Page 83 of By the Orchid and the Owl
I stood on tiptoe, trying to find anyone else we recognized. Emelle, too, was craning her neck, a nervous flush peppering her neckline.
Where was Coen? We’d agreed to meet here, but the fact that I hadn’t even heard his voice in my head in the last several hours… I exhaled, releasing a quivering breath. I was becoming too used to it, this mind-to-mind communication with him. Too used to traipsing into the Mind Manipulator house every Sunday, knowing exactly where to go for my pill… and more.
Atugon my skin. I looked up to find Sasha and Sylvie wiggling their fingers at us, and I smiled. The twins terrified me somewhat, but at least they were familiar.
Emelle and I floated over to meet them, where they were sneaking appetizers off a nearby table with nothing more than a tendril of magic. I watched, amused, as a gingerbread cookie floated inconspicuously into Sylvie’s waiting hand.
“These are reallytoogood,” Sylvie said, taking a munch.
“Sometimes I think Wild Whispering is the lousiest magic ever,” Emelle said morosely, watching Sylvie swallow the rest and lick the icing off her fingers.
“Just wait till you get to your fifth year,” Sasha said with a wink. “Fifth-year Wild Whisperers are some of the most ruthless people I’ve ever met. They can strangle you with a vine just like that.” She snapped her fingers.
“That still sounds kind of lame compared to other magic,” Emelle mused, then scanned the twins’ dresses. “You guys look amazing.”
Indeed, the white, skin-tight dresses they wore offset the rich hues of their skin like the purest snow against the deepest charcoal. They each wore scarlet lipstick and gold hoops in their ears that swung with the slightest movement.
I was about to express my own appreciation when Lander barged into our little group, breathless and flushed and holding a…
“Is that a kettle?” I asked him, blinking at the silver pot in his arms.
“Perhaps,” he replied, rather… mischievously. I’d never heard him sound mischievous in mylife. He turned toward Emelle, who had relaxed at his presence but stiffened again as his attention landed fully on her, and said, “It’s for you.”
He held out the kettle. Emelle bit her lip and took it.
As soon as her fingers touched the silver surface, the pot morphed—springing upward into a bunch of orchids that matched the red of her dress.
“Oh!” Emelle exclaimed, a laugh bursting from her throat. “This is… wow! I didn’t know you were able to shift anything else besides yourself!”
I raised my eyebrows at Lander, who pointedly ignored me, though that flush on his face only deepened. He opened his mouth to say something, when a flash of ruby-red hair blurred past us, and suddenly Quinn was there.
We fell quiet. Lander swiveled to face her. She stood there, in a velvet green dress only a shade lighter than mine, wringing her fingers together and staring at him.
Right. Although we were in the boys’ Element Wielder house, this was still her sector, still part of her residence. Of course Quinn would be here.
I just didn’t know why she was bothering to give us any attention.
“Can I talk to you?” she asked Lander.
If her lips hadn’t moved, I wouldn’t have believed those words had come from her mouth. As far as I knew, she hadn’t talked to either one of us since my conversation with her on the beach.
Say no, Lander, I begged him silently.Say no. Not that talking was bad, but Emelle… I’d never seen her go so rigid. Her knuckles whitened around the bouquet of orchids.
“Uh, sure, I guess.”
Lander swept a nervous hand through his hair.
When Quinn turned to press deeper into the house, he jolted after her, glancing back at Emelle before disappearing into the crowd.
CHAPTER
30
“Melle,” I started.
“Here.”
She pushed the orchids into my arms and scurried off.
