Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
Selene
It had been a little over an hour since the fight.
My stomach grumbled, echoing across the empty triage room.
The protests my stomach put up didn’t match my actual appetite, and it was furious I had skipped on a predinner snack to head to the infirmary.
I stared at a majesty palm tree across the room.
It, unlike many of the other trees sprouting from the academy’s floors, grew from a ceramic planting pot.
Its long silk leaves fluttered in the absence of a breeze as if it felt the scrutiny of my stare.
“Sorry,” I mumbled to it like it understood. Ender’s break in restraint and control during his match with David was aberrant. I glanced at the closed door, which Nurse Adair was most likely treating David.
Taking a deep breath, I rubbed my temples and sighed, then rested my arms on the metal armrests of the green shamrock chair I was sitting in.
The space was grotesque, with sleek white marble floors, white walls, and two medical chairs for triage that matched the vibrant green exam room chairs.
It was migraine-inducing compared to the dark ambience of the rest of the academy—excluding the kitchen.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
I straightened, glancing at the back of the room, where the nurse’s office was enclosed by a glass wall. Surprise froze me, and then I abruptly kicked into action. I made my way to the glass door, which was thankfully unlocked, and through the standard-sized office.
The floor-to-ceiling window cracked open with ease, and hot dragon breath instantly greeted me as his long, sharp white claws gripped the sill.
“Chaos,” I hissed. “What are you doing here?” Thankfully the infirmary windows faced the woods on the southwest side of the academy, but if someone happened to look just right from the gym…
“Sorry!” Sydney whisper-shouted, out of breath, as she caught up to Chaos.
“He was sitting on your bed one minute, made a displeasing noise, and was slithering out the window and flying over here. Thank the entire academy and my well-being, no one has seen him, but I’m sure the other students thought I was crazy, running and yelling at the sky.
” She wiped the sweat from her forehead. “He’s fast.”
“You have to stay hidden.” I shook my head at Chaos, thankful it was already dark despite the days supposedly getting longer.
He chuffed in my face, dampening my cheeks. His worry for my raised adrenaline and increased anxiety was clear.
“I’m fine,” I responded.
He let out a low, grumbling chortle.
“I know. But you can’t expose yourself, Chaos. You will cause chaos,” I warned.
“You speak dragon?” Sydney open-mouth stared between the two of us.
“No.” Not really. “I’m picking up on his noises and emotions.” That was the truth or, if not, close to it. Just like I had with Ender… I think?
“Aww.” Sydney let her mouth close. “He did seem upset. When I got back to our room after … the match … he seemed a little distraught, but I was able to calm him.”
Chaos nudged my chest with the hard scales on the top of his head, his sharp opaque horns avoiding me.
I ran a hand down the smooth scales along his neck, reassuring him.
They reminded me of tungsten: strong, beautiful, and glossy black with opaque white speckles.
It would take something strong and sharp—or the blade made specifically for dragons—to pierce through them.
“You need to head back, Chaos.” I glanced out the window, making sure the coast was still clear. “We’ll go for a long walk tonight.”
He dropped his head and shook it side to side.
“We can share my Flaming Hot Cheetos?” Sydney offered with a small grin, her eyes betraying the sadness in surrendering her beloved snack.
We had learned that not only did he enjoy meat, but he loved snacks.
I had no clue what havoc Cheetos and potato chips would have on his stomach, but he loved them, and if they got him out of here, then so be it.
Chaos swiveled his neck to look at Sydney, snuffed, then turned back to me in a clear no.
“Fine.” Syd’s shoulders dropped. “You can have all of them.”
That got Chaos’s attention. He raised his head, chirped, and turned to face her but didn’t give her the affection he clearly showed me.
I cocked my head at Sydney, raising a brow.
“What?” She pursed her lips. “I can learn to move beyond sharing and give the most precious, cheesiest, crunchiest snack to a dear friend.” She leaned in closer, her eyes narrowing. “You didn’t tell me Ender was ether!”
“That wasn’t for me to tell.”
“Fine. Fine.” She turned on her heels. “Alright, fiery dragon. Let’s go.”
I watched them retreat until Chaos bounced and took off in the air, Sydney hollering after him and trying to keep up. Shaking my head, I closed the window and turned, resting against the glass. I needed to get out of the office in case someone entered.
Moving quietly, I was careful not to knock over the various plants, each having their own medical purposes.
