It started with the small towns that voted themselves into slavery. The Society preyed on the goodwill of the people and their desires to put an end to hardships, inequality, and division. Little did the people know that what they were voting for was all a deception. What looked good on paper didn’t always translate when put into practice.

***

Wind swirled around me and lifted my body into the air. I spun like a tornado three stories up before softly landing on the sandstone rooftop like a graceful butterfly. Two Elite Squallers from the Air Force patrolled two buildings over; their heads bobbed up and down as they leapt over chimneys and ridges until out of sight.

I started imagining how sophisticated and commanding it’d feel one of those beige Squaller uniforms with winged brevets—

I snapped out of the daydream. That path is no longer for me. Focus on my mission!

My Zephyr didn’t sense anyone else nearby as it swept through my surroundings, except the soft glow of the moon, a natural breeze, and an owl that hooted from a nearby tree. The Squallers weren’t even scanning this area with their Zephyrs; otherwise, I would’ve picked up on their powers.

Tsk, tsk. What’s the point of hiring Squallers to protect the Capitol if they leave so many sections unprotected?

I would never make such a mistake! They had multiple members on patrol and should’ve been scanning all areas. Someone like me would’ve risen quickly in Squaller ranks … if I could’ve become one.

Making horizontal bounds, I Air Hopped along, not jumping high enough to catch the attention of the watchtower.

Cers said he would “meet the others in the domed room at midnight,” an arrangement I’d overheard him make after stalking him for days. This was a perfect opportunity to gather the information I needed to expose the Wolkarian Society and save other elementals from their plans.

I scanned the premises again and spotted a spherical glass rooftop reflecting the moonlight. That must be it.

The tickle of the cool night air on my bare arms soothed my nerves as I stealthily made my way over. The pleasant breeze was needed to ease the anxious storm within. One small error and my life could be in danger.

Once I reached the “domed room,” my forehead pressed against the glass skylights. There was no need to scan the building with my Zephyr, as the individuals I’d come to spy on were already inside, three stories below.

The Earth Mage had the heaviest steps pounding against the polished granite floors; I could hear her soon after her scent of fresh-cut grass tickled my nose. If the conditions were right, I could detect even the subtlest of odors, but so could the Air Mage who accompanied her, a man with a very familiar and repulsive body odor like molding tumbleweeds: Cers.

The pain came flooding back to me at the mere scent of this man. My eyes stung as tears threatened to overpower me.

Cers, a high-level official in the Society.

Cers, the man responsible for my parents’ deaths last week.

One tear escaped my eye. The pain of loss was still fresh in my conscience. But I held the rest inside for later.

Control emotions. Pay attention to their conversation. Safely make it in and out. I sniffled.

A few deep breaths helped recenter my mind.

A new scent approached the two individuals, that of saltwater and cold rain. A sickening feeling ran through my stomach. It took a dozen Air Mages, each manifesting the strongest wind possible, to curtail a Tidal Wave from a single Water Mage. Such was the natural order of things.

Water overpowered Air.

Air controlled Fire.

Fire burned Earth.

Earth contained Water.

Perhaps I made a bad decision by coming here tonight.

“Ah, here she is. Welcome, Aqora Polyna.” I heard the devious smile in Cers’s voice as he greeted the approaching Water Mage. He didn’t have an ounce of fear; in fact, the Air Mage’s casual tone indicated that he knew he was in charge and the other two should bow down to him.

“No Fire?” the Water Mage sneered. In the next moment, she shouted, “You said we’d all be here! Isn’t that the point of dragging ourselves all the way to Brisote when we could’ve met in Eden?”

“Stop being melodramatic, Aqora,” the Earth Mage scoffed. The moonlight cascaded across her face, giving me an image to ingrain in my memory. Dark brown hair, brown eyes, a wide chin, and high cheekbones. I’d identify and expose every one of them!

A pool of swirling water began to form at the base of Aqora’s feet as she prepared to fight, which drew a chuckle from the nonchalant Earth Mage, whatever her name was. “What are you going to do with that?” the Earth Mage asked, unafraid. “Unless you’re hoping to be confined to a water container until dawn if you dare touch me.”

Aqora grunted and sucked the water back up.

“You Water elementals always overreact.”

The Water clenched her fists but stood down.

“The Fire Republic’s governor didn’t learn his lesson the last three times.” Cers spoke as if the thought amused him. Or perhaps he enjoyed the other nations fighting. “They’ve burrowed further into their obsidian towers. As if it’ll protect them from what’s coming. He has a plan for the governor of Helios if he doesn’t cooperate with our new demands. They’ll be our little sacrifice. After last night, he’s officially put both of you in charge of the Wolkarians in your nations. This comes with great responsibility, so I hope you take it seriously.”

