Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  About This Book

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

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  18

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  21

  Author's Note

  More Books by Scarlett

  Find Me Online

  Extraordinary

  Elemental Academy: The Rebellion, Book One

  Scarlett Haven

  Copyright © 2023 Scarlett Haven

  All rights reserved.

  Cover by Sleepy Fox Studio

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, places, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  ABOUT THIS BOOK:

  I’m given an impossible choice—save the humans and risk exposing myself, or let them die.

  I’ve spent my entire life on the run. Always moving. Never making any true connections.

  After exposing my magic to humans, I’m whisked away to Elemental Academy. It’s the one place I shouldn’t have to hide. But if the elementals find out what I can truly do, they will kill me.

  I’m too powerful. Dangerous. A freak, even among supernaturals.

  At the academy, I meet Alex. He might be the only person at the academy as strong as me. He’s a hybrid. He’s also my mate. But if anybody finds out that we’re mated, we will both die.

  The council isn’t the only threat. There are others like me. And to win the war, the elementals might not have a choice but to trust the one person they fear the most.

  1

  I need a break from my boring life.

  I don’t like summer.

  At least, not summer in Iowa.

  I live in one of the flattest, most boring states in the US. There is no lake within thirty miles of my town. No river. No mall. No anything. I don’t even have a friend who has a swimming pool, which is a real shame considering how hot it is today—just over ninety seven degrees and it’s not even noon yet.

  My town reminds me of the ones in those cheesy romantic Christmas movies that my mother loves to watch. We have one street that is unsurprisingly called Main Street. On that street, there are a few local businesses—a coffee shop, the only saving grace of the town, two restaurants that will most likely give you a horrible stomach ache from all the grease, and a thrift shop. Don’t get too excited though. That thrift shop has an overabundance of porcelain dolls. I swear their eyes follow you around in there, or maybe I’ve just listened to Megan too much.

  Megan, my only friend, believes in all things creepy—ghosts, ghouls, aliens, and even witches. I wonder what she’d do if I told her that witches are real, but I won’t, of course. I just roll my eyes at her antics, pretending to be annoyed. Pretending to be human.

  I’m not. Human, that is.

  “Kamryn, time to get up!” My mother yells lovingly up the stairs as if she hasn’t heard me already take a shower hours ago. I’ve just been hiding in my room, wishing that I was anywhere but here.

  Before I head downstairs, I take a peek out the window in my room and see the same pasture I always see—there is corn growing in it, just like last year. I’ve had nightmares about that field, mostly about voices urging me to ‘come play.’ I shiver, thinking about it.

  Downstairs, my mother is standing in the kitchen. She’s not cooking—thank God. She is the worst cook imaginable. My father is the one who does all the cooking, but he’s at work this Thursday morning.

  “Your dad made some muffins last night.” Mom points to the basket on the table as she washes her coffee cup.

  I grab one, taking a bite—banana nut, my favorite.

  “Megan and Jake are coming over. We’re going to head to the coffee shop.” I take a seat at the table.

  Mom puts her hands on her hips as she turns around to face me. She smiles, probably happy that I’ve made friends, or at least I’m trying to. “That’s good. Those two kids are great for you.”

  I take another bite of my muffin, not knowing what to say back to her. I know she wants me to enjoy this town—she can see how miserable I am. She and Dad love it here. Dad finally started his own law firm after having a string of horrible bosses, and my mom joined a book club. They’re trying their hardest to be normal. I know I should try harder too. They’ve given up everything for me.

  It’s hard to make friends when I have to lie about everything. I don’t have a lot in common with human teenagers, but I’m trying. For my parents.

  Mom turns around to the sink and grabs her cup. She starts drying it with a towel. She turns to face me again, her lips pursed together. I can see the worry dimming her green eyes. She’s starting to get wrinkles on her forehead from all the worrying. I hate that I’m causing her so much stress.

  The cup slips from her hand. Without thinking, I flick my hand out, catching the cup with my air magic. I float it back up to her and she grabs it, scowling at me.

  “Kamryn, we’ve talked about this. You can’t just use your magic like that. You’re going to get in the habit and make a mistake in front of humans.” Mom scolds me like I haven’t heard this exact speech a hundred times just this week.

  My elemental magic is an extension of myself. Using it is as easy as breathing. I can’t help but call for it. I know that Mom is right. It is going to get me caught one day. But it’s not as easy as she makes it seem.

  She sighs, walking over to the table and taking a seat across from me. She reaches over a hand, gently patting my arm. “Everything that your father and I have done is to protect you. What do you think the elementals will do to you if they find out you exist?”

  “I know.” I push my half eaten muffin away. It feels like concrete in my stomach.

  My parents have sacrificed their entire life to protect my secret. Everything would be in vain if anybody were to find out the truth about me.

  “I’m sorry.” Mom offers me a sad smile before standing up.

  Before I can respond, the doorbell goes off.

