Free Spark (Legends of the Shifters) by J.B. North

brother if that were the
case. I would’ve known him until I was eleven at least, if my
age estimate was correct.
    “ Well,
all we can do is hope,” Roselle said.
    “ Yes,”
I agreed. “Hope.”

    *****

    The
next few days passed by in a daze. Kurt tried to teach me the javelin
and the slingshot, as well as a few other weapons, and we ran several
times around the arena every day. Survival tests were still varying
in levels of difficulty, but my second form was getting less hard to
control. The only ones that I’d failed were the ocean and the
caves, but I still got something to eat because of the others in my
group. Before I knew it, Sunday was here. The mood in our dorm was
high-spirited.
    “ Why
does everyone seem so happy?” I asked Roselle after we had
gotten into the dining hall.
    “ Because
unlike any of the other days, we don’t have the second half of
training,” she explained. “Instead, we have free time,
which we can use to visit a friend or just lay around. I like to
visit my dad on Sundays, though, because that’s the only time I
get to see him nowadays. I’m one of the lucky ones. Besanine is
pretty close.”
    I
frowned. “My home town is farther away than yours, but I might
be able to go there if I were in second form.”
    Roselle
heaved a sigh and shook her head. “Unfortunately, that’s
not possible. It’s a rule here that students aren’t
allowed to transform unless they’re in the training arena, in
the survival tests, or on a quest.”
    I
glowered, thinking. “Well, they pulled me away from my friends
before I even got a chance to say good-bye, so I’m going to go
see them today.”
    Roselle
lifted her eyebrows and laughed. “You’ve got a rebellious
side to you, don’t you?” She paused and looked around to
make sure no one was listening. “To tell you the truth, I
usually change form, too, when I’m going to see my father. I
only get two hours with him otherwise.”
    I
knitted my eyebrows. “You know, now that I think about it…I
don’t think I’ve ever seen your second form,” I
said.
    “ I’m
afraid you’ll never see it,” she said, laughing to
herself as if it were a joke.
    “ What?”
I asked.
    “ Fine,
I’ll tell you. I’m surprised that it took you this long
to ask. I’m a wisp.”
    “ What is
that ?” I
asked.
    “ I
didn’t know what it was either until it was explained to me.
It’s a wind spirit, invisible and invincible…except
against magic, of course. I learned that I can travel pretty fast in
my second form.”
    “ Why
don’t we just run away from this place, then? I hate having my
every move watched,” I said, aggravated.
    Her
mouth formed a grim line. “A few people have tried that
actually,” she said. “Including the girl that had your
bunk previously. They found her and gave her a trial in court. Now
she’s locked up for possibly the rest of her life.”
    I
shivered. “Still, it’s hard to think. Three more years…”
    “ No,
not three years. At least not for you. Your second form is way too
powerful for that.”
    “ Why
do you think so?” I asked.
    “ Because
you can spout fire, of course,” she said. “And you’re
a fast learner. You got food on only your second survival test. Not
even January did that.”
    I
smiled at her. “I don’t know which one’s better.
Training or questing?”
    “ Well,
I’d rather be questing. At least then you have some freedom.”
    I
nodded. Our conversation was interrupted by Liana and a girl who I
later found out was named Abby. “Exciting day, isn’t it?”
said Liana as she sat down.
    “ Yep,”
I answered with a half-smile. “Or at least it will be.”

CHAPTER
EIGHT

    After
the survival test and sword training with Kurt, the students were
given the rest of the day off. Many people just went in their dorms
for some extra sleep, but others walked along the path to the lower
towns, Roselle among them. I took my place beside her.
    “ Your
chance to transform will come when we get to