I found Zephyr right where I thought he would be: sitting in the library, a book in his hand and a drink in the other. Was that wine? How old was he? Not that it mattered since laws surrounding alcohol were likely different in their world.

  He glanced up at me, did a double-take, and quickly closed his book. Before I could get a good look at the title, it had flown at high speed around one of the shelves, likely back to its rightful place. He clearly didn’t want me to see.

  “Elaina, I didn’t expect to see you here.” He took a sip of his drink. “How can I help you?”

  Crap, I hadn’t thought this part through. I supposed I couldn’t say I had talked to Finn who said he was thinking suspiciously.

  “Everyone has been acting really strange since this morning. Their magic is out of control, and several are hiding in their rooms until this seemingly blows over.” He wouldn’t know that everyone had already returned to normal if he had been in here reading. “Do you know what’s going on?”

  He looked down at the liquid in his glass slowly swirling around as he rotated the glass in a smooth, consistent motion. He then glanced back up at me. Was he drunk? “The ether was rather thick this morning. However, I’m sensing this is no longer the case. Whatever it was has seemed to pass, and things should return to how they were before. In fact, I’m sure that’s already happened. So, why are you really here?”

  Crap! He inferred that much already?!

  “What caused it?” I asked a little more sternly than I had intended. I was both nervous and annoyed at him. I didn’t want to rat Finn out just yet and hoped this was a decent enough recovery.

  “How should I know?” He asked nonchalantly. He was too calm about this. Stupid alcohol.

  “Because you’re like, the smartest person here outside of Sylvis who is missing, so now you are the smartest person here. You’re literally surrounded by knowledge on a daily basis. What was the book you were reading before?”

  “An old fairytale. Nothing more.” I wished I had Finn here to tell me if he was lying. Maybe I should’ve brought Finn with me and had him wait outside. No, Zephyr was too smart for that. He would’ve seen him coming and run.

  “Then why were you reading it?” I asked.

  “Elaina, if you’re coming to me for answers, I must apologize, but I have none. I thought I might find the answer here, but alas, there was nothing. If you have any other questions for me unrelated to this incident, I will answer to the best of my ability.”

  There really was no other way to get him to talk, huh? “Why did you run away from Finn last night?”

  “I didn’t run away. I came to ask Sylvis something, but upon seeing the four of you gathered in front of her door, I figured it was a bad time. As for anything Finn may have ‘overheard,’ I recently came upon some information related to his past.” He used air quotes as necessary. “I… I didn’t want to reopen old wounds for him. I know how painful that is.” He frowned sincerely as he placed the glass of wine on the desk behind him.

  “Information about his past…?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m afraid you’d have to ask him about it directly. Though, he isn’t open about it with many. I believe Aqua and Maverick are the only two who are privy. Besides Sylvis, obviously, who plucked him herself.”

  Finn had always been so aloof... so easygoing and outgoing at the same time. It was hard to believe even he had secrets he didn’t want to share with others.

  But… It made sense. Whenever he was himself around me — his true self — I could tell he was holding back.

  I suppose Zephyr didn’t know anything after all and was just trying to protect Finn.

  I nodded my head, respecting his decision not to expose Finn’s personal information.

  “You can come back out now.” I knocked on Finn’s door. It opened, but there was no response.

  Finn looked a little disoriented, but I supposed he was feeling better if he wasn’t hiding behind his door anymore.

  “Are you feeling better?” I asked, remembering he couldn’t read my mind anymore.

  He nodded. “The voices are a lot quieter, but my range is still bigger than usual. I’d like to avoid crowds if possible.”

  “Don’t worry, I think everyone else is trying to do the same.” I recalled the girl at the dining hall who kept breaking dishes.

  “Did you talk to Zephyr?”

  I hesitated. “I did. He said he didn’t know anything about the increased ether, but did mention he ran into someone in your past. …I don’t know if I was supposed to tell you about that last part, thinking about it now.”

  “No, it’s fine. I don’t know the details, and I’d prefer to keep it that way. I suppose I’ll find out sooner or later whenever I’m next near Zephyr.” He sighed. What could possibly bother him so much? “Anyway, what do you plan on doing now?”

  “Talk to Rosalie, I guess. Or maybe locate Maverick and see if he has any other suggestions. Not that he’d actually tell me.”

  “Well… Good luck with that.” He smiled awkwardly, and I nodded.

