There was a long pause. “Oh.”
“What?” He glanced over, his tone suspicious at my one-word response.
“Nothing.” I waited for a moment. “That was where I was headed.”
“Then why were you standing there in the hallway, not moving?”
I looked down at my feet, concentrating on each step. “Because it became too painful to walk. I stopped to rest for a moment.” After a moment I added quietly, “And I didn’t know if they would be allowed to do anything for me.”
“Why would you think that? Why else would we even have a medical ward?”
I raised my eyebrows. “The last time I tried to go, you told me that if I was a warrior in the field, I would have to learn how to bandage any injuries on my own.”
“That’s true,” he admitted begrudgingly. “But this is stealth practice, not combat. Injuries during all challenges besides combat can be treated at the medical ward if necessary. And from what I just saw of your ankle, it is clearly necessary.”
And with that he continued tugging me forward, the only sounds being that of our boots hitting the concrete floor with every step. A moment later he looked over at me again, his brow furrowing.
“How are your injuries from the Combat practice challenge? They were some of the worst of the day, if I remember correctly.”
“Oh…much better, thank you,” I answered quickly, feeling my cheeks flush. His eyes locked on mine, waiting. But I bit my lip, remaining silent, fearful I might otherwise accidently give something away about Coal. Eventually his narrowed brow lifted as he gave a tight nod, not saying anything else.
Coming to a stop after several more twists and turns, he pushed open a nondescript door on his left, and led me inside. Depositing me into a chair, he strode up to the small desk where a timid looking boy, no more than a year or two older than myself, sat. The boy throat bobbed as River approached, though he kept his nerves in check, rising and nodding silently after several quietly exchanged words, then disappeared behind another door.
Glancing around at the small utilitarian waiting area, I hadn’t realized River returned until he towered over me and I jumped, startled. He frowned, likely annoyed by my skittish behavior. “They’ll take care of you here and when you’re released, you may go back to your dorm. I’d advise that you take the opportunity to rest and heal. There’s only a short time remaining before the final challenges commence.”
“I understand,” I replied. He stared at me another moment, his eyes traveling from my cheek down to my still bandaged arm, and back. I licked my lips nervously at his intense gaze and searched my head for something else to say.
It was surprising that it took me so long to think of the obvious. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
He nodded curtly and without another word spun around, disappearing out the door.
But while I sat there, waiting to be treated, the past several moments replayed themselves in my mind. Over and over. River actually being, dare I say, kind to me. And yet, I couldn’t forget the slightest hint of question on his face, the furrowed edges of suspicion lingering there as his eyes scanned over my prior injuries. Injuries he’d seen firsthand, closer than anyone else besides Coal.
Leaving an hour later with a wrapped ankle, an exam confirming I’d only sprained it, and an extra cloth bandage to use, I returned to my dorm room and remained there with an bundle of ice on it for the duration of the evening, resting it as River had suggested.
Which had certainly helped. But as I continued walking besides Coal, especially now as we transversed the sloping field, I knew I was aggravating it. While I tried to ignore the intense throbbing, I couldn’t help but limp a little bit. The entire area was bruised and swollen still.
But it just needed it to be better before the final challenges began. That was all that mattered.
Coal glanced over as we continued walking and I knew it was because my pace was slowing. “How’s the ankle doing?”
“It’s fine,” I lied, my response too quick. A brow quirked suspiciously at me.
I sighed. “It doesn’t really matter. The pain is tolerable. But I can’t fight properly with it, at least not now.”
He nodded at me, the concern on his face evident. “Just take it slowly. Don’t push yourself and it will heal quickly enough. The important thing is that nothing was broken.”
I nodded, appreciation of that mere fact alone working its way through me again.
But another thought about yesterday began to fill my mind. I debated momentarily if I should discuss it with him. I didn’t know Coal all that well yet. I didn’t need to share everything with him. But I did want his opinion on it.
“Something odd happened, though,” I blurted out, breaking the silence.
“Odd?” he repeated.
And so I told him the events of yesterday, of running into River and how he helped me get to the medical clinic. Once finished, I let out a confused sigh. “I thought from the moment we arrived here that he was pure cruelty. Not an ounce of compassion or kindness in him. And with whatever ended up happening to Raven, and with how furious he was after my poor performance with the practice Emotion challenge, well, they kind of reinforced those feelings. But… I don’t think Flint or any of the other trainers would have helped me like River did yesterday. No one else besides Eden, that is.”
Coal was silent for a moment, contemplating my words, then shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe, deep inside, he isn’t like the others here.”
“Maybe not.”
The rest of the day passed without incident, and after spending time with him reviewing and memorizing various facts for the Intellect Challenge, I met with both Aurora and Finn and spent the remainder of the daylight hours practicing throwing knives. Well, they threw knives. I sat by and watched their technique, not wanting to damage my ankle any further. Even so, by the time we’d eaten dinner and I’d managed to drag myself back to my room, I was exhausted, desperate for sleep. Not a moment after I buried myself under the warm covers, the soft glow of the moonlight dancing across them, I was out.
