I can’t decide whether to be impressed or annoyed by that.
Chapter 5
Aurora gives everyone in our group a chance to introduce themselves quickly after she finishes her orientation speech, and I learn that the too-handsome-for-my-own-good man sitting next to me is named Logan.
Once that quick formality is out of the way, she leads us down to a room in the basement of IUM. I glance around as we walk inside, a mixture of excitement and nerves fluttering in my belly. The space looks familiar, very similar to the training rooms back at Griffin Academy, and that calms me down a little.
I know how to do this. I’m great at tests, and I’ve spent the past three years honing my abilities. It’ll be just like being back in Tamlin’s class—only a bit more challenging, most likely.
Once we’re all inside, Aurora goes to a large bank of panels on the wall and activates several charms. Magic sparks on the air around us, and she turns to survey the gathered recruits.
“You were all brought on board at IUM because of your excellent academic credentials and your abilities. But this job isn’t just about being a powerful magic user. It’s also about being smart. About using your power wisely and doing it under extreme pressure if need be.” She activates one last charm, and the air around us shimmers as an illusion settles into place, encompassing the entire room. “So, we’re going to give you a chance to demonstrate your quick thinking.”
I glance around, taking in what looks like a street in downtown Portland. The illusion is really good, every little detail present and accounted for, making it easy to forget I’m actually in an underground training room at IUM.
“When the test begins,” Aurora tells us. “You will need to identify and contain potential threats, while also protecting and being careful not to harm those who are not threats. Magical attacks don’t happen in a vacuum. It’s very likely there will be innocent bystanders, and we don’t want them caught in the crossfire. You need to be able to make those determinations quickly and efficiently. Are you ready? The challenge begins… now.”
As she speaks the last word, the light in the illusory street scene changes suddenly, growing darker and more ominous, as if night has suddenly fallen. Then bright flashes of light flare up and down the street. People and creatures begin to flood the street too, screaming and shouting amid the loud sounds of bangs and pops.
It’s chaos.
My heart rate immediately jumps, and I suck in a deep breath to steady myself as I stride forward.
Identify and remove the threats.
Don’t harm civilians.
You can do this, Rae.
Casting my gaze around, I raise my hands, ready to unleash a blast of telekinetic energy when I find a target. Aurora wasn’t kidding. In the chaos, it’s hard to tell who’s a threat and who’s not, and I hesitate for just a second, not wanting to make the wrong call.
A scream draws my attention, cutting over the rest of the din, and I see a man with dark red cracks in his skin towering over a woman with a baby in her arms.
There!
I raise my hands to blast the man away from her, but before I can hurl my attack, a bolt of lightning strikes the man in the chest, sending him flying back. I jerk back, startled, my gaze flying to Logan. That’s the only person it could possibly be.
He catches my eye and gives me a lopsided grin as if to say, better luck next time, before turning and wading deeper into the chaos that clogs the street.
My jaw tightens. He was the first one of our class to attack one of the illusory figures, and he only managed it because I fucking hesitated. With a low growl of frustration, I get back in the game, whirling around to find another threat.
Logan may be ahead right now, but there’s still a chance for me to catch up to him. I just need to stay focused.
Tuning out whatever he’s doing, refusing to wonder how many other dangerous supernaturals he’s correctly identified, I throw myself into the challenge with everything I have. My arms ache from throwing telekinetic blasts, and I switch it up a few times by turning into various animal forms. The test seems to go on forever, with new people flooding the street every few minutes, but despite the sweat beading on my brow, I don’t let myself rest. I don’t let myself slow down.
By the time Aurora gives a sharp whistle and deactivates the illusions, I’m breathing like I just ran a marathon. Hell, it feels like I just did.
We all make our way slowly back to where she stands near the doorway, gathering around her so she can give us our evaluation and marks. As she does, I can see why IUM chose to test us like this. One girl accidentally blew the head off an innocent bystander, and I watch her cheeks flame pink as Aurora points that out, reiterating that in a real-life situation, she would’ve been responsible for someone’s death.
The girl nods, promising to do better, and Aurora continues on with her evaluation of everyone’s performance. The top marks for the exercise go to me and Logan, and although I’m pleased to have done well, my skin itches a little at the idea of sharing the top spot.
Dammit. If only I hadn’t hesitated on that first threat. I knew that man was attacking the woman and her baby. I saw it. But I doubted myself for just a fraction of a second.
Logan grins at Aurora’s praise, and I let myself smile too, but silently, I promise to do even better tomorrow. To work even harder.
Who knows? Maybe today was just a fluke.
Maybe Logan just got lucky, and he isn’t actually that good.
Unfortunately, any hopes I had about Logan’s great performance being a one-off are dashed pretty damn quickly. On our second day of IUM training, we go through another round of rigorous tests, and he excels at all of them.
It’s the same the next day.
And the day after that.
I’m doing well too, but Logan is the first person I’ve run into in… possibly ever who’s just as hard working and determined as I am, and it’s taking everything in me to keep up with him.
It’s frustrating as hell.
“Maybe this is a good thing,” Max says when I mention it to him over video chat one night. “He’s pushing you to do better. You can’t really be sure you’re doing your best if you’re not being challenged, can you?”
He’s got me there, it’s true. I’m doing better than I would have otherwise. Honestly, the IUM entrance tests are a lot like the finals I had to go through at Griffin Academy, and I’m doing even better on these tests than I did on the Griffin ones.
Still, I’ve gotten so used to being the best in any given room that it’s a little hard to share my spot at the top.
Every time I think I can relax, every time I think I can let my guard down just a little or skate by on this one, Logan swoops in with lightning crackling between his fingers, not a single bruise on him because his other Unpredictable power is imperviousness.
And every time, I square my shoulders and push myself even more.
I stay up late at night practicing transforming into new animals so that I can be sure my shifting power will be an asset during tests. I have a repertoire of about a dozen animal forms that I worked on at Griffin, ones I can call upon naturally without thinking. But I want to impress the IUM admins, so I’m trying to branch out into other animals that could be useful too.