Free Elemental Havoc (Paranormal Public Book 11) by Maddy Edwards

vampire’s eyes fired and a couple of other vampires turned to look where Nose Ring was looking.
    By then I had nearly reached them. Most of the students had turned their attention away from the girl and toward me and the vampire group I had just angered. I stopped and stood my ground, my hands still in my pockets.
    “Are you really going to fight, too, tree sprite?” spit out one of the nasty-looking vampires.
    I turned my head far enough to see that Keegan was standing to my right and slightly behind me, his hands comfortably in his pockets. He was staring at the vampires, his face alert but otherwise expressionless. I hadn’t heard him follow me, but I smiled a little when I saw him.
    “I’m not afraid of you,” Keegan said. “You’re just a vampire.”
    Nose Ring smirked. “That’s just because you haven’t fought me yet.” His smile grew wider, and I started to wonder if Keegan and I really shouldn’t be doing this. But the vision of the girl flying through the air gave me my answer.
    Sure, Charlotte had begged me to stay under the radar, but she had also acknowledged that as the second elemental I was going to find anonymity nearly impossible, no matter what she or I really wanted. I sighed. I had the best intentions of doing what she asked, but I hadn’t gotten through the first night without an opportunity for trouble.
    Then Dobrov rescued all of us. “Alright, enough,” he called, his voice cutting effortlessly through the crowd. I had nearly forgotten he was there, and at least one of the pixies who’d been preparing to fight apparently didn’t care. He lazily threw a handful of dust at the feet of one of the vampires, who sprang forward. It looked like there was going to be a fight after all.
    One second Dobrov was standing on the podium. The next he was slamming the young pixie backward. The other Volans students looked shocked, but they made no move to help their friend. I wouldn’t have either. Hybrids like Dobrov were a particular kind of scary.
    “I said, that’s enough.” Though Dobrov didn’t speak loudly, I was sure he could be heard in every part of the hall. I thought particularly of the blue-eyed girl, and when I looked in her direction I saw that she was making her way back toward the front of the room. Her eyes were on me, and I waited for them to shift to our president and the action, but they didn’t. They stayed on me.
    Meanwhile, the vampires and the other pixies were dispersing, a smart move. Dobrov did not look like he was going to tolerate another second of insubordination. The pixie who had thrown the dust looked pale and had already sat down. The girl reached me and smiled.
    “Hi,” she said brightly.
    “Hi,” I said, unsure of what she expected to happen next. Keegan turned around to stare at her, his eyes going wide. I saw him swallow hard.
    Before I could say anything else to the girl, her right foot swung backward so that she was balancing on her left. Still not understanding what was happening, I was wholly taken by surprise by the sharp kick she aimed at my shin.
    Without a word, the blond girl flipped her hair and walked away. Keegan raced up to me and said, “Wow, I didn’t know girls were like that.”
    I rubbed my shin. I didn’t either.
     

Chapter Nine
    President Quest Makes Concessions . . . Fallen Angels to Arrive at Public.
     
    The next morning at breakfast, President Valedication presented the student body with more information about the semester by releasing an official letter.
    All the students bent over their letters with excitement. There had been a lot of tension over the question of what it meant to attend Paranormal Public in this era, and this was going to be another big clue. The arrival of a group of smug-looking fallen angels hadn’t helped.
    Another bit of excitement for me personally was that the blond girl was in my group. This morning she was, in fact, sitting next to Keegan. He appeared terrified when she first sat down, but