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Smiling broadly and waving a friendly hand her way, I gestured towards the two seats next to each other where I had set up all my books. There was a desk in the room for when professors used the room for small groups, but I figured that would set off a bad precedent; that I was ahead of her. In actuality, Iwasahead of her in Divine knowledge, but when it came to learning about our abilities, I was only a few months ahead of Halley. My ability had manifested during my first Ethos lesson when Professor Markell had instructed us on how to find the power inside our core. Since Halley didn’t have anyone to help her access her ability, I figured I could start with what Markell had taught me about my gift. Surely, they were pretty similar.
Halley was sitting in the left desk, browsing one of the books I had brought. I read the title aloud, “Ethos: The Emotion of the Divine. That book taught me all about my powers. Mom and Dad were both Ethos so I read it lots when I was little, considering there wasn’t much chance I would have another ability.”
Halley nodded but stayed silent. As in all our previous conversations, she wasn’t much of a talker. I hoped I could change that soon. I was positive this girl had a lot to share with the world.
“I know you already had a week of Divine history and let’s be honest history is boring, so I thought we could skip that this session. Plus, Knox will be your tutor one day this week and all he’ll want to talk about is history. He’ll never admit it but he’s a total nerd. A badass nerd, but a nerd nonetheless.”
At that, Halley cracked a small smile and I considered it a win. Continuing, I motioned to the book in her hands, “Obviously Ethos and Enchanters aren’t the same, but I read up on some more information last night, and when Enchanters had detailed their powers manifesting, it seemed pretty similar to how mine manifested.”
“How did yours manifest?” Halley asked. Every time I heard her talk, I was taken aback by her voice, something about the raspy edge did something to my insides. It was one of the reasons I wished she would talk to me more.
“First, it actually only manifested a couple months ago, so my experience is pretty recent which should help. Markell, the Ethos professor, walked me through some meditating experiences. Apparently, the innate power of our ability is just waiting inside of us when we’re born, waiting to be unleashed. Rumors say that back on Agrum Di Vinum, Divines manifested their abilities way younger than twenty, but I don’t know how true that is since all our ancestors that lived in our realm are long gone. But anyways, I thought we could try the same process to try to access your gift.”
“Let’s do it,” Halley immediately responded, the confident tone taking over the nervous shaking of her knee. I admired her courage in that moment. Obviously, this situation was stressful for any 20-year-old Divine, but I couldn’t imagine how terrifying it was for her, but she was ready to dive right in. In that moment, I desperately wanted to know her emotions, wondering how that bravery overcame her fear. Instead of trying to work through her shield though, I focused on Halley, and told her to close her eyes.
“Now take a deep breath and reach within, your power has been waiting for this moment.”
Chapter Fifteen
Halley
Your ability has been waiting for this moment, my ass.As I squeezed my eyes shut at the instruction of Eli, I couldn’t help but think about how unbelievable this situation was. Coming to this lesson, I was already stressed. Not knowing what kind of instructions four students would be giving me, I wasn’t sure how to prepare for the day. Entering the study room, I had been assigned, I had put on my brave face, even though my instincts were yelling at me to turn and run. A lot of that had been going through my mind since I came to Willow Grove. I had grown up with a life that didn’t allow for many unknowns. Always I knew where I was headed next, how long I would stay there, and how to stay undetected. Being at Willow Grove, all of that changed. Now, I didn’t know where I was headed next, I had no clue how long I would end up staying at this academy, and I sure as hell was not going undetected. After the cafeteria incident where everyone learned I was the last of the Enchanters, it seemed eyes followed me everywhere. Most were with innate curiosity, a few with wariness, but the worst were the several stares of hatred. Those mostly came from Wilder, plus Jane and her group of friends. Besides sitting by Eli on my first day, I wasn’t sure what I had done to piss her off so much, but obviously we wouldn’t be friends any time soon. That was okay with me though, friends were never my thing. Although, being surrounded by so many people these days, who clearlywerefriends with each other, I found myself quite lonely.
“Are you focusing?” Eli’s voice was directly in my ear, and I snapped myself out of my internal thoughts, peeking my eyes at him. He was standing directly beside me, hence the voice in my ear, with a strange mix of a stern expression added to his constant smile. Admittedly, seeing Eli’s smiling face when I entered the classroom had been a relief. I wouldn’t call us friends, but besides Kalani, he was the only student who would actually talk to me, not just talk about me. Not knowing who my tutors would be, I had been worried someone like Wilder would be waiting for me, and if I had to learn privately, I would much rather do so under the scrutiny of a smiling face, not one filled with cruelty.
“I’m not exactly sure what I should be focusing on? I just learned I even had powers a week ago.”
Eli nodded thoughtfully, even rubbing his chin like the cliches. Suddenly, he held his finger up excitedly, “I have an idea. When other students were struggling to access their ability, Markell explained that our ability stemmed from the essence of us. He had the students focus on memories that made them, well, them, and within moments the students accessed their ability. So, try that.”