I wasn’t certain who the “he” in question was. Was it the prime minister of the Air Federation or the Earth Queendom? Or perhaps it was a coded reference to a high-level official of the Water Alliance? But men weren’t allowed such prestigious positions in Water. And who was the prime minister of the Earth Queendom again? My focus in school wasn’t on foreign affairs.

“Yet you think you’re in charge of us?” Aqora crossed her arms.

“I am in charge of you. Come, I don’t want to be here all night.” He walked inside another room with the Earth Mage in tow.

“Air in charge of me. Never!” Aqora grumbled under her breath, but she reluctantly stomped inside. Her fists turned white at her sides.

I pulled myself up and Air Hopped over the entire glassed area in one graceful leap. My feet landed so lightly that if the roof were a pond, not a ripple would be seen. I peered over the edge, hoping to find an entrance or window open on the other side. I technically couldn’t fly—although I often called it that—since gravity always brought me down. I was Air Hopping; nevertheless, the most talented of Mages could reach the height of five stories before gently drifting down like a feather, which seemed like flying to me. In my wildest fantasies, I was one with the sky. A cumulus puff floating across the summit of Mount Aeolis.

Focus. My brainy Air mind was in the clouds again.

I saw an open window on the north wall of the room that the group just entered, but the Air Mage would pick up on my scent from that position. There was only one way I could listen in on their conversation without detection.

Every skylight above the domed room opened for citizens to Hop in and out. Going through the roof had been one of my favorite methods to go to and from school, starting and ending my day with fresh air. But all of that was stripped from me with the deaths of my parents and the shame upon my family name. Now, I wouldn’t dare show myself in public since the ridicule had become too intense. I wouldn’t finish my final year of school—first in my class, set to graduate summa cum laude. I’d never rise to the ranks of the Elite Squall and protect our people from criminals, not that I wanted to become a Squaller after learning that they were controlled by the largest criminal organization in history. Once one individual from within the Society infiltrated the highest ranks of another organization, they’d start hiring their own into other roles until it was entirely compromised.

My eyes pressed shut as I forced the emotions down, remembering everything I’d lost. Not here. Wait until you return home to process everything.

Sweat dribbled down my hands as I opened the latch, afraid of getting caught inside. Then I considered whether to leave the window open or closed. Open or closed?

If I close it, it will make escaping more difficult. If I leave it open, a Squaller might notice.

My feet teeter-tottered from one to the other.

I’ll leave it open and Hop out when I hear Cers wrapping up their meeting. It was better not to risk getting caught inside with a Water present.

My blonde braid whipped behind me as I floated onto the marble floor, landing softly and soundlessly on my toes. I might not have been the fastest Tornado Launcher, the most powerful Wind Kicker, or the highest Hopper of Brisote, but among the other Air Mages, I had unique kung fu abilities because of my training on top of Mount Aeolis. That included stealth.

My braid, however, reached down to my knees. Recently, I’d trained myself to utilize my braid as a whip. Fun and effective. Only occasionally problematic.

A breeze and a series of faint sounds swept in from underneath the door. I lay on my stomach, pressing my cheek against the cold stone to listen. A part of me was afraid that the loud beating of my heart would give me away to the Earth Mage, who could detect vibrations on the ground with her master sense of touch.

“You can’t just vote your way into the Earth Queendom’s royal family. How far along are you, anyway?” Aqora asked.

“You mean … how far along are we?” Cers said in his unusually annoying, high-pitched voice. “This is about bringing people together. Uniting elementals. In an alliance. Just as your people achieved, right?”

Aqora grumbled as if not wanting to agree.

“You, above all others, should want to ally with the royals. After all, I hear the Earth Queendom’s crown princess has the attitude of a Water elemental. You’ll get along swell.”

“Are you toying with me?” Aqora hissed.

“Of course not.” Cers chuckled, then played it off in an innocent-sounding voice. “I only meant to suggest that Princess Nephrite often sides with the Iridium Party, which made us realize we might have a strong supporter in their royal court. It’s proven difficult to get close to the royal family. But as long as the princess continues to side with our political party, he’s fine with her position as the next queen. Otherwise, he’s considering wiping out the royal family entirely.”

“How would you wipe out an entire royal family!?” Aqora didn’t contain the irritation in her voice.

