Denouncement Read online

  “Ack!” she squeaked. “Dammit, Thorin! You know I hate it when you do that,” Iris punched him in the shoulder.

  “Whatever. You say you hate it, but I can tell you don’t. Your eyes are all blue and sparkly,” he smiled at her.

  Iris pushed her lips to the left and let out a huff of air from her nose. “Fine. You win. Stupid eyes,” she added in a mutter. “How was the rest of your summer?”

  “It was great! Sorry I missed the last few practices. I couldn’t say no to a three-week tour of Italy.”

  “I don’t blame you. I wish I could’ve had an amazing vacation like that, but—” Iris shrugged her shoulders.

  “I wish you could have joined me for a day or two. There just wasn’t any point where I wasn’t with one of my family members. If there had been, I totally would have let you know so you could have formed a doorway and come. At least for a day or two.”

  “Thanks for thinking of me. It’s probably better I didn’t go. I mean, what if someone took my picture and posted it somewhere one of my family members found it?”

  “Good point.”

  Iris looked forward in line and caught Kyxy and Kylee grinning at her. She nodded her head to tell the twins they should join them. They exchanged a look and fell back a few people in line.

  “Thorin? Thorin Westenberg?” Kylee asked as she realized who Iris was talking to.

  “That’s me,” Thorin said. He turned toward the twins.

  Iris grinned at the look on Thorin’s face. She could tell he tried to place them but was having a difficult time at the moment.

  “Hey, Iris!” Kyxy said as the silence stretched on between them.

  “Hey—”

  “Gavin’s sisters? No way! I didn’t know you guys were thinking about coming to Davis. And you’re joining the band? That’s awesome! How’s Gavin? Wait! Hey Iris? What do you mean, hey Iris? There’s no way you guys can be—I mean how do you know each other?” he caught himself just in time.

  “I could smack you for that one,” Iris grumbled low enough so only the three of them could hear. “Gavin works at the lab I’m at starting next week. I’m sure you can figure out the rest from there. The four of us had a lovely time getting to know each other yesterday while visiting a beautiful beach.”

  “That is so cool! I haven’t seen Gavin or his sisters in—”

  “We have names, you know,” Kylee butted in.

  “Right. That makes you Kylee,” he pointed to the correct twin. “And you Kyxy. You should learn to be more polite like your sister,” he told Kylee.

  Kyxy laughed. “Were you waiting to figure out which of us was which?”

  “You got me there,” Thorin grinned. “One of these days I’ll figure it out based on looks. Until then, Kylee’s the sarcastic one and Kyxy’s the nice one. Some things don’t seem to change.”

  “That’s obvious,” Kylee agreed with a scoff.

  “Anyhow,” Iris decided it was time to move the conversation forward. “They’re all coming over for another study session on Sunday morning if you want to join.”

  “That’d be great! What time?”

  “Probably ten-ish. I haven’t confirmed with Gavin yet. Does that time work for you two?” she asked the twins.

  “I don’t see why not. We can’t move into the dorms until two that afternoon, so it’d be great to make good use of the morning,” Kyxy told them.

  “Great! I’ll text Gavin.” Iris pulled her phone out and put actions to her words. She stared at her phone for a few more seconds awaiting a response. “He says ten works for him.” Iris looked up and realized Thorin, Kyxy, and Kylee were all awkwardly standing there. “What did I miss?”

  “Nothing,” Thorin said in a rush.

  “I’m going to call bullshit on that one, but it appears you’re saved by the welcome table.”

  Thorin turned and waited for the band officer to check him in before disappearing behind the curtain. Iris decided she’d have to figure out what she’d missed later. She couldn’t have that amount of awkwardness in such a small group of friends.

  Chapter 16

  It turned out Iris had nothing to worry about—at least for now. Once retreat started, everyone was too busy to have long, uneasy pauses in conversation. Besides, there were no points when just the four of them hung out, so there was no way for Iris to assess the situation further. By the time Saturday’s football game came, Iris was exhausted but in a superb mood. She forgot how much she loved magic-less weeks. Especially when they involved hanging out with the band. She swore to herself that she’d be more involved with the band that year—as long as her grades held up.

