The three of us remain quiet as Foster drives toward the shallow hills that border the town. As we drive, Easton has me rest my head on the console so he can put eye drops into my eyes after I announce I’ll go with water as my element.

“Please don’t play with my eyes again,” I tell Easton as he leans over me. “I hate my eyes being touched.”

The edges of his lips quirk. “But they’re so pretty. I just want to touch them all the time.”

“That is seriously the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard,” I say, wiggling around to get comfortable.

He presses his hand to his chest, mocking being offended. “I tell you your eyes are pretty and all you say is that my compliment is creepy. Wow, that’s cruel.”

“Touching eyes is creepy,” I insist. “Although, I doubt you think so since you have a bunch of eyeballs in your fridge.”

“Hey, I do think that’s creepy,” Easton gives an exaggerated shudder. “If I had my way, Hunter and Holden would keep their science supplies in another fridge, way, way far away from the house. Preferably in another world.”

“Remember that one time they put a jar of demon tongues in there?” Foster says, his face contorted in disgust.

“Wait…” My eyes nearly bulge out of my head. “Demons exist?”

“Um…” Foster trades a look with Easton, who gives a shrug.

“Don’t look at me.” He rolls up the sleeves of his shirt. “You’re the one who said it.”

Foster sighs. “I know.” He looks at me. “Yeah, they exist. But there’s not a lot of them around, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Are there some in this world?” I ask worriedly, acting the opposite of what he told me to do.

“Yeah, but elemental protectors have a sixth sense that lets them know when a demon is present, so demons tend to avoid being near us,” he explains, cranking up the heat.

I still don’t feel any better. I mean… Demons? Demons? “What do they look like?”

“The ones that are here in this world take on a human form,” Easton replies, unscrewing the cap off the eye drops. “But in their true form, they come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors. Some have scales. Some have slimy skin. It really depends on what kind of demon they are.”

“Gross,” I mumble, causing Easton to chuckle.

“Yeah, definitely gross,” he agrees then wiggles the bottle of eye drops in front of my face. “All right, we’re almost to the school, so it’s time to get those pretty eyes of yours hidden.”

Pretty eyes? Is he for reals?

As if sensing my thoughts, he grins. “Your eyes or gorgeous whether you think so or not.” He holds my eye open with his fingers. “Now hold still.”

I do what he says and then he puts the drops into my eyes. Once my eyes are nice and silvery, looking really freakin’ weird in my opinion, I rest back in the seat and work on finishing my breakfast while taking in my surroundings.

The road we’re driving down is desolate, only a house or two here and there, with mostly trees and spacious fields.

“Is this the town?” I wonder after I’ve finished the last of my waffles.

“Nah. The town’s that way.” Easton nods toward the left. “You can’t see it right now because of the trees and stuff, but even if they weren’t there, it’s hard to see.” He rolls the sleeves of his shirt up. “It’s a really small fucking town.”

“That’s what Max said.” I squint against the sunlight streaming through the clouds. “I want to get a job, but Max said it’d be hard for an out-of-towner to get one.”

“I think you should be okay now that you have powers,” Easton tells me. “When Max said out-of-towners, he actually meant humans.”

I rest my arms on the console. “But humans live here, right? So, how do they work?”

“Most of them work at the factory on the outskirt of town,” Easton explains, combing his fingers through his hair.

“And they never wonder why they don’t get hired elsewhere?” I question skeptically.

“They probably would if it wasn’t for us keeping most of the other shops invisible with magic—they don’t even know most of the places in town exist.” Easton winks at me. “You need to stop thinking like a human. Nothing is simply black and white. In fact, this world is like a damn fucking rainbow with sparkles and everything.”

“I’m starting to realize that, but I’ve also spent most of my life thinking I was human, so it’s sort of hard to break the habit of thinking like one,” I explain then pause. “What I don’t get, though, is how it seems like it’d be so much easier for you guys to just live in your own world. I mean, I know Charlotte said it’s overpopulated, but still, hiding your powers is a pain in the ass. That I understand.”

