She started chugging her drink loudly. Beside me, Ava didn’t make a sound. She hadn’t brought any breakfast with her. She wasn’t eating again, which concerned me and kind of pissed me off. I rested my hand on the table, and my fingers brushed against hers. My heart pitter-pattered, and she drew back quickly. I hadn’t meant to touch her… or maybe I had, subconsciously.
“Oh my gods,” Kallie gasped.
“What?” Marcus sounded concerned.
“Did you guys hear what the newscaster just said?” she asked. “Listen.”
The chatter around Commissary turned to whispers. It seemed everyone was watching the newscast coming from the TV in the corner.
“… There are rumors of discord within the United Supernatural Union. Reports say the Union is divided on how to handle the controversy surrounding the Elves,” the newscaster said. “Angel, vampire, and mermaid representatives agree that drastic measures must be taken to track down the remaining Elves. Elementals, witches, and fae suggest waiting for the Elves to reveal themselves. The Astromancers have refused to comment on their stance at this time.”
The tone of the newscast shifted, as if the program had changed to a roundtable discussion.
“I think we can all agree that the angels have a point,” a man said. “The Elves must be found at all costs.”
“Why, though?” a woman asked. “The Elves were doing just fine for years while they were in hiding. What’s the rush?”
“We don’t know what they’re planning,” the man insisted.
“We don’t know that they’replanninganything,” she replied. “We must approach the Elves peacefully and diplomatically. We can’t be flushing them out with tear gas and explosives. It will only incite another war.”
My stomach twisted.
“If another war is coming, then we must prepare,” the man suggested. “The Elveswantedthis war. Otherwise, why would they reveal themselves now? We must be ready to strike before they do—”
“This is bullshit,” I growled under my breath. I couldn’t listen to any more of this. I snatched my coffee and shot out of my chair, grabbing Oberi’s scruff. I didn’t care that it was Ava’s turn with him. He led me out of Commissary. I paced up and down the hall, until I heard my friends’ footsteps behind me.
“You okay, Charlie?” Marcus asked, sounding concerned.
“No, I’m not okay,” I snapped. “And you shouldn’t be, either. There’s no question about whether there’s going to be another war or not. It’s already started. Even the United Supernatural Union is divided. The Elves are fucked, and it’s all our fault.”
I started pacing again, one hand fisting at my side, while the other tightened on my coffee.
Marcus grabbed my shoulder to stop me. “I know you have people you care about caught in the middle of this.”
He was talking about my father and grandfather. I’d barely met them, and I’d already lost my chance at building a relationship with them. But there were more people I cared about caught in the middle of this.EveryoneI loved was a part of this. No one was immune to this war.
“But didn’t you hear the witches and the fae agree on something?” Marcus pointed out. “This is a step in the right direction for the entire supernatural community.”
I shrugged him off. “Your optimism is more depressing than anything.”
“We could use some optimism,” Kallie said, coming to Marcus’ defense. “The fact is, we can’t keep rehashing what’s already happened. We can only figure out what to do moving forward.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked, referencing her new-found powers.
“Because I’vetried,” Kallie emphasized. She couldn’t say it out in the open, but I knew what she meant. She’d been practicing her time-bending powers, trying to turn back time so we could reverse what we’d done. It wasn’t any wonder why she’d been so sick all week. “I can keep practicing, but I really don’t think it’s going to happen overnight.”
“How often are you practicing?” I wondered. “I haven’t noticed any… time anomalies.”
I tried to choose my words carefully, but I didn’t know how else to put it.
Kallie kept her voice low. “I think you only notice when Istoptime. Trying to turn it back is different. I think I need portal magic to do it, though— sort of like simultension. If I combine my powers with something else, I might be able to portal back in time. But my portal powers are blocked on campus. There are too many wards. And I don’t know how far back I’d be able to go, even if I could do it.”
“I don’t know if this is really going to work,” I said. “Figuring out how to use our demigod powers could take too long.”
“If you don’t want to help us, you don’t have to,” Ava told me sternly.
“You know I want to.” I was offended that she'd suggest otherwise.
