Sweat drips down my back, but I refuse to give in. I can do this. I will succeed. I will not let the last three months affect my goal of graduating top of my class. I will pull myself together and make everyone proud. I know I can do this.
My fists continue pounding away as Ben continues to call out sequences. “Stop,” he says “Sprint.”
I take off like a bat out of hell, sprinting out the door of the gym, right out into the freezing morning air to the edge of the Academy boundary line and straight back with my fist raised, ready for more.
After finishing my cardio, Ben puts me through a grueling weights workout to help my muscle tone and even I have to admit, after three months of no weights, my body is aching and begging for a rest. I finish off my last set and collapse to the floor in exhaustion the second the weights leave my hands.
“Good job,” Ben says crouching down before me with my drink bottle in his hand. “You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you, but if you keep this up, I think you’ll be okay. Though the boys have been working their asses off and they aren’t going to make it easy for you.”
“Thanks,” I say as I take my drink bottle from his outstretched hand. “I figured that out during training yesterday.”
“Here,” he says, digging into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. I take it from him and quickly scan it to see a list of foods. “From now on, you’ll be on a strict diet,” he informs me.
“Diet?” I ask in confusion. “Aren’t I supposed to be putting weight on, not trying to lose it?”
“Exactly,” he says. “This is a specific diet created for that precise reason, so quit questioning me and just do it.”
“Fine,” I say as I shakily bring myself to my feet and grab my things. “I really appreciate this,” I tell him holding up the paper as we walk out of the gym together. “All of it.”
“I know,” he says with a smile. “Just don’t go falling in love with me like you did Rylan.”
My mouth drops open as my eyes bug out of my head. Surely, I didn’t hear him correctly. How the hell does he know? There’s no way Rylan told him. “Um…,” I say, unsure of how to broach the topic. Do I lie?
“Don’t bother explaining,” he says, cutting me off. “I’ve been in love before, I recognize the signs.”
I stand here, gaping at him like a moron. “Um…,” I try again.
“Don’t stress. I’m not telling anyone,” he says. “I’ve known for a while.”
“Really?” I ask. “How?”
He looks at me as if I’m stupid. “Bianca, I’m your instructor. It’s my job to keep an eye on my students and when the two of you are in the same room, there’s an electricity that pulses between you. Your classmates are fools for not seeing it,” he laughs.
“Ha, not all of them,” I laugh as I recall just how quickly Daniel had figured it out.
“Though it was startling obvious when he went after you into the Fairy Kingdom, even I wouldn’t take a risk like that,” he says. “No offense.”
“None, taken,” I say, still a little shocked at the turn of events.
“It will be good to have him back next month,” he says fondly.
A fond smile spreads across my face. “Yeah, it will,” I agree.
Ben gives me a knowing smile and a roll of his eyes. “Go on, get out of here,” he tells me. “You need to get ready for your classes and rejuvenate your energy for this afternoon’s training.”
“On it, boss,” I salute before dragging my feet all the way back to my room where I promptly collapse into bed.
“No time for resting,” Jacinta says as she prances around the room, getting ready for the day. “You’ve got a ton of classwork to catch up on so you can graduate.”
“Damn it,” I groan, getting up from my bed and practically falling into the bathroom. “I don’t remember training ever hurting so much,” I say as I start peeling off my sweaty clothes.
“Seriously?” she laughs. “You don’t remember the nights you’d stay up for hours stretching after Rylan put you through excruciating workouts?”
“I was trying to forget about them.”
“You’ll be fine,” she tells me. “Just give it a week, your body will get used to it again.”
“I know,” I say, leaning into the shower and turning the taps. “It just sucks.”
I spend the rest of the day working my ass off in class and receiving assignment after assignment from my teachers that should help me with my missed grades, though with how much work I’ve been given, I’ll be stuck in the library for the rest of my life, though I’m sure Jacinta will help me if I get stuck. What are best friends for, right?