  Iris went to the social at Matt’s place Saturday evening and managed to relax. She refused to let the twins, Thorin, Sienna, Jaden, or Zarina engage her in any magic talk. This was her last night off and she’d be damned if she let them ruin it by wanting to know about the next training session or how to turn into their true form—as she referred to the images on their doors. She was more than a little tired of that question after she told everyone Sienna’s dreams involved turning into a mermaid. Instead, she talked with her section and classmates and spent more than half the night hanging out with Matt and other people in his room.

  The next morning she headed to the Gallery and knocked on Gavin’s door to see if he and his sisters were ready for some magic training. Once they arrived, Iris knocked on Thorin’s door to let him know they were going to start practice. He met them at the island a few minutes later. Iris kept the training session small once more and figured the three newest magic users could join the next group training session. Whenever that was going to be.

  Iris asked Thorin to work on a few things with Gavin and, after they spent significantly more time than Iris felt necessary catching up with each other, the pair made good progress on doorways and controlling the elements. Iris worked on the same skills with the twins. They only stopped long enough for a quick lunch break and by the time two o’clock rolled around, she was pleased with the progress they’d made.

  “Yeah, I’ll meet you at your place in half an hour,” Thorin waved to Gavin.

  “Bye, guys. See you tomorrow, Gavin,” Iris called. “It’s really nice of you to help them move in,” she told Thorin.

  “Well. I’ve got nothing else to do today. Hey, where were you last night? I barely saw you.”

  “I was around.”

  “You’re being evasive.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Then where were you?”

  “I spent half the night hanging with the mellos and other sophomores and the other half hanging out in Matt’s room.”

  “You hang out with him too much.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Warmth pooled in Iris’s stomach. It spread outward.

  “Exactly what it sounds like.”

  “Well last I checked, you don’t have any right to tell me who I can or can’t hang out with.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re a friend, Thorin, not a boyfriend. Besides, Matt is in my Japanese class and has been every quarter I’ve taken the class. We’re study partners just like you and I were.”

  “Were?”

  “I didn’t want to presume you’d have the time to help me out this year.”

  “Well, I do. So don’t be afraid to ask.”

  “I won’t. And thank you.” The warmth started to recede. It flared a moment later.

  “You’re welcome. Now, as a big brother figure—”

  “You tell me not to hang out with Matt one more time and so help me I will use magic to kick your ass.”

  “Fine, fine, fine. I won’t say it. At least you’ve heard my opinion.”

  “Yes. Why do you have that opinion, anyway?”

  “I think he’s too old for you. Besides, you can’t talk about a big portion of your life with him.”

  “Like I said, we’re study partners. That’s it. I hang out with lots of people I can’t talk magic
with. In fact, I quite enjoy having a variety of non-magic friends. It makes me feel normal.”

  “But you aren’t normal. None of us are.”

  “Thanks for stating the obvious. You should get going if you’re going to be any use to Gavin, Kyxy, and Kylee. I’ll see you later.” Like all of her high school friends, he couldn’t grasp her desire or joy at being perceived as normal. They’d had it throughout their lives. She’d only discovered it when she got to college.

  Iris gave Thorin a half wave and headed to her room without a backward glance. She felt a doorway form as she closed the door to her bedroom. Perhaps she’d been a little harsh with him, but she despised it when people tried to control her. Especially when it came to who she could or could not see. It was way worse coming from a friend than her parents. It rubbed Iris the wrong way. She stewed on it as she stuffed her Japanese books into her backpack.

