Victory: Year Four

by Amabel Daniels

  “It’s a lot to figure out,” he said and started to walk the rest of the way toward the dorms. I went with him, at his side. Knightley nudged his head into my hand and I petted him, appreciating his concern at my clashing emotions.

  I swallowed hard before saying, “It is.”

  “But—” He stopped just before the foyer doors and draped his shirt over his shoulder. “But are we…”

  Oh, God. He wants an answer from me? I have to label this? I was hoping he would.

  Lorcan burst out from the doors, flinging the strap to his messenger bag over his head.

  Flynn lowered his voice and took my hand. “Are you still interested in, uh…”

  Lorcan was too close to miss us. “For God’s sake, dude! Just ask her out, for real. Tell her you’ve been freaking in love with her forever like some mopey, d—”

  Flynn chased after him and Lorcan cracked up, darting away toward the Main Hall.

  I laughed, releasing the breath I’d been holding since Flynn had taken my hand and put me on the spot. He walked back to me, his head hanging a little low. As he came into my space, taking both hands, I bit my lip. A blush. He was blushing! It was…adorable.

  “Well, now that the cat’s out of the bag…”

  I smiled harder.

  More footsteps sounded on the sidewalk. I couldn’t be bothered to worry about being late to class, so captivated in this shy Flynn in front of me. Jeez. One boy and he was warping my identity. I’d never thought I’d place a boy over my education. But…I wasn’t a slacker student. I deserved a little love.

  “Just kiss her already.” Sabine now, coming down the sidewalk that joined the Gold and Green Houses. “Y’all acting like you’re ten years old.” She spun to walk backward, still facing us as she yelled out, “Remember that time in sixth grade? I caught you pretending to make out with your pillow after watching that Pride and Justice movie.”

  I let go of Flynn’s hands. “Prejudice! Not justice!”

  “Who was that actor? That old guy. Colin Firth?” Sabine mocked kissing a pillow, holding her hands in the air as though hugging a pillow to her face.

  Oh, my God. I hated her. It was a universal fact. Now I was red. Seeing red as well.

  “Hey, at least Flynn’s British too!”

  Shut up! I gritted my teeth as my blush spread faster.

  “That has to help you grow some—”

  She shrieked as I ran after her.

  I let her go and covered my forehead with my hand, studying the ground as I walked back to Flynn. “Yes, Flynn. After I kill my sister, I’ll be your girlfriend.”

  “Hmm. A fugitive girlfriend. Not the way I imagined it starting, but…”

  He reached out to take my hand from my face and brought it up for a kiss. His warm lips only fueled my overheated state. I couldn’t help but smile at his gentlemanly gesture and not poking fun at Sabine’s teases.

  “Ignore her,” he said.

  “I’ve been trying to my whole life.”

  More students rushed out of the dorms, flooding the sidewalk now, and we were jostled in the crowd. “We’ll catch up later, then, huh?” he asked, backing up and toward the door.

  “I’d like that.”

  I glanced at my watch and groaned. I was so going to be late for class because I wasn’t forcing myself into that uniform until I’d showered. I didn’t want to be a stinky girlfriend if I was going to welcome that title for the first time ever.

  Chapter Ten

  I wasn’t sure how late Flynn was to his first class, but since he was in the greenhouse, I bet Marcy wouldn’t let his teacher be hard on him. Besides, that boy had charm down to an art. Not in a sneaky, cunning way like my twin, but an aw-shucks manner.

  Or maybe that was just with me, because I certainly never wanted to hold a grudge with him or deny him anything.

  Bateson wasn’t too happy with my late arrival to the Menagerie but that wasn’t saying much. She seemed bothered by everyone and everything, snapping at students and acting like a condescending witch correcting my classmates with no tact.

  And this is only the first week.

  I stuck to my assignments and finished early. Without even looking at me, she told me I was done for the day. Last year, in her clinical lessons in the Menagerie, she never let me go early, usually asking me to help other students. I’d never minded, even though at times, it felt like she was picking on me—treating me like some kind of outlier because I was a Pure, having me do work she should have been doing.

