by Valia Lind
"You know, Aiden was right," Jade says, keeping her voice soft.
"I don't think I ever want to hear those words again," I reply, but not unkindly. She chuckles, sliding a notebook off the shelf by her bed before turning to face me.
"You are a hero. It's in you. Which is why I know you will find your dad. You'll do whatever it takes. I just know it."
She sounds so sincere that I do the only thing I can do. I jump off the bed and give her a tight hug, letting her know without words just how important her friendship is to me. She clings to me just as tightly, and I think we both need this. Regardless of whether I said it or not, today scared me. And I know from the pit of my stomach that it'll only get worse before it gets better.
6
All morning and afternoon, the only thing I can think of is the training. Classes seem to drag as my mind is full of possibilities. A few students already had their first lesson and so far, there are no issues. As soon as classes are over, I don't even bother with lunch. I rush over to my room and change into a pair of leggings and a loose t-shirt before I pull on my tennis shoes and head toward the building.
Most of the school is housed inside the huge castle, but there are a few buildings scattered on the grounds, used for various purposes. I've never been in this one, even though it's the closest structure to the main campus. It's three stories high, windows on every side. It looks like it was once a barn that was later converted.
Once inside, I head to the third floor. The room I'm training in is the farthest away in the corner. When I step inside, I see two walls covered in windows. However, even though it's sunnier than anywhere else I've been today, it's a nice, cool temperature. With this many windows, it should be a sauna in here, so I'm thankful for whatever magic is keeping me from dying in the heat.
There is no one else in the room, so I do a few stretches before I head to the window and proceed to study my surroundings. This is a good vantage point, and I can see over the tops of some trees closest to the structure. From where I'm standing, I can see the pond and the tiny island in the middle of the water. A bit of my magic flares up as I think about running my hands through the tiny waves created by the wind, and it makes me smile.
When I hear the door open behind me, I don't turn around right away. But then, before I even do, I feel him there. Slowly, I raise my eyes as I look over my shoulder and I find Aiden standing right by the entrance. He doesn't look happy finding me here, and I wonder if he also wasn't told who he'd be working with. I wouldn't put it past Headmaster Marković to be secretive.
We continue our stare down, and I'm trying very hard not to be the first to break. I need every victory I can get when it comes to the shifter. I don't seem to get many. Aiden seems to come to some kind of a decision then because he finally leaves the doors and walks to the center of the room. After a moment, I come to stand in front of him, neither one of us ready to speak. He continues to study me, and it takes a lot of self-control not to fidget under his imploring gaze.
After what seems like an eternity, he rolls his shoulders and finally speaks. I count this as a victory.
"Have you ever had any self-defense training?"
His voice still gives me goosebumps, but now it seems to be followed by a shiver up my spine. I hate how he affects me, and I hate it more that my body has become a traitor when he's near.
"My dad taught me some basic moves," I reply, keeping my voice as professional as possible. The room is large, it can probably house a hundred people easy, but it feels like the walls are closing in on me.
"Such as?" he asks in that same spine-tingling tone.
"Knee in the groin, the heel of the palm to the nose, kick to the side of the knee."
Aiden nods as I rattle off the list, his eyes as unreadable as always. What I wouldn't do to take a peek inside that stonewalled facade. I would love to know what ticks him off, purely for selfish reasons. If I knew what got to him, I would proceed to do exactly that.
"We'll start with some basics and go from there," he says, rolling his shoulders once again. I don't think it's a nervous tick, but I've seen him do it a few times.
"Why do you do that?" I find myself asking before I can stop the words, and his eyes flash as he looks at me. But now that I've asked, I refuse to back down. Maybe even a few months ago, I would've said never mind or sorry. But I'm not that girl anymore. I can't afford to apologize for my curiosity. When I don't flinch away from his hard glare, he does the shoulder roll again, but surprisingly he answers.
"My body is looking for a shift." His answer is gruff and to the point, but now that's he's given me this small gift, I'm hungry for more.
"Does it mean the wolf is dominant?"
"The wolf is always dominant," Aiden replies, no longer looking me in the eyes.
"So, how do you suppress him?"
"It's not really suppression," he replies as he begins to circle around me. "I am one hundred percent me, and I am one hundred percent wolf. But when my—" He stops abruptly as if he's about to tell me more than he wanted. "It's complicated," he finally says, "and not why we're here."
Then, before I can figure out what his intentions are, he moves toward me.
"Defend yourself."
My arms fly up to hover in front of my chest, a wall between him and me. When he's close enough, I thrust both hands out, pushing him back as I take him by surprise. It doesn't take long, and he's on me once more. My knee flies up, but he's prepared for me and deflects it. Then, before I can think too much about it, his arms are around me, and he's holding me pressed against him, my back to his chest. He lifts me straight off the ground, and I dangle in his arms as I try to find a way to get at him.
"Let me go!"
"I don't think that's how this works," he growls right into my ear, and I'm too frustrated to keep my body's response hidden. A shudder goes through me and he pauses. I take advantage of his hesitation and stop struggling, making my body go completely dead weight. The move surprises him enough that he stumbles forward, and before either of us can know what's happening, we're falling.
