[A/N] Hey guys! As many of you pointed out, the previous rendition of this chapter was way off whack! I had used the copy-paste function and it apparently didn't work as expected. Top it off with me going on a vacation of a week and well…Oops. But here it is! The readable chapter 4!

Chapter 4 The days we wait

Days passed. I had intended them with normal teenager activities, like going to school and to the movies. Maybe hang at a mall. That was until I noticed that both Irma and Taranee seemed to be more out of it than usual. I caught them both practicing during school hours, albeit as discreetly as possible. Hay Lin told me that Irma was almost unreachable after school and I myself had noticed that Taranee rarely replied, either to my telepathic messages or texts. As Hay Lin and even Cornelia, who'd mentioned to me that she actually started to miss her usual banter with Irma, turned to me, I quickly figured they wanted me to talk to the both of them. With a lot of effort, I managed to get an evening with each. My first target was Irma. Getting her back to normal would at least instil the image that everyone was doing okay.

And so I joined the Lairs for dinner. At the table, whilst Mr. Lair pried into my school life and after school activities – apparently Irma had told them I made sure she didn't do anything bad, but was vague on what she did after school – and Mrs. Lair was telling me old stories of Irma as a toddler, I always kept one eye on Irma. She sometimes whined as her mother told something embarrassing about her, or when her father kept interrogating. When she wasn't, she was either conversing or arguing with Chris. Even so, there were a few moments where she turned silent. She prodded her food and her eyes told me that her thoughts were in a distant place. She just managed to hide it better for her family than for us.

Dinner ended and Mrs. Lair gave us the clear to go upstairs. While Chris complained as to why we didn't have to help with cleaning the table, I followed Irma up to her room. It occurred to me that Irma hadn't been looking at me, at least, not since she opened the door for me. Even now, she avoided my gaze as she let herself drop on the bed. I took the chair and turned it so I would be facing her. I could see a small smile play on her lips. Irma took a deep breath and a very forced smile appeared on her face as she looked at me. It surprised me how natural the smile appeared. I only felt it was forced because well. I would say a gut feeling.

"So Will, why the whole 'we need to talk' business? You're not trying to break up with me, are you?"

Irma's humour was also a thing I frequently admired. How she managed to play down any issue. Even if it was to hide herself from whatever was coming.

"Don't worry, no such thing. I just wanted to talk," I said.

"About what? If it's homework, I've got bad news for you. I haven't started yet."

"Irma, we're a year apart. Even if I wanted your homework, it wouldn't have worked."

"Oh yeah."

A silence fell. It was rare to ever have a silent moment with Irma, but I guess even the greatest blabbermouth in the universe would turn mute when her problems are addressed. I looked at her. She tried to hold my gaze, but she kept looking away. To have Irma look away was by far the strangest thing to ever occur to me. She would look Cedric right in the eye and taunt him. I never saw her like this. Almost...insecure.

"Irma, tell me. What's wrong?"

Irma's smile quivered and she looked again at me.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong," she said. Her hands balled briefly. "Why would you..?"

I looked her straight in the eyes. I hoped I looked sternly at her, but I couldn't shake a strange sensation of fear. It felt weird and not a part of me. I couldn't quite place it. I tried to quiet it down as Irma's sentence slowly stammered to a halt. She held my gaze for a few seconds. Her hands balled again and she turned her head away. She muttered something, but I didn't quite catch it.

"What was that?" I said.

"I'm sorry, okay. It's my fault we had to fold out of Arkhanta!"

I blinked, surprised. Irma didn't look at me, her eyes were even closed. Was she expecting me to yell at her now? Why would she? Why would she even think it was her fault we ran from Arkhanta? It had been my decision and mine alone. If anyone was to blame, it was me. But us folding away from Arkhanta was nothing to be ashamed about. At least, I didn't think so.

"Will?"

I realised I was staring at her with my mouth slightly open. Irma must have noticed the prolonged silence and had dared to take a peek. She still looked expectantly at me, though I could see a bit of confusion settling in her facial features.

"Why would you say that?"

Irma looked aghast. She really hadn't expected my confusion.

"I made the fires worse! I couldn't douse them!" she said.

"Taranee couldn't douse them either," I said.

At the mentioning of Taranee, I could see Irma scowl a little. That was a first. I didn't know Irma harboured any negative feelings towards Taranee. Irma must have noticed her own facial expression as she tried to feint neutrality.