  Maybe she doesn’t care. I remembered my conversation with the Zoology professor from last year, when she’d chided me for even caring about my grades, implying that since I was a Pure, book smarts and schoolwork should be beneath me. That was when she’d wanted me to help her with her research, support her with her goal to expose new hybrid species to the world.

  I paused in stuffing my tablet into my bag, watching her across the clinic room. She stood there staring at the computer screen on the instructor’s podium, not even listening to the girl who was speaking to her.

  “And what are you up to now?” I mumbled to myself. Clearly something that could distract her from her current duty as a teacher. She’d refused to be involved with Griswold’s mold experiment because she had her own projects to see through.

  I had a hunch they wouldn’t be altruistic.

  Free from my studies for the moment, I left the room and sought out Wolf. I tried his office and found it empty.

  Guess I could call him. It still felt so weird to carry a cell phone around, but since Suthering had told us to last year, I couldn’t leave it behind. Never knew when you’d need it. Even if I was still obeying the headmaster’s phone request, I bet Wolf might not be.

  Curious, I thought of another idea. “Come here, boy.” Knightley trotted after me as I returned to Wolf’s desk. I’d left the grog in the hallway during Bateson’s lesson and he’d been there waiting for me when I exited.

  Now, I held out Wolf’s spare jacket that he’d draped over his chair. Knightley sniffed at it for a moment. Arthur was an excellent sniffing detective, and I was curious if all grogs had that ability.

  “Let’s go. Find Wolf.”

  Knightley walked out of the office and I followed. It seemed he was leading me astray when, instead of strolling down the many vast corridors of the Menagerie under the earth, he appeared eager to exit. Regardless, I stayed right behind him. He stopped suddenly and wagged his tail as someone approached us from down the hallway.

  Not a tall, rangy man. A short, petite blonde strode our way.

  “Marcy?”

  “Hey!” She smiled and jogged to reach me. “You’re back.”

  Why did Knightley lead me to— Oooh. I wasn’t going to wonder why her scent would be on Wolf’s jacket. I forced a quick smile to cover my awkward discovery. “You’re back, too!” I opened my arms and accepted her hug. “It’s good to see you.”

  She squeezed me harder before releasing me. “Ditto, girlie, ditto.”

  “Who’s this?” She bent down to ruffle Knightley’s fur. “Come walk with me. I’m heading to the ancient wing for a sec.”

  As we ambled back into the Menagerie, I filled her in on my rescue experiences in Texas, both with this small grog and with the breeding operation. Finished with my retelling of break, I asked for hers. “Did you…”

  She cocked her head at me.

  She’d told Suthering she had needed time off. He’d hinted it was because of the bickering she always did with Wolf. What should I ask, exactly? If anyone were to ask me why I’d gone home for break, it was to relax, to get out of all this drama here—nothing more. But what was her true reason?

  “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  One side of her mouth kicked up in a half-smile.

  “Peace?” I tried again. “Quiet? A chance to sleep in?”

  She fully smiled then.

  “Time away from Wolf?”

  She strapped her arm around me and h
ugged me to her side. “Are you ever unobservant?”

  I smirked. Oh, come on. It’s obvious. “Well?”

  A deep sigh left her before she nodded. “Yes. I found all of the above, and now, here I am again.”

  Did she regret returning? Marcy had taken off from the Academy before—twice. I imagined her staying power would wane eventually unless she secured a solid reason to stay for good.

  If Wolf continued to antagonize her, there was a chance he’d push her away. I hoped she’d stay, well, at least I hoped she’d stay while I stayed.

  “Hey, how come you didn’t go to college? You or Wolf?”

  She huffed. “We did.”

  “Where’d you go?”

  “Here.”

  I frowned as we walked on. They’d attended college here? Was there another campus hidden somewhere? More buildings under camouflage? While the Academy was huge, I was familiar with the majority of it now, at least in basic terms, after being here for three years.

  “When Nevis started here on the council, he changed it up. See, years ago, like when my grandparents were here, there was actually a building for the college students. And some dorms.”

