The Gilded Girl by Alyssa Colman

Author:Alyssa Colman [Colman, Alyssa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

EIGHTEEN

Unexpected Winds

Emma

Emma was changing linens on the second floor when a strong gust of wind howled past the window. Up and down the street, the flags and bunting set out for tomorrow’s Fourth of July celebration whipped in the wind. The glass rattled and sparks shot from Emma’s fingertips, singeing the sheets.

“Stones.” Izzy’s now-familiar curse leaped to her lips.

A door banged open downstairs.

“Clem! Come quickly!” Miss Posterity shouted with alarm. The fear in her voice made the hairs on Emma’s arms stand up. “The Winds are early!”

Emma rushed into the hall just as Miss Clementine shrieked and raced down the stairs two at a time.

Another gust buffeted the school and the whole house shook. Then Emma felt it. Magic, yearning to break free. Her fingers crackled with golden sparks. As a child, she’d seen how the Kindling Winds made the sky seem to shimmer. They always carried a sweet scent that was awfully familiar and impossible to identify. But she’d never felt the Winds before. They tugged at her now, trying to drag the magic out of her. She tried to shove the magic down, but it pushed back.

It was too soon. She was angry at herself for believing Miss Posterity’s assurance that they didn’t have to worry about early Winds. Why had she ever believed anything the headmistress had said? Emma didn’t have the incantation or know the right movements to kindle. If her magic ignited now, it would surely snuff.

Izzy. She had to find Izzy.

Downstairs, someone screamed. A shiver of terror shot down her spine. Emma didn’t think twice. She took off running toward the classroom.

Miss Clementine arrived in the doorway right before her. Her face was deathly pale. “Who is it?”

But the answer was obvious. Most of the girls were backed up, pressed against the blackboard. Rosie stood in the center of the room, eyes wide behind her gold glasses. Smoke wafted from her hands and she whimpered at the sight of it.

“We should separate the other girls,” Miss Clementine said.

“No,” Miss Posterity countered. “We have to keep them together so we can keep an eye on them. If we send them away and one of them ignites…” She didn’t finish her sentence, but she didn’t need to.

It was a struggle for Emma to control her magic. It rippled like it wanted to break free and burn like wildfire. She gripped the crystal in her pocket and tried to soothe her magic. Not yet, she told it.

Miss Posterity spotted Emma lingering in the doorway. “You!” she shouted. “Clear the parlor! We need plenty of space.” She turned back to her smoking pupil. “I’ll get my gems.”

“Why?” Beatrice demanded, her voice shaking. “What’s happening?”

“Rosie is going to kindle today,” Miss Posterity said in a way that was clear there was no other option.

“Why me?” Rosie looked up at the teacher, her face full of fear. “I’m not ready—I’m not. I don’t know the steps fully yet.”

Miss Posterity put a hand on her shoulder and then jerked it back like she’d been burned.

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