by Eric Vall
“Come on, Gryff,” Braden put his hand on my shoulder firmly. He also eyed John, and I felt validated in my anger toward him.
“Yeah,” I uttered, and I let Braden steer me away. If he hadn’t, I would have turned back around and decked him in his stupid, crooked-nosed face. If I hadn’t, Braden probably would have beat me to it.
“Is she okay?” Cyra asked. She and Maelor waited for us just outside of the arena so as not to get in the way of medics and Takers.
“Yeah, she will be,” I replied in short, but she didn’t look convinced.
“Are you?” She followed up.
“He could have killed her with his recklessness,” I growled. I tried not to look back over my shoulder at John. “What the hell was he thinking?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Braden interjected, and his grip on my shoulder tightened. “What matters is that Layla is okay.”
I grumbled, though it was nothing intelligible, and shrugged. Maybe I would feel differently once Layla was released and I’d gotten some rest.
“Let’s go see her. I’m sure she doesn’t really want to be alone right now.” Nia suggested with a smile. She looked between us for confirmation.
“Come on, son.” Maelor grasped my other shoulder and urged me forward.
When we got to the infirmary, Meriden already had Layla set up in bed. She looked tired, but she still managed a smile when she saw me.
“You took your sweet time,” she joked as we gathered around her. I climbed in beside her as she had with me when I first woke up from my coma.
“We got lost.” I smiled back and put my arm around her.
Layla laughed at first, then clutched her stomach in pain.
“Laughing hurts,” she hissed through gritted teeth.
“That’s probably an aftershock from going headfirst into an explosive hurricane, Miss Bethel,” Meriden noted as she came around the corner and nearly ran into Maelor.
“Oh, pardon me,” he apologized and stepped out of her way. Meriden smiled and patted his belly as she squeezed by.
“Yeah, well, someone had to.” Layla groaned and sank back into the pillows as the wave of pain passed.
“What happened in there?” Nia asked. She sat in the chair beside Layla’s bed and leaned close.
Layla shook her head. “That idiot just wanted to be done with it as fast as he could be and then freaking choked when he realized he messed up.”
“How careless,” I scoffed.
“Oh?” Nia raised an eyebrow at me and smirked
“I’ve never put anyone but myself in danger with my actions,” I defended. “All of my recklessness has been for the sake of helping someone else at my own expense.”
Everyone laughed a little, and I was about to be offended when another voice cut in, the familiar tones of the headmaster.
“Ah, yes, that much is true,” Sleet mused as he stroked his beard.
We all quieted down at that. It wasn’t like him to stop by for a chat, especially so late at night. The others seemed to think so, too, and they fell silent as he lingered. He stood tall, his arms hung behind his back and hands clasped.
“I am glad you are feeling better, Miss Bethel,” he said as he nodded at my lover.
“Thank you, headmaster,” Layla replied as she bowed her head.
“Gryff, I was wondering if I might have a word with you?” Sleet lowered his eyes on me.
“Of course,” I answered, and I squeezed Layla’s shoulder before I clambered off the bed again. I waved to my friends, and Sleet led me out of the infirmary.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what is this about, sir?” I questioned.
Sleet hummed and continued to stroke his beard in thought. “I simply have a few questions I would like to ask you, Gryff.”
“Okay.” I fell into step beside him. I couldn’t understand why he was being so cryptic.
“I assume you know that I have been entertaining Gallahar Kenefick the last few days?” Sleet mentioned thoughtfully, and I nodded.
“Yes, sir,” I answered. I really wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
“He’s the highest ranked general in the Unified Enclave Military, as you know,” Sleet continued. “Everything he does, he does with the best intentions toward the fight against the monsters.”
“So I’ve heard,” I muttered flatly. I hadn’t heard much of Nia’s father outside of his monumental achievements and the expectations that he’d placed on her for her to live up to, so my impression of him was relatively stale.
