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Glimmering Prison

EMILIA

T he Elemental Sphere was packed with both Luna and Veneficus students when I arrived—late. It was nothing new for all eyes to be on me. What was completely foreign, however, was how they were looking at me. They weren’t the judgmental and slightly sympathetic gawks I had become accustomed to. Instead, I was showered with gazes that were bright with marvel, inspiration, and desire. The whispers that broke out around me were upbeat and curious. Their attention raked me up and down, devouring my new look with an insatiable hunger that felt like teeth sinking into my skin.

It was the way they used to look at my sister.

Two people were already in the ring, and the duel was about to begin. My heart skipped a beat when I saw it was Destiny, facing off with a male opponent double her size who looked ready to eat her alive.

Her gaze snagged on me and her expression instantly soured. Her mouth twisted when she studied my new leathers. Instantly, her eyes darted to where Venus was standing, putting two and two together.

Get over it, I thought, startling myself with my lack of care.

Venus didn’t notice the daggers shooting from Destiny’s glare. She was looking at me.

My cheeks heated.

I should have just fucking skipped.

“Hey,” a soft voice cooed, drawing my attention.

“Faye!” Goddess, I had never been so happy to see her. Her blonde hair was glowing like a halo under the sunlight pouring through the translucent Sphere. She smiled at me, so warm and genuine.

Then her eyes fell to my collarbone and my new tattoos. The flash of hurt in her eyes was fleeting, but I saw it. Instinctively, she glanced across the Sphere to Venus. When she looked back at me, guilt welled up my throat.

But Faye, ever gracious, smiled. “You look marvelous, Emilia.”

“Thanks, Faye,” I managed.

“No. Like, seriously. I feel like I’m seeing you for the first time.”

I couldn’t help myself. I hugged her. Her wonderful, herbal scent consumed my senses, giving me a sense of nostalgia that could have made me weep. She embraced me back immediately, giggling. “I miss you,” she whispered into my hair. “I’m so sorry about everything. Honestly…” We pulled apart a little, and she turned her head to make sure Destiny couldn’t see her face. “I’m getting tired of her shit. I don’t know what’s wrong with her lately. She’s like a completely different person.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I murmured. “But I miss you too. I wish Destiny would get over it. I don’t even know what her problem is!”

“We can talk later,” Faye said, looking back at the ring, where Destiny was about to duel.

We’d distracted her, though. She was busy glaring at us with the wrath of a thousand suns when the Fire Priestess announced the start of the duel. Her opponent struck first, immediately getting the upper hand by casting a cyclone of wind that picked her up and whirled her around violently. When it spat her out, she was disoriented, shooting flames absently, missing him.

Shit.

And as she got her ass handed to her, my first instinct was to feel guilty. But then I thought: how is this my fault? Destiny had chosen to create a rift between us because she didn’t approve of how I was choosing to try and get my sister back. She should have been supportive of me through all of this. Instead, she’d insulted my judgment, given me ultimatums, and abandoned me when I didn’t oblige her.

When her duel ended with her on the ground struggling to breathe, I felt no remorse. Maybe it would knock some fucking sense into her.

The Fire Priestess announced her opponent, a guy called Markus, as the winner. The boys cheered for him while the girls booed.

“Michael’s coming over here,” Faye whispered in my ear.

Somehow, I knew exactly where to look. People parted for him as he made his way through the crowd to me. The sunlight on his hair made it a warm, chestnut brown. His lip ring glimmered. The Elemental Sphere had a way of casting people in the most heavenly light. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was a Celestial. He was just as ethereal as everyone else here—if not more.

I glanced over at Faye, but she was gone.

“Emilia.”

Goddess. Would hearing my name wrapped in his accent ever not make my heart stutter?

I dared to meet his eyes. “Hey.”

He took his place beside me, his staff in front of him, his hands folded over the top of it. “Every time I see you, you look like a different person.”

A barking laugh escaped my lips.

“This new look is…” He trailed off, his gaze igniting with heat. He tried to blink it away but the fire wouldn’t go out. He leaned in closer as he whispered, “You are absolutely lethal.”

A traffic jam of words got stuck in my throat, but none of them made it out. I gave some kind of scoff which just sounded like I was choking. I trained my eyes back on the elemental ring, unable to stop the smirk from curving my lips.

“The other night was a fucking dumpster fire,” he griped. “You didn’t need to see all that. I should have never given you that potion.”

The visual of my sister hot and heavy between two psychotic brothers ambushed my mind. I shut my eyes and willed it away. “It’s not your fault,” I muttered.

“Yes, it was. I summoned you. I—”

“Honestly, Michael, it’s not. I didn’t even drink the potion.”

“You didn’t?”

“No.”

“So you…were lucid on your own.”

I shrugged. “I guess.”

Michael glared at the side of my face. In my peripheral vision, I saw his mouth open to speak, but a different voice rang through the Sphere.

“Emilia Morningstar!”

My spine went rigid.

Jasper Lovett bounded into the Elemental Ring, sunlight turning his blond hair white. His eyes feasted upon me from across the room. He pointed his staff at me and shouted, “I want a rematch!”

