Page 6 of Heart of the Villain

“I—” Marlena started.

“No matter,” Olenor interrupted. “Off to bed, and don’t even think about stopping for a cookie on the way up.” She winked as the kids scattered to the house in the distance.

That night as Vega clung to her side in the bed she insisted they share, Marlena fell asleep wondering: What if Mira got it wrong?

Recovered from the notebook

of Marlena Caelum:

Thirteen Years Old

Marlena sat at the lunch table alone, her head on a swivel, waiting for Vega to walk through the doors to the dining hall at any second. It wasn’t unlike Vega to get stuck in the halls talking to someone, but it was weird Khort and Arlet hadn’t made their way in yet.

She chewed on her bite of sandwich—which tasted a little like cardboard with the worry gnawing its way into Marlena’s stomach.

What if something happened?

Marlena abandoned her meal, pushing the plate away when she realized her leg was bouncing under the table. She nibbled on her fingernails and tried to ignore her mother’s nagging voice in the back of her mind, but it was too loud. “Marlena, get your hands out of your mouth. People are watching you.”

Her hand shot down to her side like a bolt of Vega’s lightning zapped her. Marlena let her eyes wander around the room again, conscious of where people were looking, with Ryanna’s voice echoing in her head.

A few classmates walked by, and Marlena couldn’t help but eavesdrop on their conversation. “Did you hear she manifested a second ability today during elementals class?”

“What?”

“No way.”

“Yes. Professor Cato kept her after class was dismissed.”

The girls in matching uniforms passed by quickly, but now that Marlena was aware of the chatter around her, she couldn’t drown anything out.

A group of boys walked by. “It was crazy. It felt like more than just wind.”

“Yeah, there was a, like… wetness to the air, like a storm was coming.”

Wind? A second ability?

As far as Marlena knew, she was the only person in Tolevarre that had ever been in control of two powers—it was precisely the reason her parents had been able to convince the other members of the Curia to allow Marlena to be the heir to both of her parents’ seats.

She was different. She was strong. She would be the person to change the way their world worked, the way their government ran. Her parents had promised that.

Marlena would be remembered.

The doors to the cafeteria swung open, silencing the room with their thunderous crack against the wall.

Everyone’s eyes landed on the source of the commotion.

Arlet.

Arlet’s panicked eyes locked with Marlena’s almost instantly. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun, and a bead of sweat rolled down her temple like she’d run clear across the school grounds without stopping.

Marlena jumped from her chair, forgetting about her bag under the table. She zipped through the students and tables, pushing past whoever was in the way.

“What’s wrong?” Marlena asked when Arlet was in earshot.

Arlet’s chest rose with a deep inhale. “Vega.”

Marlena’s stomach dropped out from underneath her, leaving her hollow inside. No, if something happened to Vega⁠—