I spend a good portion of my lunch with my nose stuck in books while simultaneously avoiding Brax’s shameless flirting. He decided that sitting with us is going to be his new thing which I don’t have a problem with, I’m all for new friends, but that depends on if he dials down the flirting. I already get enough of that from Daniel, but something just seems strange how he has so quickly inserted himself into our lives.
I head off to Combat Training and decide that Ben wasn’t exaggerating, every single one of the boys has improved immensely over the last three months and getting up to their level is going to be one of the biggest hurdles I’ll ever face. Apart from Brax, I already know I can beat him with my eyes closed, but that isn’t going to stop him from improving, especially now that he has Ben as his instructor and then Rylan next month.
Hmmm, Rylan. I know I only saw him yesterday, but, God, I miss him already. Training really sucks without him.
Following training, I sit in the library for a few hours with Jacinta on my other side doing her own homework. She does her best at shooing away the boys when they come, complaining that we’ve been here too long and helps me get as much done as I can.
We detour past the cafeteria to grab a quick dinner and the second I step into our room and see my bed, I fall face-first into my pillow which is exactly where I stay, shoes and all.
----------
My days seem to be on a repetitive loop. I wake early, train with Ben, go to classes, and train in the afternoon before Jacinta hauls me off to the library.
Day in and day out, it’s all the same. Though maybe it’s a good thing Rylan isn’t here, I’d be far too distracted.
I’ve been back for just over two weeks and I must admit, Jacinta was right. My body is finally getting back to its old self. I mean, training still sucks. Ben is working me harder than ever, but the pain seems a little more manageable. With his help, I’m starting to feel stronger and my punches are getting faster and sharper. My muscle tone is starting to come back and I can already see the difference when I look in the mirror, though I still have a long way to go.
My body was itching to get into the shooting range and when I finally did, I was extremely disappointed. After my spectacular 98 percent average at the midterm examinations, my target average has now dropped to 94 percent. I guess, on top of everything else, I’ll be logging a few hours of shooting practice. Though let’s hope Rylan doesn’t find out when he gets back, I couldn’t possibly give him the extra boost to his ego knowing that he’s still on top when it comes to shooting averages.
Another thing I’ve noticed is Alex.
Right before I left, his best friend Luke was killed by Rylan after turning into a vampire. He was bitten during battle, a battle where the fey and the vampires worked hand in hand to attempt to bring down The Guard. It didn’t work, but after a long list of unfortunate events, I guess it was my part in the whole thing which brought the battle to us so soon. And I saw it in Alex’s eyes the moment I returned. He blames me. Even though I wasn’t the one who killed Luke, I wasn’t the vampire who bit him, and I’m not the fey who decided to bring the battle to us. Yet, to Alex, his best friend is dead because of me.
No matter how many times I try talking to him, it’s useless. He wants nothing to do with me. It’s not like we had anything to do with each other before, but now that
Millie is dating his little brother, Robbie, it kind of makes it a bit awkward. I can just imagine what family Christmases would be like.
It’s a Saturday afternoon and I sit in the library packing up my things. After a workout this morning and spending the last eight hours with my face in textbooks, I’ve decided that I’ve had enough and am thankful that tomorrow is Sunday so I can rest, though I might go for a run.
I throw my bag over my shoulder and head back to my room. I might spend the afternoon stretching while I paint my nails, maybe a little yoga too. I get to the door of my room just as there is a commotion at the entrance of the dorm rooms.
I look over my shoulder to see Nora barging past a few girls and heading right in my direction, looking completely distraught and on the verge of tears. “What’s wrong?” I ask as she tumbles into me.
“Daniel got hurt,” she says with urgency. “He…he was stabbed.”
“What?” I shriek before barging into my room and grabbing Jacinta and Trey. “We have to go. Daniel’s hurt.” I drop my bag and dash back out to Nora who has tears streaming down her face. “What happened?” I demand as I take off down the hallway with my friends close behind me.