  She was too upset to head to Matt’s, so she went for a drive around the country roads north of her apartment. Iris muttered to herself throughout the drive. Her eyes seared frequently—became a more vibrant green each time. She turned her music up. After twenty minutes of being pissed off, Iris decided it was stupid. She drew in and released a large breath before concentrating on getting her emotions in check. Once calm, she checked her eyes in the rearview mirror. They were back to blue, so she shot Matt a text and told him she’d be over in fifteen.

  “Hey!” Matt greeted her as he opened the door. “Come on in.”

  “Thanks!” Iris entered the living room, returned Matt’s lingering hug, and followed him back to his room.

  “Need anything before we get started?”

  “Nope, I’m good.” Iris tossed her backpack down next to his desk and took her usual seat in his computer chair. “Want to start with some vocabulary review?”

  “Works for me.”

  They spent a little over half an hour quizzing each other on words before working on their conversation skills. Iris was surprised at how much she remembered and how easy it was to talk to Matt in Japanese—even if they were formulaic sentences more often than not.

  He asked her if she wanted to stay for dinner around five, but Iris had to get going. It was her turn to cook for roommate dinner and she still needed to go shopping. Thirty minutes later Iris walked into her apartment, hands laden with grocery bags.

  “Hey!” a chorus of voices called from the living room.

  “Hey!” she called back. “You guys staying for dinner? I think I got enough stuff,” she told Cirrus, Jaden, and Rowen.

  “If you don’t mind,” Rowen said.

  “Not at all,” Iris called from the kitchen as she pulled food from her bags and opened several cabinets.

  “Need a hand?” Aerianna asked at her shoulder.

  “Sure. Can you cut up the apples and toss them in here, please?” Iris passed her a bowl with a layer of mini marshmallows and sour cream at the bottom.

  “Fruit salad?”

  “Yup.”

  “Excellent!” Aerianna grabbed a knife and got to work.

  “So, what’s everyone got for classes tomorrow?” Iris called from the kitchen as she sliced tomatoes, onions, and lettuce for turkey burgers.

  “Do we have to talk about classes? Can’t we talk magic? It’s way more interesting and I want to know how our three newest magic users are doing,” Rozlynd called back after muting the TV.

  “They’re fine,” Iris began. She kept her sigh in. Studying with Matt had increased her desire for more non-magic time but she knew it’d never happen with her roommates. “Thorin helped teach Gavin, so it gave me a chance to really get into things with the twins. They’ll need a few private lessons here and there—”

  “Don’t we all need those sometimes?” Aerianna interrupted.

  “But otherwise, they’re ready to join the group practices.”

  “They particularly good at anything?” Rowen asked.

  “Kyxy is really good at manipulating fire. Well, her true form is a phoenix, so that makes sense. And Kylee is great at healing. She did some damage control after Kyxy got a little too enthusiastic with some of her fire manipulations. She’s a natural at healing and is already better at it than I am—which isn’t hard. I think she’ll be better than you, Aeri, and possibly even Zarina. Gavin, well, I didn’t work with him all that much today, but he did some awesome things with water last time. You’d have to talk to Thorin to get a better idea.”

  Iris finished her explanation, stepped outside, and lit the barbecue. When she came back in, there was a full-blown discussion about magic. Iris grimaced. She’d spent most of her summer in conversation about magic, performing magic, or teaching magic and had been looking forward to a bit more normalcy now they were all back at Davis. She wondered if Thorin was right and she should stop trying to be normal. They were all far from it. As she cooked dinner, Iris looked forward to work the following day and a respite from magic.

  She walked into the lab ten minutes before the start of her shift so she could give herself a quick review of everything’s location before getting down to work.

  “Hey!” a voice called a minute or two later from the direction of the door.

  Iris turned to see Gavin checking the hall behind him before shutting the door. “Hi,” she called back with a fake smile on her face.

  “I have a question before anyone gets here,” he started in a fast whisper. “Have you ever tried to manipulate the weather? Make it rain, specifically?”

  “No. I’ve never thought about doing that, why?” Iris hated to admit it to herself, but his question intrigued her.

  “Because I think I created a small rain cloud last night.”