“A seasonal flu and some handy maids with the right medicines. All in all, it’d be easier to eradicate the royal family than allow them to influence the people; they could support something that goes against our agenda.”

“There’s no need to go to such drastic measures, Cers,” the Earth elemental said, her voice strained. “We’re arranging a marriage between the crown princess and Baron Malachite as we speak. The baron will be able to influence her from behind the scenes even if the princess doesn’t willingly join the Society.”

“Attached to your precious royal relatives?” Aqora asked mockingly. At some point in life, everyone was bound to become annoyed by at least one Water elemental. “We did away with ours, and look at how great our nation has become!”

“And you replaced your nobility with new hereditary titles such as ‘minister,’ practically making yourself nobility in the process, Minister Aqora,” the Earth Mage said. “I’ll gladly wipe you out simply for how annoying you are.”

“Enough, Jade!” Cers said.

I smelled clay from under the door, meaning that Jade was probably manifesting her powers to threaten the other woman. Jade must have been the Earth Mage’s name. Since she was in a position to propose an arranged marriage, she was possibly a lower noblewoman, politician, or councilwoman.

“Princess Nephrite is a dud from inbreeding—no Mage powers, no heightened senses, and no way to defend herself against the baron if it came down to it. So there’s no need to harm her, Cers,” Jade said. “The new Captain of the Royal Guard is one of us now. It took a long time to promote someone into that position, so everything should fall into place from here on out.”

“Good,” Cers snickered. “I’ll inform him you’ve accomplished yet another task. But he doesn’t like other royalty and would rather we eliminate them if they challenge his rule. So you better keep Princess Nephrite in check.”

Other royalty? Earthlings were the only elementals with a monarchy. What other royalty is there?

My thoughts scanned every textbook I’d read, but nothing came to mind. Perhaps my research wasn’t comprehensive enough.

Something I’ll put on my list of things to do.

“If the princess becomes a problem in the future, then he can eradicate her after their first child. But you can’t eliminate the bloodline entirely!” Jade urgently said.

“He can do whatever he wants,” Cers challenged.

“Allow the baron to become prince regent, and their child can be raised the right way instead, open-minded to our ways.” Jade’s voice grew strained. “But the princess will probably become a great influence for our cause, anyway—that is, based on her recent verdicts. Make sure he realizes how important she is!”

Aqora snorted. “Attachment to corrupt royals who do nothing but take from the people. And what of Prince Eskolaite? I hear he might side with the Kasolite Party! He’s swayed some of the High Council members in the Earth Queendom to his side! You’re LOSING INFLUENCE OVER THE—”

“Oh, calm down,” Jade said, annoyed. “No need to overreact and shout everything.”

“IF YOU SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME—!”

I was equally irritated by Aqora’s tone. Nonetheless, I wasn’t complaining that these three were butting heads. Their lack of cooperation would weaken their society. Fight all you want.

“Enough!” Cers interrupted. “You two can battle it out all you want after I leave. Just don’t ruin the floors. But I don’t have time for your idiocy. So spare me. I always have at least one eye watching the prince at all times. Now … Jade, he has agreed to make you the prime minister in the upcoming election if you complete your next task. And if you’re insistent on keeping your fellow royal family members alive, make sure the princess marries this baron, and yada yada. You know the rest. But let me warn you, people who think themselves high in status annoy him, and you’ll feel his wrath if you fail. Everything's running smoothly in the Air Federation, so I’ll be joining you in two days for the Inter-Elemental Conference. Once there, I’ll deal with this Prince Eskolaite if he chooses to put his full strength behind the Kasolite Party.”

The door handle started to jiggle even as Cers continued to speak. In a panic, I leapt off the ground, flying ten feet up. My intention was to jolt straight through the window in one leap. Instead, my head bumped into a statue of one of the founding fathers of my once-free nation.

Quickly, I grabbed the statue’s staff and flipped my legs up and over his robed figure, trying to hide my petite body behind the stone.

All three walked out while talking as if none had been alerted to my presence. Yet …

“Aqora, he wants you to join us for the …” Cers paused.

My Zephyr had cleared my scent from the room. But no—

Cers glanced up at the skylight.

I should’ve closed it! It didn’t take a master Air Mage to sense pressure changes in a room or the extra influx of fresh air. These were basic first-year lessons in school.

“Someone was spying on us.”

Cers sent a Zephyr circling around the room, scanning for my presence. Once it reached me behind the statue, I lifted the force up and around my body so it could continue scanning the remainder of the room on its natural path. If anything, he’d assume it was the statue it had bumped into, not me. Most Mages couldn’t perform this technique with precision. It wasn’t simply about maintaining the Zephyr at the same speed and direction as it had begun, but about not introducing new odors as well.

