Page 8 of Stormbringer (Tracthesian Academy #1)

“Neat. I can barely levitate a grain of sand, if that helps you any.”

“You’re kidding?” Salis’ eyes were round with disbelief. “You almost gave Elisa a run for her money over there, and trust me, she’s not used to competing like that.”

“Uh…”

“Tell me what else you suck at. Just to stroke my ego, you know,” Salis hurried to say, when he noticed her face blanch.

“Fire,” Wave confessed.

“Can’t help you there, little one. But I promise to tutor you on earth if you help me with electricity?”

“You have a deal.”

Salis led her through the hallways to the courtyard and guided her to the Grand Hall.

It was aptly named. The whole place brought to mind a church more than a cafeteria.

Stone columns arched up the sides of the room, and stained-glass windows filtered in light.

These didn’t depict saints, though. Wave peered closer and realized every glass had a team made of one of the realms.

Before she could get too wrapped up in the architecture, Salis tugged her forward, and Wave swiped her card at the machine. Once she got past her ogling, the place looked more normal. It had tables, chairs, several counters for food, and basically everything a functioning cafeteria needed.

“So, lay of the land,” Salis said, tugging her a bit aside so they wouldn’t block the flow of people.

“Earth food,” he said, pointing at the biggest line.

“Hell Realm stuff that burns your gut.” He pointed at another counter.

“Heaven,” he said and shuddered. “Bland if you ask me. It just doesn’t taste the same here. ”

“Realm transferring ingredients?” Wave asked.

“Yeah. It just loses something. Anyways. Then there are the fae realm goodies. Goes to my head, but usually it’s worth it.”

“Do they have the feyling bread?” Wave asked, saliva pooling into her mouth.

“I have no idea what that is, but you can ask.”

“And what’s that?” Wave pointed at the last counter at the back of the room.

“Miscellaneous. Grand Hall caters to the biggest realms, and that’s the random assortments corner.”

“Oh, okay.”

“So, what would you like?”

“Let’s start with earth food today?”

“Sure thing.” Salis guided her into a line, and Wave picked some Parmesan fries to go with her chicken burger and salad. “Woman after my own heart,” Salis said, as he piled double the amount of fries into his own plate.

“I see a place there,” Wave said once they had trays full of food. They made their way to an empty table and sat down. Wave was just about to take a bite when Salis gasped.

“No way!”

“What?”

“Wayla darling, you are going to witness a tremendous event. All twelve of the Powerhouses at once.” Salis quickly glanced at her. “Please tell me you know who the Powerhouses are?”

“I’ve heard the term once or twice, but feel free to fill me in,” she said and set her burger down. If the rest of them measured up to the first three she had seen, then common sense dictated that there was nothing she could choke on in her mouth.

“Okay, at least you’ve heard of them,” Salis sighed dramatically. “So, they formed their group partly before coming to Tracthesian, but they really banded together after they moved to that house.”

“The Powerhouse,” Wave commented and barely suppressed her urge to roll her eyes.

“Yeah. Not the best of names, but it gets the point across,” Salis said. “Anyway, they rule like royalty because in most cases, they are just that. Or just fucking powerful. And there’s always an endless line of both males and females throwing themselves at them.”

“I heard something about them being the kiss-and-tell type.”

Salis laughed softly. “Not likely. More like anyone who managed to snatch any of them, even for a night, tends to shout it from the rooftops. And then there are the incubi, of course. You know how they tend to be.”

“They need to eat,” Wave said, a bit too tightly, feeling defensive. Incubi and succubae tend to get some of the same crap over manipulation as sirens. Just not to the deadly degree. Salis glanced at her but didn’t comment further.

“Right. Well, since everyone is staring at them now, feel free to do the same,” he said.

Wave debated ignoring the invitation, but it would be good to at least know the faces of the power players in the area. Slowly, she twisted in her seat and was thankful for her decision to set her burger down. It wasn’t possible that there were so many demi-gods in one place at once… Was it?

“I’ll give you the rest of the tea later,” Salis said with a grin, as excited by the sight of them as the woman she had met on her first day.

“Uh-huh,” Wave hummed, unable to tear her gaze away.

“So, the first one is Marc, he’s specialized in combat and shields,” Salis says.

