CRYSTALLUM (The Primordial Principles Book 1) by Laney McMann Page A

rest . The bird's eyes were what caught her attention. They were large, round, and black. It had the look of a hunter. The kind of bird that didn’t eat berries, but killed its prey.
    Its gold chest matched the bird outside, she thought, and the dark, slate colored feathers looked similar. The description said the bird could be found almost everywhere on earth. From the arctic tundra to the tropics. Arctic tundra sounded right for Boulder. Under interesting facts, the guide said it was the fastest animal on the planet. Able to tuck its wings and dive upwards of two hundred miles per hour or more. Whoa.
    Kade moved her finger to the heading at the top of the page.
    Falcon.
    The front door opened downstairs, and Kade chunked the bird guide on her bed.
    "Kadey?"
    "Hi, Dad." She skipped down the stairs.
    "I picked up the coat you wanted on my way home." Her dad held up a colorful paper bag.
    "Thank you."
    "Make sure it's the right size. The sales lady said it was the same one you showed me online."
    Kade peeked inside. "I love it."
    "It'll keep you warm in this weather. I still can't believe it's only August."
    "Me neither. I was hoping for one last month of lying in the sun. I wonder if there are lakes around here." Not like he'd let her go to one, but still.
    Her dad eyed her, confirming her doubt, and ambled into the kitchen. "Dinner?"
    "Whatever you want. Except drive-thru." Kade made a gagging noise.
    "Mac-n-cheese?"
    "Sure. I'm going to try on my coat." She started toward the staircase.
    "Are Lindsey and Giselle still picking you up in the morning?"
    “Yeah, why?”
    "I may have to go into work early. Hoping not, but in case I'm gone before you leave..."
    She exhaled, but he couldn't hear her. This was what it would be like. Her dad being gone all the time. Again. Always on call at the new children's hospital. The reason Kade had to move into a “common house” in a few weeks.
    “Okay,” she mumbled and laid her new coat on the bed. She stared out the window with a sigh. The falcon sat on its limb, staring back.
    ***
    Waking up to everything covered in a foot of snow on Monday morning couldn't have put Kade in any worse of a mood for the first day at a new school. Besides her anxiety level being way too high, her dad had left a note: Early emergency surgery. Have a good first day.
    Nothing like pacing around the living room alone on the first day of school. New school. New people. Another new start. She'd had so many they all blurred together.
    While fumbling with her belt and the strap on her backpack, she peeked out the front window as she paced a trail in the living room. A horn blew and she rushed the front door like she'd been tackled from behind. Darting outside, she traipsed through the snow toward Lindsey's car.
    "Sorry, we're late." Lindsey eyed Giselle.
    "It's okay." Kadence climbed in the back seat, winded.
    The Flatiron rock formations dominated the landscape as they neared the high school. Rising into the sky, they practically kissed the dusky horizon.
    Lindsey veered into the parking lot. "We are so late."
    "There's one." Giselle pointed toward a parking spot wide enough to fit a scooter.
    Lindsey shook her head. "You have depth perception issues."
    "No, I don't." Giselle yanked her lip balm out of her tiny purse. "I can see."
    "You need glasses."
    "I do not."
    Lindsey chuckled and circled the lot. "I'm gonna have to jump the curb."
    "You really want to start racking up parking tickets so soon?" Giselle smoothed the Chapstick on her lips. "How many did you get last year? Twenty-three?"
    "No." Lindsey rounded the lot a second time. "Dammit. There's nothing.”
    Kade leaned forward, anxious enough about it being the first day of school, much less strolling in late. Everyone's schedule had been posted online weeks before, and Kade's first class was with Giselle, so at least she wouldn't be late and lost.
    "Twenty-four?" Giselle glanced at Kade. "It was twenty- something. Her dad was pissed when he had to pay