SWORD ACADEMY (censored)

I can tell right away there’s an imbalance with our charges. Grady isn’t sitting next to Fiona, though Ainsley’s still right next to him on one side. Sunny’s on the other.

Ah, Sunshine. Her name is a tad misleading. She’s happy enough to be here in her sombre sort of way, but there’s a lingering darkness around her I worry might seep into Grady, who’s clearly very impressionable due to more than a few mommy issues. Like Fiona, Sunny asks a lot of questions. Only, Sunny asks somewhat disturbing questions, such as what was the most gruesome murder a Sparkler ever committed, or how much water can a wielder draw out of an Orderly before they die. It probably isn’t the questions so much as her eagerness for the answers that unnerves me.

As for the new seating arrangement, charges tend to gravitate toward those with similar sparks, some innate magnetism pulling them together. Sunny has water and fire sparks, so Grady’s interest in her makes no sense, not when Fiona has earth like him. I just think Fiona’s a much better fit for Grady, generally. Not that I’m specifically trying to play matchmaker, but I always look for potential connections. Synergy is the ultimate goal, and while Nick and I haven’t yet reached that altitude, I want to share what I have with him. They deserve to feel this closeness.

Grady headtilts. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Sorry.” I force a smile. “I’m just thinking it’s nice to see you making new friends. That’s what you’re doing, right?”

My gaze shifts to Fiona who’s frowning into her Sparklet. Nick sits down beside me, and he notices Fiona right away.

“What’s up, Fiona?!” he booms.

“She didn’t even mark it,” she squeaks.

“Not this bullpucky again,” Grady barks.

“You got a freaking sticker,” Ainsley snicks.

“We all got stickers!” Fiona squooshes.

Now I understand. Neither Docent LightFire nor any other Docent formally grade a Sparkler. They give them assignments, and encourage completion to improve their learning, but they’re never marked for it.

“What did you write about?” Maybe talking about it will cheer her up.

She squelches a sigh.

“Well, what did you write about, Grady?” I shift trajectory in hopes of encouraging her to speak up. She might be more inclined to if she isn’t the only one doing it.

“We were supposed to write about how we’d use our spark to stop a plane crash,” Grady yips. “I wrote about cushioning the earth to absorb the plane’s weight to keep it from harming anyone.”

“Ainsley?” Nick asks, overly eager as always when it comes to her.

“Big blitzing no,” she dryfires.

“That’s alright,” I plink. “You don’t have to share if you don’t want to.”

She shoots her Sparklet at me so I can see her essay. There are only three crass words. Big. Blitzing. No. Nick blasts a laugh while I ting a sigh.

“You should print it off and frame it...” Nick whitetrails.

Her scopes magnify like that’s the best idea in the world.

“I wrote I’d destroy the plane with a fireball,” Sunny ticks.

I cringe. “I thought the assignment was for how to stop a plane crash.”

“If the plane exploded in the air, would it crash?” she detonates.

Nick blows out a low whistle. “No, it wouldn’t.”

Ainsley clicks her tongue. “Something’s broken in you.”

Sunny grins like it’s the biggest compliment she’s ever received.

“Are you all excited about spending the afternoon at the Ward?” I alter course.

“You’ll get the full tour today,” Nick tailslides. “Then on future visits, you can navigate to the floor of your choosing.”

Ainsley brrrts a laugh, commandeering the throttle. “Can you crop the butt out of this, Grady?”

“I want to see!” Keira erupts from one table over, literally crawling across to get there before Grady can destroy the evidence.

“What’s happening?” Nick sputters in my ear.

Keira grabs the Sparklet, hisses a laugh while sending the picture to herself, and hands it back to Grady.

“Wait,” I chime. “Can we see?”

Ainsley shrugs, and Grady passes it over to us. Her brother Asher is standing in front of the animal shelter he started volunteering at. There are at least ten dogs licking and loving on him. He has the sweetest smile on his face, just grinning from ear to ear.

“That’s adorable,” I tinkle. “Why is it funny?”

Nick looks closer and immediately starts jetting hysterically while pointing to the large picture window in the background. Pressed against it is an untethered wind chime platform.

I gasp. “Oh my dark.”

“Whose pit was it?” Keira squeezes herself down right next to Ainsley without a care in the world for her personal space. It chinkles my chimes to see them so cozy.

Ainsley reaches for the device and zooms the image in as big as it gets. “That’s definitely Adley’s butt.”

“How do you know?” Keira bubbles.

Aspen and Maverick have come around the long way by now and are leaning in to look for themselves. Nick nudges me like I can’t see what’s happening with my very own eyes. She’s making friends! Frank has come around too, dropping down beside Fiona instead of joining the others. Fiona flushes a deep red but leans toward him all the same. They’re all making friends! I nearly clapper my wind sails off I’m so overcome with joy.

“Do you see the dimple in the center of his left cheek?” Ainsley slamfires.

“Yes,” they uniformly agree.

Ainsley smirks. “What? You’re not gunna accuse me of maiming my brother this time?”

“Did you hurt him?” I tink quietly.

She shrugs.

“We’re pyroclastic here!” Maverick slags. “What happened?”

“Adley went through this big archery kick,” she reports. “He was about sixteen, so I’d have been twelve.”

Nick jets his hand over to mine, clearly sensing the discussion is leading to violence and offering me support for it. My compassionate wielder.

“Anyway, we were taking turns shooting arrows at a target, and I was winning, so Adley tried to cheat.” She draws her brow. “He kept jumping in front of the dang target at the last second.”

“No!” Keira pops. “You shot him with an arrow by accident?”

“Worse,” Ainsley quickfires. “I did it on purpose.”

“Why?” she ashes.

“I needed him out of the way. He was blocking my winning shot like a squib,” she clips.

Luke splooshes a laugh from behind her, and she begrudgingly turns his way to offer him the smallest smile.

“Remind me never to play doggone games with you,” Grady yowls.

“You can play with me whenever you like,” Keira crackles, “as long as you’re on my team.”

“Our team,” Maverick and Aspen correct her while reaching down to bump Ainsley’s fists where she’d lifted one to each of them.

Ainsley smiles brightly at Grady. “So, can you crop that butt out or what?”

He complies, and I lean into Nick, resting my head on his shoulder. We’re beyond blessed. We’ve barely begun our flight, but already the charges are coming to terms with their potential futures, changing traditions, making friends, and smiling and laughing in a way I was terrified they never would. As Nick slides his hand up my thigh to clapper the dickens out of my chime tube under the table, I know just how I want to spend my afternoon celebrating.