Together we fall

01 | Ember

Ember stared at her reflection in the glimmering mirror spanning the wall. The reflective glass took up nearly a quarter of her ginormous bedroom, but she rarely used it. She didn't care much about her looks, other than her morning routine of making sure her Foxfire uniform wasn't wrinkled and her hair wasn't tangled.

But today, Ember wasn't required to wear her ugly Mastodon uniform. It was the day of mid-terms, and the council had allowed them to wear whatever they wished to.

As much as she despised her Foxfire uniform, she was starting to wish she could wear it. The pleated skirt and half cape paled in comparison to her present attire, but that was her very intention.

She tugged on the sleeves of her frilly light blue dress, wondering if she should change. She didn't dress formally often, but her mother had insisted. Plus, she'd been told the gown matched her striking ice blue eyes.

Though at the moment, they were clouded, fogged by worry and anxiety that seemed to drift over her irises like a puff of smoke. On a normal day her eyes were clear and bright, exactly the same color as her father's, only missing the twinkle of snark that shone in his.

She wished she could be as happy as he was.

She slowly took a brush through her wavy blond hair, her fingers shaking slightly. She had to grip the comb with both hands to ensure she wouldn't drop it into the fluffy carpet.

But her fingers still managed to tremble.

The truth was, Ember was terrified for mid-terms. Last year—as a level two—she'd barely passed. She'd had her mother's old Alchemy teacher, Lady Galvin, and she was really tough on her. Apparently her mom had blown up her cape a couple decades ago, and she was still bitter about it.

Ember was determined to do her best this year, but she had no idea if it would be enough. She'd been struggling in Elementalism, and even worse in multispeciesial studies . . .

"Man, that's a lot of worry you're throwing at me," a deep voice said behind her.

She turned to see Ace, her twin brother, who was fanning the air as if trying to wave away a stench. He'd manifested as an empath nearly 4 years ago, at the age of only ten. Now, at 14, he'd also manifested as an enhancer, one of the rarest abilities out there, and a power he shared with their mom.

Ace had also inherited their mother's beautiful brown eyes—something Ember had always been jealous of—and had the same tousled blond hair as their father. He had the same personality as their dad as well, always teasing and pranking everyone—especially her.

He was wearing a dark blue jerkin and his trademark smirk. But it faded a little when he saw her face. "What's wrong?"

Ember kicked the soft gray carpet with her jeweled sapphire flats, despising the sparkly shoes. "I'm just worried I won't pass," she said quietly.

"Hey," he said, concern etched across his features, "You're going to pass. I know it."

"No you don't," Ember mumbled, turning back to the mirror.

"Yeah, I do!" Ace said, feigning exasperation. "Mid-terms are easy!"

"Maybe for you," Ember shot back.

Ace was a complete smart-Alec, easily topping all his classes without even studying. He had a photographic memory—like their parents—and was naturally intelligent.

Ember always wondered how she didn't inherit any of her mother's smarts, or her father's for that matter. Her memory was not photographic—as a matter of fact, her memory was terrible. She hadn't even manifested an ability yet, which was awful, considering she was 14 years old, and nearly out of manifesting range.