  Aidan could only hold that much ether for so long, right? And it wasn’t even enough. We needed a more permanent solution, and I imagined we needed it soon.

  “Elaina.” The last person I expected to see was waiting for me outside the elevator on the top floor.

  “Letheria, what are you doing here? I’m kind of in a hurry—”

  “I warned you to stay away from Maverick! But what do I see? Last night you were lying on top of him at the training grounds! And then today he had his arm around your shoulder. His toned, muscular arm, Elaina!”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. This was seriously what I had to deal with today?

  “I accidentally fell on him yesterday when I passed out from using too much ether. He didn’t even have his arm around my shoulder today! It was his hand! He patted my shoulder!” I shouted, really not wanting to deal with her.

  “You expect me to believe this is all a coincidence when he won’t even acknowledge when I speak to him?!”

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  “I certainly can’t imagine any possible reason why he wouldn’t…” I said sarcastically.

  “You’re not getting away so easily, Little Miss Magicless. Why don’t we settle this once and for all?” She crossed her arms, glaring daggers at me.

  “I couldn’t agree more. What do you propose?”

  “A duel. Winner gets Maverick. Loser has to stay away from him forever.”

  “How about I just stay away from him anyway?”

  “Ugh! You’re supposed to want to fight for your true love!” She clenched her fists at her side and nearly punched me as she unfolded her arms.

  “He’s far from my true love.”

  “Fine. If I win, you leave Maverick alone forever. But if you win, I’ll owe you a favor.” She winked at me. “Anything you want. I’m that confident I’ll beat you.”

  This was tempting… But wasn’t I leaving the manor anyway? I doubted she could lend me a favor before then.

  But what if I wasn’t? Once everything was resolved, I imagined my magic would disappear. Would Sylvis still allow me to return home?

  “I don’t need a favor from you.” I decided on it. “I could beat you with my eyes closed, and I certainly have nothing I need to prove to you.”

  “You’re just scared,” she taunted me. “You know you can’t beat me and you’re too much of a coward to try. You’d rather convince me with your words — words you don’t have to act on.”

  “Fine.” I clenched my fists and I felt the ether surge within me. “Just remember what you promised.”

  “Of course.” She winked at me as her cherry-pink lips pursed into a smile.

  This would hopefully shut her up at least.

  “Meet me in two hours. Expect a crowd.” She tilted her chin up at me before walking away.

  I didn’t know what to do until then. Should I practice? But practicing would drain my ether, and I’d already passed out last night from that… I definitely wouldn’t clone myself again.

  Perhaps I should try to eat more? Surprisingly, I felt like I could still eat. Building up as much ether as possible seemed logical. I made my way back to the dining hall where things seemed to have calmed down significantly. Snacking on as many sweets as I could get my hands on, I felt more than ready for our duel.

  Time flew by, and I made my way to the arena. I placed my hand on the statue and kept it there for a while, admiring the dress of the goddess.

  “Keeping your hand on the statue for longer isn’t going to affect your shield, you know.” Letheria crossed her arms from where she was sitting on one of the benches; her back leaned against the wall.

  “I know…” I muttered.

  We made our way to the arena. It was weird that Sylvis wasn’t here facilitating as she had for me before. In fact, this time, it was Aqua. As I passed her on my way out, she muttered something about how it should’ve been Rosalie’s job.

  “State your Talent,” Aqua said boredly.

  “I don’t know what mine is,” I stated matter-of-factly, earning a scowl from Letheria. She quickly composed herself.

  “Gravity.” She smirked. Gravity? Oh no… I’ve made a mistake—

  “Three… two… one… Start!” Aqua shouted, and I felt my body launch into the air.

  No, I’ve made a major mistake. Why had I agreed to a duel where Letheria’s ether is stronger, and I didn’t think to ask what her Talent was beforehand?!

  I began to panic. My stomach churned as my body was thrown back down. I landed with a loud thud, my shield absorbing most of the shock, but I was still left with a throbbing headache and upset stomach. How was I supposed to fight against that?

  “Aw, have we had enough already?” she taunted. “I thought this would be too easy for you, Ethereal.”

  How had she known I was an Ethereal? I guess my eyes would have given it away.

  “I take it all back,” I groaned as I pushed myself up.

  As soon as I was back on my feet, my body was sent up into the air again. This time, I was facing down and could see her petty smirk as she waved to me. Think, Elaina!