  “Which ones?”

  She slashed her hand like razing down a field. “Gone.”

  “They demolished them?”

  “No. Fires destroyed them. Word is a longma got them.”

  My eyes widened.

  “I never believed that one, especially since Glorian is the one who preached it.”

  I scoffed.

  “If you ask Ethel, the historian, she’ll say it was a gas explosion. Anyway, all the buildings were interconnected and gone. No one was hurt, thank God. Happened over break. So without the facility, he thought to make the college programs available abroad.”

  “Other Olde Earth stations?”

  “Yep. And some select universities that can understand facets of Olde Earth and accept students. Within reason.”

  Huh. That seemed like a much more lax way to re-enter the normal world after being secluded up here on this campus for four years.

  “Many people do it. Even Diluteds. It equates to normal college degrees that employers will accept. It’s funny,” she said with a laugh. “Flynn was just asking me about college yesterday. Guess it’s on everyone’s minds this year.”

  “Sure is. Can I look up all this info online?”

  “Of course. I’m surprised Suthering hasn’t mentioned it to you yet.”

  Barks sounded down the way and Marcy smirked. Merlin, and then Arthur, came bounding toward us. Knightley stiffened and I stopped with him.

  “Well, that’ll be the overlord himself, no doubt. I’ll chat some more about the college options later, if you want.”

  Yeah, yeah. Make your escape and avoid Wolf. “See you around. I think I’ve got a couple of lessons in the greenhouse tomorrow.”

  She waved in her retreat and left down another perpendicular wing.

  It’s okay. They’re friends. I patted my thigh for Knightley to come closer. Merlin and Arthur raced toward us, tongues lolling.

  Easy, boys. Be nice.

  I didn’t think they’d act up, but it felt better to set the tone early.

  The wolfhound and humongous grog came right up to me. Arthur nearly knocked me over, his large paws on my chest. Merlin nudged into my hip, sending me sideways.

  “I’m impressed you’re still standing,” Wolf quipped as he walked closer.

  I tried to stop laughing at the animals’ overenthusiastic greeting. During the slobbery welcoming, Wolf approached Knightley. He crouched down and let him sniff his outstretched hand, likely directing his thoughts and energy to the grog.

  “Where’d you find this one?” he asked and walked toward me.

  I told Suthering I was bringing him. Is he not in touch with Wolf and Marcy much anymore? I summed it up for him as he crossed over to me.

  I smiled and accepted his quick but strong hug. “Wanna help me feed the crockeys? I don’t have much free time, and Bateson passed by to tell me you were ‘in my hands’ for the rest of the day.”

  Man, she’s really slacking if she’s giving me such lose reins.

  “Sure.” I’d missed those little pranksters. And I’d make sure to keep a good grip on my possessions while I was in their room.

  He gestured for me and the canines to go ahead and he fell in step next to me. “And while we do that, you can tell me what’s been happening. I know most of it already from your boy telling us over break. But he didn’t explain how you’d become some karate master.”

  Master? Ha. And Hazel had shown me a mix of styles, not just karate.

  “I’ve only started. Two months isn’t going to make me any kind of an expert.”

  “Then Souza’s husband will pick up where you left off.”

  I glanced up at him. “Really? Like a gym class?”

  He shrugged. “Just something that seems handy. No matter what Glorian might say about it.”

  I tried to bottle in the excitement of being able to continue training. It was a giddiness I could bask in later until those sessions would actually start. For the remainder of our trek to the crockeys’ room, I told him about my break. And he filled in the blanks about his two months as well.

  “He was nowhere,” I said, confirming what he’d shared. Simply, they hadn’t found Stu.

  “He was somewhere, unless he’s dead. Which, if Lorcan ever finds him, he will be dead.” Wolf huffed a laugh. “He’s too damn impatient.”

  I could sympathize with that.

  “And that kid. And your sister.” He groaned.

  I laughed but quickly sobered. “So then what happens with Stu?” He was supposed to just remain at large. “And Griswold?” Both of them unaccounted for made me too nervous. Not for me, exactly, because they weren’t near me. But they could do damage out there in the humans’ world, and they wouldn’t be any wiser.