"Taranee at least knew that I shouldn't try to douse it. I didn't listen," she said.

"That's nothing new," I said.

She looked at me, a very small smile tugging at her lips.

"Ouch," she said.

I rolled my eyes and nudged her knees. She pulled them up and rested her chin on them. The ghost of her smile was still visible, but rapidly disappearing.

"Irma, there's more, isn't it? I mean, I've seen you practice during school," I said.

"Only because she did it!"

I raised an eyebrow at Irma's spontaneous reaction. I hadn't expected her to yell out her defence. I ushered her to calm down and to lower her voice. Irma looked at me as if she was desperately trying to make me belief her.

"Who did?" I said.

Irma's eyes narrowed. "You know who. Taranee."

Once again I raised an eyebrow. Really, usually Irma's competitive side bubbled up when she was trying to outmatch Cornelia or if one explicitly told her she wouldn't be capable of doing it. I'd always figured Taranee was never really a goal to strive past, due to Taranee's superior studying skills. Irma, much like myself, just blatantly sucked at sitting still and study from a book. Irma made that up by being extraordinary at being social, something Taranee couldn't ever dream of achieving. In no way could those two find a field in which they would be each other's equals. Though, now that I thought about it, perhaps at being a Guardian and controlling one's element, they could match each other.

"You're practicing because Taranee is practicing? While I normally wouldn't discourage things like that, I still think it's strange for you to take that as a challenge. Isn't Cornelia your usual 'nemesis'?"

I made air quotes as I said the last word. I wondered briefly if Irma would say something about the air quotes, but apparently I was getting close to the crux of the problem. Irma sat up straight and looked at me. Once again I felt that strange fear bubble up inside me and as I looked at Irma, I saw it mirrored in her eyes.

"You know I'm no match for Taranee. She's the better student, she never gets into trouble. And she never gloats about it. While I... Well, I can't say my grades are top-notch. I can't say I never got into trouble. I swear, my dad wonders how I haven't ended up in jail yet. And you know how I love gloating."

While I would normally use this moment to coin a sarcastic remark, I felt this wasn't the time. I only nodded, hoping to keep Irma talking.

"To be honest, I couldn't explain you how we became friends. Maybe Kandrakar muddled in it, maybe it was a coincidence. The fact remains that Taranee would most likely end up getting well paid and I would struggle to keep my job as a janitor or something."

I looked at her, feeling a tinge of pity. But I also recognized her concerns. In Fadden Hills I felt the same as I looked around my group of friends I used to have. They would be successful, I would struggle to stay afloat. I scooted closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. I didn't say a word, but I think the gesture meant more to her than any word would have conveyed.

"Then along came the Guardian thing. And I found something I could actually match her in. Water versus fire. Anything she could throw, I could douse. It was quite a boost in confidence. I don't know if Taranee ever told you, but before you came, I tended to make Taranee the butt of my jokes every once in a while. I know it's nothing to be proud off, but it made me feel a little better about myself."

That's why bullies exist Irma, I thought. I didn't say it, but I guess my face wasn't hiding my thoughts. Irma winced back slightly, looking truly remorseful. So I just nodded once again and she continued.

"But now we've encountered fire that can't be doused. And I dare to bet my powers on it that Taranee is trying to recreate it. And I have to find a way to stop it. I talked it over with Cassidy and she suggested ice..."

"You've talked to Cassidy?"

I couldn't help but interrupt. A twinge of jealousy crept in my voice, but I managed to mask it. It kind of stung that Irma would go with her problems to Cassidy, the girl who'd been dead for half a century, instead of me. Besides, I doubted that Cassidy knew more about her element than Irma. It didn't seem that way when we fought her.

Irma nodded. "Yeah, I figured that, although she never had the chance, maybe she had some ideas what I could do with my powers. And if I could create ice, I could cut off the fire's need for oxygen in one fell swoop."

Irma was getting more excited as she told me of her plans to practice the ice making. I was impressed to find that she'd thought it out so much already and in the end, I could only nod. The feeling of dread that seemed to linger when I had entered, was lifted as Irma looked at me with a proud smile. Yeah, she certainly liked to gloat.

"I'm glad you like it. To be honest, I thought you came by to stop me."

I shook my head. "I only came by to see what was concerning you. If I'd known this was due to your competitive drive, I would have continued the training in Metamoor. Speaking of which, I would like it if you refrained from practising on Earth. Or at least, without my knowing. It could have been dangerous."

