Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 7

Shouts of surprise fill the bleachers as the familiars finish off the target. In a quick pivot, they turn to me for my next command and my mind falls blank from shock. Hundreds of pairs of eyes, human and familiar are suddenly focused on me as the breath freezes in my lungs.

What do I do?

I hadn't anticipated that I could ever be seen as powerful, and yet-.

I am in way over my head. 

Where is Indigo? 

I've yet to see her as I am standing out alone on the field, completely exposed. 

"Students! Please disperse your familiars and return to your seats! Return to your seats immediately!" Headmaster Hallewell calls out hastily as the familiars begin to flicker out of existence.

The power that I didn't know I was feeling begins to fade. It's like a caffeine high wearing off as I am left feeling slightly empty and hollow. I resist the urge to drop to my knees as I shiver at the feeling. 

There's a chorus of high pitched hisses followed by a boom. 

What the-? 

My gaze snaps skywards as the dull booms echo across the stadium and through my bones as a chill washes over me. I glance up at the shimmering display, the figures of animals being cast across the sky as they twist and move. Magical fireworks to conclude our ceremony. But I can't help but feel like they're a halfhearted distraction. 

What happened shouldn't be possible. 

And yet, it was. 

A few students are staring at me as they start to jog for the bleachers, like they almost want to get away from me. I look around to realize that I am the sole person left on the field.

They're afraid of me, I realize and triumph burns hotly in my veins.

I hold my head high as I walk for the bleachers and return to my seat where Tessa, Astrid, and Luke watch me with wide eyes. Several people sitting near us are speaking in hushed voices, their eyes darting to and away from me. Luke leans forward to say something, his fox familiar, Robin, is curled on his lap and twists to stare at me with golden eyes. Robin's whiskers flare forward as he eagerly snuffles my hands and bares his fangs in a greeting while his tail flaps nervously. 

"What did you do-?" Luke starts to ask. 

But he is quickly interrupted when Headmaster Hallewell makes an announcement, the feedback from the microphone momentarily making the speakers squawk. Several people clap their hands over their ears at the sound before the headmaster gets it back under control. 

"Now that that is over with, I am pleased to introduce our students to the Draconic legion!" he interrupts hastily. "Blaize Graeme, please report to center field and summon your familiar!" 

I have an ability that was thought to be a myth, shouldn't there be some sort of announcement? I wonder silently to myself.

Tessa side-eyes me like she can't believe what just happened either. 

This is strange. 

A few, hesitant cheers and claps rise from the students. Someone stands up from several sections over and the cheers intensify. It's a boy who looks to be a few years older than me. Even from far away I can see that his eyes are a brilliant shade of gold, which makes his tanned skin-tone look even darker. His hair is dark and tufted as he runs a hand over the top of his head and begins to descend the bleachers.

"He's pretty, don't you think?" Tessa says as she nudges me with her shoulder. 

A rumbling, pounding rhythm makes the bleachers shake as the students recover from their shock and start to stomp in unison, as does Tessa and Luke. Astrid is busy browsing through her phone as she gnaws on the corner of her lip. She only glances up to look at Blaize once as he steps down the last set of stairs to jog for the center of the field. 

A hush settles over the crowd as the young man, as I could hardly call him a boy, claps his hands together once. Even from my place in the bleachers I can hear the clap as lightning sizzles across his palms and spouts off several feet in different directions.

He's an Electrokinetic, a manipulator of lightning and he's putting on a show.

A riot of cheers fills the bleachers and the roar is matched by a bestial one as a large, orange dragon the size of an SUV flickers to life. The beast stands on its muscled hind legs like it's posing for a moment to reveal its white-scaled underbelly before it slams downwards to make the ground shake. The dragon scans the bleachers with wide, blue eyes and Astrid snorts as she looks up from her phone.

"It looks like a Charizard," she cackles and I can't help but agree with her as I look at the dragon more closely.

"Too bad his master's name isn't Ash," I retort and she shoots me a grin. 

"Finn Delacroix, please enter the field," Headmaster Hallewell announces and a slight, blonde-haired boy quickly heads down to the field.

The thundering in the stands continue as I can't help but join in. I've yet to see many other familiars besides my parents and there is a singing in my veins that tells me I am finally home. This is where I belong, rather than the mortal realm. 

Among my kind. 

There's a flash, like a camera has taken a picture, which is followed by a flicker of grey as a dark scaled dragon appears from a puff of smoke. Its eyes are an unsettling shade of white as a forked tongue flickers from its mouth, like a snake testing the air. There are slightly less cheers and I can sense that he may not be a favorite of the crowd. But this doesn't seem to affect him as he stands up straighter, puffing out his chest as he gazes up at the crowd with a challenge in his eyes.

Behind him, his dragon rears on its hind legs to let out a bellowing roar that thrums in my chest. Something within me wishes to reach out to it, sensing the power and energy within and I find myself coiling away. 

Is this what my power does to me? 

Something different is stirring under my skin, a different sort of power that I've never felt before. For a moment, I can't hear the other cheers as I find myself lost in thought. 

How will I ever tell my parents about this?

"Violetta Grimsbane," the headmaster announces at last, snapping me out of my thoughts.

A girl of Asian descent stands several sections away before she marches down to the field, her short hair swishing around her face. Her back is straight and her shoulders are drawn back as she heads out to the field. I pause for a moment, carefully holding my breath as I feel a surge in her energy. From a burst of white light, she summons a black dragon with wide, green eyes that shimmer in the sunlight.

Violetta drops her hands and pivots on her heel, zipping the jacket of her coat up close to herself as she catches my gaze. She holds it for only a moment before she looks away. 

Everyone is watching you. You've caught a lot of eyes today. 

The three students face the crowd expectantly before the headmaster speaks again.

"Riders, mount up," he booms, "and let the tournament begin."