“I didn’t screw up anything,” I say, spitting cold rain as it slices down my face. “We are protected. You think it’s bad in London? You should see the rest of Europe right now. This,” I say, gesturing to the violent sky, “is what happens when you have windstorms in Germany, torrential flooding in Spain, and hailstorms in France. Welcome to the shitshow you and your boyfriend started.” Fleur pulls ahead, her intent gaze illuminated by a quick flash of lightning as she cuts through the rain toward the empty park. There’s not a soul in sight, no one else crazy enough to brave the storm that’s hovered over our region for days. I give her enough rein to cross the street and vault the brick wall onto the grassy knoll. Not far in the distance, I catch the flash of four red transmitter lights. I tap my own, confirming my connection to the Control Room and ordering everyone to conceal their locations.

A surge of static bites the air as Fleur reaches the oak on the other side of the wall.

“Just so we’re clear, I have a team of Guards positioned around us. They’re watching everything you do. If you so much as step one toe out of line, your friend Chill will pay the price. And if you even attempt to run, they will hunt you down and end you.” The blood on my hands could just as easily have been Chill’s, and she knows it.

Her eyes narrow against the rain. The air sizzles as lightning shatters the sky over the park. “What are we doing out here?”

“Resuming class.” I gesture to the tree, a grin stretching across my face. “The faster you show me how to control the earth magic, the sooner we go inside.”

She scrapes her hair back from her eyes, darting glances into the shadows. Static crackles around her as she flexes her fingers. “Fine,” she says, staring at the oak behind me. “Why don’t we start with a demonstration?”

Her magic vibrates like a ley line, singing a path under my feet. She jerks her fist. A branch hisses through the air like a whip and slices across my cheek. My hand shoots out to grab it. Fleur cries out as I snap it between my fingers.

She leaps back, clutching her hand. Blood streams between her knuckles, mixing with the rain. Her face contorts with pain as she stares at the misshapen bone in her pinkie.

“I told you not to do that!” My cheek stings.

She drops to her knees, pain and the cold stealing her strength.