Untamed Spirits - KOTLC - (DISCONTINUED)

Eleven

Noreh wandered through Candleshade, careful to avoid Lady Gisela. Lord Cassius was who knew where, and Noreh had heard Keefe talk about him having a blue leaping crystal—and he'd said the blue ones led to the Lost Cities.

That was the only reason she would be poking around in Cassius' office. She needed to see her family, even if she couldn't talk to them. And. . . maybe, just maybe, she needed to get away from the elves. She didn't belong with them, no matter what they thought.

This might be the chance she was waiting for—for her to start over on her terms.

She searched through the drawers of the grand desk, careful not to leave a trace that she'd been there. She couldn't risk Cassius finding out that she took the crystal.

"Aha!" She said, triumphantly scooping up the blue crystal. "Where can I go?"

She wasn't sure how to use it, so she spun it to a random facet and held it up to the light, hoping her nexus would hold up and not let her fade. She usually wouldn't worry about it, but it was the first time leaping on her own.

So she breathed in a deep sigh of relief when she landed safely in an alley behind a bunch of fast-food restaurants. She wasn't really sure where she was, but at least she recognized some of the stores, so that helped.

She walked into one and found a small table in the back. Someone came up and asked for her order but she didn't have any money and said she was just waiting for someone. A boy around fourteen or so walked over to her table and sat down.

He wore a leather jacket and dark sunglasses. His raven black hair almost touched his shoulders that complimented his almond skin. Noreh sat back in her chair, unsure of what to do. He smiled, causing strange butterflies to rise in her stomach.

"Hey," he said. "Are you hungry? I hear their cheeseburgers are really good."

"Um. . ." Noreh wasn't sure what to do.

She wasn't used to cute boys talking to her—besides Keefe and Fitz, but this was different. He was different. In his own charming, bad-boy kind of way. He was. . . his voice. . . the butterflies. . .

Noreh cleared her throat. "Cheeseburger?"

He smirked and waved the waiter down, ordering two cheeseburgers and fries. He glanced at her. "You wanted one too, right?"

She nodded.

"Make that three."

The waiter nodded, scribbled down the order and left. Noreh laughed and looked at her surprise visitor. He gave her a sly smile and leaned back in his chair.

"So what gave you the idea to come over to my table?" She asked.

"You seemed lonely," he said. "And whenever someone turns down getting a cheeseburger, something's wrong. What is it?"

She sighed. "Have you ever felt like you don't belong somewhere? Me and my sister just moved to a new place, but we've barely seen each other since. And. . . I don't know. Things were always weird before, but now it's just. . . I don't know. The family I'm staying with, the boy is great, he's fun and does a lot of pranks. But the parents. . . I don't know. Is it bad that I want to run away?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. I feel like that all the time where I'm at. The kids are amazing but the grownups. . . they're not all that great."

Noreh laughed and shook her head. "We're two strangers talking about our problems. How did this happen?"

"I guess we just got lucky," he said.

She tilted her head. "I never got your name."

"Shinriang," he said. "You?"

"I'm Noreh," she said. "And I'm going to call you Shang."

He tensed. "Noreh?"

"Yeah," she said. "Why?"

Shang shook his head. "N–no reason. What's that around your neck?"

Noreh's hand reached up to her neck to touch the cold choker-necklace Alden had given her when she first arrived in the Lost Cities. Her mouth dropped open, realizing her mistake as she looked out the window to see Alden outside the restaurant.

"I have to go," she said, standing. "I–I'll try to see you later?"

"I'll wait," Shang said. "Good luck, Snowflake."

She took one last look at him before exiting the restaurant. "Alden, I can explain—"

"I hope you can," he said. "The Council has ordered a Trial."

Noreh had the worst luck. Not only did the Council want a Trial, Bronte wanted to expel her from Foxfire, force her to Exilium, and banish her. Apparently he couldn't do that to Sophie, so he was trying to get away with it with Noreh.

And since Noreh couldn't give them a reason why she went to the Lost Cities, she was expelled and sent to Exilium, with a warning that if it happened again, she would be banished. When she got back to Candleshade, Cassius and Gisela were prepared to yell at her but she avoided them and ran to her ro0m.

Keefe didn't try to talk to her, but he did slip her a note the next day at breakfast, asking if there was anything he could do. She folded it and put it in her pocket before getting up to go to Exilium. When she got there she was in for yet another surprise.

She was strung up by a rope and forced to use her cryokinesis to snap the rope. She barely landed on her feet. A girl with a pyrokinetic pen came up and asked who she was, but Noreh didn't feel like answering. Then a Shade shadow-whispered to her, but she ignored him, too. And when someone yelled at her so hard she crumpled to the ground as she was about to leap, she decided she'd had enough.

She turned on the girl and started demanding questions, but the girl remained silent. The pyrokinetic came up and started talking.

"I'm Grace," she said. "That's Astraia—she's a Vociferator, doesn't talk much. The Shade's Tam and his sister the hydrokinetic is Linh. It's nice to meet you, sis."