Motioning wildly at me, I tried to focus on what Eli was saying. Closing my eyes, I considered what made me, me. But the thing was, I wasn’t even sure. Now that I knew the truth, looking back on my past there were even more unanswered questions. I didn’t know who my mother really was, I had never known my father, and after Mom died, I didn’t have a chance to get to know a me other than the one who hid and ran. Thinking of all the running and hiding I endured with and without Mom, I pondered if that was who I was. Was I just a girl scared of the shadows lingering in her past? Had I held on to the life Mom and I lived because I was too scared to find a future without her comfort in it? Obviously, dwelling on the what ifs of my life weren’t helping me access my gift, so I tried thinking of something else. Questioning if I was a big scaredy cat my whole life wasn’t working, but maybe focusing on the opposite would. Feeling better about this idea, I began picturing all the times I had felt strong in myself throughout the years. From when I was little and Mom would tell me how proud she was for my newest achievement, even if it was just climbing the tree in the park, to the pride when I found food all on my own for the first time after Mom died, to how I felt walking through a city of strangers and knowing I was just like them, and then to finding out the truth; that I was aDivine.With that last thought, I felt something tugging inside my chest. At first, I couldn’t describe the feeling, but like a switch turning on, Iknew. This was my power.Feeling the swirling pressure in my chest, I welcomed the power like an old friend. And maybe that’s exactly what it was, an old friend, waiting to be unleashed into the world. Playing around with the power, I wondered exactly what it –I- could do.
From the brief history I read, I knew that Enchanters were the protectors of the Divine. My ability was innate power, able to cast magic into the world and do amazing things. The Enchanters were responsible for the guards surrounding the school and communities, they had fought on the front lines in the war and were central to the survival of the Divines. But it felt a little forward to assume I could already do all these things. I thought back to the book, wondering if there was a simple enchantment. Hadn’t I read somewhere that Enchanters could alter the weather? I was pretty sure I had read an entire chapter on how back in the day, Enchanters were responsible for controlling the weather for good harvesting. As if on cue, a loud clap of thunder echoed throughout the room and Eli exclaimed.
“Holy shit Halley! Was that you? It had to be you! The sun was literally just shining. Oh my god, you really are an Enchantress. You have powers! Magic powers that can control the freaking weather!”
Opening my eyes at Eli’s tirade, I looked out the window and what do you know, the clear sunny skies were now clustered with storm clouds. Eli was laughing in awe, and I couldn’t help but join in. I really had an ability. A power that no one else in the world had. Eli started clapping, telling me how amazing I did, and asking what else I thought I could do. I couldn’t help but wonder the same. Internally, I felt my power swirling happily and I had the answer.As an Enchantress, I could do anything.
Chapter Sixteen
Wilder
My alarm started blaring and I groaned, peeking my eyes open. Did I mention mornings were the bane of my existence? And today it was just getting fucking worse. Getting up to help in Gunther’s class had already been a pain in my ass, but now I had to tutor Miss Fucking Unique. Apparently, being the only human grown Divine wasn’t enough, Halley had to go and be the first Enchantress the Divines had seen in decades. Realistically, I knew neither of these things were Halley’s doing, but it still didn’t wash the bitter taste out of my mouth. My childhood had been ripped from my hands at too young of an age. My mom hadn’t been around since my birth, but Dad had been my rock. He did everything possible to make my childhood safe and happy. And then my world was ruined when Dad didn’t come home from work one day. Being a part of the Guard, Dad knew the risks, but I never imagined he would actually be gone forever. And although the Hunters were the ones who murdered my father, the Enchanters were to blame as well.
All five manifestations were given roles: Ethos: the emotion of the Divine; Seers: the future of the Divine; Shifters: the livelihood of the Divine; Drax: the warriors of the Divine; and Enchanters: the protectors of the Divine. When the Enchanters perished, the Divines no longer had protection. Dad no longer had his protection. And I was orphaned because of it.
Then Halley shows up and I viewed everything differently. She obviously came from other Enchanters, which meant they had still been around and yet they had just disappeared, even though we needed them. Hunters were a serious threat, as a future member of the Guard, I knew that well enough, so how could the Enchanters just turn their backs on us? Pushing us into hiding and leaving us to rot in prisons of our own making. Although Zachariah had explained to us four tutors that Halley had no knowledge of the Divine world living beneath human noses, I couldn’t help the grudge. Looking at her was like looking at the life that was torn from my hands before I even had a chance to taste it.
So, as I sat in the study room scheduled for us, I couldn’t help but glare at the door, waiting for her to enter. Zachariah informed us that it was our “duty” to train the only Enchantress in existence as best as we could, being the strongest of our Sectors. History, how to use her ability, and all that boring shit. I figured, if Halley was to be a part of the Divines, she needed to learn how dangerous her life in the human world really was.
Picking up her unique scent, I anticipated the door opening. Walking into the room, Halley immediately stuttered to a stop at my expression. Hesitancy crept over her features, and I couldn’t help my salacious smile. The girl was obviously cautious of me and that made me inexplicably happy.
Not even waiting for her to sit down in a chair, I stood behind the professor’s desk in the room and began my own version of a lecture.
“Hunters. As a Divine, there is one absolute truth. We fear the Hunters.”
“I’ve heard about hunters multiple times since being here, but I don’t even know what you mean.” Halley said, scrunching her freckled covered nose.
Snorting, I shook my head. “Of course, human raised as you were, you would have no idea about them. Although, as an Enchantress you really should. They’re the reason you’re all dead.”
