Page 15 of The Song of Sunrise (The Prentice Teller #1)
I fight the urge to slink into my seat and disappear into the small dark space under my desk, but it appears Ramona is already doing just that.
Clever sunlicker! I give her a look.
Luckily, the professor quickly moves on to ask a series of questions to another cadet.
After a thorough questioning of a mousey strawberry blonde cadet, Lacerta, and her twin brother who must have taken all of the growth genetics in the womb, Leo, Novak seems pleased with their understanding of different Moon’cher abilities.
“Excellent Lacerta and Leo!” A fresh gleam of excitement shines in the professor’s eyes, his passion for teaching evident.
“Cadets, hold your palm with the stone that Selene handed out at the beginning of class face down in front of you. Do not open up your hand until I say so!”
I almost forgot about the cool stone wrapped in my fist. I follow suit with the rest of the class and hold my arm out.
“When I say so, you will turn your hand upwards and open. All of the stones are the same but one. If you are the odd person out—please come to the front of the class. “Three, two, one… Open!”
We all turn our palms up and look around to compare to the others. All around the room I see bright white stones, except mine. The shine from the polished black stone in my palm winks. Cadets crane their heads to see the stone in my hand as I slowly stand.
“Akemi! Lucky you. Come up to the front of the room,” Professor Novak says.
I slowly work my way to the table at the front. Thank the Goddess I chose the turtleneck, which is undoubtedly hiding my flushed chest and neck. For all the work I put into Telling in front of large crowds, it certainly doesn’t help me here.
Professor Novak scurries to his desk and grabs two small boxes from his drawer.
My heartbeat quickens in anticipation as he returns to my side and gently sets the boxes on the table.
Carefully, he lifts the lids and sets them aside to reveal a gold and silver stone, each displayed on a silky black material.
I’m pretty sure the whole room collectively inhales at the sight along with me. I don’t know what I’m looking at but they are magnetizing, beautiful, and… powerful. The air around me pulses with immense power.
“Affinity Stones!” Artemis gasps, practically hanging over his desk to get a good look.
Professor Novak grins. “Yes indeed. These are Affinity Stones. Each of you will test with these after class until your affinity as a Moon’cher or Sun’cher is identified—”
“What about the third stone?” Artemis blurts.
Professor Novak's eyes flicker with annoyance. This is going to be a long year.
“Starwatchers are extremely rare. There has not been a person identified with that affinity in decades. Many times, Starwatchers are used as court spymasters due to their ability to harness memories of the stars. Makes for excellent spymasters,” he adds as an afterthought.
“Even the amount of people with Moon’chers’ affinities are waning as the moon drifts further from the earth.” Professor Novak looks to the side thoughtfully for a moment. “We will start with the usual protocol. Akemi will be the first to test.”
“Good luck,” Ramona calls from the back, and some of the cadets chuckle.
All I can muster is a small half smile. I know what it must look like. A picture of serene calm—relaxed even. Yet my insides are boiling, water rolling over the top of the pot uncontrollably.
“Here, try this.” Professor Novak places a silver stone on my shaking hand.
The moment it touches my skin, the room fills with an ashy smoke. I hiss at the pain in my palm, like someone is pushing an ice cold needle into my hand.
By the stars!
Frantically, I shake my hand, trying to dislodge the stone that’s stuck to skin like a leech.
“Nope, nope, nope. Not a Moon’cher, that much is apparent…” Professor Novak takes the stone off my hand and carefully places it back in the box. Beads of sweat drip down my brow as he collects the golden stone from the box with a set of tongs.
If Professor Novak cannot touch the stone, what type of pain will it inflict on me? Sun burn me… or shall I say stone burn me? Fuck!
He must see the alarm in my eyes because he says quietly to me, “I’m a Moon’cher, so holding that Affinity Stone does not harm me. This, on the other hand”—he waves the golden stone between the prongs—“is a Sun’cher stone, and I don’t feel like getting burned today.”
“Mm hmm,” I acknowledge through pressed lips.
Okay, so that didn’t help me feel any better.
My shoulders lift and my eyes scrunch, anticipating the pain as he places the golden stone on my palm.
The stone drops into my hand, and it… it doesn’t hurt! It stings like the flame of a candle burning a little too close for comfort, but it doesn’t hurt. The room sputters with a soft golden light.
“Interesting…” Professor Novak tweezes the stone out of my palm. “Interesting, interesting…”
“What is it?” I ask barely above a whisper, but the professor doesn’t answer me as he circles back to his desk, pulls out a large leather bound tome, and scribbles down a note.
The classroom is painfully silent.
After a few moments, the professor straightens and his thoughts seem to return to the room as if suddenly remembering he is in the middle of a class.
“The second-stone I tested you with was the Sun’cher Affinity Stone. You had a positive reaction to it, but a true match would have filled the room with blinding light. And as you saw, only a mere flicker of light is what you conjured."
A woman with dark red hair snickers until Ramona’s deathly glare cuts her off.
“Shut it, Sabra,” Ramona warns.
“I'm pleased to announce our first cadet has been assigned an Affinity.” Novak looks to me then to the class. “Akemi, you will train as a Sun'cher!”
The classroom erupts with cheers as the professor hands me a round sun embroidered patch, woven in golden thread.
Excitement percolates the air at the first cadet being sorted into a faction, but all I can focus on is the sting of disappointment from almost failing my first test.