“It’s not just overpopulation that makes Elemental so unlivable,” Foster says, downshifting as he prepares to make a turn off the highway and onto a paved road that weaves between the trees. “It’s become corrupt because of overpopulation and the increase of elemental protectors of darkness.” He flips on the blinker and turns onto the road. “It’s like that for a lot of worlds, which is why we came here. Although corruption is spreading here, too, like with the hunters.”

I swallow the lump wedged in my throat. “Why the increase in corruption everywhere?”

The air grows so still I can hear the beating of my own heart.

“In Elemental, it’s because all the gods and goddesses died. Well, except for one,” Foster says, tightening his grip on the wheel. “The god of darkness is still alive, so his power has become more prominent.”

A shiver crawls over my body. “Really?”

He nods, his knuckles whitening. “He’s also the god responsible for my grandparents’ deaths.” He shifts the car and decelerates as we reach the trees. “It’s been the god of darkness’s mission to eliminate all the elemental enchanters in our world because, if there were more of us, we could potentially overthrow him and rid the darkness plaguing our world, which he put there. Of course our kind can’t solve the problem of our world dying since only gods and goddesses can feed energy to it.”

“How did they die?” I whisper, tears pooling in my eyes for some bizarre reason. “I mean, the other gods and goddesses.”

“No one knows for sure, but some have speculated that the god of darkness killed them so he could rule on his own.” Foster glances at me, a frown tugging at his lips. Then he reaches across the console and brushes his fingers across my cheek. “Sky, don’t cry. I promise nothing will happen to you. You’re safe with us.”

As he grazes my cheekbones with his knuckles, I realize tears are dripping down my cheeks.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying.” Mortified, I wipe my face with the back of my hand.

“It’s perfectly fine.” He brushes strands of hair out of my face. “You’re handling this better than most.”

“I doubt that.” I rub my eyes, my heart feeling strange, as if a piece has fallen out. “I wish there was something that could help Elemental. It’d be nice to see it one day.”

“It was beautiful once.” He steers down the road with one hand, resting his other on my cheek. “My parents work for the elemental protector organization, and they’ve been working on finding a new source to feed our world ever since the gods and goddesses died. They’ve had a couple of findings, mostly in books and folklore told amongst our kind that suggests that, before the gods and goddesses died, they hid power sources that contained each of their own powers. But, so far, there hasn’t been any proof, so it’s mostly just an urban legend.”

“You and I both know it’s probably just stories.” Easton slides forward and crosses his arms on top of the center console. “If the gods and goddesses left their power sources behind, someone would’ve found them by now.”

“You never know. We used to believe there weren’t any other elemental enchanters, so …” He shrugs, looking ahead.

I track his gaze, and my eyes widen.

Just in front of us, the trees open up to a flat, flowery field that stretches as far as the eye can see. And smack dab in the middle of it is a towering, gothic-like building, three stories high with turrets and everything.

“Is that the academy?” I gape at the building in astonishment.

Foster nods. “Yep, that’s your new school.”

The corners of my lips twitch upward. “It’s actually really awesome looking.”

Smiling, he steers through the iron-gated entrance. “Just wait until you see the inside.”

My smile enlarges until we turn into the parking lot. Then my mood nosedives.

“There’re so many people here,” I note, peering around at all the cars and trucks and the people wandering around. But, are they even people?

“This is the elemental protectors’ section.” Foster parks in the first open spot available, silences the engine, and then points to the left at a smaller building in the distance that has a domed roof and an arched entryway. “That’s where the humans attend and where you’ll go for your human-related classes, like math and English.”

“Our building is better,” I remark, unfastening my seatbelt.

The smile that consumes his face is a combination of amusement and elation.

“What’s that smile for?” I slip my bag over my shoulder and reach for the door handle.

“It’s nothing.” He collects his car keys and shoves open the door. “You just referred to it as our school, like you’ve accepted you’re part of it.”

Wow, he’s right. I hadn’t even noticed.

Unsure of what to make of that—that I’m beginning to accept this new life of mine and so quickly—I decide not to make anything of it, just let it be, and hop out of the car.

The instant my feet touch the asphalt, the gawking starts. Everyone within a fifty-foot radius glances in my direction with curious eyes.