  “That’s awesome. You’ll have to show me how you did it.”

  “Of course! Thorin was working with me on fire and I thought about all the different ways you can manipulate water. Anyway, we got to talking and tried a few different things. Then it was raining in my bathroom.” The door handle clicked. “I’ll show you later,” Gavin finished before their lab mate entered.

  Iris spent the next twenty minutes thinking about what kind of request she’d have to make to create a rain cloud or manipulate the weather. Her mind even wondered if they could manipulate the ground—get it to shake, or undulate, or even cause earthquakes—before she realized her subconscious had drawn in a small deluge of power. Disgusted with herself, she let go of all flows and closed herself off from being able to gather any more.

  It took Iris fifteen minutes to stop being upset with herself and another ten before she got into a good groove with her work but once there, Iris felt more relaxed than she had in several weeks. She wasn’t in charge of anyone’s safety. Didn’t have to keep anyone from doing something stupid or causing large amounts of damage. She was simply a worker bee following directions and could mostly keep to herself. It was a sensation she didn’t realize she’d missed and one that disappeared as she said goodbye to Gavin at the end of her shift.

  “I’ve got time tomorrow night if you want me to drop by.”

  “Let’s save it for the weekend. That way you and Thorin can show everyone and we can all get settled into our classes.”

  “I thought it was an away trip this weekend for the band.”

  “It is. I totally forgot. All right, why don’t you come over after dinner tomorrow? Just shoot me a text when you’re ready,” she forced her voice to remain interested rather than resigned like she felt. Her eyes twinged, and she was sure the brown of depression would reflect back at her in a mirror. Gavin didn’t notice.

  “Great! See you then.”

  Chapter 17

  Gavin knocked on Iris’s door in the Gallery as she rinsed her dishes after dinner.

  “This a good time?”

  “Sure. Come on over.”

  Before Iris could finish placing her dish in the dishwasher, a doorway opened in the middle of the living room.

  “We expecting someone?” Violet called.

  “Yeah. Sorry. It’s Ga
vin . . . and Thorin, apparently,” Iris responded as the two gentlemen stepped out of Gavin’s balsa-wood door. “You know,” she addressed the two newcomers. “When I say come on over, I don’t always mean form a doorway into my home.”

  “Right. Sorry. Does that mean when you say text me, you mean text me rather than call upon your door in the Gallery?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Got it. Sorry,” Gavin said again. He genuinely sounded sorry, so Iris let it go.

  “It’s all right. I blame Thorin.”

  “Woman—”

  Iris sent a brick of air at his shoulder in a flash.

  “Ow!”

  “How many times, Thorin? How many times?”

  “I can’t help it, I . . . That hurt,” he complained after she sent a second brick of air at his other shoulder. “I mean I’ll work on it. If I didn’t tell you already, I don’t recommend pissing her off,” he added in an undertone to Gavin.

  “I’ve gathered as much. So,” he addressed Iris, “you want us to show you what we’ve managed?”

  “Sure. We need the island for this one, or are we cool here?”

  “We’re fine here. But the kitchen or a bathroom may be the smartest place so we don’t soak the carpet.”

  “Oooh, this sounds interesting. Can I come?”

  “Of course,” Gavin told Violet.

  Iris led everyone to the hall bathroom. There wasn’t enough room for all of them to enter the bathroom at once, so Gavin and Thorin went in while Iris and Violet stayed in the hallway. Aerianna joined them a few seconds later.

  “So we were working on creating fireballs because neither of us is good at them when Gavin here mentioned that both of our doors have more to do with water than fire,” Thorin began.

  “Yeah, and then I thought about how Iris said she could manipulate water that already exists and I wondered; why can’t we create water the same way we can create fire? I had this dream before I realized I was a magic user and I hadn’t thought about since. Well, it came back the other night. I was standing on a cliff above the beach, staring out to the ocean at a massive whirlpool. I don’t know how, but I know I made the whirlpool.”