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At last, everyone spun and took note of their surroundings—of what I did. How I managed to do it with my bracelet intact, I didn’t understand, but I couldn’t think about that now. I had to help the princess. Jacob was the first to scream, followed by the rest before all the kids took off in a sprint toward the heavy double doors. I couldn’t help the twitch of my lips as I watched them pile inside, fighting one another to squeeze through.

The little princess sat up on her elbows, her gaze landing on me in confusion. Her sun-kissed skin clashed with her glamoured, frosty white hair. Wet, dirty tracks streaked down her cheeks, but she looked at me in unity before squinting her eyes to assess me.

“Are you okay?” I asked, my jaw clenched. I skimmed my gaze over her petite frame for visible injuries. With the bullies gone, my magic eased and settled once again. Still, I worked to control the rise and fall of my chest.

“Yeah,” the princess said, then glanced around the deserted playground. “Wh…where’d they go?” Her face contorted into one of pain as she struggled to swallow.

“They left,” I said and moved to stand at her feet. I squatted down so we were at eye level. “Next time, I’ll beat their ass.” A vow. To protect the Kinetic Princess.

Princess Gray giggled at my use of bad words. The giggle transformed into a groan, eliciting her to hug her ribcage. On instinct, I reached for her, but she shooed me away. “I’m fine. Not a big deal.”

My brows pinched together as I studied the area she nursed on her ribs. Anger rioted inside me at the thought there might be more behind her injuries than the bullies, but I kept my suspicions to myself. I knew all too well how it went.

Her pale blue eyes met my own, and a silent understanding passed between us. A relieved sigh poured from her, and her look of gratitude struck me deeper than expected before she dropped her gaze.

At last, she pushed herself into a sitting position, propping up her legs and resting her forearms on her knees. I averted my eyes because it seemed she was either completely oblivious to the fact she wore a pleated skirt or just didn’t care. But I noted the blue and green bruises painting the skin along her legs.

Gray glanced around, startled by the twisted monkey bars. Her mouth gaped wider with each structure her gaze landed on. “How?” she whispered.

I lowered my chin to my chest as the heat wave of shame spread up my neck and face. “I…my magic just awakened a few days ago,” I mumbled with a small shrug.

Silence grew, strengthening the tension to the point I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes in fear of what I’d find. Finally, she said, “But…we’re not supposed to awaken it until…”

“We’re thirteen. I know,” I sighed, daring a glance at her.

Her eyes lit up before her features fell in realization. The only time children awakened their magic sooner than they were supposed to was when they were put under duress. It was their magic’s form of protection.

The princess reached toward me, placing a delicate hand on my forearm. “Hey, it’s…” At the contact with her skin, an electrifying jolt of energy shot through my body, starting at the point of contact. It felt as if lightning struck from within me, locking me to my spot. My element converged with the foreign force, swelling into something far too powerful for my premature body to contain.

By the look of the Kinetic Princess, she felt the same.

A gust of wind built and built and built until it whipped around the two of us at wild, rapid speeds. Grains of sand bit my flesh in its assault. The familiar flavor of metal overtook my senses while high-voltage lightning charged through every fabric of my being. Through our contact, invisible pulsing waves channeled from her body into mine. It was too much.

The foreign melding of forces felt like I had reconnected with long-lost friends despite its volatile nature. The energies continued to intensify to the point I thought our little hearts would burst.

I remained glued to my squatted position as my heart thumped erratically in my chest, panic seizing me in its grasp as I stared into the princess’sterrified eyes. The intensity of the phenomenon soared higher. I couldn’t breathe, sparking a fog of vertigo that threatened unconsciousness.

As my eyes began to droop, the powerful forces ripped apart from one another, resulting in a blast that propelled the Kinetic princess and me apart. The expulsion shot me backward, where I wheeled through the air several feet before crashing to my back in the sand. I tried to gasp for breath, but nothing came from the impact. Despite having the air knocked from my lungs, my training kicked in, and I sprung to my feet from my back, scanning the playground for the threat in a defensive stance.

A whimper across the playground snapped my attention to the princess, who struggled to get off the ground. Her sudden lack of bruises gave me pause. Only the power of our magic can heal wounds that quickly. Yet, her magic hadn’t awakened. So, how?

The princess stood on shaky legs, wiping the sand from her navy school uniform. She started at the thunderous boom caused by the heavy metal doors slamming into the brick wall at her back. Teachers and the headmistress stepped from the threshold. Panic dripped from their forlorn expressions as they assessed the playground’s wreckage before three male faculty members rushed toward us.

I knew what fate had in store for me, so I’d confess to everything to shield the princess from any blame. No doubt, the headmistress had knowledge that a few students weren’t human. I’m sure the Elemental and Kinetic leaders pulled some strings and ensured her silence, but I could only imagine that it came with strict conditions—conditions that I undoubtedly just broke.

A heavy, sinking feeling latched onto my chest and seemed to pull it to the depths of my stomach. A vision of my forthcoming punishment had me casting my eyes down to my feet.

I didn’t fight as two pairs of hands wrapped around my upper arms. Silver lined the little princess’s eyes with unshed tears. Her frightened expression told me she knew what my future held. Holding her gaze, a whispered “Goodbye” tumbled from my lips as the male administrator yanked my arms and roughly guided me to the headmistress’s office to face the music.

Gray and I walked in tension-filled silence. She tried to quiet her footsteps through the leaves, but somehow, she hadn’t quite figured out how to mute them altogether. Shouldn’t her father have ensured this as part of her training as an assassin? It didn’t make sense.

“Walk any louder, and you’re going to attract the entire Royal fucking Domain to our location, Princess,” I snapped.

A combination of conflicting emotions warred within me at the recent revelation. I was relieved to have a vital memory back, but it only raised more questions. At least I understoodwhyshe seemed familiar to me. It didn’t, however, answer why she didn’t appear to remember me, or why I felt this compulsion to protect her…or why her presence seemed to chase away the darkness.

Gray hitched her bag to adjust it higher on her shoulder. “You need to humble yourself…Prince.”

“Don’t call me that, considering the Elemental Kingdom fell at the hands of your father.”