in mine as we headed into the hallway. “Well, regardless, let’s lay low. We don’t need to bring attention to ourselves by missing any more blocks.”
“Agreed.” Reese slipped his hand into my free one. “Let’s just make it through this week. Once the barrier spell is lifted, we’ll go from there.” His eyebrows furrowed. “Maybe the humans leaving is just an adverse effect of the spell. I’m not familiar with the magics, but anything’s possible.”
I laced my fingers through his. “That’s a good point.” He was right. The spells were only used by the Councils, and even they didn’t fully understand how to control them anymore. Because the Councils would suffer by the humans’ departure, too, I had to trust that Reese was right. Maybe they didn’t raise the spell correctly. It was all we had to go on.
Lana brightened. “At least our data communicators work again.” A smile struggled to break across her face.
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t send anything personal,” Reese said. “Anything you don’t want the Councils to read.”
We paused before our classroom, and I looked up at him. “You think we’re being monitored?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Don’t you?”
The rest of the day went on without incident. We went to our blocks, half paying attention to distracted teachers as they sent students out for testing. We kept our heads down. And Jace continued to ignore me.
At dinner, he and Nick sat on one side of the cafeteria, and Lana, Reese, and I sat on the other. I felt bad for Lana. She was also getting the cold shoulder from Jace because she was hanging around me.
“Don’t sweat it,” she said, flicking a bean around her plate. “He’ll come around.”
I nodded halfheartedly. “I just miss him,” I admitted. And I did. This had been the longest time besides the change that I’d been distant from him. I truly wanted to believe Lana. But deep down, I feared the worst—that I’d lost Jace forever.
Chapter Twenty-Four
DURING THE WEEK LEADING up to my test, I met with Reese every day at the falls. We were taking a huge risk by sneaking off grounds, but it was the only way for me to train. The basement was occupied by Jace, and even if we could find another place at the Academy to practice, I didn’t feel comfortable maxing out my power anywhere near there now that I knew they were looking for me.
I had to learn to rein in my power to levels the Councils would never suspect, and that required first getting a feel for my full strength. I never allowed myself to reach the dangerous level, though, as I always kept the crystal on me. The fear of losing control still hovered over me. I never told Reese that I felt I could push myself more. I was frightened about what that could mean—just what my power could do.
After watching how Jace treated Lana, I’d asked her to go back to Jace and Nick. I couldn’t stomach the triplets being separated and Jace ignoring her. She was hesitant, not wanting to abandon me, but I assured her Reese and I had to focus on getting me past the test. She conceded, reluctantly.