Chapter 11
Malia
I am sitting in the cafeteria for breakfast with Dustin and Wystan when I see a tall guy approach behind my friend’s shoulder.
He looks like he is of East Asian origin, has broad shoulders that show he takes his training here seriously, and is wearing a lazy smile.
I don’t think I ever noticed him around before, and I suddenly wonder why. He’s incredibly handsome, and I’ve been taking a lot more notice of attractive people in the last half year since I turned fifteen.
When I’m faced with his sole attention as his gaze finds mine, my heart trips over itself.
Recognition sparks in his dark eyes and his smile widens.
Oh Stars! He really is coming over for me. My heart starts beating erratically.
He steps around our table until he stands in front of me.
“Hey, it’s Malia, right?” he asks, his voice smooth and deep.
My two friends, who haven’t noticed his arrival until now, look in my direction for the first time since we sat down, their gazes jumping between the boy and me quite blatantly. I can’t say I’m any less surprised than them that I was approached like this, and when I attempt to reply, I stutter.
“Yeah, erm, why?” My cheeks burn up as I speak, and I have to break eye contact to regain my composure.
He chuckles softly.
While it isn’t a condescending sound, it makes my cheeks heat up more.
“I’m Aiden.
I couldn’t help but notice you from my table across the room and figured I might as well introduce myself.
Well, that, and ask if you already had plans for this evening?” Completely at a loss, I look at Wystan for some help but they just shrug. Great. I guess I’m on my own.
I look back at Aiden.
“Nope, I’m free,” I reply, trying to mirror his easy, charming smile and hoping I’m not coming across as pathetic.
Can he tell he’s the first person to ever ask me out? Is he asking me out? Oh Stars, I’m out of my depth here.
His smile brightens at my reply, calming my nerves a fraction.
“Fantastic.
What do you say we hang out in the library later?”
“Sounds great,” I say, feeling my pulse accelerate as I hold his gaze.
Mentally, I berate myself.
I usually talk to a lot of fellow students every day. Just because this time, it’s a very attractive guy my age doesn’t mean I need to act all flustered.
“Great! I’ll find you after dinner,” Aiden says, oblivious to my inner turmoil.
With that promise, he waves at my friends and walks off.
As soon as he’s out of earshot, I turn to my friends.
“What on earth just happened?”
“You just got asked out.
It’s about damn time too.
You are probably the only fifteen-year-old here that hasn’t had her first kiss,” Wystan teases me, and I shove their shoulder.
“This is Aiden we are talking about, though.
I heard about the way he treats girls,” Dustin chips in, worrying his bottom lip.
It’s unusual for him to voice a negative word about another peer, and I can tell it makes him uncomfortable. That’s why a kernel of hesitation blooms in my chest when he adds, “I don’t think you should go out with him tonight.”
I think about it for a beat.
On one hand, Dustin isn’t one to gossip like Wystan and I are, so he must really believe what he’s saying.
On the other, I’ve never heard anything, good or bad, about Aiden, so it couldn’t be so horrific. Plus, what Wystan says is true. If I never go out with anyone, I’ll never have my first kiss. School and training can entertain a girl only for so long...
I brush my friend off, making up my mind.
“You know how people gossip here.
Half of the things you heard are probably not even true.”
“Besides, she could handle him easily if it came down to it,” Wystan adds, winking at me. I smile.
It’s true, I’ve trained a lot in the last two years, and my powers are stronger than ever.
I’ve long since learned to create my own water and know various ways to use it.
We’ve also started learning how to manipulate our element in another person’s body. Water handlers have the ability to extract the water from another person’s body which can lead to a painful headache or them passing out.
That is what I’ve learned so far, but I’ve been told there is more I can do.
While I’m not wholly comfortable with this aspect of my powers, it’s good to know that I have a strong defense like that in my corner.
Of course, other handlers have similar powers to affect others.
That’s the downside of it all.
If my ability to dehydrate someone makes me uncomfortable, what the other elements can do terrifies me.
People with the ability to manipulate fire can force their will on others and move them like a puppet.
If their victim resists a command, it should feel like their insides are starting to boil.
I think it’s quite brutal, although I do understand that we’re being prepared to fight outside the safety of this Academy.
Members of the earth division can change or grow the dust particles in the air which makes it hard for their victims to breathe and can even paralyze them if the particles are already inside the person’s body.
Air handlers can manipulate the pheromones in the air which puts their opponent in a sort of trance.
The victims follow the handler’s will without remembering it afterward.
That’s probably the scariest powers of all and the reason why I’m wary of air handlers. There’s something about losing control of your own body without being aware of it that sits deeply wrong with me.
“Come on Princess, still scared?” Keahi taunts me in training that afternoon, waiting for me to join him on the mat.
We need to work in groups of three and I’m paired with Eteri and Keahi.
The two people that hate me most in the entire Academy… just my luck!
“You are adorable.
If I remember correctly, I won our last duel,” I remark in a sickly-sweet voice.
The two of us haven’t dueled again since our first fight, so it is always a delight to remind him of his failure. Even now, after all these years, his expression shutters at the reminder.
