Change [Book 1 of The Elemental Marks]

Chapter 6

Lina walked hesitantly upstairs, wondering what Damian's definition of the perfect room was.

They were only about three stairs up when Lina realized there were footsteps behind them. She turned around and found Carson, Wyatt and Alia all following the pair up the steps. She must've had a quizzical look, because Alia interjected, "I just want to go to bed. Don't ask me what they're doing." She motioned toward the guys ahead of her, who both looked very caught.

"We just wanted to see where he was going to put you," Carson explained. Something told her that wasn't the entire story, but she bought it until they made it up the rest of the stairs.

They arrived to what felt like the upstairs of any old house: a long hallway with a handful of doors. Damian glanced back but said nothing about the small crowd that came along. He opened the first door on the left and motioned for Lina to head in.

The room they entered was different than any institute room Lina had seen before. Rather than completely blank walls and no decorations, this space looked very lived in, perhaps even more so than her room in Philly.

There was a bookshelf taking up one full wall. It was completely packed. None of the books looked new, and some were obviously handwritten journals.

On the opposite wall was a bed and a desk, more like Lina's room at home. The walls were all a sky-blue color that Lina instantly fell in love with. She didn't realize how boring white walls were until she saw this.

Damian crossed the room to open a window. Lina realized that, while the room was beautiful and felt lived in, it was dusty and the air felt stale.

"What do you think?" he asked her.

She wasn't quite sure what to say. Her first instinct was that it really wasn't her, but she also knew it would be an easy place to get used to. "I really like it. It looks more like a library than a room, though."

Lina meant it as a joke, but Damian presented a smile that she considered uneasy. "I don't know how much sleeping actually went on in here. Charlie would probably stay up for hours just reading. She was the last waterbender that lived here."

She recalled what Carson had said, about knowing a waterbender once, and instinctively looked over at him. He and Wyatt--Alia must've been good to her word and in her own room--stood in the doorway, taking the entire room in. They were as wide eyed as Lina felt.

Carson caught her stare and gave a short nod, answering her question. "That was over three years ago. We tried not to change much. There's a lot you can learn from this room alone." Lina couldn't even guess what that meant. Add it to the list of mysteries.

"Lina will definitely make it her own, though," Wyatt added. It was clearly directed at Carson, maybe as a sort of reminder that just being waterbenders didn't mean she and Charlie had any real connection. Still, Lina couldn't help but wonder what all of these books might tell her about the abilities she and Charlie shared.

"Thanks for everything, guys. I'm sure I'll love it here." Lina didn't know if she was talking about the room or the Institute. Neither of the places were anything like home, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

Wyatt and Carson both smiled, certainly believing it was true. Damian kept the hard look on his face but agreed. "Get some sleep. We can get you acquainted with the rest of the Institute when you wake up."

Lina nodded at him and set her bag down while the three shuffled out of the room. Being alone in the new place made her more tired than ever. She crashed on the bed and started to gather her thoughts about everything that had happened that day, but she was asleep before she got anywhere.