The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy
Chapter 0486

"Come on, Ari," Jackson whispers next to me, even though I barely hear him, so hard am I concentrating on the paper, on the magic within me. "You can do this." But suddenly I feel his hand on my back, warm and encouraging.

I take a deep breath, trying to lean into his faith, but I have to admit my surprise when that hand drifts all the way down on my back, even lower until he grips the edge of my shirt tucked into my pants and tugs it free.

I flinch a little, turning my head to stare at him as he slips his hand covertly beneath the fabric of my shirt until his fingers brush my skin, his palm coming to rest flat against the base of my spine.

And suddenly it's there - that deep well of power - that ocean of it, at my fingertips. I gasp a little at the suddenness, glancing around the room, wondering if anyone noticed the way that Jackson is touching me now - but everyone's eyes are still on the paper - Except for Alvez's, which are on me - which have perhaps never left me -

And suddenly I want this done, don't want Alvez having any more access to my secrets. Angry, I turn my eyes back to the ball of paper on the desk and hurl my magic at it all in one gust.

It explodes instantly into a tiny ball of flame.

Rafe, Jesse, and Tony shout in surprise, leaning quickly away from the little fireball and then bursting into yells of appreciation, telling me how awesome that was as they lean eagerly towards me. Jackson joins in, laughing a little and pulling his hand away to clap his palms together, grinning at me.

I laugh too, looking around at all of them, but when I turn back to Alvez, I find that his eyes haven't left me at all.

"Impressive, Cadet," Alvez says, clearly pleased with my progress. "Though I'd like to see more from you."

"More?" Tony asks, laughing a little and leaning forward, glancing between me and Alvez eagerly. "Honestly, what do you want him to do next-light the desk on fire!? He's done - welcome to study hall, Clark! It's good to have you here!"

Tony leans further forward towards me, holding a hand out for a high-five, and I lean forward too to smack his hand - but even when I lean so far out of my chair that I almost fall to the floor my hand just whiffs through the air, missing his by a mile.

Tony laughs good-heartedly at my tiny reach, his grey eyes crinkling up into a happy smile. I just shrug and he nods to me, letting me know that the sentiment remains the same, even if I'm too small and far away for a high-five.

"I'm not sure that study hall is my plan for the two of you," Alvez says, casually brushing the ashes of the paper off the desk and interrupting the joyous mood of the room. "I think you can do more."

"More?" Rafe asks. "You mean like, bigger fires?"

"I'm not precisely concerned about bigger," Alvez says, looking around the room. "Perhaps more complex. With less...aid." He smirks here, glancing at Jacksons big hands folded on his desk, clearly letting me know that the touch did not go missed.

I gulp a little, wondering if this was a mistake, if Alvez now knows more than I ever intended him to know about my relationship with Jackson.

"What are you talking about?" Jesse says, slumping in his chair and throwing out a frustrated hand. "That was amazing - and Ari didn't have any aid."

"He had the paper," Alvez says, turning to look at Jesse. "Tell me, Sinclair, when your mother creates a storm in the sky does she have to pull it from the next valley over? Or can she conjure it - summon water into the air, create the electrical charges on the ground that call down the lightening?"

"I have...absolutely no clue," Jesse says, laughing a little and shaking his head. "I never asked."