Murmurs rippled through the Sphere.

A rematch? The guy had won our last match!

I glanced at Michael, my heart pounding. To my surprise, he smirked. Leaned closer and whispered, “Go put him on his ass.”

“I’ll allow it!” the Fire Priestess called. “Emilia Morningstar, get up here.”

People parted for me as I made my way forward. I swallowed the stone in my throat, channeling the confidence bestowed upon me by my new look.

Jasper licked his lips as I ducked through the rings and took my place in front of him. His eyes roved over me, his pupils expanding.

My sister’s constellation beamed down on us.

“Emilia,” the Fire Priestess snapped, drawing my attention at once. Her eyes were severe. “If you pull the same stunt as last time, you’ll be in this ring all night. The match does not end until you give your all.”

My face and neck drained of warmth.

I glanced back at Jasper, who sneered at me as he summoned flames over the crystal at the tip of his staff.

“Let the duel begin!” the Priestess declared.

Just like last time, Jasper didn’t wait a second. Fire balls hurled at my face, and I dodged quickly, the heat of them singing the edges of my hair.

“No, no, no,” Jasper taunted, moving closer to me, his blue eyes teeming with malice. “You’re not gonna pull this shit again.” His voice was hushed. “You know why?”

I didn’t oblige him. I dodged another fireball, never taking my eyes off of him.

“Because I saw your sister.”

My guts plummeted out of my body. My hands and arms froze over.

This elated him. His sneer stretched like the Joker’s. “That’s right! And guess what? She’s just as fucking evil and disgusting as they’re saying she is. I know you’re trying to clear her name, but it’s a waste of time. She almost killed me. Stole from me. She is exactly what they—”

A burst of icy power jumped from my chest and smacked into Jasper, sending him backward.

But his fall was halted by the frozen mass of crackling, tinkling magic that started in his middle and grew every which way. He was yelling and trying to combat my power with his fire. My magic doused his attempts effortlessly, the fire over his staff going out with a loud hiss as my ice devoured it.

Jasper Lovett was now a human ice sculpture, frozen in a defensive stance, his useless staff pointed furiously at me.

His blue eyes were wide with terror and unable to blink inside his new glimmering prison.

Pitiful sparks attempted to ignite from his staff, but it was like watching someone trying to light a lighter that had just been sitting at the bottom of a lake.

I cocked my head to the side, admiring my work as my chest rose and fell.

The Sphere was dead silent.

My fingers twitched. One minor flick of my wrist and I could shatter the ice into a thousand fucking pieces and it would be goodnight forever.

The way I yearned to give in to that temptation was terrifying.

“Okay…” The Fire Priestess’s voice shattered the pregnant silence. “That was…Okay. Good. The winner is Emilia Morningstar. Well done.”

She stepped into the ring and cast her fire over Jasper, melting away my magic and freeing him all too soon.

I was already out of the ring and strutting away, not bothering to catch a glimpse of the look on his face in the wake of his loss.

Warm, tingly energy coursed through me. I held my head high, every cell in my body vibrating with power.

I won.

Michael had that same damn smirk, so beautiful and proud it winded me. He fell into step beside me as we made our way toward the exit of the Sphere.

Amid the hundreds of eyes glued on me, I felt a magnetic sensation. Before I even glanced in its direction, I knew it would be Venus. She watched me from in the crowd, Bianca and Cassi standing on either side of her. Her eyes were intense with something I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

“Emilia!”

I turned toward the new voice. It was that girl—that blonde girl who had given me the “we believe you” note. With her friends at her back, she beamed at me. “That was so awesome! Jasper Lovett hasn’t been defeated in, like, two years! Oh, and you look amazing, by the way. Love the new look.”

“Oh… Thank you.” My tone came out more clipped than I’d intended.

“There’s a party tonight downtown. You have to come! Everyone’s going to be there.”

I stared at her, confused.

“You can get ready with us in my room tonight if you want? I’m Halo, by the way. These are my friends. Kiara, Nova, and Lux.”

Again, I just stared. They hung there, their faces hopeful.

Were my days of being a social pariah truly over?

“Thanks,” I muttered, finally. I wanted them to go away, so I appeased them with, “I might be there.”

“Awesome!” Halo gave me directions to her room before they scurried off.

Michael was smirking when I looked back at him, gobsmacked. “That was fucking weird.”

“No, it wasn’t,” he quipped. “It was only a matter of time.”

“Before what?”

“Before they finally caved to your magnetic charm. You’re going to be fighting them off in droves now.”

I smacked him. “Stop.”

“Your new look, your celebrity best friend… What did you think was going to happen, Emilia?”

“Venus is not my best friend,” I insisted, wondering why those words made the back of my neck heat up.

“What is she, then?”

I glanced back her way, my heart tumbling when I found her eyes on me. “I—”

“Emilia,” a warm, serene voice called. I turned to find the Luminary standing in the entrance of the Sphere. “Please come with me.” She glanced at Michael and then added, “Alone.”