Sleet chuckled. “Despite the misgivings with his daughter, he is a great man and an even better mage. He is a peer that I would place my full trust in.”
I made a face. I didn’t have much choice but to accept Sleet’s words at face value. How could I judge a man I’d never met personally beyond hearsay, and everything I’d heard had left me with mixed impressions?
“I have also had the pleasure of keeping the company of Miriam Sharpay,” he continued with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
“I get the feeling it isn’t as pleasant as you make it seem, Headmaster,” I pointed out.
“It has been a long while since she’s descended from her seat in the council to grace us with her presence for the Magicae Nito event.” Sleet stroked his beard thoughtfully. “According to her, there hasn’t been a reason to.”
“Suddenly she’s here, though?” I asked curiously. “She isn’t even a summoner herself, I heard, so what changed?”
“We have a batch of first-year summoners that are making quite a name for their specialty.” As Sleet explained, I found my lips had tugged into a smirk.
Damn right we were making a name for ourselves. It was about time we as summoners got the recognition we deserved. Still, I scoffed. I wanted summoners to get a better reputation, but I didn’t want to make such a fuss that the council of mages thought they needed to interfere.
“What does she really want?” I asked. There had to be an ulterior motive.
“It isn’t uncommon for a council member to attend the event,” Sleet clarified, “However, we share a similar sentiment toward her sudden decision, I think.”
“Do we?” I crossed my arms and eyed him curiously. Sleet never struck me as the type of man that had any kind of hatred or particular grudges against anyone, but I guessed that everyone did. Even the strongest mage in the world had to have someone to butt heads with.
“Her intentions might well be good, but her ways of thinking are too narrow.” Sleet slowed to a leisurely stroll, so I did, too. “And, as you yourself have just stated, summoning magic is not her area of expertise.”
As we continued our talk, I wondered how deep Sleet had his hands in magical politics. I imagined he had to have some pull as one of the strongest mages in history, and he was the Headmaster of the largest Academy in the largest Enclave. That had to speak volumes towards something.
Along that line of thought, however, I wondered if Miriam Sharpay was the one with the ulterior motive.
“No offense meant, sir, but why are you telling me all of this?” I questioned. I had started to grow impatient. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy having talks with him. On the contrary, I was oddly fascinated by the way Sleet’s mind seemed to tick. However, I was tired. I’d spent the last hour in such a worried state that I’d exhausted myself. Of course, things were fine, and Layla would be okay, too, but it didn’t change how drained I was.
Sleet considered me behind his thin-framed glasses for a moment. He gave me a thoughtful once over, then stopped to face me. I stopped too and matched his look.
“I’m afraid I can’t get into details, Gryff,” he started, “but I can tell you this. No matter what, you have to be at your absolute best during your exam.”
I faltered, confused. “I already planned on giving it my best, sir.”
“That’s very good.” He hummed with a small smile but offered nothing else.
“Forgive me if this comes off rude, sir, but that doesn’
t quite answer my question.” I scowled with my growing annoyance.
Sleet pursed his lips as he nodded. “Very well. Let me put this in a polite manner. Some people cannot see anything beyond what they want to see. Summoners are not generally considered to be great fighters or, frankly, anything beyond utility mages and civil engineers, Gryff.”
“Well, she’s never met me.” I smirked cockily.
“Indeed, she has not,” Sleet agreed with a nod. “Which is why you need to show her and the rest of the council of mages that you deserve to be here. You and I are allies in this little experiment, and there is more riding on your success than you might realize.” He looked me in the eyes. There was a mysterious twinkle there as though he had set a plan into motion.
“What do you--”
“Do whatever you have to do to win, Gryff,” he continued, “make sure that when you enter that arena, you show them that no one deserves to be here more than you do.”
I nodded dumbly. What else was I supposed to do having learned that a woman of power in the world of mages was potentially after me for no reason other than I was a summoner? I frowned.
“That’s going to be hard to do with Gawain on my squad,” I groaned. “We don’t exactly work well together.”
