He felt the humidity in the air, even here in the gym. It wasn’t anywhere near as good as rain or mist, but it was enough to let power flicker beneath his skin.
He and his brothers were already marked for death. What was the worst that could happen?
He wished he could spot the twins. They were out in the crowd somewhere—the humidity told him that much. But it wasn’t enough to send power through the room, to throw up a flag of warning.
He couldn’t waste time looking. There were at least five hundred kids in the gym.
A hand closed on his arm. “I told you to leave her alone.”
Hunter. They were closer to the door; Chris could feel a storm brewing outside. “Yeah, alone isn’t what she needs right now.”
“I think Becca can take care of herself.”
“I bet she’ll thank you for that.” All he needed was someone to open the door. Just one little surge of water in the air. Maybe it was even starting to rain. He gave Hunter a little shove. “Get your goddamn hands off me.”
Hunter held fast. Bastard was strong. “Or what?”
The door opened and some laughing girls poured through. It wasn’t raining, but misting. Chris could see it. Better, he could feel it. He rallied the moisture in the air, calling it to him, training it on Hunter. Maybe it was his fury, maybe it was the tension of the last few weeks, but this power felt good. Strong. Focused. Like millions of tiny ice daggers, too small to see.
With this much clarity, Chris was almost afraid to turn it loose.
Something like shock flickered in Hunter’s expression. “Water,” he said.
Chris almost lost control right there. For all the moisture in the room, he suddenly had to wet his lips to speak. “What?”
Hunter was staring at him, his eyes too wide, his breathing too quick. “You’re Water. But then—there’s not only one.” He didn’t look frightened—he looked stunned. Like life had just yanked the rug out from under him.
Chris understood the feeling. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Chris.” Nick came up beside him—of course, he’d probably felt the power in the air. “What’s going on?”
Hunter glanced up at him, and Chris watched something settle in the other boy’s face. Not anger. More like ... resolve. “Now I get it,” said Hunter. He let go of Chris’s arm and made to move away.
“Wait a minute.” Chris grabbed him.
And wham. All that power hit Chris right in the face, and knocked him back. It was like taking a snowball to the face. A frozen one. Backed by a baseball bat.
He shook his head to clear it, feeling like his brain was rattling around inside his skull. He wiped at his eyes and his fingers came away with ice crystals. He could barely feel his face.
But he could see. Hunter was gone.
Nick swore. “What the hell was that? Did you lose control—”
o;Too bad,” snapped Quinn. “I think we should do a public castration right here—”
“Quinn.” Becca sighed.
“Hey,” called a guy in the crowd, some senior that Becca didn’t know. “Look. It’s McRapist.” Then he punched Drew in the shoulder, hard.
“Yeah,” said another guy. “I liked the hottie’s idea of a little public payback.” Then he shoved Drew.
And suddenly more students were crowding them, full of catcalls and anger.
Drew set his jaw and glared, but Becca saw him flinch.
And something about that spoke to her. She knew exactly what it felt like.
“Come on,” she said to him. “You have five minutes.” Then she looked back over her shoulder at Hunter, who already stood poised to follow. “Stay.”