Irma looked down for a moment, before she shrugged. She smiled again at me. "Nothing happened."

"This time." I got up. "Well, it's getting late. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Irma blinked, surprised, before she nodded. She lead me out and left me to return to my house. It was good to know that Irma's concerns were mostly her fear of not performing well enough. I think I was actually proud of her that she was trying so hard to keep up. Now all I had to do was figure out why Taranee was acting out of sorts.

The next day, Irma seemed to be her regular self. Her jokes cheered up the group and she even got into one of her banters with Cornelia, much to the latter's amusement and chagrin. I hadn't caught Taranee practicing during the school hours. Perhaps she noticed something was off, or perhaps she already knew what I was planning to talk about with her. It didn't matter, I would still go. If only to find out what had gotten into her.

And so as the day passed, I finally arrived at the Cook residence in time for dinner. While I silently mused how fortunate I've been that my mother had to work late for two days straight, I was welcomed into the house. Here dinner was slightly different than at the Lairs. At the Lairs it had been quite the rowdy bunch. The Cooks were a lot more controlled. While Mr. Cook spoke about his day, everyone listened. Everyone got their turn to speak, with sometimes Peter or Taranee interjecting when they didn't understand something or when something came to their minds. They also questioned me, though as my day sounded much alike to Taranee's, I also added my mother's relationship status to my story. It was quite fun to see Mrs. Cook try to keep her face neutral as I speculated about when Mr. Collins would dare and ask me for my mother's hand in marriage. Mr. Cook was a lot more open in his curiosity and kept asking me more and more until finally, Mrs. Cook told him to stop. Only to add that she would personally ask my mom about all this. I just hoped she didn't do it anytime soon.

Dinner finished and we were left with Peter to do the dishes. I found out that doing the dishes at the Cooks, meant the two siblings talking about anything they didn't want their parents to know. Peter's numerous attempts at getting a girlfriend were discussed while Taranee advised him and Taranee told Peter about her and Nigel. I knew enough about the latter. They were getting closer, thanks to our two week holiday. Taranee was once again thinking about taking the boy home, now more certain her mother would accept him. Peter agreed on mellowing things down and they even set a date for when Nigel would come. As I silently watched this while drying the plates, I came to understand Taranee's levelheadedness. She needed to if she wanted to remain both sane and on good terms with her parents.

With the dishes done, we went upstairs. Peter went into his room and within seconds loud music boomed through Taranee's walls, just loud enough to drown out our voices. Either Taranee told him to do this or it was Peter's usual ritual after dinner, I didn't know. But it was convenient.

Taranee made her way to the bed, gesturing me to sit at the other side of the bed. I took my seat and we just stared at each other. I really hated to start a conversation. Taranee knew that. At least Irma was so kind to initiate it herself. I doubted Taranee would. The silence continued, with Peter's music banging through the walls. Finally I decided I just had to suck it up. A deep sigh left my lips.

"Taranee, how are you doing?"

Crap, that sounded ridiculous. I just suck at making a conversation sound normal. I could see Taranee smirk a bit at me, but I continued to look at her stubbornly. It was said, I couldn't take it back.

"Fine," she said.

She wasn't really humouring me. Either she liked seeing me struggle or she was trying to avoid the topic.

"Even when you encountered fire you couldn't control?"

Ouch, her face immediately scrounged up. So there was something annoying her. Though it quickly changed and I thought I saw something akin to admiration in her facial features. A small flame appeared on her finger. It danced happily on her finger, but her gaze was on me and not her flame.

"It has been holding my attention, yes," she said. "I mean, a flame that I cannot control, even after the power boost? A flame that grows instead of shrinks when it encounters water? It's intriguing, isn't it?"

The way she said it worried me, I recognized the tone she was using. It was a result of an unhealthy amount of curiosity to how it would feel to wield such power. I should know, I nearly fell into that trap twice. I could see Taranee staring at me and it made me feel uncomfortable. It was like she was searching me for a sign of agreement. I decided to look at her miniature flame instead.

"You think?" I said.

"You don't?"

The flame extinguished and Taranee moved. She leaned to the side of her bed, searching for something in her nightstand. I moved slightly along with her movements and she quickly returned. She held a small notebook in her hand and was flipping through it. I raised an eyebrow as Taranee seemed to search something in her little book.