✽✽✽
Lifting my head from the soft, down pillow, I slowly opened my eyes and, tearing myself from the final few tendrils of sleep that still clung, blinked at the bright light filtering through the smooth windowpanes. Morning already. It had come so quickly.
I gazed around the room sleepily, but my eyes were drawn back to the window again. And to the light streaming through. It looked odd, almost hazy. Maybe it was raining?
Reaching down to the warm quilt still covering me, I moved to toss it off…and then hesitated. The texture felt wrong, the material worn, the fabric pilled. I leaned closer, studying it with my still groggy eyes.
It wasn’t the quilt I had covering me when I went to bed that night.
It was the quilt that covered my bed at home.
Gasping, I shot up, my eyes instantly widening as I scanned my surroundings. I was home. In my room. In my bed. But how could I be home? I was at the Training. Wasn’t I? Was my mind so sleep addled that I could no longer tell the two apart?
Suddenly the door squeaked open. And there, standing in the middle of the frame, was my mother. Slowly she moved towards me, her steps graceful, her pale gray dress swishing against her. Perching her slender body at the edge of my bed, she peered at me with wide eyes.
So wide and yet… they weren’t clear. Weren’t bright. They were…vacant.
“Mom? Mom, why am I here?” I managed, but she just shook her head slowly. Those vacant eyes creased at the edges now, worry filling them.
“You have to go, Sage. It will lead you. The ring will show you the way.”
“Wha…What?” My heart thrummed nervously against my chest as confusion racked my brain. “What are you talking about? What’s happening?”
But instead of answering, she just repeated those same words. “The ring will show you the way. The ring will show you the way.”
Slowly rising, spine rigid, she moved
back towards the door, her steps no longer graceful, but robotic, mechanical. Her voice grew lower, but the last words continued to repeat. Over and over. “The way…the way…the way…”
“But I don’t understand. Mom, please! Help me understand!”
But she just kept moving, right out the door.
Tossing the quilt all the way off now, I flung myself out of the bed and raced through the doorway, expecting to follow her down the hall and through to the kitchen. But instead of warm wood as I’d expected, my bare foot hit cold, damp ground.
I was outside. And with sudden clarity I knew I was on the path I’d taken to the Training. We both were, I realized, as my eyes caught sight of her continuing on ahead, so far in the distance now her voice was barely audible.
Without hesitation, I tore after her, desperate to catch up, desperate for answers. Trampling dirt and leaves underfoot, rocks and twigs tore at my bare feet as they hit the ground, the frigid wind whipping my hair back. I ignored it all and just kept running and running along the foggy path, after her quickly retreating figure. I ran as fast as I could, darting around the trunks of pines and oaks that rose up, attempting to block my way. I could barely see her at this point. Pushing myself further, faster, I rounded a large spruce then dashed forward again.
And it was empty. The path before me was silent, not even the slightest hint another soul had just passed through.
Where did she go?
Panicked, I charged forward once more, foolishly not sparing a second glance for the ground in front of me. Not seeing the large overgrown root lying across my path. Not able to avoid it in time.
A moment later I was sailing through the air as my toes caught against the side of its rough bark surface. Instinctively I thrust my hands out, expecting them to slam against the hard ground.
But the impact never came.
I just kept falling.
I struggled to open my eyes against the brutally cold air rushing past. But when I finally managed it, all I could see was blackness. Impenetrable blackness all around.
My arms flailed in the air, trying to find something, anything, to clutch on to. To stop my deadly plummet. But there was nothing. The blackness engulfed me, closing in. Screaming with what little breath I had left, my echoing shrieks encompassed me as I fell into nothingness.
A gasp loud enough to scare even myself burst from my chest as I shot up. Panicked, sucking air into my lungs, I hurriedly scanned the room I now found myself in, searching for some sign of my mother. But she wasn’t here. She wasn’t here because…I was at the Training. My hands moved down, slowly tracing over the quilt covering my legs, noting the thick fabric and perfect stitches, emanating newness, not threadbare and worn like my own at home.
It was all a dream. Only a dream.
Letting out a ragged breath, I drew my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them and slowly reached out with my fingertips to touch the ring that hung from my ankle. The images had been so vivid, felt so real.
Sighing, I moved my hands up, cradling my chin in them. What did it mean?
Chapter 25
“What is Serafina like?”
Coal glanced up from the book in his lap, surprise coloring his face at my unexpected question. Several days had passed and we sat together now under a large pine near the edge of the field, once again reviewing for the Intellect challenge. Our daily training sessions were going well, and I knew I’d already improved significantly with his help.
But training for the Intellect challenge was a nice change. Because the roles switched and now I was the instructor rather than the student. Today, though, as we reviewed one various topic after the next, I found my thoughts drifting to the last time I’d been studying alone. In the library. And the conversation I’d overheard that night. And the implied threat.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what was she like in Fire Society? Was she as strong a fighter as the other girls?”
Coal closed the book, tilting his head in thought.
“Actually she was stronger. The strongest. I’d never seen her lose a fight…until she was paired against Rowan that is.” He shook his head slightly, almost in disbelief at the outcome that day.
“Oh.”
“Why?”