Sleet put his hand on my shoulder, and some of the tension left my body. It was amazing what someone’s touch could do to another.
“I put you together because I know you will find a way to make it work,” he explained with a wink and a chuckle.
“Right,” I muttered slowly. For all that answer told me, he probably stuck us together as some form of odd additional entertainment for himself and Mr. Kenefick. Admittedly, that was the only aspect of my exam that I felt any sort of dread over. Oh, I’d still do my best and come out on top, but any time spent near Gawain was time I could spend better having lunch with piss-ridden goats.
“Before I bid your leave, Gryff,” Sleet pressed, “I have one more request.”
I met his gaze again expectantly.
“Keep this information to yourself for now,” he warned.
I nodded. “Of course, sir.”
Sleet smiled. “I’ll leave you to your friends. Have a good night.”
“Goodnight, sir,” I responded respectfully, then turned to leave. When he didn’t stop me, I quickened my stride. Part of me didn’t want to go back to the infirmary, but maybe I would feel better in general if I was surrounded by people who didn’t have any ulterior motives and merely wanted to be my friend. Not that I considered Sleet a friend, per se, but he wasn’t a nobody to me either, and he’d just put a lot of information and pressure on me that I didn’t necessarily need.
Before I could slip back in, Cyra and Braden came out.
“I’m headed back to the inn,” Cyra announced.
I raised an eyebrow. “Without Maelor?”
Cyra waved a hand dismissively with a coy smile. “He has his hands full with the nurse.”
“Ahhh,” I snorted, and I finally understood all the odd tension and weird interactions between them. Good for him.
“Want me to walk you out?” I asked. It would be rude not to at least ask, especially since the inside of the Academy was unknown territory to Cyra.
“I think I can manage.” She stepped around me with a wink. “See you tomorrow, boys!”
Braden and I waved, and then I turned to him.
“What about you?” I playfully punched his shoulder, and he laughed after he stifled a yawn into the back of his hand.
“I think I’m going to head in early now that we know Layla’s okay.” He gave me a tired smile.
“Alright then.” I stretched my arms over my head, and my back popped satisfyingly. “I’ll see you later then.”
“Goodnight, Gryff.” We waved to one another, and I waited until he had disappeared down the hall and around the corner before I saw myself back into the infirmary.
When I parted the curtain that Layla was behind and saw her asleep with her hand in Nia’s, it immediately melted away any apprehension that had started to cloud my mind. Nia looked up and smiled.
“What was that all about?” Nia asked, and I smiled back at her. I remembered Sleet’s warning moments ago and shook my head with a nonchalant shrug.
“Nothing to worry about.” I lied. “Just wanted to make sure I was ready for my exams after being out for so long.”
Nia nodded, then looked back to Layla, who had fallen asleep while I was gone.
“Is she going to be okay?” I asked.
“Meriden says so,” she replied. “A good night of rest and she’ll be well enough to leave with some pain medication.”
I sighed with a soft smile. “That’s good to hear.”
“You were really worried about her,” Nia commented.
I leaned against the wall and lightly crossed my arms. “Of course I was. Weren’t you?”
Nia looked thoughtful. I watched as her face twisted and the hand that held Layla’s squeezed her tighter.
“Yes,” she answered quietly. It was nice to see Nia genuinely care for someone after she’d spent so much of her time actively going out of her way to avoid relationships and friends to maintain her reputation.
“You should get some sleep,” I suggested. “You don’t want to be tired for your round tomorrow.”
She considered me for a moment before she sighed quietly.
“Is it bad that I want to blow the whole thing just to make a point to my father?” she asked.
I gaped, a bit taken aback. “I don’t know.”
Nia smiled, but there was no real mirth behind it. She looked back to Layla.
“I envy her.” Her admission was so quiet that I wasn’t sure I heard her at all until she continued. “Her family might be broken, but they don’t have any expectations of her. They don’t put the world on her shoulders and expect her to be able to hold it up without struggling.”
