Midnight Kisses (Shifter Island #1) - Leia Stone Page 0,21

palms?

No, no, no…

I glanced around the hall again, but no one else seemed disturbed by his announcement. Not even when he held up the biggest dagger I’d ever seen—at least a foot long. Was that silver?

This whole thing was weird.

I ground my teeth, but my decision was already made. I wanted my elemental power. I needed it. That magic not only set me apart from the other wolves in my pack; it would filter to my pack when I became alpha.

I stood straighter.

The Affinity Stone pulsed, splashing rainbows across the room, and my heart raced.

A hush fell over the crowd, and we waited for the first victim—er … student.

“Mallory of Daybreak.”

The high mage said her name as though reading it from a list, but there was no list. Just a creepy old high mage waiting to impale us with a silver weapon.

I swallowed hard, rising up onto my tiptoes so I could see. A tall willowy young girl with long blond hair stepped forward boldly; she kept her chin cocked up, giving an air of superiority. She reminded me of the Barbie doll my father had given me when I was seven.

Holding out his gnarled hand, the old man dropped his voice so the rest of us couldn’t hear. He said something to Mallory, who had placed her palms out in front of him. She nodded, and he grabbed her wrist, driving the tip of the blade into her left palm and then again to her right.

My stomach plummeted. Holy mage. I’d rather join the undead than be stabbed in the palms in front of all my classmates.

So much blood.

“Now, place your hands on the crystal,” he said in a soft tone that nevertheless carried to everyone.

Mallory rested her hands over the crystal’s tips, and her blood dripped onto the cluster.

Wow!

In an instant, red, orange, and yellow lit the room. The magical live flames climbed up her arms until her entire body was covered by the beautiful iridescent glow. She withdrew her hands, and the magic around her disappeared as she turned, facing us. With a smile of triumph, she held her hands aloft, her palms healed even though the magical fire continued to dance there.

“Ah, how exciting,” the high mage exclaimed in a tone that indicated the opposite. “A fire elemental. Thank you, child. You may take your place next to the mage masters and older students of fire.”

He called Kaja up next, and when she looked at me hesitantly, I gave her a thumbs-up. Her blood dripped on the crystal. Within seconds, she held glowing gold rocks, indicating she was an earth elemental, and was placed with a mage master of that ability.

There was no predisposition based on pack or lineage, or so it seemed. I now wondered if I would have fire like my father or something else entirely. I looked beside me to see that I was now alone. Everyone else in the room hugged the walls, indicating they were older years, which meant…

“Naima of Crescent Clan,” the old high mage said, yanking me from my stupor. My stomach clenched, and my palms slicked with sweat.

Pull it together, Nai!

I met his gaze, and the universes swirled beneath the cloudy depths of his eyes.

Queen Mother, have mercy. I didn’t expect to be this terrified. I shouldn’t be.

What if I didn’t have an elemental affinity? If I had no magic, they’d throw me out. There would be no need to even be taught here—I would go home a failure, leaving Nolan to take my place as heir in the first position. It happened every century or so; they said it was a curse, and if any clan were to be cursed … it would be mine. Then I really would bring shame to my clan.

Please, don’t let me be a dud.

The high mage’s lips tipped up in what I hoped was a smile. “Please join me.”

A few of the alpha heirs snickered, and I heard one of them groan—probably Justice. Or Rage. Someone needed to pull the sticks out of their backsides. How was it that they were brothers with Noble and Honor? Why were they here anyway? They already knew their affinity.

I scooted past the crowd at the edges of the room to the aisle, keeping my head held high. Never let your foe see your fear, my father would say.

As I strode toward the raised dais, I started to wipe my sweaty palms on my skirt before remembering it wasn’t my dress—not to mention everyone was