  I stand from my chair, looking at Mom. “That’s probably Megan.”

  She waves a hand. “Go. Have fun with your friends.”

  Part of me wants to stay here. I want to make sure that my mom is okay. But she’s right. We have to continue pretending to be human. And most human seventeen-year-old girls aren’t loners who stay in their rooms all day. Most of them have friends. Besides, Megan and Jake aren’t so bad. Sure, their taste in music is questionable, and Jake’s obsession with all things Doctor Who is downright weird, but they don’t question the strange things about me. That is the only reason I keep them around.

  I open the front door of my house and my jaw drops open when I see Megan.

  “What?” She fluffs her hair around. “You don’t like green?”

  Green? More like neon green. “I feel like if I look at you for too long, my eyes are going to hurt.”

  Megan likes to experiment with her hair. When I first moved here, her hair was purple. After that, she did pink for a while. She went platinum blonde earlier in the summer, which caused some issues. It’s why she now has short green hair. It now reaches just below her chin, but it used to go half way down her back. She swore after that she wasn’t going to change her hair ever again, but I should’ve known better.

  Megan rolls her eyes dramatically. “Like you have any room to talk.”

  I frown. “Uh, my hair is naturally blonde.”

  “I’m talking about your eyes. I still have no idea what color they are.” She pokes out her bottom lip.

  My eyes are natural. They’re silver. Not really a normal color for humans. I always tell people that they’re contacts. If people knew the truth, there is no way they would believe that I’m human. Sometimes I wonder why they believe it anyway.

  Megan as I walk side by side to Jake’s car in the driveway. It’s a 1969 Shelby Mustang. I only know that because he talks about it constantly. He tells us how rare it is to find one in good condition. I climb into the backseat, letting Megan ride in the front with Jake.

  Megan and Jake have been friends since they were babies—literally. Their moms have pictures of them bathing together when they couldn’t even walk yet. Everybody says that they’ll get married one day, and I believe it. They’re not actually dating though and they swear they’re only friends. Megan is in love, but Jake doesn’t notice.

  His eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror, so I sink further into my seat.

  Jake has a small crush on me. I’ve tried very hard to show him that I’m not interested, but the guy is a little clueless. Not surprising, since he misses all of Megan’s hints.

  Megan turns around to face me as Jake drives toward town.

  “I’m just saying, if you go missing and I have to talk to the FBI about you, how am I supposed to tell them what you look like?” Megan asks.

  It takes me a second to realize she’s still talking about my eye color.

  I ignore her, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear. I look out the window at the farmlands as we drive past them. It’s dizzying to watch the rolls of corn as we pass.

  Megan snorts. “Fine, don’t tell me the truth.”

  As open as Megan is, believing in things that go bump in the night, she can’t handle the truth. No human can. It’s why we keep the existence of our kind a secret from them. It’s for their safety as much as it is ours.

  Jake parks his car at an empty church parking lot about two blocks away from the coffee shop. He says it’s because he doesn’t want a scratch on his baby, but Megan and I both know it’s because he doesn’t know how to parallel park. Neither of us calls him out on it, but Megan does complain about having to walk in the heat.

  Even though I’m not ‘supposed’ to use my elemental magic, I carefully hide behind Megan and Jake, causing a small breeze to blow. It helps take the edge off.

  Megan sighs. “Now that is what I’m talking about. It’s like my own personal fan.”

  If only she knew.

  As soon as we walk into the coffee shop, the girl behind the counter just tells us to take a seat. We come in here so often that she knows our order. Megan and Jake sit down in the booth across from me, and I sit facing the window.

  After spending years on the run, I like to keep a look out the window, just in case. Though, truly, I doubt anybody is looking for us in nowhere, Iowa. Nobody has ever found us before. Mom and Dad are just paranoid.

  I’ve often wondered if other elementals are as evil as my parents make them out to be. They can’t all be bad, right?

  “Jake, you haven’t even noticed my hair.” Megan pokes out her bottom lip.

  Jake shrugs. “I noticed—it’s impossible to miss. I just thought you were done with the bright colors.”

  “I got bored.” She shrugs.

  I can relate to her boredom. There isn’t anything to do in this small town. I need a break from my mundane life. Thankfully, I don’t dye my hair on a whim when I’m bored. But if it makes Megan happy, then I’m all for it.

  “Kamryn’s hair looks good today,” Jake muses, his eyes glancing over toward me.

  I sink down a little in the booth, wishing that I could hide. Megan’s eyes narrow at me before she frowns. I can see the hurt in her eyes.

  Jake looks at Megan, his entire face falling. “I just mean that I like your hair when it’s any color.” He puts his hand on her arm. “I’m sorry, Meg. I didn’t mean it like it sounded.”

  She nods but turns to look out the window. I pretend I don’t notice the tears welling up in her eyes.