  “Suthering’s got a couple of detectives on the case. They’re tracking them. It seems like Griswold might have been taken. Stu…I’m betting he’s lying low for now.” As he finished speaking, his jaw clenched and intense anger seeped into his eyes.

  “So, believe it or not, kid—”

  “You’ll only be able to call me that for maybe twelve days.”

  He bumped shoulders with me. “Eh, you’ll always be my kid sister in a way. But, it seems like this year will be a normal, boring one with nothing more than tests and homework. The Doctor is gone and Bateson seems too preoccupied for causing trouble.”

  Tests and homework. No more danger or messed-up experiments. That sounded perfect.

  I only hoped he wasn’t jinxing it by saying that.

  Chapter Eleven

  For the most part, Wolf’s estimation was accurate. Since the day I returned to classes, all the way up until the middle of November, things were, well, normal. We attended our two days’ worth of classes and then we spent time in the Menagerie or greenhouse—performing labs and completing assignments according to our recognized powers. My time was split between the two places, strengthening my animal and floral powers.

  I also spent plenty of time with Flynn, which was still limited. We both maintained somewhat of a worker status for Wolf and Marcy, and I was bound and determined to be done with all of my non-core classes ahead of time. If I kept up with sticking my nose to the pages, or my tablet, really, I could knock out all my other class requirements by Christmas. It’d be my own gift to myself.

  The best change to this school year was the addition of Martino, Souza’s husband. I was secretly glad he’d lost his job and had come to live with Souza, because training with him only grew and developed what Hazel had begun with me. We’d been given “lesson” time with him twice a week. At first, I was hoping to be paired with Flynn. Martino explained that he and Lorcan were a better match, at least in terms of physique and body size. That left us three girls—because Paige and Sabine didn’t want to be left out. Since I wasn’t a newbie at this, Martino
had Paige and Sabine coupled for sparring and practice. Which meant I got the full-brunt of sparring and truly testing my agility and strength by fighting with the teacher.

  In those first few months of the year, I still had my quarterly—I mean, monthly—assessments. The first one, at the end of August, truly opened my mind. After my chat with Marcy about colleges, I took advantage of my meeting with Suthering and asked for all the details. He didn’t hold back. Olde Earth collaborated with numerous schools for all kinds of programs. From associate degrees for technician careers, all the way to hosting and providing a Ph.D. Not only were they accommodating to levels of degrees in most of their international facilities, as well as the head one here in Canada, but they also included a variety. From pest control to limnology; from agriculture to animal husbandry; and from florists to farmers.

  Suthering had assured me I could enroll in a veterinarian program and work with ancients, particularly here at the main campus. It was comforting to know I could continue with an elven-friendly education. Yet, at the same time, that familiarity warned of more control. If I choose to go to school through Olde Earth, would Glorian and anyone else who felt like test-driving a power trip try to manipulate me?

  I’d come to Olde Earth ready to get out of the constraints of small-town Coltin, and now, I was eager to leave to escape the confinements of this very school.

  Besides, I’d applied to the best vet schools out there. If I could get a degree from one of them, their names would look more golden on my résumé. Regardless, I did log in to the Academy’s website where their post-secondary programs were detailed. I wouldn’t admit to checking them out frequently, but it was still nice to know something of an alternative existed.

  My first monthly exams were easy to pass. I had to work for them—at least for the written parts. Chan was still a tough one to study for. And even my online finals for Souza’s Latin were also tricky. Good grades didn’t come from thin air—at least they didn’t for me. The hands-on portions of the exams, those were second nature. I’d been paired up with Diluted elves in simple exercises, like identifying species in the forest, and tracking down a dog. A dog. I’d almost smirked at Bateson when she’d announced the instructions. What a joke. They knew I had a grog for a pet. It almost felt like she was mocking me, so I’d mocked the test, talking to the dog via my thoughts and energy until I “pretended” to find it. Flynn and Lorcan laughed the entire time.