But Aiden is faster than gravity, apparently. He twists in midair, landing solidly on his back, with me still pinned to his front. A gush of air leaves him, ruffling the hair at the back of my neck, and then I'm scrambling off him.
When I'm about two feet away, I turn to see him still on the floor. Alarmed, I rush toward him, but recognize my mistake the moment his arm snakes out and grabs my foot. He pulls me down, catching me with his other arm, and then he shifts us so that I'm under him, arms pinned overhead, legs captured by his own body.
"Not fair," I whisper, his face just inches from mine. The blue of his eyes drinks me in, as if he's just as fascinated by the closeness as I am.
"Sorry, Duchess. But there's nothing fair about war."
I bristle instantly, squirming beneath him, which puts our bodies even closer, now with the added effect of friction. He growls and I freeze instantly. That was a purely animalistic sound, and I felt it everywhere.
"One of the biggest lessons you can learn is never to trust anyone. Your friend can become your enemy. Don't be afraid to hurt them."
There's something behind his words that goes straight to my heart. For the first time, I think there's genuine emotion in his eyes, and it makes me stumble over my own breath. We stare at each other, neither one of us ready to burst this tiny bubble we have found ourselves in. I don't know what possesses me to speak up, but I do.
"That's a very sad way to live." My words are only a whisper, but the moment is gone, and he's moving off me while he pulls me to a standing position in the same motion.
"It's a way of life that will keep you safe. More so than what your dad taught you about self-defense."
"Please don't talk to me about my father."
I'm not sure why his words hurt me, but they do. I rearrange my clothing, giving myself a moment to reign in my emotions. I'm not about to cry in front of Aiden. He's the last person I will ever allow to
see my weakness.
"And why not? He clearly fuels your actions at the moment. Tell me why."
"I don't owe you anything."
"Maybe not. But I was assigned to train you, and I need to know what I'm working with."
"You already have a perfectly fine notion of me in your head. I would hate to ruin it with the truth." I finally meet his eyes, delivering the words with a glare. But Aiden isn't deterred. For a second, I think he might smile. But I have yet to see one of those on his lips.
"I know he's missing."
"You don't know anything."
"You think the Ancients took him."
"Of course they took him! Why are we even talking about this?" I turn away, ready to leave all this behind, but he moves in front of me, blocking the way.
"We're talking about this because until you learn to control your emotions, you won't be able to control yourself."
"Oh trust me, if I had no control over my emotions, you and I would have an entirely different relationship."
His eyes flash, and the intensity in them burns me to a crisp. I realize too late how that sounds, but I'm not about to take any of it back. He stands his ground, and I have no idea who's winning or losing anymore. I can't seem to figure anything out where Aiden is involved.
"Are you so sure it was the Ancients that took him?" His question surprises me.
"They've been messing with my family for months. It's what makes sense. Why are you so determined to keep me from thinking they're the bad guys?"
"That is not what I said."
"Then, what are you saying?"
"Look, everyone knows the Ancients aren't the only ones hungry for power. There's plenty to fear out there even without them breathing down our necks. Some are using this as an opportunity to further their agendas. We have to stay on alert and consider all options."
"So what?" I snap, throwing my hands up in the air. "You think someone besides the Ancients took my dad?"
"Maybe." Aiden shrugs, completely unfazed by my outburst. "All I'm saying is you can't just automatically blame it on them. That seems like the easy way out."
That sets my blood to boil. I get right into his face, our bodies just a few inches apart.
"Nothing about this is easy!" I hiss, trying to control my anger and magic, which is finally showing its presence. "My dad is missing, and I have no clue what to do about it. Maybe you don't know what it means to feel so helpless, but I do. I don't need a lecture on my emotions. I'm holding it together just fine."
Something flashes in Aiden's eyes, and it's as if, for a second, he doesn't hate me anymore. I think he almost reaches out, and I notice just how close we're standing and how heated my body has become. But then I'm the one who moves away.
"I think we're done for the day," I announce before Aiden can come up with another biting remark. "I'll see you later."
Surprisingly, when I leave, he doesn't stop me.
7
When Jade and I go to dinner, we opt to sit with a group of our classmates instead of at a table by ourselves. I know she noticed I returned much earlier than I should've from my training, but she didn't press the issue. I can tell she's bursting at the seams to ask. I'm sure I'll be getting the third degree later. But for now, I hide in the crowd.
"Is it true that the Ancients are as big as a house?" Noel asks, and I zero in on him. He's watching me carefully, but there's definite excitement at the prospect of an answer.
"Noel," Jade hisses, and he ducks his head. It's been kind of an unspoken rule that my friends don't bombard me with questions. I met Noel last year, but we were never more than casual friends to each other before. Now he's part of my friend group, and as I glance around at the rest of the people at the table, I realize they're all curious. Apparently, it took someone over two weeks to be brave enough to ask, and I resign myself to my fate. After all, if I can't talk to my friends, who else am I going to talk to?
