Under the Winter Sun (Elemental Enchanters Series Book 3) by Carrigan Richards Page B

speaking. Ava still had a hard time understanding him, but maybe it was the topic she didn’t comprehend.
    “But the chemical equilibrium doesn’t occur in irreversible reactions,” Peter told them. “The reactions are always equal and don’t change with time.”
    “But only some chemical reactions are reversible, not all,” Konstantin said.
    “Like atmospheric chemistry,” Katarina said.
    Ava had no idea what they were talking about. She felt like an outcast. She yawned and Lance caught her eyes. He shrugged, and she agreed with a small chuckle. “How are you?” she asked him.
    He lifted a shoulder. “’Bout the same as you. They’ve been at this for an hour.” He rolled his eyes. Exhaustion wore on his angular face. “Where were you?”
    “Oh. Gabriel and I went to practice at the beach.”
    “And?”
    “He taught me how to fight. He told me how to hide feelings a month ago, but this went further. When I stepped into the water, it was warm.”
    “Wow. Really?”
    She nodded with a lopsided smile.
    “That’s amazing. Natalia is helping me, but I don’t think I’m listening very well.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    “I’m good at the fighting thing. But sometimes I falter. Then get annoyed and it takes a while to get back to figure it out again. If I hadn’t mimicked Peter’s ability, I’d probably be much worse.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I don’t know how you’re handling this. Some days I feel like I can’t get out of bed. Other days I want to get rid of my anger in unhealthy ways. Being at school doesn’t help.” His eyes watered, and Ava wrapped her arms around him.
    “I told Gabriel I didn’t know how he was so calm about everything. He said he was just really good at keeping things inside. I’m trying so hard to do that, but it’s difficult.”
    “Have you been blaming yourself still?”
    She let out a sigh. “How can I not? I’m getting better, though. I’ve been selfish and ridiculous for the better part of a month and I know it’s been hard on Peter because I put so much pressure on him. He’s been so stressed and grieving for Seth.”
    “Well, him being here has definitely helped. He seems to have come around. Even Thomas has started talking to him.”
    Ava felt a little hurt that she hadn’t been the one helping Peter. “He seems to have made good friends with the Russians.”
    “Yeah. They’re a good group. Anyway, I think I’m going to go home and sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He hugged her and left the room.
    Sleep sounded good to Ava as well, if only she could without having some nightmare. She moved closer to Peter and tapped him on the shoulder. “You’re still coming over right?”
    “Actually, I’m gonna stay here. We’ll hang out tomorrow, I promise.” He kissed her cheek as if that made up for not coming.
    She was upset, but masked it. Disappointed, she left Peter and the others to their boring chemistry talk and drove home. Ava couldn’t ignore the fact that he hadn’t seemed to notice she hadn’t been there all night. Why did he stay there? What was so important that he couldn’t hang out with her? His constant rejections tired her.
    The night felt darker, colder and she couldn’t escape the feeling that someone or something was watching her. The wind blew, rustling the bare branches, and the clouds moved in, covering the moon. Ava shivered and hugged herself.
    When she looked around the quiet parking lot, nothing appeared amiss. And then the feeling of being watched was gone. Her pulse quickened. Had someone been inside her apartment?
    She bolted across the parking lot and up the stairs. She fumbled with her keys in the lock but finally managed to open the door. “Dad?” she called, turning on the light. She sighed with relief once she saw him on the couch under a blanket.
    Her father groaned and squinted from the light. “What is it?” He sat up. The pillow had left indentions on his short bearded face.
    “Nothing. I