"You know, ever since we got these powers I've been thinking of what is possible. Greek fire was something I'd considered, but I had no idea how to approach it. I spoke with Halinor, you know, just when we freed Kandrakar and defeated Cedric and -"

"You spoke with Halinor?"

My deadpanned tone made Taranee stop her search. She looked at me from the top of her notebook. First I saw surprise. That quickly turned into suspicion.

"Of course," she said.

I said nothing. I gestured her to go on, but Taranee wasn't doing that. Instead she continued to look at me. My stomach churned a bit. I didn't know why she was looking at me like that. To be honest, I didn't really want to know that she was asking Halinor for help. Somewhere, it kind of stung.

"Stop doing that."

I raised an eyebrow. "Doing what?"

Taranee rolled her eyes and closed her notebook, leaving one finger between the pages. She gestured with her other hand.

"You know what I mean. I know jealous when I see it."

It was rare for Taranee to be this direct. I first stared blankly at her, trying to compute what she was saying. The moment the meaning of the words hit me, I crossed my arms and furrowed my eyebrows. Taranee actually dared to sigh a little.

"I am not jealous," I said.

"So you are perfectly fine with us asking our predecessors for help and guidance?"

My eyebrow twitched as the corner of my mouth dropped ever so slightly. A very content smile appeared on Taranee's lips.

"You should train in whatever way you see fit," I said.

"Come on Will, spill. I've seen you frown or scowl whenever our predecessors are mentioned. Especially when it's about asking advice on our powers. Just admit that you're -"

Somehow, my fuse blew. I was quite sure I'd gotten used to getting put in a corner, though that tended to happen with Cornelia. Perhaps, now that it was Taranee interrogating me, I realized I'd only gotten better at facing Cornelia and not the others. The volume of Peter's music started to crank up as I finally shouted.

"That I'm jealous because you actually have someone to turn to? That you all already had a year to practice while I had to make do with my makeshift super strength? That, once I got my powers, I realized how terrifying they were? And how reluctant I was to use the tricks that old bat used against us?"

I took a deep breath. My hands had balled up and I was staring at them, no longer able to look Taranee in the eye. I hated to shout at my friends. Especially when it was undeserved. I could hear Peter stumble in his room while his mother shouted for him to turn down the volume. He shouted something about not being able to. It kind of helped me get a perspective. I already felt jealous when Irma spoke of Cassidy. Cassidy already tended to give me the chills, mostly because she was a walking proof of what my powers could truly do. Resurrect those who passed on. Once I realized that, I had promised myself to never mingle with the dead. But it also gave me frustratingly smaller options of what to do with my powers.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I took a new breath and the music was slowly turning down. I had to repress a smile. My pent up emotions made it that my outburst had been drowned out for all except Taranee. I looked up, seeing Taranee look at me. Her dark brown eyes shone with understanding. Once the music returned to its original volume, she let go of me.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have said it like that," she said.

I shook my head. "No, you shouldn't. But perhaps good you did. I needed it anyway."

A small grin formed on her face. "You're welcome."

She returned to her original position and held up the book again.

"As I was saying, I had been scrabbling some ideas down. When your makeshift super strength showed up – she winked at me as if she was being funny – I didn't get much. I mean, you could shuck Cornelia's rocks, but she could do that too, so no fun."

I nodded. It had occurred to me as well. Caleb had mentioned that I could always use it to fling forgotten stones at the castle, back during the rebellion. I always told him it was a stupid idea. He didn't like it.

"But with your Quintessence, a lot more comes into play," she said, once again browsing her booklet.

I frowned as I watched her look through it. After Nerissa, I never gave my powers a real thought. I could throw lightning and make immobile things live. To find out that Taranee had probably a whole list of things I could do, unnerved me a bit.

"While I like the idea that you came up with ways to use our powers, how does this tie in with your unhealthy interest in Greek fire?" I said.

Taranee blushed a bit, her eyes still focussed on the booklet.
"Ah...It was one of my first ideas. I dismissed it after a few very failed tries. But now that I've felt it and once again spoke of the possibilities with Halinor..."

"Once again?"

Taranee looked up temporarily. "The first time was after Cedric. She discouraged me back then for ever trying it. But, well... We've been having telepathic contact since recently and once I explained her again why I wanted to learn it, she gave me a few pointers."

"And why do you want to learn it?" I dreaded the answer.

"Curiosity mostly. Now that we've found enemies that can actually use it, well, it's to keep you guys safe."