“I shouldn’t have made him go,” she cries as she tries to keep up with us.
“I don’t care about your sob story,” I yell. “What happened to Daniel?”
“He was attacked in the mall bathroom,” she says.
“By who?” Trey demands. “There’s no way someone got the drop on him, not with his training.”
“I don’t know,” Nora says. “He hasn’t told me anything. He just called me for help and I ran in to find him nearly unconscious on the floor.”
“What the hell?” Jacinta says with concern.
We make it into the infirmary and run past the nurse at reception. “You can’t go back there,” she calls after our retreating forms.
I run down the long hallway, getting a flashback of the last time I was in here with Luke. We hear Daniel’s familiar grunt of pain a few doors down and continue until we’re pushing through the door.
Daniel lays on the bed, beaten and bloodied while groaning in pain. Dr. Mandoza prods at his stomach, no doubt where his stab wound is and I find myself unable to look away.
Dr. Mandoza gasps at our sudden arrival. “You can’t be in here,” she scolds before she recognizes our faces. “Oh, it’s you guys. I guess there’s no point in telling you to go away. You’re just going to argue with me until I give in.”
“You know us well,” Trey smirks, a little calmer after seeing Daniel is still alive.
She lets out a deep sigh. “Well, you may as well make yourselves useful,” she says then indicates to some medical equipment on the far table. “Hand me that suture kit,” she asks as she begins cleaning his wound. I turn around and reach for the kit and hand it to her with a smile.
“Nice to see you again, Bianca. I heard you made a friend at Head Office,” she says, threading her needle and sending shivers all over my body. Ugh, there’s nothing I hate more than stitches and trust me, I’ve had my fair share of them.
“I did. Your sister is an amazing woman,” I tell her.
“That she is,” she smiles as the needle digs into Daniel’s skin. My skin crawls as I watch, but for some reason, I find myself oddly intrigued.
Jacinta, finally having enough of the chit chat, caves in to her inner demon before yelling out. “Shut up. What happened to Daniel?”
We all look at her in shock, but she doesn’t care as she continues gaping at her half-brother.
Daniel attempts to sit up in bed but stops when Dr. Mandoza pushes him back down. “I don’t know,” he croaks in pain. “I left Nora to go and piss and out of nowhere some dude in a black mask comes and slams my head into the wall, and begins beating me. I fought him off until he pulled the knife.”
“And you have no idea who it was?” Trey asks.
“Nope,” he replies. “But he was strong, his punches were trained. He knew what he was doing.”
Anger spurs through me. How dare someone lay a hand on Daniel. “So, you think it was a member of The Guard?” I ask.
“Yeah, for sure,” he nods as he scrunches his face up in pain with the movement.
We stay with Daniel while Dr. Mandoza finishes stitching him up then decide it’s time to leave when Nora comes in with soapy water and a sponge. Daniel grins and gives us a wink as we fly out the door.
We head down to the cafeteria for some dinner and sit around the table eating when Brax sits down beside me. “How’s Daniel?” he asks.
“Don’t tell me the word has gotten around already?” Jacinta groans.
“Oh, Nah. I was at the mall. I saw them wheeling him out and he looked pretty bad,” he says.
“He’ll be alright, probably out of training for the next two weeks which also puts him out for his birthday. I guess that’s another 18th that’s going to suck,” Trey murmurs.
“Oh, yeah,” I say. “I forgot his birthday was coming up.”
“Great friend you are,” Jacinta teases with a scoff. “That’s two for two. Are you going to miss Trey’s birthday next?”
“Shut up,” I laugh, bumping her shoulder with mine.
“So,” Brax starts as he looks to me. “What’s your plan for tomorrow? Are you finally going to accept a date?”
“Sorry,” I smile. “I already have a date with Jacinta and her credit card,” I inform him. “I’ve lost all this weight and now I need new clothes.”