Wave looked over at the man who was as wide as a barn door and made of muscle.

He had closely cropped hair that looked black in this light.

Next to him was another man, also made of muscle but not as wide, and he was taller than Marc.

Both of them looked like they spent time in the sun, but Wave couldn’t pick up anything else. They just looked human.

“What is he?”

“A mage. So is the shaved dude next to him, Grant. He’s rumored to be the oldest of the bunch.”

“Rumored?”

“Well, no one really knows how old they are.”

“Right, mages,” Wave said. Mages aged like humans until their twenties or thirties and then slowed down drastically. Since both Marc and Grant looked to be in their late twenties, it was impossible to know for certain.

“Yep. Both of them teach the combat classes.”

“Okay. And the dark lord?” Wave asked while looking at a handsome black male with black hair and black clothes. Next to him was a white male with very blond hair, pale eyes, and white clothes.

Salis almost choked. “That’s Simeon. And the white lord next to him is Ilijas. Then there are the beast twins, Jarred and Justin. Justin is the blond one.”

Jarred had a twin? Well, damn. Wave barely kept herself in check.

Justin was a perfect counterpart to Jarred’s dark glare and brooding disposition.

He was laughing and joking with Ilijas while his blond hair shone and light brown eyes sparkled even from this distance.

Even his skin was a few tones lighter than Jarred’s.

Still, Wave felt the tug at the bottom of her stomach when she looked at Jarred. The heat of his touch still lingered on her arm. For a second, she had the crazy urge to splash him again.

“Then there’s the demon duo,” Salis continued eagerly. “Hazard, well, Balthazar, but no one calls him that. He’s the one with black eyes. And the other one is Hellion. That’s also short for something, but I can’t remember what. He’s an envoy from the Hell Realm.”

“Distinct,” Wave muttered, looking away from Hazard’s black eyes. Hesitantly, she glanced at the demi god, Hellion. No man had a right to look that edible with clothes on. “Are they all in pairs?”

“Well… not exactly, but close. There’s Xuan, the fae prince, and Yash, the illusionist, behind the demons.”

Xuan was the shortest of the bunch and looked most like Wave with his shiny black hair and angular face, but where Wave’s hair always had that blue shine and came down to the middle of her back, Xuan’s hair was inky black and braided intricately to his waist.

“Must take a lot of hair conditioner,” Wave muttered. Salis ignored her comment and continued.

“Then there are Sinister and Zahir bringing up the rear. They are both incubi. I think most of the student body has fantasized getting in the middle of those two at one point or another.”

Wave resolved at that moment to stay far away from those two. Well, all of them, but incubi had a bigger chance of discovering her secret. She whipped her head around and stuffed a fry into her mouth.

“Delicious,” she said.

Salis snorted at her. “Yeah, right.”

“So, you’ve been between them?” Wave prodded. Salis looked scandalized and blushed at the same time.

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Angel, remember?”

“Nuh-uh,” Wave huffed, waving that away. “Spill.”

Salis was slowly turning beetroot red, but when Wave didn’t relent until he choked out quietly. “I’d rather watch. And I like women too.”

“You naughty boy,” Wave giggled delightedly.

“Why did I tell you that? I barely know you,” Salis groaned.

“Because I’m delightful,” Wave teased, and her siren side didn’t hurt either, even when she wasn’t actively using it against Salis. She liked the angel, and she didn’t manipulate her friends like that. Ever.

“Uh oh.” Salis choked for real this time. “Incoming,” he whispered, eyes wide and disbelieving.

“What?” Wave had time to say, and then a deep voice spoke behind her.

“Ms. Spinwell.”

She dropped her fry into her drink, cursed, and whirled to face Jarred. A ball of water formed on her palm without thought and left it just as thoughtlessly. It hit Jarred square in the face.

“I told you to stop doing that,” she hissed at him. Gasps rippled through the hall. Jarred calmly wiped his face and then leaned over Wave to grab her napkin from the table to finish the job. That put him in her space in a way that made Wave clench her teeth.

He smelled delicious, and when his arm brushed hers, the heat that radiated from the contact almost made her gasp out loud.

She tried to twist out of the way, but Jarred leaned down and caged her between himself and the table.

His arms bracketed her from both sides, so the only way to escape was to slide under the table.

