The whiffs of wet dog from beneath my seat only blended with the shifter musk in the air.
Afterward, we all rubbed our bellies and burped as we filed into the coliseum. I was so sleepy that if the class had been at all boring, I would have been in trouble.
Fortunately, it was anything but.
Cryptid Powers and Their Useswas taught by a Watcher. Not Cara—but rather, Bess.
The Watcher held up a textbook. “The first rule you must learn is that the council was serious about not recording anything that reveals the existence of Cryptids. Written lore of any kind was prohibited. We have bent that rule to generate this text.”
She set the book down on the podium and rested one long-fingered hand on it. “The council has felt so strongly about enforcing this law that in the past, they burned entire libraries. This book has been created from those saved from annihilation, largely due to the Watchers’ efforts. We have pulled together our private libraries to create the one here.”
Wowsers.I listened with wide eyes as I developed a new respect for what lay in the library, and Matt seemed similarly engrossed. Darius, as usual, appeared bored. I couldn’t see Talakai—he’d chosen to sit on the other side of Aaron.
Bess gestured to those we’d been given as we entered the coliseum. “These copies belong to the academy. You can pick them up after class off the table by the door. We track them, and at the end of the session, you will be expected to return them. The academy library will always have copies for future reference. But the best reference is your own brain.” She tapped her head. “So memorize well.”
What followed had my jaw on the floor. Had these powerful beings really walked among humans for thousands of years? Not just walked among, it turns out. They’d integrated. Which was the polite way of saying that they’d screwed around. Extensively.
This was the explanation for people like me. Only some had way more talent, it appeared.
My mind spun by the end of class. By the small amount we’d covered, I could clearly see why hybrids were critical to the council’s Shade program.
I just couldn’t see how I fit into it.
As the class broke up, Matt leaned close. “What’s up? You look ready to chuck a wobbly.”
My mouth dropped open as I stared at him. “What?”
“You don’t look happy,” he explained.
Mari had already walked up a few stairs from us. Darius and Aaron were long gone, Talakai with them. I leaned closer to him. “If my talent doesn’t manifest soon, they’ll kick me off this team.”
When Matt merely looked troubled, not surprised, my heart sank. The thought had obviously occurred to him, as well.
“You can heal,” he said. “That’s powerful.”
“Do you think that will be enough?” I asked.
I saw the answer by the way his mouth straightened. “You killed that feral. You didn’t do that by healing.”
“But I haven’t done anything since. Dani must be starting to think it was a fluke. A one-off because I was so angry.”
His brows rose. “You were angry? Not scared?”
“He attacked Trix,” I explained. “I just saw red.”
We picked up our textbooks and bypassed the elevators. Matt paused in the outer hall. “So... Maybe we need to get you mad?”
I shrugged. “We tried it in class, but it didn’t work.”
Matt snorted. “You don’t get that kind of aggro by gnashing on it.”
I rubbed my temple. I was so not in the mood for his exaggerated Aussie slang. “Speak English.”
“You need to be pushed,” he said. “Physically.”
I tucked the thick textbook against my chest and leaned on the rail that overlooked the foyer. I had been running right before I was attacked—and the fight with the feral had been very physical. Maybe Matt had a point.
“Night Games tonight,” he mused. “That means no late run. So we have time now, if you want to try.”