I’m guessing he’s just trying to fire himself up before facing me again since he must have known I would bring that up if he teased me right now.
It’s the one card I can always pull on him when his head starts feeling a little too big for his body.
Instead of letting him say whatever retort he has in mind, Eteri speaks up and interrupts our verbal sparring.
“If you’re not scared, get over here and let me train on you.
Don’t worry, Keahi could catch you if it becomes too much.” Could. But he wouldn’t.
Maybe I’m the sucker for pain because a small part of me is annoyed that she didn’t let Keahi voice his reply.
It would have been something rude for sure, but he still somehow makes being mean more interesting than she does.
Yeah, something is definitely wrong with me.
And Stars, her voice is so sickly sweet.
I don’t know how this is who Keahi chose to spend all his free time with.
I mean, she might be a bully like him, but I would have thought he’d have a lower tolerance for irritating noises. Her voice is at the very top of that list.
Keahi doesn’t seem bothered by her or her voice at all as the two share a look that tells me he is the last person who would catch me if I collapsed.
They grin at each other like it’s such a funny inside joke and I can barely keep from rolling my eyes.
When Keahi drags his dark gaze back to me, Eteri’s attention lingers on his face.
It’s not the first time I noticed this kind of interaction between the two, and while Keahi doesn’t strike me as the relationship kind of guy, it’s apparent something is going on between them.
Eteri is whipped and has been forever, but I think it’s less serious on his part. While she is gorgeous, I don’t see him staring after her with gooey eyes.
Wanting to get this over with, I step on the opposite side of the mat and tell her, “Do it.” It’s enough for her to stop drooling over the remaining idiot in our group and focus on me.
Her steely eyes lock onto mine, her expression going cold and serious as she brings her hands up in position.
A few seconds pass before the air I breathe in turns sweeter than usual.
Addictively so.
I take two deep, greedy breaths, and my vision goes blurry.
No.
I’m swaying on my feet but try to straighten up while blinking my surroundings back into focus.
I’m tempted to give into the trance and surrender my will and control. It’s beckoning me to just stop fighting and holding my breath, to just relax and enjoy.
Still, I fight it with nail and tooth.
My head aches and as I regain feeling of my limbs, I clench my hands so my nails dig into my palms.
The pain helps grounding me and as my vision finally clears, I see Eteri narrow her eyes.
Her fingers stiffen in the air as if closing around something tangible, and I watch a bead of sweat gather on her left temple. It’s more fascinating than it should be, so much so that I stop focusing on anything else and mindlessly take another breath of this sweet air.
“Kneel,” I hear a sweet, persuasive voice in the back of my mind.
Instead of leaning in to follow the order, my muscles stiffen and my nails break skin.
Adrenaline chases away the fog clouding my mind, my heart misses a beat. I regain some consciousness, and along with that comes my resolve to fight this. I won’t let anyone take control of my body.
“That’s impossible!” Eteri exclaims finally, noticing that I won’t obey her silent command.
“How did you do that? No one can resist my trance, not even Kaz!” By the mentioning of his name our trainer strolls over to us.
“Is something wrong here?” he asks, looking between Keahi and me expectantly.
“Eteri is mad that Malia resisted her attack,” Keahi responds, seeming bored by all of this.
Ugh, he’s just so infuriating.
Eteri, clearly outraged, shoots him a glare, but he just shrugs. Kaz, on the other hand, seems very interested in this situation.
“You weren’t affected?” he asks me.
“I was at first but managed to get everything back into focus.” Eteri besides me is turning red with anger.
“And you did everything right?” he asks her, to which she nods curtly.
Kaz looks thoughtful for a second, then nods.
“Get back to work then.”
As our coach leaves, Keahi turns to me expectantly.
Apparently, he wants to try his attack on me as well, but I’m able to convince my two partners to complete the assignment like we are supposed to.
This leads to me trying my attack on Keahi and him having to take his turn with Eteri.
As he takes his place in front of me, facing me defiantly, I feel almost giddy with anticipation.
I’m going to enjoy wiping that look off his face and finally show him just how much I learned since we last dueled.
Never taking my eyes off his, I slowly give him a headache and let him endure the pain for a while.
All the while, I have to shush my conscience.
He’s fine. His lips press into a tight line even as his eyes become heavily lidded, and he sways on his feet. Finally, I finish by making him pass out.
His body drops like a bag of rocks, but Eteri catches him before he hits the mat, looking at me accusingly.
As if I hadn’t just done my job.
I ignore her and lead a stream of water down his throat, glad when he swallows on reflex, waking up soon after.
“There was no need for you to do it so slowly.
I’ve seen you putting other people to sleep in seconds,” he scowls at me.
“So, you’ve been watching me?” I tease, blinking at him with doe eyes.
Before he can come up with a comeback, Kaz’ voice cuts through the room.
“Time to switch groups,” he announces.
By the time we can return to our dorms, I consider myself lucky, seeing as I didn’t get attacked by a fire handler once.
Clay, our earth handler, paralyzed me, though.
That was anything but pleasant.