Moving lightning-fast, Hayden was in front of me. The heat from his body blocked the chill in the breeze. “Don’t.”

One word spoken so low, so powerful—everyone froze.

Then Hayden turned to Phoebe. “Get out of here.”

Blazing green eyes locked onto Hayden’s. “You’re going to be sorry, Hayden. All of us are going to be.” Then she grabbed her bag and stalked across the field.

Gabe stood, his eyes were wide and lips thin. “Well, this went just as planned, huh?”

Hayden whirled on the younger boy so quickly my head spun.

Gabe threw up his hands. “Don’t blow anything up, Hayden. I’m just sayin’.” He turned to me, actually looking sheepish. “Sorry. I think your little sis is pretty cool, but we all got a lot to lose.”

I barely heard him. I was still fighting the urge to take off after Phoebe and sink my hands deep into her glossy black hair.

Lunch quickly fell apart after that. Gabe followed Phoebe; only Hayden and I remained on the rocks. Fury still radiated from him like gusts of hot air. I stared down at my half-eaten pizza.

“I’m sorry about Phoebe—about all of them.”

Shaking my head, I picked up my bag. “What am I ruining being here? Like, is the world going to implode or something because I’m here?”

“No,” Hayden said as he ran his hands through his hair.

“Why is she freaking out so bad?”

He pushed off the rock and folded his arms. “They’re worried you’re going to do something that will draw attention to us.”

I stared at him. “Like what?”

“All of us have been trained to control our gifts, Ember, and Olivia’s gift isn’t dangerous, but…”

“But mine is?”

“They’re afraid the Facility will come, and we’ll all have to go to South Dakota—to the Facility. We like it here, and trust me, you wouldn’t like it there.”

A cold shiver lifted the fine hair on my neck. “What happened there?”

His face turned distant, cold even. “Nothing—it’s nothing to worry about now. Look, all of our lives are affected. I mean, we all have to be careful.”

“I don’t get it. How am I supposed to care about the Facility if I don’t know what or who they are?”

“Okay. The Facility is like… like the police of the gifted. I know that sounds stupid, but they kind of create the rules and make sure we follow them.”

“What kind of rules?”

“There are a lot, Ember, but the most important is that we don’t lose control of our gifts and expose ourselves to the outsiders.”

I pressed my lips together. Looking at Hayden now, I wasn’t too sure he had a firm grasp on his gift either. Even now he looked like he wanted to destroy an entire town.

“A lot is riding on you, Ember. It might not be fair, but if you can’t control your gift, something is bound to happen,” Hayden said. “And it’s just not Olivia who’ll be affected. All of us will be.”