For a second, Wave seriously entertained the idea.

Then she glared at Jarred. “Move.”

“No.” His reply was calm and simple. Wave twisted in her seat so she was no longer facing him or his lips that were way too close.

“That’s two times now that you’ve attacked me without provocation, little spirit,” he murmured into her ear.

A droplet of water fell from his hair and landed on Wave’s neck, making her shiver.

“M-mr Whitfurst—” Salis tried to come to her rescue, but Mr. Too-Hot-Jerk just shook his head.

“Stay out of this, angel.”

“Don’t talk to him like that,” Wave snapped and twisted to face him again. She refused to cower away, even if that would have been the smart move. Something about Jarred made it impossible to let things go. Jarred’s eyes fell to her lips and slowly lifted to meet her eyes with a slight smirk.

“What are you going to do about that?”

“Shut you up,” Wave snapped. No, that comment wasn’t going to win her any comeback prizes, but it was the best she could do. Her siren side reared its head, wanting to help. The rest of her wasn’t interested, at all. Not one bit.

Jarred’s mouth was turning into an even wider smirk when Wave reached out and grabbed his neck. The most effective way to silence a male as hot as Jarred was to kiss him breathless. It would be such a hardship.

Wave pulled his mouth down to meet hers. Thank gods and all things holy, there weren’t any rules about TA liaisons. Human school administration would have an aneurysm over this.

Yes, Wave had checked. In fact, she had spent considerable time combing over the rules and regulations. Like fatal force spells. She liked to know the field she was playing in.

In the stunned silence, she nipped Jarred’s lower lip gently and then pushed him back with one finger on his very firm chest.

“Now, shoo,” she said, and lifted a brow when he stared at her like she had grown wings. Or maybe horns. When he just stood there, still staring silently, Wave rolled her eyes and turned back to face Salis.

“That satisfy your… needs?” she asked Salis and managed to keep her face under control. Barely. She would have a fit and analyze every second of that contact in the privacy of her own room, behind a locked door, and preferably with a vibrator in hand.

“Not so fast, little spirit,” Jarred whispered, finally breaking free from his stupor and leaning down to trail kisses from her shoulder up to her ear.

There was nothing Wave could do to prevent her head from tilting, giving him more access.

“If this is how you want to play it, I’m all for it,” he whispered and nipped at her earlobe, making her lower stomach clench.

“You started it,” she huffed. Jarred just laughed and then kissed her neck again, before walking away without another word.

“I’d call that a tie, wouldn’t you?” Wave asked Salis, who was still staring, his mouth slightly ajar.

“Crazy woman. You are just crazy. I think I’m in love with you,” Salis gasped.

For the rest of their meal, Wave could feel stares thrown their way, and a sea of whispers floated around them, but she refused to be chased away. Besides, the fries really were delicious.

She fully expected to face some sort of retribution for her actions, but she’d always dealt with crises better with a full stomach.

That was what her father had instilled in her time and time again.

And really, dealing with the frustratingly hot Powerhouse was nothing compared to having lunch with her grandparents.

Wave needed to get back to her room, for reasons, and Salis had another class to get to, so they finished the food rather quickly and headed toward the door when Hellion walked in, intercepting her.

“I hear you’ve found your claws, little bird. Or should I go with kitten?”

Wave glanced over her shoulder and groaned. “Not you too.”

Hellion looked baffled. “Not me too, what?”

“You are a smart boy, I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” she said, not turning to look at Hellion, and tugged Salis out of the door.

Once they were safely outside, Salis glanced at her. “That made no sense, Wayla.”

“I know,” Wave groaned. “But I can deal reasonably with only one of them per day. You can’t expect more of me. It’s not fair.”

It took Salis a moment, and then he roared out a laugh. “Oh gods. I’m so happy I talked to you in class.”

“Me too. Maybe,” Wave griped and then pointed at him. “You need to get to your class.”

“Sure. And if you want to avoid facing more of them after your little power play, I’d say you better hurry too.” Salis grinned and pointed behind her.

“Oh crap,” Wave said as she spotted Sinister and Zahir heading their way. She didn’t need to be anywhere near the incubi now. “Bye!”

Salis’s laughter followed her as she simply turned and made her escape, jogging.