  As my body was sent plummeting down, I thrust my arms in front of me and created wind to keep my body afloat. I hovered a foot in the air and used it to flip my body upright before dissipating it and landing on my feet. Okay, that wasn’t so bad.

  “Keep dreaming, Elaina!” Letheria seethed in rage as she lifted my body again. I groaned as my back hit the ceiling with a loud thud. I hadn’t tested teleportation magic yet, but this seemed like the best time. My eyes locked onto hers as I imagined us switching places. Next thing I knew, I was standing on the ground, and she was floating in the air. She seemed momentarily taken aback, her eyes widening before her eyebrows narrowed as she started falling, but she quickly recovered.

  I couldn’t keep playing defensive like this. I had to strike or we’d be at this forever.

  I rushed at her, fire emanating from my fists. The gravity below my feet was altered as I ran in slow motion in the air. I was running in place, not making any progress towards her. It was like one of those dreams where you're being chased but you can't run. She lifted herself into the air and smacked me with a fan she had summoned from thin air. Ouch? The gravity beneath my feet resumed, and I felt myself falling, my stomach sinking once again.

  I quickly shook it off and prepared to rush at her again. The gravity around me morphed, and I was thrown into one of the invisible walls. There was a loud gasp from the audience as my back collided with the wall, and I could briefly make out people shifting back in their seats, worried I’d actually break the wall. I'm not going to lie, I was worried too.

  “Is that really the best you can do?!” A familiar voice called out to me. I pushed myself off the ground and coughed, noticing it was Maverick. He had run to the wall to probably mock me. “You could never best me, but surely you can beat someone who isn’t an Ethereal? You beat that ass the other day.” He motioned with his head towards Finn. Was he… actually giving me advice?

  Finn had run up next to him, slightly pushing him out of the way. “Listen, if you continue rushing at her, nothing’s going to change. You have to use magic from a distance! It’s the only way you’ll still be able to attack her when she manipulates gravity.”

  Marge had come over, too, and nodded. “As you currently are, I predict you will lose within the next two minutes.”

  I clenched my fists. Pure magic had never worked in my favor. Maverick had dodged it effortlessly, and so had Finn. Could I really beat her that way?

  “Are you done yet?” Letheria stomped over to me and crossed her arms.

  “No! Not even close!” I responded as I created a giant whirlwind, causing her to spin in the air. After a few spins, she dissipated it and manipulated the gravity around her to give her a soft landing. Note to self: keep her on the ground.

  She lifted me into the air again. Instead of focusing on ways to break my fall, I pictured lightning forming around me, and then I focused on her, sending them towards her. She instantly dropped me as she tried to dodge all of them. Using wind, I managed to suspend myself in the air before I hit the ground. Huh, it felt nice to float! I noticed some of her hair was singed. Had my lightning hit her?

  Then my worst nightmare happened — I was starting to feel weak. When I started, I’d felt strong, like nothing could bring me down, like I could run half a marathon before breaking a sweat. Now, I felt similar to how I had before my magic awakened. Were humans normally this weak? And as an Ethereal, why was I weakening so much faster than everyone else?

  Gravity lifted me a couple feet off the ground and held me in place. It was like I was trapped in a dome of water, unable to escape, though I could still breathe. I used the opportunity to freeze her in place. As I had expected, the gravity around me returned to normal. I rushed at her with everything I had and delivered a series of punches and kicks that eventually broke the ice.

  She grabbed onto my left wrist as she used pure momentum to spin me around her and caused me to completely miss. I aimed at her to deliver another punch, but she grabbed both my fists with her hands. We struggled against each other as I tried to break free and she desperately clung to me. I swiped my foot under her legs, and she fell backwards. With a final strike of lightning, her shield dissipated.

  I had won.

  The barriers around the arena disappeared as everyone cheered. Marge, Finn, and even Maverick ran up to me to congratulate me. I was surprised when others started gathering around as well.

  “You did it!” Finn exclaimed, shaking my shoulders a little in excitement.

  “Thanks to you three, yeah.” I smiled as my glance shifted to each of them.

  “I gotta say, I didn’t think you’d actually pull it off.” Marge scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

  “I was worried, too. Not even I can beat Letheria!” Finn seemed ecstatic. Behind his enthusiasm, I could tell he was uncomfortable. Had he forced himself in a crowd just to watch me…?

  And then it occurred to me: someone was missing.

  Where was Aidan?