by Pixie James
“The Dan-A-Tish has chosen? Why have I not been informed? Come child, if the elder Raska calls for you, you must answer.”
I freeze, dang near wilting under all the unwanted attention until Tia shoves me forward and I stumble through the door. Professor Te’Vrah allows Huey to lead, and I turn to Tia, confused. “I don’t understand. Te’Lara talks to Huey like he’s her child and this guy’s acting like he’s royalty. What am I missing?”
She leans in close as we make our way through the large open gym to the back where the sparring mats are laid out. “Before he was Te'Vrah, he was Ty’Vrah. A royal guard, one of the more revered actually, at least that’s what Te’Lara let slip when she was discussing this year’s schedule with me. Raska life-bond with their chosen Xebulin. And their primary purpose is to protect, to center, and when you’re advanced enough, amplify your skills. They also fight alongside their charges in battle. Te’Vrah lost his before he came to Earth. That’s how he got those big ugly scars. His Raska sacrificed himself to save his life.”
The revelation hits hard, and when I see the reverence in Professor Te’Vrah’s eyes when he looks at Huey, it makes me want to cry. You can tell he suffered a great loss, and even as a big, scary looking warrior, it still affects him every day.
Unable to find the words, I keep quiet as we turn the corner, then freeze.
Jet black hair, dripping with sweat. Broad shoulders. The most delicious set of six-pack abs I’ve ever seen. Ty’Nix is throwing punches, two with his right, then one with his left, rhythmically knocking the crap out of the pad-covered hands of his sparring partner. Both of them are so locked in and intently focused on the training at hand, they’re completely oblivious to our arrival.
“Oh. My. God,” Tia whispers, just as entranced by the ruggedly handsome show of physical dominance in front of us.
“Yep.” The word comes out all breathy, and I hate myself for reacting that way. He’s a total jerk. The worst kind of hot guy there is, and yet I still can’t keep myself from imagining what his lips would feel like on mine.
“Stop drooling, losers. That one’s mine.” The sound of her voice is like nails on a chalkboard, and when I turn to see Ki’Lin grinning at me, I want to slap the smile right off her face.
Tia snorts. “Have you told him that? Because last I checked, he didn’t know.”
Her perfectly manicured blue brows pinch together as her eyes narrow. “He will, and both of you better stay the hell out of my way.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Kiki. He’s all yours,” I blurt out, unable to control myself. She’s everything that’s wrong with teenage girls all wrapped up in one package, and up until this point I could have sworn I was going to carefully pick my battles. Apparently, now I want all of them.
“It’s Ki’Lin, you peasant, and you’ll both regret your attitudes one day when I’m royal.” She smiles widely at me. “Especially you, Mufasa.”
My throat tightens and heat explodes across my skin. That bitch. Iridescent colors begin to swirl up and down my arms, and I’m seconds away from either crying or launching myself at her when Tia grabs my shoulder and chimes up. “Right. I’ll be sure to start practicing my curtsy now. Are you done? Or are you going to subject us to your verbal herpes some more?”
Ki’Lin's deep violet eyes sparkle, and she smooths her light blue braid. “Get out of my way.” She shoves her way past us and prances up to Professor Te’Vrah. “Sorry to bother you, sir. But I was sent to retrieve Ty’Nix for Headmaster Ha’Jahn. I know it’s Ty’s free period, but we are convening a special student alliance meeting. The elders want to throw Cherise a welcome celebration next week, and we have very little time to plan.”
I’m sorry. A what? Anxiety turns my already pissed-off stomach into goo, and I squeeze Tia’s hand. Maybe I can just hide?
“As they should. Go ahead. I was just about to interrupt them, anyway.”
She bows slightly and bounces over toward him. Ty’Nix doesn’t seem to notice, too focused on his moves, and when his sparring partner nearly stumbles over himself to greet Ki’Lin, Ty’Nix lands a gloved punch directly to his face. The guy goes down, cradling his face, and Ty’Nix jerks his head toward Ki’Lin. “Are you insane? Interrupting like that?” He bends down to help his buddy up.