Taranee had returned to flipping through the pages of the book, sometimes scanning the pages. My stomach churned a bit at her answer. Curiosity was one of the reasons why I even thought of imitating Nerissa. I loathed to admit it, and never would out loud, but I remember being in awe of Nerissa's seemingly ease with controlling our powers. I was so proud when I learnt that I could control the electrical appliances better than she could. Or when I managed to stop her rampaging objects, even though it was pretty half-assed. I admit I had been curious to reanimating the dead, but decided against it once I saw how much control she had over Cassidy. I started to fear my powers, to be honest. That Taranee, who had been afraid of her powers at first, was now looking through a book with possible ways of using ones powers, was surprising. Maybe she found the courage that I had lost.

"Ah, here. While Greek fire is by far one of the projects I'm most interested in, I was wondering about something else. Something I need you for."

Taranee showed me a page in her book. In the right corner I could see my sigil scrawled. I glanced the page over and my gaze stuck on one word. "Golems?"

I looked up, my eyebrows scrounged together. Taranee nodded at me, her eyes shining brightly.

"Nerissa made Sandpit, so what's to stop you from doing the same? And why just limit yourself with earth golems when you can try to create a golem from the other elements?"

I'd been slightly afraid she would suggest resurrecting the dead. The idea of golems didn't struck my liking either, but I felt immensely relieved. I frowned as I looked over her notes. The concept was simple. I just had to quintessence whatever element I liked, turning it into a golem. I could see that Taranee didn't fully understand the concept of how Quintessence really worked, but the gist was correct.

"I think it cou-"

I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence. A small fire danced on Taranee's palm.

"Taranee, no!" I said, pushing the flame away.

The flame felt warm, but wasn't searing. It also didn't douse. Taranee held the flame up, her eyes shining with the same curiosity I saw earlier.

"It's a harmless flame," she said. "Nothing bad can happen."

"What if I make it harmful?" I said.

Taranee simply shrugged. "I know you won't."

I looked at her. Out of all the girls, Taranee usually seemed the one to think everything through from multiple angles. Cornelia was down to earth, but tended to have tunnel vision and both Irma and Hay Lin were open for anything, ignoring plans or tactics if things were up to them. It was Taranee who feared our powers at first. To see her now so relaxed, in her own house, practicing her powers. It made me feel ridiculous for worrying. I was also quite curious if her theory truly worked.

I took a deep breath and glared slightly at her. I could see her grin, knowing she had won. I swallowed and cracked my fingers. I pointed at the flames and looked at them. The orange tongues danced hypnotically in her hand and I imagined them to be in a certain shape. I first tried something humanoid, like Sandpit, but the longer I stared at the fire, the more a different image came to mind. I felt my magic bubble up and whispered my element. Lightning coursed from my fingers to the flame. Taranee yelped, not in pain but surprise as the lightning barely graced her. It did, however, cause her to drop the flame. I watched in growing anticipation if my magic had had any effect on the flames. Disappointment filled me as the flames grew smaller and smaller until they suddenly flared up.

I looked surprised at Taranee, who held her hands up, indicating she wasn't doing it. My eyes returned to the flames, which had grown back to their original size and had now taken the form I imagined.

"An eastern dragon?" Taranee said.

I shrugged as I watched the small fire dragon float around. I panicked slightly as it came close to my face. Its nose touched mine before I could react. The touch was warm, but not harmful, much like the flame Taranee had held before. As we touched, I felt something connecting to my mind.

"Command?"

I blinked as I retracted from the little dragon. It hovered in front of me. How strange. The voice I'd heard was coarse and raspy. Was it this little thing I created? Did Sandpit have a similar connection with Nerissa?

Taranee meanwhile was looking at it in awe. I noticed that she was moving her hands, trying to gain control over the little dragon. The flames it consisted off flickered and I could somehow feel its worry. I even felt a slight tugging sensation. I gave in to it and saw how the flame dragon finally moved according to Taranee's will. Taranee seemed enamoured by the small fire dragon, one she didn't have to constantly control. She moved him to her hand and had him lay in it.

"Help."

I blinked surprised. I hadn't expected that it would dislike this. Maybe it disliked losing control. I could easily remember how terrifying it was under the control of the Horn of Hypnos. Was this a similar situation for the little dragon?

I looked at Taranee. She was completely shutting off from the world as she studied the small dragon. I felt a small smile form. I reached out to the previously strange tugging sensation. I tugged back and noticed how the small dragon jerked ever so slightly towards me.

