Academy of Elements: Earth

Chapter 26: Flowering Feelings

The days pass slowly, classes like an eternity, and free time mere seconds. Again, being in a constant state of sleep deprivation had started again. Falling asleep around 12:00 and waking up at 5:00 was having its effects. Nora and I had started to get coffee before bed, storing it in the small mini fridge in my room. Ever since we had gotten back she had been staying in my room, the two of us curled up in the bed sleeping soundly. She kept the nightmares away.

Duels would be starting up again in two weeks, not that I was particularly excited to start working with the dysfunctional team. In some way's the group now consisting of Leo, Cassian, Chelsea, Mackenzie, and a new member Jessie who would be replacing Cassia after she had broken her leg over the break skying, was very similar to the Gifted Six when we had first started out.

Brennen and I had feuded, our love for Ella as strong as our hatred towards each other. Then I had kissed Rose after Ella dumped Brennen for me, and the group was split in two. Brennen, and I, and Ella and Aira; Haley and Denen both keeping out of the drama. Thinking about it now I don't think we had become family until the second year at the Academy

I had tried to stay away from John during the week, though I doubted he meant it, what he had said last Monday had been flirtatious and if he continued I'd have to tell him to stop. He had a girlfriend and so did I.

Nora sucks on a tooth staring out into the inky sky, the first hours of Thursday of complete darkness.

"So there's an Affilatorian Gem somewhere on this island?" She queries looking to me.

I nod. "I mean it could be anywhere." She sighs. I had told her that it was hidden in Herta Cavahr the prison for psychopaths and madmen like Adornaz before it had been transformed into Herta Macer, the school. "The entire school has renovated and redone multiple times since the fall of Herta Cavahr if it's in a piece of jewelry for all we know some random person in Cancun is going to their quinceañera with it on their heads."

"I don't think." I shake my head. "Sometime within the thousands of years a Magic user would have come in contact with it and be killed."

She bites her lip nodding. "So it has to be here somewhere..." I watch her as she thinks. "I mean my first thought of where it would be is in the tunnel systems but I know almost all of them and they either loop into cave systems or to the outside world."

"I don't know," I admit. "It's been forgotten for thousands of years it isn't going to be somewhere obvious or anywhere in the building."

"What about the second mountain?" Nora asks.

"It's new, mainly just helicopters and boats along with food storage and weapons."

We sit there in silence for minutes before she rests her head on my shoulder.

"I'm tired." She mutters. I nod in understanding, helping her from the ground. We sneak back to my room quietly, nobody in the courtyard to see us sneak out from behind the tapestry on the wall.

I close the door to my room taking off all my clothes but underwear, Nora pulling on one of my t-shirts which fits on her more like a skirt than a shirt. She slides into bed and I wrap my arms around her breath peaceful, calm, as she drifts into sleep, the glowing crystals through the window glowing like stars.