“Probably shouldn’t answer that,” Ferro said, “on the grounds that it will make me look like an idiot.” He was still blushing. “Sorry, Mina, didn’t think it through.”

“You’re lucky she didn’t punch you in the face,” Zek said.

Mina thought about telling them she’d never punched anyone, but they seemed to be carrying on their conversation just fine without her having to say anything. She kind of liked that—​she was talking with them without having to talk, like with her family.

“Yeah? You’re lucky I don’t punch you in the face,” Ferro said.

“Ignore him,” Zek said to Mina. He was smiling at Mina sympathetically, as if he understood that she wanted to run and hide.

“Ignore both of them,” Jyx told her.

“All right, enough chitchat,” Vira said. She turned to Mina and Jyx. “Lesson time. You’ve seen other students playing with sparks, right? That’s the key to literally everything we do. Lightning beasts can pull electric charge from the sky and store it within their bodies, but it’s the guardian who channels it in useful ways. Just like wind beasts pull the wind, but the wind guardians direct it. You must learn to direct electricity, both into and out of your bodies. Tonight your assignment is to read chapter thirteen in your textbook—​it will explain all the technical mumbo-jumbo behind what we’re doing.” She waved at the shelves of textbooks.

Mina had read that chapter already. It said that beasts and guardians had to work together to harness the weather. A storm beast had power, but it couldn’t use it without a guardian.

“But it’s hands-on lesson time now,” Vira continued, “and before you can do anything else useful in the sky, your beast has to learn to transfer that stored electric charge to you. We start with that, here on the ground. As soon as you prove to me you can do it, we go up.”

That was . . . direct. And also cryptic. Exactly how were they supposed to transfer electric charge? Their textbook had been equally vague about the details. She waited, hoping Vira would say more.

Vira lounged against her beast, Loon, and waited expectantly, as if they were supposed to suddenly start sparking. “Come on, this is the easy part. All lightning guardians do this. Show me there’s a point to taking you in the air. I’m here to train storm guardians, not kids who want to fly with the birdies because it looks fun.”

Mina glanced at Jyx and the two boys. Zek and Ferro raised their arms up and spread their fingers. Mina and Jyx mimicked them.

After that, though, Mina had no idea what to do. Um, Pixit?

«What am I supposed to do?»

I was hoping you’d know.