"Can you bite her? Not too hard, just a surprise nibble."

Was it a nice thing to ask? No, but I figured it would be fun to see Taranee get bitten by her own idea.

"No. Can't."

I frowned ever so slightly, but decided not to push the matter. It's probably because Taranee is the Fire Guardian. So, I should've known it wouldn't work.

"Come back to me."

I was honestly surprised how it flew so fluently from Taranee's fingers to my outstretched hand. Taranee's eyes widened, realizing quite clearly that she wasn't commanding the little fire golem to do this. The small dragon curled up in my hand, its warmth pulsing comfortably in my palm.

"How?"

I raised an eyebrow. Now not just the golem, but Taranee too was speaking with few words? I repressed a grin and looked from the fire golem to Taranee. Her flabbergasted look still made me chuckle. The little dragon puffed some smoke as if he too was chuckling at Taranee's surprise. Taranee looked from me to the golem and to her own hands. Once again I felt the tugging in my mind. The little dragon looked up at me and I knew what it asked me. I did not give into the tugging and noticed how the little fire golem moved along my arm to perch on my shoulder. I had never seen such a look of betrayal on Taranee's face.

I grinned again, clearly enjoying how the tides had turned, when all of the sudden a knocking came from the door. As the door swung open, the dragon golem on my shoulder disappeared into smoke. I faintly heard it cry out in pain and somewhere in my chest I felt something aching. I looked at my shoulder then at Taranee and finally at the one who had opened the door. Mrs. Cook was standing in the door opening.

"Would you girls care for some cake?"

I just shook my head, still trying to comprehend what had happened. Taranee had just killed my golem. I heard Taranee tell her mother no and while the door closed, I was still looking quite saddened at my shoulder.

"Will? Are you okay? You paled a little when I doused it."

I swallowed. A part of me wanted to yell at her in frustration. She just killed my little golem. It was that I realized that I was calling it my golem that I didn't. Because acknowledging that it was mine, also made me like the idea of golems even more. Especially if I could give them to others. One couldn't ask for better protection during the night.

"I.. I heard it die. I wasn't prepared for that," I said.

Taranee's eyes widened. She took her notebook and pen and started to scribble on the pages. She looked at me again.

"How did it manage to ignore my commands? I was having a harder time than usual getting control of it. And when I had it, it suddenly broke off."

I reclined a bit. My mind was still spinning. I had been controlling those flames. Not Taranee. If I indeed could do that with the other elements... Wow, a shiver ran down my spine. Too much power. Maybe just focus on the golem thing for now.

"I...I had a telepathic connection with it. It begged me to stop you from taking control of it. So I stopped giving you free reign over its movements."

The explanation sounded a lot simpler than it had felt. That wasn't wholly true. When it happened, it all felt extremely natural. But as I thought about it, trying to figure out how I did it, I felt it was more difficult than what I'd just said. But I guess this was the best way to explain it.

Taranee's eyes widened. "You had a telepathic connection with it? You gave me permission to control the golem?"

Well this just felt awkward. I felt a blush rushing up. I started to play with my hair. It took me a while to look Taranee back in the eyes again. As I did, I didn't see the annoyance or irritated look I'd thoughts she was giving me. Instead it was a look of total wonder. I could see that she'd taken her pen and booklet again, the pen already on the paper. I raised one eyebrow.

"Tell me how it felt and if there was a way for me to force it from you and..."

I held up my hands. "Taranee, calm down. I'll tell you everything when we practice it more. I'll make sure we get some more practice with the others, on the condition that you stop practicing alone. I don't really like the danger you put yourself in."

Taranee lowered her pen and booklet. She now raised an eyebrow in return. "Danger? Will, I'm extremely careful that I won't harm anyone or anything."

I shook my head. "That's not it. I trust you do that anyway. I meant that if Irma and I could notice you practicing, who's to say that others don't? For the sake of our secret, I would prefer it if you didn't practice without the rest of us."

I could see Taranee nod in understanding, her cheeks slightly reddening as she realized her mistake. I was just glad she agreed without much ado. This would also calm Irma's nerves a bit. I placed my hand on Taranee's.

"Now let's actually play some games like we told your parents we would," I said.

Taranee grinned at me, the light of the room reflecting in her glasses as she pushed them up.

"Fine. Have you ever played chess? I think you'll like it."