"Now that you've joined the Elite, you have to drop the human," Brian announced with the slam of his locker door.
How nice of him. The human he spoke so nicely of was right beside me.
"No, thank you. Now that I've joined the Elite," I mimicked, "I have decided to make her my Advisor."
He paused, brows knitted together, daggers aimed at me. "What?" His pitch was higher than usual. His gaze flickered to her with his nose scrunched. Then he dismissed her with a wave of his hand and took off walking. "Nope, it's unheard of. Humans can't be Advisors."
I arched a brow. "No? Then why is there a human Ambassador sitting on the High Council?"
He shook his head. "Yeah, but—"
"There shouldn't be a but. You and your little Elite friends," I air quoted, "call yourselves the Young Council, yet you don't abide by the same rules. Here everyone except humans has a voice. Why is that?"
He pushed past me, heading in the direction of the car park. "There shouldn't be a reason. Humans are beneath us. Besides, witches and warlocks aren't in the Elite."
I narrowed my eyes at the jerk. "Oh, my gosh. I can not believe you. She's my friend and she's staying whether you like it or not."
He stopped and swiveled to face me; a glare sent my way. "You don't need friends. You need Advisors. Someone who can guide you and analyze certain situations," his eyes landed on Summer, the orange contacts reflecting disgust, "not a pet."
Again with the name-calling.
I strode past him and he followed behind me. " Ugh, she is not my pet. You of all people should know I don't keep or have pets." His lips parted as if to say something, but I stopped him with, "Besides, she's a King. She knows a lot and she's useful. So, she stays."
Walking up to his car, he turned, making me the center of his attention. I stood my ground, and we went into a Mexican stare down.
A few seconds later, he rolled his eyes and hissed his teeth. "Fucking hell." A sigh followed. "I'll inform the others."
A satisfied smile curled my lips. "Yeah, you do that."
He unlocked his Civic and threw his backpack on the back seat. Summer then decided to clear her throat. "Ahem, see you tomorrow."
"Where are you going?" I arched a brow.
"Home," she deadpanned as if I should have known.
"Ah, right." My eyes slid over her casual wear. "Do you drive?"
I had never seen her with car keys before.
Her cheeks grew a light shade of pink."No, not yet."
Figured. "You're driving with us. Brian will take you home."
Brian whipped around at the comment. "No way. She's going to bring all," he waved a hand over her, "her disgusting scent in there. How am I going to get it out after?"
My index finger tapped against my chin. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe by cleaning it or using air freshener."
He grumbled something under his breath, got in the car, and started it. I ushered a hesitant Summer in the back seat, then nestled in the passenger seat.
Door closed, windows down, Brian drove out the parking lot and through the school gate. He decided to break the silence with, "Being an Advisor means you'll have more responsibilities. You can't be the puny little human you are now. You have to have enough strength not just for yourself but for your elite. Once you've been sworn in, there's no going back. Are you ready for that?"
Wait, no one told me there was a ceremony.
"I am." Summer's response came right away, dripping with confidence.
A tone I never knew she had. And, because of this, it caught the attention of two pairs of eyes, peering in the rearview mirror.
"Good. Brianna might like you, but I don't. One slip and you're through." Orange eyes went back to the road after his uncalled-for threat.
The incoming wind did nothing to drown out the rapid thumping of Summer's heartbeat.
"I won't," she resigned.
Though her answer was low, it was believable. Brian may have thought she was weak, but I knew different. She was a King. Her family has helped our town for generations. If she was anything like her ancestors then she would make a great leader. I was just trying to give her a little nudge. As my Advisor, she would get her chance at having a voice while being who she was: a great leader.
"How come the Young Council sounded like a whole lot of boring and a lot less fun?" I whined.
A soft chuckle touched my eardrums. "It can be. We try to reflect the High Council in everything we do. Most of the persons in the Elite are going to be High Council members, so what we are doing can be seen as a trial run. And, we have learned a lot since we started." Brian's eyes lingered on mine for a slight second. "You're going to love it." The genuineness in his voice didn't go unnoticed.
I doubt it. "We'll see."
He flicked his indicator on, two more blocks and he turned onto a narrower road. A little while later and we pulled up in front of a gated mansion.
I had heard a lot about the King's mansion but had never seen it until now. There was not much to see through the large gate. However, with the little that was visible, the rumors never gave it justice.
"You were going to walk all the way here?" No doubt, the journey from school to where she resided was a great distance on foot.
The soft blush returned to her cheeks. "I'm used to it. After I crashed last year, Uncle is a little hesitant to let me drive."
I guess, uncles had similar characteristics to parents. They both never forgot the past.
"It's a good thing you have us." I smiled.
Her gaze flickered to Brian at the word, us. Though her lip was curled, her eyes never agreed with it. She grabbed her bag and jumped out of the vehicle. "See you tomorrow."
Once she passed through the large gate, we were back on the road.
"You're all talk."
Brian scrunched up his face. "What?"
"Why'd you wait until she was behind the gate to drive off?"
His shoulders bounced. "Pfft, it's not what you think. I waited because I didn't want her death to be on my head if anything happened to her. Once I watch her walk through her gate, that's the report the police will have from me. And, her cameras will be there to prove it."
My head snapped in his direction. "Oh, my gosh. Brian, that's terrible."