She drops her head in faux meekness and dark purple blooms on her cheeks. Oh, come on, he can’t be buying this.
“I’m sorry, Ty. The headmaster sent me to get you. I didn’t mean to—”
He pulls her into a hug, and she sags into his arms. “It’s all right. I shouldn’t have yelled. Give me a few to clean up and I’ll meet you in the hall.”
She smiles that same ridiculously fake smile and skips off back toward us and the door, elbowing me as she passes by. Huey shifts his tail by my feet, catching her ankle, and she stumbles, biting it hard. The accusation stained venom in her eyes quickly morphs into fear when instead of my face, she meets a seriously pissed off Huey.
Cherise-1, Alien Barbie-0
Several of the guys in the group attempt to help her up, but she shakes them off and scurries out of the gym with a slight limp. Tia bursts out laughing. “Oh my God. I think I just fell in love with Huey all over again.”
“Me, too.”
Our entire group of fifteen jerks to attention when the loud clang of metal on metal resonates through the room. “Now, if you are all quite finished? Let’s continue to expand on your defense skills from last year.” He glares at So’Rev and I’m pretty sure I’d do just about anything to never be on the receiving end of one of those looks.
“You. Here. Now.” Professor Te’Vrah points down at the mat, challenging him. “So’Tia. You will engage student Cherise, beginning with first year defensive techniques. The rest of you…I hope you don’t mind the smell of fresh blood. Because today, there will be plenty of it.”
My heart pounds against my chest as everyone lines up, and Tia moves to stand opposite me. Making sure to space out evenly, the entire class, including Professor Te’Vrah, presses their crossed arms to their forehead in a show of respect.
The Professor crouches down into what I’m guessing is a Xebulani battle stance and bares his teeth. The man is frightening.
“Engage.”
As soon as the words are out, everyone but me and Tia launches themselves at their opponent. Fists fly so fast I can barely keep up, and more than one student gets thrown backwards against the wall.
Holy crap, Xebulins don’t play.
“Hey,” Tia calls out. “Don’t be intimidated. You’ll get there, too. We all had to start somewhere. Come on, show me what you’ve got.”
“Okay, that should take about sixty seconds. What are we supposed to do for the next forty-five minutes of class?” I ask, flattening my lips.
Tia playfully shoves my arm and straightens my shoulders, guiding me down into the position the others started off in. “One of our advantages is that our muscles allow us to distribute our weight evenly with little to no effort. You need to learn how to embrace that. Especially since you still manage to trip over everything.”
“Har har, you’re hilarious.”
The two thick braids she’s tossed up into a messy bun flop around as she bounces side to side. “I’m serious. If you use your body and ignore what your old human mindset tells you, you’ll get this way quicker than you think.”
A loud thwap echoes across the gym. One of the students—So’Pat, maybe?—lands hard on a pile of weapons. Professor Te’Vrah looks over his shoulder without skipping a beat and nods to Huey, who nudges a button on the wall.
So’Trav throws out a leg, trying to catch the Professor off guard, but Te’Vrah blocks it without even looking and throws him down on his butt.
Poor guy, this isn’t going to end well for him.
“Shouldn’t we do something?” I ask Tia, cringing as So’Pat flails around clutching his arm.
She shakes her head and jerks her chin back toward the crumpled student. Two Xebulin females in whil
e aprons come in, lift him up, and carry him out like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
“Wow, right then. Guess, I should throw a punch or something…”
Tia smiles wide, mischief gleaming in her eyes. “You had your chance, newbie. Now, put up those fists. You’re going to need them.”
The edge of the silver bleachers lining the right side of the gym is merciless. Trying to offload the pressure from one butt cheek to another, I uncross my legs and rub the lines that have formed on my upper thighs. Seriously, how much longer do I have to wait?
Ty’Nix has rescheduled all of our sessions this week outside of the first, and I’m already behind as it is. Tia agreed to start tutoring me at night now that were in the same room, but still, this is his job. And my life depends on it.