I held my breath, afraid that breathing would give my position away. And it could. If I exhaled too intensely … Every movement had to be calculated. Every breath I took had to be controlled.

Cers was looking at the opposite side of the room. Suddenly, he flung an Air Lasso against the wrong wall.

The hand on another statue splintered into a hundred pieces.

“I didn’t like that founding father, anyway,” Cers said, uncaring. “A stupid idea to allow the people to bear swords, staves, and other weapons. Do you know how troublesome it’s been to eradicate that constitutional right? Still, I cannot pass the legislature banning it, and he’s growing annoyed with me. As long as people bear weapons, we cannot fully take over without a fight.”

The sound of trickling water echoed in the room. I peered around the statue’s arm. Cers was sending a Zephyr down each hallway leading into the domed room. Jade inspected her nails as if uncaring, while Aqora was deep in concentration.

If Aqora weren’t here, I could’ve easily fought the other two off. My equal, the Earth Mage, had fewer attacks against me as long as I didn’t touch the ground, and Cers was in his fifties; however, I would rather leave unnoticed so I could … I could … What would I do with this information? Warn the royal family of a nation a world away about a potential threat from a secret society infiltrating their palace?

They’ll think I’m a nutcase.

I’d tried telling fellow students at school about the Wolkarians and ruined my credibility. People wouldn’t believe things unless they were written in a newspaper (a credible source, according to the public eye). And then, people would believe every article they read as if it were a fact. …

I clenched my fist in irritation.

It is easier for the masses to believe ten lies over a single fact.

The sound of a bubbling fountain continued to fill the room. The air turned cold. Ice crystals smeared across the glass. Since the mist clung to every particle in the air, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where—

A Water Whip circled around my torso. It lifted me up and flung me down to the ground like a waterfall. I landed in a splash. Aqora made the mistake of releasing the droplets onto the ground, which gave me the opportunity to Hop back into the air. Another Whip grabbed my ankle. It forced me to plummet down again.

How could oxygen fight against a river?

Since I was on the ground, Jade grew clay around my body, encasing me so I couldn’t become air-bound again. Now I was truly trapped.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” Cers chortled. He hadn’t lifted a finger, making his subordinates do the dirty work for him, although the two foreign dignitaries probably didn’t consider themselves as low as he did. “It’s wonderful to see you again, Alisio Skylor,” he said cheerfully. “After your parents were discovered plotting a genocide against the minority elementals, well … I wasn’t sure what became of you.”

All fabricated stories fed to the masses through the newspapers.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I quickly stifled them. There was a possibility of bargaining my way out, agreeing to some term, then fleeing with no intention of honoring it. Reason was the best method to accomplish any task. Unless he saw through my guise.

“It’s a pity; you’re so young. And I had a position in the Elite Squall waiting for you right after graduation. You would’ve risen above the ranks of your older peers with those extraordinary fighting skills and attained the position of officer. But now, well … everybody sees you for the bigot you really are, don’t they?”

You’re sick! I wanted to say, but I kept my emotions in check. I would’ve reached great heights without him because of my work ethic. Unlike others, I didn’t need bribery.

“How did you sit by and destroy my parents like that?” I choked out. Some of the droplets flew into my mouth as water continued to swirl around, holding me in place even as the clay container constricted the lower half of my body. “They’d been nothing but kind to you.”

Wrinkles formed beside Cers’s smiling eyes. “They were ruining our plans. All we’ve ever wanted was to ensure equality for our people. To put an end to injustices and discrimination. To create a lasting utopia.”

“What are we doing with her?” Jade asked. “She was clearly listening in, so she knows our plans.”

“I’m still willing to become a cadet,” I said, hoping he’d take the bait. The moment they released me, I’d flee.

“I’ve met plenty of fighters like you,” Cers said sardonically. “All you sorts ever do is give me trouble. In the end, it’ll come down to the same thing: you’re upset about your parents’ deaths and will seek some revenge against me. Then I’ll have to find a way to eradicate you all over again. There’s only one thing we can do. I’ll command my journalists to write a nice article for tomorrow’s paper about how the daughter of the terrorists, Mrs. and Mr. Skylor, tried to assassinate the prime minister last night. And I know a Squaller cadet who will revel in the attention of being a hero, knowing he was the one to prevent this misguided young woman from completing her mission. Sadly, he’ll take the position you would’ve had if only your parents had behaved. Aqora, kill her.”