Atlantis Academy: The First Element

CHAPTER TWENTY

I drop my backpack on the floor in front of me and sink back into the Tesla's seat as the superhero-car doors swing down and shut.

All the seats are leather, comfy, and deep. I don't think I've ever been in a car this nice. Or even a seat this nice.

I lick my lips, and as I buckle in, I flush, noticing the dirt that's falling off my boots onto the pristine floormats.

Chloe gets into the passenger seat, and Ethan sits in the driver's seat.

The car begins to move, and my jaw drops, because Ethan isn't steering.

We're using magick to drive!

Uh, no, Lyric. This is a self-driving car.

I let out a little laugh, and my cheeks get even hotter. No one's looking at me, and no one knows what I'm thinking.

I hope.

Agent Dubois glares at my window as the SUV turns down the next street. He's talking on the phone now, and he looks even angrier than before, if that's possible. I know he can't see me through the tinted glass, but I swear I can feel his hatred for me seeping into my bones.

I shiver and look straight ahead. I hope I never see that guy again. But something tells me he doesn't give up that easily.

Ethan—or the Tesla, I don't know—decides to drive right past my house, and we slow to a crawl as we hit the traffic there. There's a firetruck parked on one side of the street and police cars behind it.

Ethan lets out a low curse.

There's a huge lump in my throat as I take in the ruined, charred mess that was once my home. It's somehow still on fire, and the firemen are spraying it with water and shouting at one another.

"Quite a number you did on that house," Chloe says softly in her lilting Irish accent.

I go tense, my hands balling into fists again. "Your letter caught on fire—"

"It did not catch fire on its own, as you seem to think." She turns around in the passenger seat to meet my eyes. "You lit it on fire. You used the Element of Fire, despite the fact that we put a temporary binding spell on your powers. This is all quite impressive, considering you've had no training."

"Impressive?" I nearly shout the words, and I force myself to lower my voice. "That charred ruin is not impressive. It was my home. And I have no idea how I'm doing any of this!"

Chloe shakes her head and looks at me with pity. "I know. And I'm sorry that your introduction to magick has been so... troublesome. Ethan and I tried to save your house, but magickal fires are hard to put out. The best we could do was protect the homes around yours so it couldn't spread."

"I never meant to..." I press my hand to my mouth as we inch past the fire truck, and I swear I see... something... glinting around my house.

A web of golden tendrils, hanging all around the house like some kind of dome. I let out a gasp.

"Ah... You can see our protection spell, can't you?" Chloe asks. "Very good. That's what's keeping that fire from spreading."

I nod mutely.

"You know, some Legacies are born being able to see magick. With others, their magickal senses take time to activate. Of course, we usually bind Legacies until the day they start at the Academy. So they may be able to see magick, but they can't use it. Because if we didn't bind them, well..." She gestures to my house as we finally pull past the firetruck and police cars. "There'd be chaos."

"Legacies? Binding?" My voice cracks on the words.

"Yes. Speaking of which..." She has her wand out in an instant and is waving it around at me.

I lurch away from her as she mutters something under her breath, and a high-pitched tone rings through my head.

"What did you...?"

"That'll do." Chloe drops her wand back into her purse and acts like she's dusting off her hands. "That was another temporary magick-power binding sigil. It's stronger than the one we placed this morning." She shakes her finger at me and gives me a mock stern look. "That one had better hold until we reach the Academy. You'll probably still be able to sense magick, but you won't be able to use it anymore. We can't have any more... incidents happening before we get there."

I swallow and nod, fully agreeing with her. I don't want to use freakin' magick either. I don't think I can handle another incident at this point.

I blow out a breath as we make a left onto Highway 101, leaving my wreck of a life behind.

I'm sweating again and feeling nauseous as I glimpse the deep blue ocean beyond. The clouds are an angry dark gray, swiftly churning above the choppy waves. A few drops of rain land on my window, blurring the view. I press my face to the glass as Ashford Rock recedes in the distance. Should I feel sad I'm leaving? Because I don't.

Excitement stirs inside my chest, instead, and my heart rate goes up as we drive past the last bit of familiar coastline.

Magick is real.

And I used it.

I press my head back against the headrest, breathing too fast. There's some kind of partition up in my mind right now, like my brain needs to protect itself from accepting this terrible truth so I don't freak out. I could almost believe this is happening to someone else, or that I'm dreaming.

But it's definitely no dream. I can't wake up from this.

I blow out a breath and ask what I've been afraid to ask. "Am I... Are we... witches?"

Ethan snorts.

Chloe smirks and glances at Ethan. "I suppose we should get her caught up. Every other student at orientation will know the basics."

Ethan shrugs, but I can see his eyes in the rearview mirror, and he does not approve of her suggestion. Or maybe he doesn't approve of me.

"First of all..." Chloe turns to look at me, smoothing her sleek red hair back into her ponytail. "No, we are not witches. Or wizards. Or magicians. Or anything like that."

"So there's no such thing as witches?" Somehow, that's a relief.

Her blue eyes light up with amusement. "Of course there are witches! But they aren't like us... like you, me, and Ethan. Witches have to jump through quite a lot of hoops to use magick. Elaborate spell books, moon phases, crystals, sage." She rolls her light blue eyes. "We do use some of that, but we have other, more elegant methods. We practically have magick in our blood, so we can access it in a very natural way and work with it on a high level."

Witches are real. Good to know. And I have magick in my blood. Also good to know. I guess. "So... uh... If we're not witches... Then what exactly...?" I trail off, unable to form any kind of coherent thought.

"Alright. Where do I begin? Hmm." Chloe taps one manicured nail against her chin. "I guess at the beginning, right Ethan?"

He grunts disapprovingly, but she isn't picking up on that, apparently. He looks like he wishes we'd both just shut up.

Chloe clears her throat and turns back to look at me. "There is a world of pure magick, known as Atlantis. You may have heard of it?"