CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: UNCONTROLLABLE

11 5 0
                                    

The sun began to break through the dark clouds in the sky as Brandon and I walked, muddying our boots on the way to the dining hall. His presence was light, pleasant yet intimidating.

"I'm really sorry about your dog; I've wanted to say it since the Phoenix Forest."

"Thank you."

I played with the sleeve of my shirt, the triskelion emblem shining over my heart.

"How have you been feeling since New York?" His voice was tinged with curiosity.

"Better with the passing hours. I think despite still trying to adapt to this new life, my gift is something beyond my grasp. It's like it wants to take something in front of me, and when I grab it, it's just smoke that dissipates." I sighed, searching for my next words in that sea of thoughts. "It wasn't my intention to harm Gemma."

I met his eyes reflecting sorrow, although the rest of his face was nothing but a glimpse of the superiority he liked to show.

"I know, I completely understand. The first time in training with my gift, I almost set the entire Phoenix Forest on fire. Lexi had to help extinguish it with her gift. You should have seen Gideon completely soaked and furious. I thought the muscles in his body were going to come off."

I filled the air, saturated with the scent of pine and damp earth, with my laughter.

"What can you do with your elemental gift?"

Brandon stroked the beard that was timidly beginning to grow on his face. Some Onpixes lingered around us, white and gray shirts mingling among us, under the clear blue sky like Lexi's brother's eyes.

"My gift, IGNIS, is based on fire control. I can generate, control, or absorb fire. I can even play with it." He winked at me and relaxed his muscles, stretching his arms backward, almost bored but relaxed. "Lexi's gift is Aqua, water control. As you can see, we're quite different."

"I can see that. Like water and oil."

Brandon approached without permission, intertwining our arms in the process. His body was warm, like a volcano about to erupt. My heart raced as his profile brushed against mine, seeking to share a secret.

"Lexi can be tough sometimes, but believe me, once you get to know her, you'll find that she's actually quite soft on the inside."

Our gazes connected for a moment, the wind dancing around us.

"Well, so inside..." I said at last to break the tension, "that it's almost invisible to the human eye."

Brandon let out a genuine laugh, and for a moment, I could swear a spark of fire escaped from his mouth. Lexi's brother covered me with the jacket he had fetched for me in the morning, delicately placing the hood over my head as if handling flowers with his large hands—a gesture different from what I had become accustomed to in his rough mannerisms.

"We'll enter the dining hall incognito. I have a secret entrance."

"Are there more secret passages in Axis?"

"No, actually, I was trying to impress you, but my secret entrance is just a simple back door, the one used by the cooks. I just thought it would be better if we go inside unseen, so you don't feel so observed...

I smiled at him in gratitude, hiding my blush beneath my freckles. Axis was a tranquil and charming place when most students were in the dining hall. Almost like something out of an enchanted tale, animals sang in harmony, flowers at the feet of each cabin swayed with the wind, and the eternal sea arrived slowly and steadily at the shore. The sky had cleared almost completely, and the sun's rays had managed to make the earth's moisture rise upward, warming the atmosphere.

THE UNBREAKABLE PIECE (FIRST BOOK OF THE HIDDEN WORLD) English versionWhere stories live. Discover now