  The barista brings over our coffee—Megan and I get iced coffee while Jake still drinks it warm despite the fact that it’s hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk outside.

  Megan is still looking hurt by what Jake said. I could punch him for being so calloused, but then again, he’s a guy. Guys don’t think before they speak. I know Jake cares about Megan. Someday, they’ll get married. I just hope I’m still around then. The alternative, which is very likely, is that Mom, Dad, and I will be packed up and long gone by then.

  This is the longest we’ve ever stayed in one town—an entire year. I got to spend my junior year at the same school. That is a record. As much as I hate this town, it’s kind of become ‘home.’ I like having a home.

  Jake clears his throat.

  I turn and notice that nobody has spoken a word, not since Jake awkwardly apologized earlier.

  “Meg, come on. I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me. You can dye your hair whatever color you like. I’m an idiot,” he says.

  Megan grins at that. “Yeah, you kind of are.”

  He smiles too, knowing that he’s forgiven.

  I shake my head at her. “You let him off way too easy.”

  She holds up her phone, pushing the play button. Jake’s voice comes out of the speaker. ‘I’m an idiot.’

  Jake’s mouth falls open as he looks at her phone, and I laugh.

  “I will cherish this recording. I think I’ll set it up on a loop—maybe I’ll set it up so this plays every time you text me,” Megan teases.

  I turn, looking back out the window at their playful banter, wanting to give them some privacy.

  At times like this, it’s hard not to feel like a third wheel.

  I don’t date and I probably never will. Dating a human would be pointless. I could never tell them the truth about me and I could never be myself around them. Besides, I am waiting for my mate.

  Supernaturals have soulmates. A soulmate is the one person handpicked by fate that is perfect. My parents are mates. I see how happy they are together and I want that for me. But if I’m never allowed to interact with other supernaturals, how will I ever meet him? The thought makes my chest ache.

  Megan snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Yo, Kamryn. Where’d you go?”

  I blink at her, shaking my head. “Sorry. Just… daydreaming, I guess.”

  I take a sip of my coffee. The ice is starting to melt, so I use a touch of my elemental magic to cool it down. I know Mom said I shouldn’t use it, but it’s part of me. It’s like I have no choice. But I would never use my magic in front of humans if I thought I would get caught. Jake and Megan are none the wiser.

  “Jake was wondering if you wanted to come over for a Doctor Who marathon.” Megan sits forward, tapping her fingers anxiously on the table.

  She wants me to say no. It’s clear on her face. I don’t take offense to it. We’re friends, but she wants time alone with Jake. I get it.

  Jake looks at me with a similar expression, however, I know he wants me to say yes.

  “Nah.” I wave a hand at them. “I’d literally rather watch grass grow than spend a day watching that freaky show.”

  Megan giggles and Jake frowns.

  Why does Jake have a crush on me? We have nothing in common, except Megan. If we ever dated, we would never have anything to do together. But I guess sometimes our bodies don’t care who we are attracted to. I just know that I’m not attracted to Jake, not like that.

  I hear the sound of glass breaking. I look over at the counter and see the girl staring out the window with her mouth agape. I turn to see what she is looking at and my heart stops as I see an airplane rapidly falling from the sky. I jump from my seat, running outside. People are yelling and screaming as they point up, helpless to do anything.

  2

  An impossible decision.

  I stare at the airplane that is plummeting toward our small town at an alarming rate and I contemplate my options.

  There are probably three hundred people—at least—on board that plane. That’s almost as much as the population of the entire town. I know that I could save them, but to do so I would have to reveal myself to humans.

  We’d have to move again.

  Eh, I hate this town anyway.

  I’m just going to sort of miss Megan and Jake.

  I will have to compel every single one of these humans to forget what they see, but that won’t be a problem. Mom and Dad will be upset, but there are so many people on board. I can’t let those people die. I know that. I couldn’t live with myself if I did. Instead, I will risk revealing myself to the humans, and I will risk getting caught. It’s worth it to save those people.

  Mom and Dad will understand. Hopefully.

  My elemental magic was already rising to the surface before I fully decided to do anything. Though, I guess I knew before I started to act what my decision would inevitably be.

  I will my air magic to gently slow the plane’s momentum. I see the pink strands of my magic as it flows from me. I’m vaguely aware that the humans around me are noticing it—it’s hard not to notice. They’re all staring. But I don’t focus on them, I focus on landing the plane.

  The plane is heavy. Really heavy. It strains my magic, but I’m strong. I can handle it. I pull the plane, willing it to land gently right where I want it to—in a cornfield on the side of the road.

  When I look up, nobody is watching me anymore. Instead, everybody is running toward the plane, ready to help anybody who needs assistance. That is why I like this town. The people are more worried about helping those on board than they are about witnessing magic.

  Part of me wants to run away now—it would be the smart thing to do. But I really need to compel these people to forget me, and I would like to make sure that everybody on board is all right.

 

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