Page 10 of Stormbringer (Tracthesian Academy #1)

M aybe Wave hadn’t truly appreciated what kind of interest the Powerhouses garnered in Tracthesian Academy. Her new girl status had slowly started to wane after the first couple of days. Now it renewed with vengeance.

Whispers followed her everywhere she went.

Someone was always introducing themselves to her and trying to pry some information out of her.

It took less than a day for invites to start pouring in: parties, study groups, luncheons, and brunches.

She politely refused all of them, not interested in the least in being the circus clown that everyone stared at.

There was nothing she could do about the rumors, but she could stay out of their sight outside of class.

In her Astrology and Magical Fluctuations class, Tulias bombarded her with questions, but somehow managed not to irritate Wave. And she hoarded Wave’s attention to the point that no one else could really get a word in edgewise.

During lunch, Salis usually hung out with her, providing another buffer.

She actually liked his company, and today she needed it even more than usual.

She would have to face Jarred later for her tutoring session.

Gods. What had she been thinking before?

She needed to work with the man, not just ogle his ass in class.

And there absolutely was no reason for her to make sure her contraception shot was up to date. None. She wasn’t going to jump into bed with anyone, much less her tutor. At least she didn’t need to worry about STDs and condoms like with humans. Why was she thinking about any of this?

“Just so you know, you are the new it-girl of the season,” Salis said as he dropped his tray next to hers. They’d avoided Grand Hall after the incident, but Wave didn’t have any complaints about food in the other halls.

“What?”

“You are the it-girl,” Salis repeated and then stuffed some pasta into his mouth like he had never seen food before.

“No, I’m not.”

“Oh, don’t play coy now, new girl,” said another voice, and Wave glanced up.

“Alice, right?” Wave asked.

The girl smiled. “Angie,” she corrected her easily. “May I join you?”

“Sure,” Salis spoke quickly. Wave glanced at him and then at Angie. Salis gave her a pleading look.

“Of course,” Wave added when it became clear that Angie was waiting for her invitation.

“Angel here is correct. You are the season’s it-girl,” Angie said, sitting down. She had a tiny salad on her plate that made Wave feel hangry just looking at it.

“That can’t be,” she argued and then stole some pasta from Salis’s plate. Her own was fae mushroom, but his Deep Sea scallop version looked delicious.

“Hey,” Salis protested and stole some of her pasta in return. “Damn, this is good.”

“Trade?”

“Sure.”

Angie looked at them a bit weirdly when they swapped plates. “Are you two, like a couple or something?”

Wave shook her head empathetically. “Heaven’s no. He’s way too good for me.”

“I’m no—” Salis cut off when Wave kicked him under the table.

“I find that hard to believe,” Angie said a bit tightly. “You are smart enough to have a full scholarship, pretty enough to have half of the campus drooling after you. And did I hear right, that you kissed a Powerhouse and they didn’t smite you down?”

Wave groaned. “Why’s everyone stuck on that single deed? We all make bad decisions sometimes.”

“I could be your good decision,” a voice said behind her, and Angie’s eyes rounded comically.

“Whoever you are, go away. I’m not interested,” Wave groaned without turning around.

“Now, little bird, you wound me,” the voice continued. Now Wave tilted her head and glared over her shoulder.

“Uh-huh.” She met Hellion’s sparkling gaze, and her glare melted away into a grin, she just couldn’t help it.

Something was seriously wrong with her, her hormones, her powers, with everything.

There was no other explanation than a brain tumor for her behavior around these males.

Or the crap that spewed out of her mouth.

“I have to confess, I’m not much of a nurse, but I could be persuaded to kiss your boo-boo’s away. ”

“See, that wasn’t so hard, now, was it?” He grinned.

“No, which tells me you’d be a bad decision too.” Shut up, Wave. Just close your mouth and pray for the ground to swallow you. Her siren side disagreed with that option, and her stormbringer side wasn’t helping. Basically, all of her had decided to get laid, with no input from her.

“Why don’t you try and see?”

Wave narrowed her eyes. “You guys have a bet or something going on?” That would explain why several of the most famous and powerful males kept popping up around her.

