War of the Princes 02: Dragoon Read Online Free Page B

lucky she had the luxury of friendship at all. We all were.
    I will not think about him.
    She looked at me closely and pushed up her glasses. “Oh, gravity, I'm sorry, Kat. You don't look so good. What happened?”
    I wanted to answer her honestly. Ruby and I were close. We usually told each other everything, but now I didn't know what to say. She knew about my electrical Ability, but showing it to her had made her uneasy. I couldn’t really blame her for that. Electricity is a prickly and dangerous element, and she had no idea how much control I actually held over it. I’d explained that it took a level of concentration to summon even a small lightning display. When we talked about it, she sounded supportive, but I saw the truth behind her eyes. Ruby’s quiet fear made me feel isolated.
    If I told her that I was the reason Calvin was in the hospital, would she sympathize, or be afraid of me? If I told her about Officer Loring, would I get arrested for talking? There was a weight at my side and something in my arms. I was wearing the satchel and holding the papers tight against my chest. It was at that moment that I realized exactly how out of it I was. I hadn't even noticed that I’d brought them from the coach. Stress was poisoning me.
    “ I'm fine,” I lied. I could tell her the truth later. “My brain is dying, but as long as I have my looks, I won't need it, right?”
    Ruby looked at me , bewildered.
    “ Uh oh. That bad, huh? I guess I should save my brain after all.”
    “ Save your brain ? Kat, it scares me when your jokes barely make sense. Is your dad working? I can go get Sterling if you need a ride home,” she offered with concern.
    “ No! Definitely not Sterling,” I said adamantly.
    “ Why?” she asked, ruffled.
    I sighed. The only honest answer would make her angry, but what else would I say? “Ru, I really didn't want to tell you this right now, but Sterling is not someone we can trust.”
    “ What do you mean?” she asked. Her black eyebrows narrowed behind her glasses.
    “ Remember what I told you about last year?” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “The things I can do? He's been following me. Spying.”
    “ That's ridiculous,” she scoffed.
    “ He can sense my Abilities,” I whispered, hoping she'd believe me.
    She looked at me as though I had set her house on fire.
    “He sold me out,” I told her. “I think he's been hanging around with us just to get information about me for his dad.”
    “ About you?” She, on the other hand, was not whispering in the slightest. “You're telling me that my boyfriend is using me to get close to you ?”
    It sounded horrible, but I couldn't say no. Sterling had shown his true colors. I had no reason to believe he would suddenly become close to Ruby, conveniently after I had discovered my Abilities. Wasn't it better that she knew?
    “ I can't believe you, Kat,” she said, upset. A finger flicked to her face to push up her glasses. “Everything my parents are putting me through, and now you're doing this to me.”
    “ It's not about you,” I tried to explain.
    “ Yeah, you're right!” she snapped back. Ruby was an exceptionally nice person. I hadn't seen her this angry in years. The result left me gaping. “It's never about me. Look, I know you've been through a lot, I get that. But I have been here, day after day, trying to cheer you up, trying to make you feel normal, defending you against those idiots at school who make fun of your scars. I've been here for you, but it's never enough! You're miserable about what happened to you, you're miserable about Rune, and you're miserable about yourself. There's no such thing as normal, Katelyn, you just have to get through it, but if you're bent on hating your life, don't drag me down with you!”
    She spun away from me, stalking back the way she had come. I could tell by the pinch of her voice that she was ready to cry.
    A fight with Ru, on top of everything else, was more than I could