Page 107 of Harbinger

The thrill was real.

Damn, was it.

I loved these aspects of my abilities. The fact I could parkour the shit out of anything, the insane agility that only got better and more impressive the more I practiced, the moving in the dark and shadows away from everyone else. It was my therapy in a way. It gave me such a rush, but also a calming influence.

It was why I tried to get out here most nights and engage in this favorite hobby of mine.

No matter what was going on with me, I always felt better afterward.

I coiled the shadows around me, an impenetrable black mist in essence, as I settled myself on the Academy’s highest tower, the wind blowing through my midnight-blue hair in such a soothing way that I threw my head back to savor it on my face as well.

“Fuck. No, that’s not it. Do it. Fucking do it again, you idiot. You ill-equipped fucking fool of epic proportions.”

I jolted at those words.Damn, they were harsh, as they carried on the wind toward me.

Right off the bat, it sounded like some bullying was going down.

But then I heard further mutterings and identified the voice.

It belonged to somebody who I could nevereverimagine stooping to bulling anyone.

Maintaining my shadow travel abilities, I followed the sound, easing down from the highest tower and descending to the rear of the rooftop.

And that was when I saw Ariana Martel sitting cross-legged in her jeans and brown suede jacket combo, her golden hair pulled back in a thick ponytail, as she swept her right hand at the air, destroying a shimmering silver symbol she’d just created.

I watched her pick up a glowing rectangular device that looked like a phone at first glance, and with the rain pelting down and compromising my vision. But as I strained to peer closer, I saw that it was a holoscreen.

Closer still, and I could make out Kai in his bed with Vorzyr next to him reading from a textbook.

I smiled.

Shewaschecking on him.

Oh, thank fuck. Thinking she was that cold… it hadn’t sat well with me at all.

Despite her pulling away, it still hadn’t seemed like her to be that unfeeling. There was a difference between that and having a wall up like she did.

Not just that… this was great for Kai.

He needed to know that she did truly care, that shewasthinking about him while he was suffering in bed sick, when he’d almost fucking died.

My smile fell when I recalled what she’d been saying to herself, how she’d been talking to herself so brutally.

She put the holoscreen down beside her, and then she started drawing patterns with her silver magic in the sky again.

But when she was only part way through, she’d then sweep them away with her hand in a burst of frustration.

“Fuck! No! It’s not the one. Fucking do it! Get a grip, you fucking failure! Argh!”

I couldn’t take it.

Icouldrelate.

And I guess that was part of the issue.

Partof it, because the rest was strangely about her. I’d taken a liking to her. She’d kind of made that impossible with acting as my secret bodyguard after what had happened in the Cafeteria. Vorzyr had told me that she’d been watching out for me more than I’d even registered. She had some sweet stealth skills—or stealth spells, more likely.

I dropped my shadow magic and teleported in a burst just a couple of feet in front of her. “You’re so very far from a failure, Halo.”

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