“I overheard something several days ago when I was in the library and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. Blaze and Ash. They cornered Serafina. They were, more or less, threatening her about being around Rowan. Saying that she wouldn’t get into Combatant if she continued to hang out with him.”
Coal didn’t reply, but the look of surprise had vanished, his face carefully blank now. After pausing for a second, I continued.
“And after Serafina left, saying it was her business and not theirs, Blaze and Ash started talking about reminding her somehow.”
“Did they see you?” There was a hard edge to his voice now, his expression tense.
I shook my head. “No, I was behind one of the bookshelves. None of them knew I was even there.” A nervous chill ran through me as the words replayed in my mind. “Do you think they would actually do something to hurt Rowan? Or Serafina?”
A look of unease on his face now. “I do.” His fingers drummed nervously against the leather cover of the book still on his lap. “Those two think it’s their responsibility to remind everyone from Fire Society that they are meant to enter Combatant. But it isn’t true. Yes, a lot of trainees coming from Fire Society go to Combatant due to our earlier training, but the majority don’t. If some didn’t go into Proletariat, there would be no one left in Fire Society.”
I nodded, my throat tightening nervously. “We can’t just stand by and do nothing if they intend to hurt either Rowan or Serafina. Not after what I heard.”
“No, we can’t.” His blue eyes were dark, his hands fisted tightly together as he cut a glance towards me. “We’ll have to watch Blaze and Ash. Carefully.”
✽✽✽
That evening, after peeling off my dirty clothes and taking a quick shower, I rewrapped my ankle, then pulled on a pair of black leggings and an oversized gray sweater. Thankfully, my ankle was nearly back to normal, the bruising mostly faded and the swelling barely visible.
As I left, heading towards the cafeteria for the evening meal, I was about to turn from the dorm halls into the main passage when I saw Cirrus emerge from his room. I hesitated. Maybe this would be my chance to talk to him, to find out what had been bothering him lately.
I waited as he approached, leaning against the dark cool wall. When he was only a few feet away, I moved forward.
Sucking in a sharp breath, he quickly jumped backwards, eyes widening with surprise as he caught view of me.
I suppose I’d been somewhat hidden from his view. But the apology about to leave my lips for startling him clung there, refusing to pass through as a mixture of discomfort and annoyance quickly replaced the surprise on his face. He glared down at me, his expression guarded.
Swallowing slowly, I made my way the final few feet between us. “Cirrus, funny running into you here.” My meager attempt at humor to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.
“Sage,” he acknowledged me, nodding slightly, though his entire body remained rigid.
I paused, waiting to see if he was going to say anything else. Instead, he just began rocking back and forth on his feet uncomfortably, his eyes darting around in every other possible direction.
“I was wondering if we could talk for…,” but he immediately shook his head, cutting me off.
“I have to go to my room. Sorry,” he muttered, twisting, and quickly headed back in the direction he’d just came from.
“But didn’t you just come from your room?” I asked, now confused.
“Forgot something,” he called back, not even bothering to turn around. I watched as his lanky figure disappeared down the hall.
Sure you did, I thought.
It was an obvious lie. Cirrus didn’t forget anything. He was avoiding me.
It was impossible to ignore now. But why?
Leaving, I quickly made my way to the cafeteria and over to my normal spot. I was surprised that neither Finn nor Aurora were there yet, as the place was almost full. Grabbing a tray, I sat down, popping a few carrots into my mouth and angrily chewing them as I waited for the others to arrive. I didn’t have to wait long.
“Aurora, I have to ask you something,” I began several minutes after she’d sat down. We were alone, Finn having yet to show up.
“Hmmm?”
I looked down as I ran the tines of my fork through the potatoes on my plate, creating a crisscross design. “I ran into Cirrus earlier. On the way here as a matter of fact. And…well…to be honest, he acted as if he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. Do you know if something is going on with him?”
I waited, but a silence stretched between us. Was she angry I’d asked? She’d already been uncharacteristically quiet this evening.
Cautiously glancing up, it was only then I realized she wasn’t even looking at me. “Aurora?” I asked again. Nothing. She didn’t move, her eyes focused only on the entry way to the cafeteria.
Following the direction of her gaze, it instantly became clear to me what caught her attention.
Cirrus stood in the doorway, just staring at us. But instead of coming in and sitting down to eat as he’d done every other day, his jaw clenched as he shook his head slowly at her, face twisting into a look of disgust. After a moment’s pause, he turned around and stormed back out.
“Aurora,” I murmured, twisting myself back around. She was frozen, her eyes still trained on the now empty doorway, but her posture was rigid, as if steeling herself. Trying to keep all the emotions restrained and buried within.
“Aurora!” I said a little louder, trying to get her attention. She didn’t budge. Reaching out, I gripped her by the shoulder, giving it a quick shake.
“Wha….What?” she mumbled, jostled by the motion.
“Are you okay?”
Silence still. Continuing to stare at the empty doorway still. Concern grew inside me with each passing moment that she remained that way. Until, finally, she turned back to the table and…
Awakening Earth and Fire: Earth and Fire Trilogy Book 1 Page 21