"I haven't seen one that big," I sigh, before turning back to my food
"What about those ones that can shift but into anything?" Vera asks in her calm manner. Her wavy shoulder length hair swings as she ducks her head to take a bit of her sandwich, her light brown eyes focused on me. She's a second year like Noel and me, but she's a hawk shifter, so we didn't hang out last year either. But it explains her interest in shifters.
"It's possible."
"Have you see their minions? I heard they're like flying shadows." Christy pipes up, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder and leaning towards us. Christy is a transfer like Jade, but she comes from another academy school. It's smaller and only houses witches. They disbanded when the danger became too much for them to handle, but Christy is the only one who came here. The others went into hiding with their families, much like Kate's family did. Not that I can blame them. This isn't exactly the safe place we were promised it would be.
"I have." I take a bite of my lasagna, hoping the conversation is over. But no such luck. I answered one question, I've opened the gates.
"How was it to be there, in the midst of it all?" Noel asks, leaning close to me. He's sitting on my left while Jade is on my right, and I can feel her shooting daggers at him. I glance up to find his face very close to mine, completely enthralled. But before I can answer, a shadow falls over the two of us. Noel and I glance up to see Aiden standing by our table, a hard look in his eye.
"We need to talk," he snaps, as if I've offended him with my very existence. I give him an annoyed look before I turn back to my food.
"Can't. Busy."
"I see just how busy." I glance over at him and find his eyes on Noel. Not for the first time, I wish I was a Reader because I'd like to know what he's thinking. He half growls at my friend, and I've had enough. Pushing back my chair, I jump to my feet before grabbing his arm. There's a collective hush over the table at my manhandling a shifter, but I don't care. I'm too angry to care. I pull him behind me as I march out of the room and into the hallway, which is mostly deserted due to the fact that we're in the middle of dinner.
"What is your problem?" I ask, dropping his arm as if it burned me. It's true what they say, shifters run a little hotter than most beings. I can still feel the imprint of his skin against my fingers, sending tingling sparks up my arm, but I can't dwell at that at the moment.
"I don't have a problem." He shrugs, and it takes a lot out of me not to punch him in the gut.
"Oh really? You just enjoy growling at my friends for fun?" I place my hands on my hips, which is now my favorite pose when I'm around Aiden. He brings all kinds of responses out of me, ones that I'm not very used to.
"I wasn't growling."
"You were too! What has Noel ever done to you?" He seems taken back by my words for a moment, considering most people steer clear of confronting shifters. But if my sisters’ significant others have taught me anything, it’s that sometimes pushing a shifter's buttons is the best thing I can do. Even though it's dangerous. Aiden recovers quickly and is once again his stoic self.
"We need to talk," he repeats himself, bypassing my question. I roll my eyes as I fold my arms in front of me.
"So, talk."
He narrows his eyes for a moment, studying me in that intense way of his. But I don't back down. I've already decided that's the only way I will survive dealing with him. I have to give as good as he does.
"You ran out of training early today."
"That's not news to me," I comment when he doesn't continue right away.
"You're not making this easy."
"Did you want me to hold your hand through it? Whatever it is."
His eyes narrow again, glancing down at my hands, and I swear the temperature goes up a few notches. My mouth has a tendency to say things that can have double meaning. At least when it comes to Aiden.
"I'm trying to say I didn't mean to make you feel as if what happened to your dad wasn't important. I just get frustrated sometimes by how easily everything is blamed on the Ancient evil, when there is plenty
of regular evil out there."
His outburst takes me back a little, and I think it surprises him too. It's more than he wanted to share, that's for sure. He's apologizing, in his own weird way, and I can see this isn't easy for him.
"I get it," I say, meeting his eye as I shrug. "People can be very single-minded about all kinds of things. Magic is one of them."
We stand like that for a minute, each of us unsure of what to say or do next. We haven't reached a truce, far from it. But the fact that he would come and seek me out, it shows promise of... something. I just have no idea what.
"Practice tomorrow?" he asks, his voice softer than I've ever heard it before. It tugs at my defenses, and suddenly, I can't speak. So, all I do is nod. He looks at me for a moment longer, before he walks away. I stand frozen for a moment, waiting for my extremities to start working again.
The way he looked at me just then... I'll be thinking about that long and hard.
"Are we going to talk about it?" Jade asks the moment we get back to our room. Once I could walk again, I made my way back to the dining hall and finished my dinner. My friends decided against bombarding me with any more Ancients questions, so instead we talked about school. But I knew Jade wouldn't let it rest, which was proved correct when we walk into our room.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I shrug, heading for my closet. As I pull out my pajamas, I can feel her eyes on me. When I turn, she's standing in front of her bed, waiting me out.
"Ugh, fine. What, Jade?" I sigh dramatically.
She giggles a little before running over pulling me toward my bed. She sits, turned toward me with an expectant look in her eyes.
"Yes?"
"Oh my gosh, Maddie! You're the worst. Tell me what happened with Aiden. And what happened earlier when you came back like thirty minutes before you were supposed to be done with training. And you were all flushed. "