Awesome. This is a socially awkward person’s nightmare.

Summoning a tremulous breath, I round the front of the car toward the driver’s side where Foster is waiting for me.

“This is worse than I thought it’d be,” Easton comments as he climbs out and joins us, slinging his bag over his shoulder then slipping his hands into his pockets and glancing around at all the gawkers. “Gods, people need to get a life. So there’s someone new? It doesn’t give them the right to stare like a bunch of nosey fuckers.”

“Why are they staring?” I ask, sidestepping closer to Foster when a huge guy with bulky muscles and lavender eyes winks at me.

Ice. He’s an elemental protector of ice.

“Fresh meat.” Easton winks at me then grins when I pierce him with a look. He chuckles, but then huffs out a sigh. “It’s probably partially our fault everyone’s staring. We have some friends and everything, but we don’t spend a lot of time with anyone outside our family’s circle. And we’ve never brought anyone to school with us before.”

“Awesome,” I grumble. “I hope they stop soon. I hate being the center of attention.”

Easton rolls his eyes, his shoulder brushing mine as we walk. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen, sweetheart.”

“Unless maybe I’m not around you guys,” I point out. Although, the idea of starting this new school without them makes me want to barf.

“They’re still gonna stare at you even if you aren’t.” When puzzlement dances through me, Easton lightly tugs on a strand of my hair. “You’re new, which draws attention. And you’re pretty.”

I resist an eye roll. “Nice try, flirt, but I spent my entire life being either invisible or tormented, so I know you’re full of sh—”

He places a finger over my lips, shushing me. “I’m going to stop you right there. You’re pretty, and I’m sure you haven’t been invisible. You’re just shy. I got that from the first time I met you. But I think your shyness quickly wears off once you’ve been around someone for a bit, especially someone who’s sexy as hell and likes to push your buttons.” He winks at me, his grin cocky.

I disagree with him about me being pretty. Sure, I don’t think I’m ugly, but my looks are average. Not that I care. It’s not like my life is going to be easier if I suddenly become this beautiful swan. My life is my life, and I am who I am, whether I’m pretty or not.

“And as for being tormented,” Easton continues, lowering his finger from my lips. “My bet is it was from guys who thought you were hot but got pissed off when you wouldn’t give them any attention.”

My lips curve downward as his words sink in. “If that’s true, then some guys suck.”

“Some do,” Easton agrees with a nod. “Foster and I aren’t those kinds of guys, though. Just FYI.”

“You were pretty douchey when I first met you,” I remind him, adjusting the handle of my backpack.

He shakes his head. “Nah, I wasn’t douchey. I was just trying to protect something.”

“You mean you’re family?”

His attention fleetingly skates to Foster then back to me. “Sure.”

My brows crinkle as I glance between the two of them. Why does it feel like there’s more they’re not telling me?

Foster and Easton share another look, and then Foster shakes his head, the muscles in his jaw pulsating. Then his forehead creases as his phone buzzes from inside his pocket. Fishing it out, he glances at the message then stuffs his phone away and looks at me.

“My mom can’t make it today,” he tells me. “Her and my dad got called on a couple of different missions, and they’re going to be gone for at least the day.”

“What mission did they get called on?” Easton asks, glancing at his phone.

“I’m not sure.” He shrugs, but another look passes between them.

My gut warns me that they’re definitely keeping stuff from me. A lot of things.

“So, who’s going to check me in to school?” I ask, deciding I’ve had enough of their secret, silent conversations for now. “Or, should I just start tomorrow?” Please say the latter, because this is starting to become too much.

“My mom called the school, and they agreed to let her come in when she gets back from her mission and sign all the paperwork. So, all we need to do today is stop by the main office and pick up your schedule and class supplies. And you should be in all the same classes as mine. Well, mostly the human ones since a lot of my elemental-related courses have prerequisites.” He scratches the back of his neck. “But, if you run into any trouble at any time, you can either text me or send for help down our link.”

“You’re acting nervous right now …” I edgily glance around the parking lot, the building, and ultimately at the people. “Is it not safe here?”

