Sealed inside the towering city walls of Acadia, magic users known as Wielders are feared and hunted for the abilities they have been blessed with. They're living in hiding, terrified of revealing themselves to the Authorities that hunt them.
But w...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"All you have is your fire, and the pieces you need to reach
Don't you ever tame your demons, but keep them on a leash."
-Hozier
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Marina stopped dead in her tracks, tugging on Colson's arm, and pulling him to a halt on the sidewalk. He spun his head around, rolling his eyes before he looked at her. Dropping his arm, she pointed across the street where many other civilians had their gazes fixed.
"Look," she said.
Reluctantly, Colson turned to see what was happening, his mouth falling open when he saw a girl being confronted by the Authorities.
It was happening all over again. The terror. The persecution.
Marina's throat closed when she saw the horror written on the girl's face, the same panicked look Ryder had given her before he was taken. The strength that always comforted Marina faded from Ryder's eyes the second their worlds flipped with that bus. With a thrash of his arm, they were torn apart, and the promise they had made long ago was left in pieces.
The girl's brown hood fell from her face, the wind whipping her dark hair around her head. The cluster of Authorities crept towards her like vultures, demanding to know what was in the harmless package tucked under her arm.
Colson was the first to move towards the scene. After his first few steps, onlookers followed, leaving Marina alone on the sidewalk. Cars screeched to a stop on the road, drivers yelling out their windows at the crowd of people blocking their path. A yell from one of the Authorities rocketed her forward. Her feet pounded on the pavement and her elbows shoved people aside until she was side-by-side with Colson.
The girl's arms were out in front of her, her voice pleading with them to listen to her. Her head whipped back and forth, her eyes frantically scanning the crowd.
"We have to do something, Marina," Colson said, his fingers wrapping under her arm and pulling her to his side. The girl turned her gaze to the pair of them, her eyes widening.
Marina almost choked. The girl looked as if she were holding back a scream, her jaw clenching tightly under the tanned skin of her face. Marina couldn't stand someone looking at her like that again. Her chest grew tight as she looked away from the eyes that were begging her for help.
"We can't," Marina said. They would take her. They would take Colson.
Colson let out a gust of air in response, narrowing his eyes at her. He leaned his head close. Too close.
"You might be able to stand back and watch this happen," he whispered, his face only inches from hers. "But I can't." He pulled back, pressing his lips together. Something hidden deep inside of Marina quivered for Colson, for the danger he would put himself in.
Marina reached for his arms. She had to get him out of here before he started a war that he couldn't win—before he got innocent people killed. He brushed her off, his skin already starting to burn hot even through his scuffed leather jacket.
No, her mind screamed. If she had been able to wrench the scream out of her throat, it wouldn't have mattered. Colson would still do whatever he wanted to do. He had a history of doing that.
The Authorities closed in on the girl. Her hands pushed out in front of her trying to keep them back. She was begging them now.
Then, a force was inside of Marina, swimming through her veins, tugging at her fingertips, pulling her strings. She bent forward, gasping for air, her eyes locking with Colson's. His brows pulled in, his gaze filled with what looked like worry. Worry? No, that couldn't possibly be it, Colson did not worry about anyone or anything.
Screams rang through the air as ice suddenly shot out of the girl's hands, covering the pavement, making the Authorities fall to the slick ground. The girl's face went pale as she brought her hands up, staring at them as if they might provide answers to what just happened. Then, it occurred to Marina that this girl did not know she was a Wielder. How could she not know?
Marina stood up straight, the sudden invasion still creeping through her body. At least now, she could breathe. She brought her own hands up in front of her, tilting her head to the side. It was odd. She had never met another ice Wielder before.
"Are you okay?" Colson's voice was in Marina's ear, his arm wrapping around her shoulder.
"Fine," she replied, shrugging him off.
Colson began to say something else until the guards closed in on the Wielder, their hands wrapping around her arms tightly. Marina watched her thrash, trying to pull away from them, slipping on the ice that she created.
Colson suddenly gasped. His eyes grew wide, flicking to Marina for answers.
"This is just what happened to you, isn't it?" he asked, clutching at his chest, his shirt crumpled in his fist. Marina wanted to ask him if he could feel the force pulling at him, if his fingertips tingled, if his veins were occupied by something other than his own blood, but her voice was cut off before she could even speak.
The Authorities holding the Wielder screamed in pain, yanking their hands away, steam rising from their skin. This girl was not just an ice Wielder—she was something else. Marina smoothed the small hairs away from her face, her elbows bowing out, almost knocking Colson in the shoulder.
"Did she just...?" Colson couldn't finish the question.
Marina nodded, watching as the Authorities slipped the kraenite cuffs on the girl, nulling her magic into nonexistence. "She did," she said. "She's not just a Wielder, she tapped into both of our powers."
"She's a Channel," Colson whispered.
The crowd dispersed as the Authorities dragged the girl away, her screams and pleas echoing through the air. Colson and Marina were the only two left on the street, frozen in wonder, their jaws slack.
Colson was the first to speak, his voice sounding too loud after witnessing what had just happened. "We have to get to the Den."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
