Free Furious Flames (Elemental Book 3) by Rain Oxford Page B

borrowed them from me without
permission, so I’ll have to talk to Vincent.”
    “Send Darwin over. I have something that can prove
useful.”
     
    *          *          *
     
    My illusions class was on the top floor of the
castle, which was normally for the fae classes. No matter how physical my job
could get, walking up seven flights of stairs in ten minutes was hell on my
lungs. When I reached the top, I first noticed a commotion. To my left was a
glass door leading to the sixteen-by-sixteen-foot terrace.
    Quintessence was a secluded university where keeping
the students secret from humans was paramount. Between the wizards, vampires,
shifters, and fae, drinking and drugs were not an issue because they led to
mistakes none of these students could afford. At the same time, they needed to
decompress more than humans. Thus, there was a lot more fighting. The new clubs
were helping, but “epic duels” were basically tradition.
    I was about to turn and go the other way when a
familiar shout stopped me. I sighed and went outside. Darwin and a fae named
Laiden were surrounded by other students. Laiden’s fists clinched.
    “I didn’t touch her!” Darwin yelled.
    “She said you did and she’d never lie!” Laiden swung his
fist to strike Darwin, but I was ready for it.
    I reached out with my power and flooded the man’s
mind. “Stop,” I commanded. The fae froze. “Darwin?” I asked, letting the fae
go.
    “He says I groped his girlfriend! You know I couldn’t
touch…” he stopped talking when he realized he was waving his hands around.
Normally, he could use that defense, but he was wearing latex gloves. He put
his hands behind his back and blushed. “I didn’t do it.”
    “Why does she think you did?”
    He shrugged. “Because I was behind her. I… was the
only one behind her. I didn’t do it, though.”
    Laiden scoffed. “You practically just admitted it.”
    A woman pulled Laiden off to the side. Several of the
students were looking at me like I was about to go postal. I used to get that
look a lot before I learned to hide my abilities and dismiss them as intuition.
    I sighed. “Don’t touch his skin. If anyone touches
his skin, you’ll have to deal with Henry and me. Other than that, Darwin, you
need to learn to talk it out.”
    “But I didn’t do it and she said I did. They think
they can blame me because I’m a throwback.”
    “Then either tell her louder, turn her backpack pink,
or shift and eat her. I’m going to class.” I went back inside and found the
classroom easily.
    Remy was a strong woman who, except for a little
anger-management trouble, was very emotionally stable. Despite her gorgeous
appearance and the feminine clothes she wore, she was more of a tomboy growing
up. She hated being treated with gentleness or sympathy, but I had been in her
head; I knew what Rosin Flagstone meant to her.
    The classroom had a skylight, yet the sun was low
enough that it wasn’t blaring down on us. Actually, all of the fae students who
entered the class went straight for the seats in the sunlight, so I figured it
had more to do with them. I sat in the back, away from the sun and Darwin sat beside
me a few minutes later.
    “I figured Remington would have gone after Alpha
Flagstone,” I said quietly.
    Darwin nodded. “I’m surprised Alpha Flagstone hasn’t
come back. A familiar is like a limb; you can lop it off if it’s infected, but
you’re not going to do it for fun. You also don’t see arms running away.”
    “I think that’s exactly why Flagstone left; it can’t
be fun being compared to a limb.”
    Darwin shrugged. “He’s powerless if something happens
to Hunt. He’s being a fool.”
    “Darwin, thank you for volunteering,” Remy said. We
both faced the front to see her glaring at us. Everyone else turned to stare.
    “Sorry, sheila, but I wasn’t listening.”
    “No shit. Daydreaming is bad enough, but if you’re
going to talk during class on the first day,