“No, it is …” But Foster’s heavy reluctance has me concerned. “The school and the walls around it have a ton of powerful protection spells, so only permitted creatures can come here. It’s almost as safe as our house. I just want to make sure you send for help if someone bothers you. I—we want to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible dealing with this new world and learning about your powers.”

“Thanks, but … is your house really safer than a school full of elemental protectors?” I question, because the idea seems a bit crazy.

“My brothers and I are very powerful. In fact, we’re pretty badass.” Foster winks at me, and my traitor stomach does kick flips. As if he knows exactly what’s going on inside me, and maybe he does, he smiles then nods toward the building. “Come on; let’s try not to be late.”

I begrudgingly nod, and then we start to make our way across the parking lot and toward the school. With every step I take, the staring increases and my nerves skyrocket to the point where clouds are rolling in.

As we reach the wide stairway that leads to the double-doored entrance, I just about turn around and bolt as a group of people with the most striking dark eyes appear at the top of the stairway.

Elementals of darkness. I’m not even sure how I know, other than I can sense the darkness flowing off them.

In response to my nerves, lighting lights up the sky like a goddamn blue strobe light.

Foster hastily laces his fingers through mine and guides me closer to him, static buzzing between us.

“You’re fine,” he assures me. “Easton and I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Still feeling shaky inside, I latch on to his hand.

“You need to relax,” Easton whispers. “Don’t let them sense your fear.”

I take a deep breath and another, but my pulse remains jittery.

Finally, Easton threads his fingers through my free hand. “You’ve got Foster and me right here. No one’s going to hurt you.”

I should probably pull my hand away from his. I doubt it’s a good thing to walk into a new school while holding two guys hands. But I feel safe between the two of them, enough that my fingers stay where they.

I only relax again after we pass by the elemental protectors of darkness, finally entering the school.

“Holy … Wow,” I breathe out as I take in the cathedral ceiling painted with the colors of the elements, the glittering chandeliers, and the black and white checkerboard floor. Everything is extravagant from the trimming on the walls to the intricately shaped doorknobs. It looks like a museum or a castle and not a school, especially since … “Where are all the lockers?”

“We don’t have any.” Foster tightens his hold on my hand as he squeezes by people congesting up the hallway and heads toward a wide door labeled: main office. Since Easton is holding onto my other hand, I end up pulling him along with us. “The books we use stay in the classrooms, along with most of our supplies and stuff.”

“I’ll catch up with you in a bit,” Easton says, releasing ahold of my hand. “I have to go talk to a teacher about making up a final.” He gives me a strangely tense smile before taking off in the opposite direction Foster and I are headed in.

Foster throws a wave at him, his attention fixed on getting us to the main office. He acts entirely unaware of how much everyone is staring at me—no, us—now. More in particular, our interlocked fingers.

I should pull away. We’re not by the elemental protectors of darkness anymore, and it might make the staring dwindle if I do, but I worry what my powers will do if I break the ease he’s instilling inside me , worry I’ll lose control over my powers. After spending years struggling to keep my powers hidden, I like that I have a bit of help now. Not that I want to rely on him completely. One day, I want to be able to control my powers as well as he does.

“If there’re no lockers, then why the heck did I bring a backpack?” I ask as he pulls open the door to the main office.

“You’ll need it for your human classes and to carry around the supplies you can’t leave in class,” he says, tugging me into the main office.

The space is quaint and lined with bookshelves and a couple of antique desks. The walls are decorated with artwork of scenes that I’d assume belonged in fantasy novels, except now I know other worlds exist, so maybe the places are real.

Since the secretary is nowhere to be seen, we have to wait. We’re not alone, though. A group of guys are sitting in chairs near the front desk, chatting with each other and laughing. All their eyes are brightly colored and match one of the elements, letting me know they’re not human.

One of them smirks at Foster when he notices him; his golden eyes announcing he’s an elemental protector of fire.

“Well, well, well, this is interesting.” With a chillingly wicked smile on his face, he leans forward in the chair, his brown hair falling into his eyes. “Did the perfect Foster get in trouble for the very first time?” He spats the word perfect like it’s repulsive.

