I woke up in the infirmary with a splitting headache and four pairs of concerned eyes staring down at me.
"She's awake," Asher said with obvious relief.
"What happened?" I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it as the room spun.
"You passed out after your little light show," Zephyr explained. "Which, by the way, was impressive. You managed to short-circuit every magical ward in the building."
"I did what now?"
Magnus stepped closer to the bed, his presence making the air around me noticeably cooler. "You channeled pure elemental energy. All five elements at once."
"Five elements?" I looked between them in confusion. "I thought there were only four."
"Earth, air, fire, water," Kai counted off on his fingers. "And spirit. The fifth element that's been lost for over a thousand years."
"Lost how?"
"The last spirit elemental went mad from the power," Magnus said quietly. "She nearly tore apart the veil between worlds before the Council managed to stop her."
A chill ran down my spine that had nothing to do with Magnus's ice powers. "And you think I'm…"
"A spirit elemental," Asher confirmed. "The first one in a millennium."
I laughed, but it came out shaky and hysterical. "This is insane. Yesterday my biggest worry was whether I'd packed enough sweaters for boarding school. Now you're telling me I'm some kind of magical chosen one who might destroy the world?"
"The prophecy is more nuanced than that," came a new voice from the doorway.
We all turned to see a woman entering the infirmary. She was ageless in that way that screamed 'ancient supernatural being'—she could have been thirty or three thousand. Her silver hair was braided with what looked like actual starlight, and her violet eyes held depths that made me dizzy to look into.
"Headmistress Nyx," the guys said in unison, and I could hear the respect and slight fear in their voices.
"Boys," she acknowledged with a nod before turning her attention to me. "Miss Pierce. How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been hit by a truck," I admitted.
"That's to be expected. Your powers are awakening rapidly, which is unusual for any elemental, but particularly dangerous for a spirit wielder." She approached the bed, and I felt a soothing energy wash over me. "I'm going to propose something unconventional."
"More unconventional than finding out I'm a magical being who might accidentally end the world?"
A small smile tugged at her lips. "These four young men have each offered to help train you to control your abilities. Normally, we would assign you to a single mentor, but given the unique nature of your powers…"
"You want all four of them to train me?" I looked at Kai, Asher, Zephyr, and Magnus. They were all watching me intently, and I felt heat rise in my cheeks that had nothing to do with elemental magic.
"The bonds formed between elementals and their mentors are… intense," Headmistress Nyx explained carefully. "With spirit magic, these bonds may be even stronger. Are you prepared for that possibility?"
I had no idea what she was really asking, but looking at these four incredible, supernatural men who had already risked themselves to help me, I knew my answer.
"Yes," I said quietly. "I'm ready."
The headmistress nodded approvingly. "Then we begin tomorrow. Gentlemen, Miss Pierce will need to see each of you for individual training sessions. I trust you'll all… behave appropriately."
The look she gave them suggested she wasn't entirely confident in that trust.
After she left, an awkward silence fell over the room.
"So," I said finally, "anyone want to explain what exactly these mentor bonds involve?"
The guys exchanged glances.
"It's complicated," Asher said diplomatically.
"It means we're going to be connected," Zephyr said more bluntly. "Mentally, emotionally, maybe physically. The stronger your powers grow, the stronger the bonds become."
"All four bonds?" I asked faintly.
"All four," Magnus confirmed, his ice-blue eyes intense. "The question is whether you can handle it."
Looking at them—Kai with his dangerous charm, Asher with his gentle strength, Zephyr with his raw power, and Magnus with his cold intensity—I wondered the same thing.
But as power hummed under my skin, responding to their presence like a tuning fork finding its perfect note, I realized I was about to find out.
"Bring it on," I said.
All four of them smiled, and I knew my life had just become infinitely more complicated.