THE HOLO CROWN

ree:The Fr

ollowed, the whisp

with secrets I didn't understand. Each time I closed my eyes, it was like I could hea

ike it was reluctant to touch me, but couldn't avoid it. My reputation had shif

ckered the flames on the sconces. It wasn't the wind from outside-no, it f

?" Kael asked,

ced the pressure in the magic here, haven't you?

nning the room like a predator watching prey. "

onfused. "What are

ink what Jin means is... we're all feeling it. That pull ar

could feel it too. Something in me was wakin

lass was a

our basic elements-fire, water, earth, and air. Each of us was meant to summon a spark, a gust o

flame. Selene called up a gust of wind that made her hair whip around her like she was a storm goddess.

t was

n the air around me, imagining the warmth of the flame. The others waited,

n it ha

, not earth. It was something else. Something raw. The ent

?" someone whispered fr

ing, but not from fear. It was from the power that had

urprised, but there was a flicker of something

ic yet," he muttered under his breath, just loud enough

thers. Some were horrifi

I asked, my voice

eemed to put the energy back into place, sealing it. The pressure in the room loosened,

he said quietly. "This is not something to

on the elements!" I snapped, frustr

class resumed with awkward silence. But I could f

-

and Jin. The hum of the school's magic vibrated beneath our feet, a

voice low. "It's like the whole scho

. Whatever's inside you, Aaron... it's not natural

ation mounting. "What am I

there was something in his eyes that showed

g darker. "That thing your ancestor helped

"I don't know anything about it, okay? I'm

got blood running through you that's older than this school. Older than the magic here.

air like a spell tha

-

y in bed staring at the c

whis

I could hear them clearly, tho

ere th

ike nothing I'd ever heard before,

child. You

The walls around me seemed to pulse,

ers stopped.

k at t

're running out of time," Kael's v

llowe

what I was s

ad been unlocked in me, whatever legacy I