Perfect Foster? The guy standing beside me, dressed in black and covered in studded accessories, is known around this school as perfect? I mean, look-wise, sure, he’s gorgeous, but his personality …? Well, it all really depends on which Foster we’re talking about: the one I first met or the guy holding my hand and helping me deal with everything.

I sneak a questioning look at Foster, to which he heaves a sigh.

“Just ignore him,” he tells me. “He’s an asshole. And a stupid one at that.”

“Fuck off,” the guy growls, rising to his feet and crossing his arms. “Just because you think you’re the shit doesn’t mean you are.” He steps toward us, his eyes darkening and his fingers sparking with bright-orange flames. “And one day, I’m going to make you realize that you’re a pathetic piece of shit.” Smoke hisses from his skin. “Just you wait.”

Wait. Can he use his powers on us right now? No one ever explained if we could use them at school or not.

“Go ahead. And while you’re at it, go ahead and use your powers on me,” Foster says calmly, but edginess currents off him and, in the distance, thunder crashes. “Like I’m afraid. Your powers are weak as hell.”

“Wanna find out?” The fire guy raises his hands in front of him, the flames on his fingers erupting and causing smoke to funnel through the room.

“Brody, dude, what’re you doing?” One of the guys who was sitting with him jumps to his feet and places his hand on Brody’s shoulder. “You’re already on probation for the last time you used your powers without permission. If you do anything else, you’re going to get kicked out.”

Brody’s blazing gaze remains seared to Foster. “So what? This asshole deserves to get his ass fried for what he did to Sofie.”

Who the heck is Sofie?

“I didn’t do anything to Sofie but turn her down,” Foster states in a glacial tone I’ve heard him use many times. Well, up until he found out what I am. “And she—and you, apparently—need to get over it.”

“You led her on then broke her heart,” Brody bites out, the flames spreading furiously up his arms. “She hasn’t been the same since.”

“I never led your sister on.” Foster’s fingers twitch in mine as smoke pours thickly around the room. If it keeps up, it’s going to become hard to breathe. “If she told you that, she lied.”

Knowing what I know about Foster, I doubt he’s lying. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t a jerk to this Sofie when he rejected her—that’s coming from my own experience. Still, that doesn’t give Brody the right to set him on fire or whatever he’s about to try to do to Foster.

“Sofie doesn’t lie,” Brody growls, stalking toward Foster. “I should fry your ass right now. Scar your body with burns like you scarred Sofie’s heart …” He pauses, the flames extinguishing when he notices mine and Foster’s intertwined fingers. “And who is this lovely, little thing?” His lips curl into a twisted grin as his gaze zeroes in on me.

I fuse my lips together and shrug.

“Oh, I’m going to get an answer out of you.” He grins, his golden eyes shadowing like smoke over a flame. “And I’m going to enjoy it while I do it.”

As heat flares through my veins, Foster jerks his hand from mine and strides toward Brody.

“If you so much as touch her, I’ll make your life a living hell.” The coldness in his tone glazes the air. “And so will my brothers.”

Brody’s Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, but then he recovers rapidly and plasters on a grin. “Go ahead. You don’t scare me, and neither do your stupid brothers.” Brody gets in Foster’s face, lowering his tone. “Your family may have this entire school wrapped around their fingers, but you don’t have me fooled. And one day, I’m going to make you pay for breaking Sofie’s heart and show you how she felt when you did it.”

They stare each other down, heat and frost lingering in the air and making my brain dizzy. Who knows what would’ve happened if a woman with chin-length, black hair hadn’t walked in?

“Gentlemen, is there a problem?” she asks, glancing at Foster and Brody.

“No ma’am,” Foster tells her while Brody says, “Nope. We were just talking.”

Sighing, the woman walks over to the desk and drops the stack of papers she was carrying.

When her back is to them, Brody hisses, “This isn’t over, Everettson. I’m going to make you burn and enjoy every moment of it.”

“And I’ll fucking drown your insides if you so much as come near Sky,” Foster warns lowly.

Yep, Sky, you’re definitely not in human territory anymore.