The Iron Butterfly (Iron Butterfly #1)(38)

They looked at me with a wary expression and purposely walked passed me to sit in another row. When it was obvious that no one was going to sit next to me, I felt my face turn beet red.

My eyes started to burn as I struggled to hold back my tears. I was stronger than this, I told myself. I can handle a bunch of stupid, petty Denai. I squinted my eyes, pretending to examine my boot. I blinked away any trace of the glittering evidence of my weakness.

A loud thunderclap rolled in; everyone looked up in expectation. A lone figure appeared out of the woods and literally walked across the flowing river to stand in front of the seated students.

This was my new instructor, I presumed. He was medium height with white blonde hair and he had the strangest grey eyes. Another clap of thunder rang out and I jumped. The instructor’s head turned my way and those strange grey eyes didn’t focus on me but looked through me. I squirmed in my seat nervously.

He glanced at me longer than necessary and then another crack of thunder followed and he looked toward the rest of the Denai sitting clustered away from me.

He had a disapproving look on his face as he gave the full force of his odd glare to the other students who started to shift in their seats uncomfortably.

“Well, it seems we have a new student. What’s your name, child?” His voice rumbled like the thunder.

“Thalia,” I stated.

“What clan are you from?” he looked at me thoughtfully.

“I’m not sure?” I wanted to disappear into the ground.

“No matter, what are your strengths?”

I looked down and shrugged my shoulders in answer, dropping me head down in defeat. I could hear the twitters of laughter echo in the arena. Now it was the instructor’s turn to turn bright red with anger.

“Silence!” he yelled as an angry crack of thunder split through the room. Immediately the students quieted down and a few looked duly chastised, while others looked bored.

“Well, let’s go on and pick up where we left off last week.” He managed to regain control of the class and began a review of basic strengths and weaknesses of different Denai gifts; weather, like our instructor, earth, water, transference, vision seeking, healing, mind speaking, and some students could shift forms.

After being called on a few times in class and not being able to answer a single question, the instructor had pity on me and quit calling on me altogether.

A few of the Denai helped demonstrate their gifts when the instructor was teaching. I watched dumbfounded as a small girl went to a tree sapling and made it grow to an adult tree, and a boy controlled the movement of the river. Instructor Weston controlled thunderstorms and seemed to enjoy showing off because every few minutes or so I would hear another crack of thunder.

When he finally dismissed the class, he asked me to stay after. I sat quietly, playing with the hem of my over-skirt trying to not make eye contact with anyone.

“Pathetic, isn’t she, came into her powers late. She gives the Denai a bad name.” I didn’t have to look up to see that it was Syrani and her gaggle of friends laughing on the way out and purposely knocking against me. If only they knew I wasn’t even a Denai.

Another crack of thunder and Instructor Weston walked over to me.

“Thalia, I must apologize for singling you out like that. I assumed you had been trained. I have not been given any information regarding your circumstances. I’ve only been notified that you are different than the others. Can you tell me what training and education you have had?”

“I can read, write and do basic arithmetic, but as to anything else you spoke on today, absolutely nothing.”

Professor Westen blanched in surprise. ”So no one in your family was Denai? How odd. When did you acquire your gifts? Most Denai achieve them before puberty.”

“Well, I can tell you that I only, ah, uh, acquired them recently… as in two days ago?”

He blinked in disbelief.

I blurted out all of the fears and insecurities I felt in a rush of hurried sentences. “I’m in over my head. I’m at a complete disadvantage compared to the others. I don’t know what I can and can’t do, so how am I supposed to learn here?”

“Do you think you’re the only one with a disadvantage to overcome? Look at me, Thalia.”

I looked at Instructor Weston as he instructed but I found it uncomfortable to stare at his still grey eyes. I shifted my eyes back to the ground.

“Can you see?” his deep voice rumbled.

“See what?” I asked, looking back to his face in confusion.

“I can’t,” he answered.

“I don’t understand…” And then I did. I looked into Instructor Weston’s grey unseeing eyes and realized. He was blind.





Chapter 14





“It happened long ago, when I was a child. I fell from a tree and hit my head,” Instructor Weston explained. “When I woke up, everything was dark. My parents found me some time later but no matter how many healers they took me to, none could restore my sight. I was stricken with grief. I couldn’t go on living like an invalid. I felt like I was half a man.” Weston smiled crookedly. “Well, half a boy, I should say. I went into the woods and called on the largest thunderstorm possible in an attempt to kill myself. It was then, during the rumble of the thunder that I realized for a split second I could see.”