“Would it bother you if we did?” Hellion looked unrepentant. Wave discovered that she, in fact, didn’t care. Much. Or at least not in a way that was expected. She looked around to see if there were any other Powerhouses around and noticed Zahir and Xuan hanging back, laughing.

“Who’s in it?”

“I can’t really divulge the details,” Hellion said primly.

“And what is the bet about?” Salis, the angel that he was, jumped in to help her. Hellion glanced at him suspiciously.

“Is the angel your boyfriend?” He didn’t sound happy about that.

“I just asked the same,” Angie piped up.

Wave ignored her. For some reason, she didn’t get the fuzzy warm vibes from Angie anymore. She focused on Hellion and narrowed her eyes. “His name is Salis, and what if he was?”

“Then I would feel like an ass for doing this.”

One moment, Wave was sitting comfortably, and the next, strong hands wrapped around her waist and lifted her up. Hellion, the bastard, actually threw her into the air. He added a twist and made sure she flew high enough that she had time to squeal.

Wave was prepared to land and absorb the damage, but those same strong hands caught her easily. Hellion smirked when their noses bumped, and Wave’s hands twined around his neck on their own volition.

“So, is he your boyfriend or not?”

Wave hadn’t really gotten her air back, so mutely, she just shook her head.

“Good.” That was all Hellion said before his lips crushed into hers. Where Jarred’s touch poured heat into her every cell, Hellion’s lips on hers felt like currents of power, all tingly and fierce.

His tongue teased her lips apart and slipped into her mouth, further making sure she couldn’t catch her breath. Vaguely, Wave was aware they were making a spectacle of themselves. She just couldn’t make herself care about it enough to pull away.

Moaning softly, she leaned in and demanded more. A feeling of danger brushed the back of her mind, but she was too far gone to care about that. If Hellion felt like this through three layers of shields, what would he feel like when she held none?

Wind whipped her hair around, and some gasps were loud enough that they finally broke through her lusty haze. Blinking, she pulled back just enough to leave a breath of air between their lips, and only then did the howling wind register to her.

Shit. She needed to get her feelings under control. Now.

“That was some kiss, little bird,” Hellion murmured. “It should guarantee the pot to me.”

His words were like cold water down her back. Disgusted with herself, Wave pulled back more and struggled to be let down. She had let herself be swept away and risked more attention and slip in her powers, while he was just trying to win a bet.

The stupid bet shouldn’t bother her. It hadn’t until he’d kissed her self-control away.

That was the part that truly chilled her blood.

She could joke all she wanted about getting laid and losing her marbles around these males, but she couldn’t afford to lose her control and slip.

What if it had been her siren powers that leaked out and not her stormbringer as wind?

“Put me down,” she demanded. When he didn’t release his hold, her throat threatened to close up. Wave bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, trying to stay in the present. He wasn’t threatening her. It was just a joke, a bet, nothing more.

No one was looping chains around her neck.

The taste of blood didn’t help her focus, but Wave forced herself to swallow and breathe in deep.

She needed to focus; she had to dispel the wind.

It took effort, but she managed to release the wind like it had just been a random gust made from cross-breeze.

The chances that no one had noticed were slim, but she did her best.

“Wayla,” Hellion tried, but Wave shook her head.

“You had your fun. Now put me down.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he grumbled.

Wave wasn’t interested in listening, she had to get away from him.

She called a light layer of water over her palm and froze it.

When Hellion still didn’t release her, she pushed her hand against his throat and pushed.

Hard. The cold jolted him enough that his grip loosened, and Wave wriggled free.

She took a step away, rubbed her wrists, and glared at him, well aware that all eyes were trained on them.

“Find someone else to toy with,” she hissed quietly.

She really needed to put distance between him and whatever mess he was causing to her insides.

He made her lose control, and that wasn’t an option.

“I’m not interested,” she added and wiped her hand over her mouth, trying to wipe away the blood and the tingling feeling still coursing over her skin.

Something dark flashed in Hellion’s eyes. “So, it’s all right for you to throw yourself at Jarred, but you think you can ignore me? He’s not the most powerful of us.” His words were low and menacing.

“Us?” The word escaped before her brain caught up with her mouth. Right, Powerhouses . She shook her head, disappointed. “I couldn’t care less who you think you are,” she said and turned on her heel and marched away, leaving a gaping Angie and a worried-looking Salis behind.