I frowned. Maelor was the closest thing I had to family growing up, and while it wasn’t always easy, he and I had learned to get along and communicate. Hell, I honestly didn’t know what I would have done if the old man wasn’t a part of my life anymore.
I didn’t think about them often, but I did wonder what my life would have been like if I still had my birth parents.
“That’s true,” I started slowly, “but I think given the chance, she would trade her parents for ones that actually cared about her any day.”
“Maybe.” Nia scowled, and I saw her squeeze Layla’s hand.
I sat on the chair on the other side of the bed and took Layla’s other hand in mine. “The two of you aren’t so different. Sure, you come from different backgrounds from two dramatic ends of the Enclave life, but you both want the same thing.”
“And what’s that?” she asked skeptically.
“The freedom to choose who you are,” I answered simply. “She didn’t want to be here. She never wanted to be in the military, but it was an escape from a home she didn’t want to live in.”
I looked over at Nia, who waited for me to continue. “You want to be the best you can, not because of your name, but because you want to be. The name doesn’t matter to you, no matter how proud you are to come from prestige. You want and deserve your own greatness, Nia.”
Our eyes locked, and her ashen hair fell in her face. She tucked it behind her ear as she pouted.
“You know everything, don’t you?” She sighed, and I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or giving me a compliment.
“I don’t claim to be an expert on anything,” I laughed. “I’m just a country bumpkin, but I do know that you and Layla are both incredible people, and my life wouldn’t be the same without you.”
Nia’s cheeks flushed, and the tips of her ears turned pink.
“Thank you,” she whispered, and I smiled.
“Anytime, Nia,” I answered with a smile as I purposely chose to use her first name. The Kenefick thing was suited more for our usual banter, not a tender moment like th
is.
“I should sleep,” she finally stated, and I laughed.
“I’ll walk you back.” I stood again and leaned down to kiss Layla’s forehead.
Nia stood after me, and I let her walk ahead of me until we reached the hallway. She then took my hand, and I smiled as I squeezed it.
“You going to be okay by yourself tonight after having another girl in your bed the night before?” I teased.
Nia rolled her eyes with a smirk. “You’re just jealous that you didn’t get to be in the middle,” she tossed back.
My jaw dropped. “Did you…?”
Nia snorted. “What? Did we do things without you? No, Gryff. We slept. I tucked her into one side of the bed, I climbed into the other, and we both slept through the night.”
I laughed in spite of myself. “You had me going for a second there.”
“I know,” she smirked, “but trust me. You’re not being left out of anything.”
I sighed, a bit relieved if I were being completely honest. “That does make me feel a little better.”
We were in the middle of the courtyard when Nia suddenly stopped. With our fingers entwined, the motion jerked me backward, and I nearly stumbled into her. Our bodies lined up together perfectly, and I could feel her breath on my lips. She brought her hands up into my hair and lightly dragged her nails across my scalp.
I couldn’t help the sound that escaped me. It felt nice, and goosebumps raced along my arms as she turned me into putty in her hands with just a simple caress.
“You should know better, farm boy,” she taunted, and her lips ghosted mine before she closed the gap between us in a tantalizing kiss.
I quickly tried to regain myself and pulled her hips flush to me. I moved my hands along the slender curve of her back, and she moaned against my lips. As my hand came up behind her neck, I heard the distinct sound of someone’s throat being cleared. I froze, and Nia’s eyes grew wide.
“Father!” she shrieked and shoved me out of the way. Rather, it was more like she had stepped in front of me as if to shield me from him.
Now that I could see Gallahar Kenefick up close, he wasn’t as ugly a man physically as Layla and I had made him out to be the other night. He was rather tall, or at the very least, he was taller than I was. His slicked back hair was speckled with gray as were his sideburns and goatee. Blue eyes that seemed to be the only similarity between him and his daughter narrowed on us but seemed otherwise kind.
