I mean, I know I can boss the dude around and all, but he’s my assigned professor, and I’m eighteen. He could offer a little guidance, right?
So, while I understand Cora’s jealousy over my easy school workload, I envy hers. I’d love to be challenged, to really get down to the nitty-gritty about my craft. I’d even go for weekly lunches, or even monthly lunches—heck, just one lunch—with Kleeshawnall Rushfire, but that guy has checked so far out that it’s a miracle he even makes it to session regularly.
But Cora doesn’t understand any of this. So I apologize and quickly change topics. “How’s Raul?”
The gloom above her head dissipates immediately. “I met his madre. She liked me.”
Cora is dating Raul Mesaverde, a Spanish Cyclone on the Guard. He’s a great guy; the two of them are a perfect example of how total opposites attract. “Of course she did.”
She chews on her pen. “Lizzie is threatening to move to Texas.”
Well, that’s no shocker. Her boyfriend Graham, a non we went to high school with, got a football scholarship to play there. Ever since she decided he was the guy for her, Lizzie has rebelled against her Fate in a way that I envy.
“And,” Cora adds, “Meg and Alex are moving in together. They’re getting a dog.” She frowns. “Do you know what that means?”
I hold back my laugh. “They like pets?”
She practically barks, “Meg has babies on the mind! She’s officially bonkers!”
Our friends from high school, another example of opposites working, have proved to be one of the cutest love stories around. “I think it’s adorable.”
“You would.” She sighs and then shudders. “You and Jonah aren’t getting a dog, are you? Or, gods forbid, a baby?”
“Hasn’t even been a thought,” I assure her.
Cora sighs. “Sometimes, it feels like we’re growing up too fast. Just a couple months ago, we were in high school. And now, you’re on the Council, and going on some big mission soon.” She drops her chin into a propped up hand. “Ignore me. Raul’s madre mentioned something about marriage and it’s got me all freaked out. I’m so not ready for any of that. What if I want to sow my wild oats?”
She seems so happy with Raul. “Do you?”
“Of course not. I’m just saying what if I change my mind? I mean, his madre was practically picking out china for us. I’m looking forward to picking out a futon for my apartment and taping posters to the wall.”
I shove an extra apple across the table to her. “She’s nuts if she thinks it’s a good idea you guys should get so serious so quick, being so young. You’ve only been dating a few months.”
Cora smirks. “Shall I remind you that you and Jonah got engaged in high school?”
“That’s different. We’ve known each other our whole lives.”
She takes a bite; a tiny drop of juice falls down her chin. “Young is young, Cousin.”
“Do you need to get closer, mate?”
Kiah Redrock’s voice—clear as day, not tinny like in the movies—fills my headset. The Dreamer’s riding shotgun next to Raul, who, until this morning, I had no idea could even pilot a helicopter. He tried to correlate it to his love of winds, but I think it’s more because he’s an adrenaline junkie. Just last year, he thought it was easier for us to get to the top of a building by riding a tornado than using something logical like a ladder.
The Shohannah atoll glistens in the distance, a bleached white ring circling a smoking baby volcano peeking out of turquoise waters. Iolani Popolohua, a Volcanic I’m friends with, has been in the South Carnelian Ocean for two weeks now, triggering eruptions in a sunken seamount long thought extinct. Surprisingly, even though we’re on the Goblin plane, our team is entirely Human. The Goblin Volcanic is in the hospital with a sick child; Iolani was more than happy to step up and join us. I have my suspicions, though, that as a concession to Astrid’s concerns, Endolff Strikertree allowed my team to be comprised of people I’ve previously worked with, which can be risky on a plane we’re not native to, like the Goblin plane, where everyone’s skin is a varying shade of green. Thus Kiah’s presence—Dreamers are quite talented at manipulating peoples’ perceptions, awake and asleep.
Despite what Karl had thought, Jonah wasn’t able to come along. He’s off on his own mission at the moment back on the Human plane. The Council ruled just a few days ago that there needs to be a series of protests over Human Rights issues in Shanghai; Jonah’s tasked with supplying the region’s citizens the fervor to revolt.
I wish he were with me right now. I’m ready to jump out of my skin.
You can do this, Caleb tells me. Easy-peasy.
I’m glad nobody in the helicopter can hear me snort. Of course it’s easy. That’s not the point.