Jacinta looks at me with a curious gaze. I told her just this morning that there was no way I’ll be spending my Sunday at the mall. After all, I have a bad track record with the mall. Her gaze turns into one of understanding as she slowly figures out why I want to go there and I know without even looking that Trey would have figured it out too.
“Give a guy a break,” Brax groans. “I’ll let you get away with it for now, but soon you’ll succumb to my charms,” he says with a wink.
“Don’t bet your money on it,” Trey says. “Daniel tried for years.”
“He mustn’t be as persistent as me.”
“Believe me,” Jacinta laughs. “He was.”
With a final wink, Brax gets up from the table and walks away with a smile. I can’t believe this guy.
“What’s his deal?” Jacinta laughs. “Does he not get the hint?”
“Nah, let him go,” Trey says. “It’s fun watching Bianca shut him down each time.”
Jacinta rolls her eyes at her boyfriend then turns her attention to me. “Are you sure you want to go to the mall? I mean, bad things happen when you go there and you haven’t been there since…you know.”
“I know,” I tell her. “But I have to get into the surveillance room. They might have footage of who attacked Daniel.”
“I guess, but Daniel said he was wearing a mask,” Jacinta objects. “And I doubt you’ll get footage from inside the bathroom.”
“Come on, babe. It’s worth the risk,” Trey says. “He’d do it for you.”
“I know, I’m 100 percent in. I just think it’s risky,” she says.
“True, but after Daniel helped come after me into the Fairy Kingdom, I have to do this for him. I owe you guys so much, so if there’s a chance we can figure out who did this, then I’m taking it.”
“Alright, to the mall it is,” she says. “But you’re not to move from my side. I’m not risking your life again.”
“Okay, okay, calm down,” I laugh. “Oh, and not a word of this is to get back to Rylan.”
Chapter 12
We sit on the bus waiting for the teachers to get their act together when Brax climbs the stairs into the bus. The three of us groan as he smiles and waves. He drops down in the seat in front of me and turns around to face us all. “Hope I’m not intruding,” he smiles. “There’s not much to do here on a weekend so I thought I’d tag along.”
“No, not at all,” Jacinta says as I plaster on a fake smile. “Trey hates coming along without Danie
l to talk to. We can get a bit carried away when it comes to shopping.”
He chats the whole way there, but all I can think about is how we’re going to ditch him so we can break into the surveillance room.
By the time we get to the mall, I’ve finally pulled together a plan, an awful one, completely not worthy of the schemes and plots that I’ve had in the past, but a simple one that will get the job done. Jacinta takes hold of my hand while Trey hovers close in fears the fey might show up to kidnap me or a rogue vampire is waiting to drain my blood.
For my plan to work we actually go shopping to make our visit look authentic, but if I’m honest, it’s not a big problem. Jacinta and I go from store to store and I’m pleased to find Jacinta’s trust fund hasn’t been cut off just yet. She treats me to all sorts of shiny new things and I do my best to pick out a belated birthday present for her which is actually very hard as she won't quit hovering.
We head into one last store and I look over my shoulder to check Trey and Brax stayed behind before I whisper to Jacinta. “You need to get Brax to help you take all the bags to the bus and then make a commotion, something big enough to distract security.”
“What?” she moans. “I don’t get to break into the surveillance room with you?”
“No, you don’t Miss ‘sure Brax, tag along’. You need to distract him so we can slip away.”
“Fine, but how am I supposed to make a big commotion?”
“You’ll think of something,” I smile. “Be creative. You may as well enjoy it while you can.”
She rolls her eyes but gives me a nod.
We walk out of the store after purchasing a few more things and search out the boys who loiter around the front of the store. “Hey,” Jacinta smiles as she approaches Trey and gives him a quick kiss. “I think we’re about done.”
“Finally,” Trey groans. “Can we get something to eat now?”
“Yeah sure, I’m starving. Why don’t you go to that place I like and order while I drop all these bags in the bus?”
“K,” he grumbles.
Queen and War: Slayer Academy (Book 3) Page 8