The clock on the wall reads two-thirty, nearly twenty minutes after our lesson was supposed to start. My neck aches, and my arms feel like one giant bruise from all the tests they did. Tia took it easy on me in defense class. Mostly because she was too busy watching So’Rev get manhandled like a small child, but also because she could tell I’m exhausted.
Huey nudges my hand, but I wave him off. It’s sweet of him to want to center me and all, but right now I really just want to be mad. It’s probably the only thing keeping me awake, and every second that ticks by only makes me angrier.
The big wooden gym doors creak open, and I jump to my feet ready to give Ty’Nix a piece of my mind but stop when a little girl with the squishiest set of purple cherub cheeks struts through, bright blue pig tails bouncing. She’s leading a line of five other Xebulin kids into the gym, with none other than Ty’Nix taking up the rear.
What the hell is he up to now?
His hair is messy today, the normally straight black locks slightly wavy, almost as if he jumped out of the shower and let them air dry. And there’s a five o’clock shadow dusting his jaw. I try not to stare at the gray sweats that hang off his hips or the fresh white t-shirt stretched across his arms but, dang it, I can’t look away.
A slight smile curls the edges of his lips as he strides toward me. Ugh, he knows I was looking. How annoying.
“Where have you been? You were supposed to meet me here twenty minutes ago.”
He gestures to the line of kids who are wandering off in different directions. “I was busy. Obviously.”
I clench and unclench my hands trying to keep my cool. “You’re assigned to tutor me. Do you think that’s a joke?”
“Ha. Yeah, I kind of do. You’re seventeen. No way you’re going to master all the touch skills by the end of next year. I don’t know why they’re insisting I waste my time.” He drops his bag, and I stare at him, shock widening my eyes. I couldn’t have possibly heard him right. No one could be this big of a douche. Especially when I’ve done nothing to deserve it.
“You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack. Now, go sit down with the kids.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, shoving my hands into my pockets so he doesn’t see them balled into fists. He’s the kind of guy who enjoys getting a rise out of people, and the last thing I want to do is give him the satisfaction. Him and alien Barbie really are perfect for each other.
Ugh, even the thought makes my gut clench.
“You heard me. Go sit down with the kids. Since you’re pretty much as helpless as they are, I figure I’ll kill two birds with one stone and teach you together.”
Tears sting my eyes. I’m on the verge of smacking him upside the head with my bag or screaming at the top of my lungs and I’m so sick to death of people acting like entitled jerks just because they can, I’m ready to burst. I’m trying my hardest to do all the things I’m supposed to, but I miss my cousin and dang it, at what point is this supposed to get easier? It’s only been a week and I feel like I’m drowning.
Huey lets out a low growl, and Ty’Nix jumps beside me. He jerks his head toward Huey, then starts to back away. Huey follows and plants himself between us. Ty’Nix looks back up at me just in time to see a single tear fall before I have the chance to wipe it away. He sighs and scrubs his face with his hands. I could swear for a brief second there was a hint of regret in those sea green eyes but it disappeared as quick as it came.
“Look. I’m not trying to be a dick…” He sighs again, “Okay, I was trying to be one, maybe a little, but I never meant to make you cry.”
My skin shifts, anger seeping into my pores at the look of pity on his face. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m crying because punching you is against school rules and murder is illegal.”
He laughs, his pearly white teeth catching the lights above. “Fair enough. Look, you don’t have to sit with them. But you really should stay. The information I’m going over today is good, and it will help you apply what you read in the textbook.”
“Are you going to keep blowing me off and trying to humiliate me?” I ask, crossing my arms.
“Nah. I’ll help you. Scout’s honor.” He holds up three fingers, and I can’t help but laugh.
“That’s the Girl Scout sign. Boy Scouts only has two,” I say reaching out to put down one of them. An electric shock zaps me as our fingers connect and he jerks his hand back.
“Are you dense? I told you not to touch me.”
“Geeze, I’m sorry. I forgot. Look, I obviously don’t even know how to get memories off people yet so chill out. I didn’t see anything.”
He rubs his temple. “It doesn’t matter. Just sit down over there and try not to mess anything up.”
Fighting the urge to bolt or knock him in the head, I drag my feet over to the bleachers and sit back down. This won’t last forever, right? After next year, I can take that stupid test and leave this place and get on with my life.
Let’s just hope I can make it that long without strangling Ty’Nix or his evil alien fangirl.
Chapter Nine
The night sky looks angry. Clouds cover all but the slightest hint of a moon, and the wind whistles its way through the cracks of my only window. Lightning cascades across the sky, and despite the horrific glass-shaking thunder, I can’t tear myself away. For the last few nights, this has been the only place I’ve felt settled. It’s hella weird because I hate heights, but I’m not going to question it. At this point, I’ll take what I can get.
“You better get down from there. You and lightning don’t exactly have the best relationship,” Tia teases as she finishes securing her flower poster to the wall. Ever since Te’Lara gave us the okay, she’s been doing her best to cover every single inch of free space on her side of the room.
I never pegged her as the Smurf type, and yet, there’s a two-foot-long hand drawn Smurfette plastered on the ceiling above her bed. She catches me eyeing it and chucks a shoe at me. “Don’t you dare hate on my girl. She’s always been there for me.”
“Never!” I toss the shoe right back and it barely misses her. “This is a no judgement zone. I just never pictured you as someone who’d have a thing for blue cartoon characters.”
She jumps up on her bed and drags a finger across the drawing. “It’s not that I have a thing, per se. But when I got here…my family and I had a really hard time. None of our people would talk to us, and Earth kids, well they didn’t look like me and it’s not like I could talk to them, so I watched a lot of TV.
“The Smurfs were the cartoon that most resembled what I was used to. What we look like, you know?” She eyes the poster again before hopping down and landing on her butt. “I don’t know. It was nice to see someone who looked familiar. I guess it’s always stuck with me.”
“Why’d you have such a hard time? Everyone seems to like you now. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I never would have known.” She picks at her nail, almost as if she’s trying to decide whether to tell me or not. “You don’t have to talk about it. Sorry for prying.”
I should have known better than to ask. I hate thinking about my past, because it’s like it gives life to all that hurt and I have to re-experience it all over
again. Plus, some people aren’t worth remembering. I tell myself that every time Jared or my mom pop in my head. I still can’t believe what they did to me.
A lump forms in my throat, and I do my best to think about anything else. Tia pulls at the tips of her dark hair, pinching off split ends. “Did I ever tell you why I dye it?”
I twist my own little wisps of blue and shake my head.
“On our planet and here on Earth, our colors are so similar, no one really stands out. Sure as we get older our skin gets darker, but girls our age? They all want to look the same. Ever notice after Ki’Lin wears something, half our school has something similar on the next day? It’s because they imitate her, clinging to the hope that they’ll attract a higher social class.
“I hate it. And after everyone treated me like a freak…I just decided to embrace it. No other girl looks like me, and that’s exactly how I want it.”
“It suits you. And I’m sorry I brought everything up. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No, no it’s fine. It’s just it took so long for people to forget what happened with my family, you know? Promise you won’t say anything?”
“Of course, not!” I hop out of the window and slide onto my bed. “I feel like crap for asking.”
She smiles and rolls her eyes. “It’s not that serious, girl,” she says, laughing. “Well, it was, but it isn’t now.” She grabs the pillow beside her and pulls it onto her lap. “Okay, this is going to take a bit to explain. You remember when we talked about the titles and names and stuff? And how Ty’Nix was the closest to royalty we have here?”
“Ugh. Yes. How can I forget?”
“Well, back on Xebulis Five, there is still a ruling couple. They’re extremely old and ready to retire, but without a blood heir, they have to settle for whoever’s closest. It’s a big deal. And they don’t have that heir…because of my mom. Or, at least that’s what everyone thinks.”