I recognized aloe, which was great when a student accidentally burned themself or another student.
Thyme and parsley weren’t only for cooking but helped create antibacterial and antifungal tonics; and sage, which helped with inflammation, arthritis, and gout—the latter was hopefully one the students wouldn’t be diagnosed with.
I made my way back to the chair. No sooner than my butt hit the cushion than the door to room two opened.
Nurse Adair’s tall, lean frame filled the short, wide hallway, clipboard in hand.
He was in his late twenties, with auburn hair and green eyes.
He came from a strong line of earth mages.
April idolized him. Due to earth mage enchantments, herbs, and elixirs, level 4 and higher mages could be trained to be magnificent healers.
The previous Nurse, Helen… or Hulga … something like that …
took him on as an apprentice while he was just a sophomore.
He was her prime protégé to help care for the academy after her demise.
When he saw me, he tucked the chart under his arm, giving me a warm smile.
“Ms. Thomas.” He nodded as I stood. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes.” I glanced at the partially shut door behind him. “How is he?”
“David is doing well.” There was a pause as he assessed me, no doubt checking for any injuries from walking through Ender’s hurricane or from my own match. The head trainer had most likely filled him in. “Would you like to see him?” He asked after he must have assessed I was uninjured.
“Please.” I nodded.
The crowd on the training field had been instructed by John to leave.
April, Denise, and Joseph wanted to go with David to the infirmary, but the headmaster informed them no one was allowed to go, and they could visit him after he’d been treated.
I overheard him telling them, but I snuck away anyways.
The others besides Sydney and Ender didn’t know John was family to me and Viv, and Sydney had promised to not tell April.
Not that he would have excused me to go to the infirmary because I was his daughter…
Adair stepped aside, gesturing toward the door. “I’m sure he will be elated to see you.”
I nodded and silently walked past him.
After three small knocks on the door, I quietly pushed it open.
“Sal.” David sat up but groaned and pressed a hand to his temple.
“Don’t sit up!” I rushed to his side, helping him settle back down.
“I’m fine.” He waved me off with a gloved hand. “Nurse Adair’s medicine is magic. Literally.”
“Wow.” I studied his face, swollen and with hues of green and blue around both eyes, nose, and cheeks.
His face should have still been red with signs of bruises forming, but they appeared to be a couple days old.
My mom had taught me many things, healing elixirs included, but nothing on this level.
Nurse Adair had a talent for healing, I’d give him that.
“Yeah. If I’d known how good his elixirs were, I would have faked a couple injuries after training to help with hangovers.” David’s blue eyes perked up with his joke.
“You haven’t had hangovers.” I narrowed my eyes accusingly. I’d never seen him with a hangover, and I saw him almost daily at lunch and dinner.
“You’re wise.” He laughed, immediately wincing after.
“I believe, last time, you referred to your drink as horrid,” I jested.
“I absolutely did.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes like it just had.
I swallowed, not knowing what to say. I had wanted to make sure he was okay on behalf of being his friend and for Ender. Now that I saw he was okay, I was ready to leave.
“How is Ender?” He asked, his features turned downward, not in anger but in concern.
“Umm.” The truth was that I didn’t know. A small part of me felt disgust, sorrow, and bitterness at the incident, but two of those were not my feelings. “I haven’t seen him yet.”
That was the truth.
David nodded, glancing down at his stark black gloves that contrasted with the white sheet of the hospital-style bed.
“Sal.” The serious tone in his voice caused me to still and abruptly look up at him. He was about to ask something personal or have an emotional conversation. I wasn’t prepared for either. He took a moment to collect himself, slowly sitting up. “I know Ender is in a fragile state.”
“What?” I said out loud.
David searched my eyes for a moment. “Most of the academy hadn’t known he was ether, and the others that were at the cafeteria that day might not have seen anything, but I saw the way the dark mage tried to siphon his magic. They can only do that with ether mages.”
Viv had learned that same day as me what Ender was, but no one else had said anything. They either didn’t see what had happened with all the destruction and disorder or had chosen to be quiet. Sydney hadn’t known at all.
“It didn’t look like he knew.” David’s tone dropped. Sadness. Understanding. “Going through that change and learning about that power mentally and physically takes a toll.”
We stared at each other for a moment. I never said that David wasn’t smart, but he was just as vigilant as I was.
“I don’t want that to happen to me.”
The grief and fear in his eyes tugged at me. I felt his pain. Ender felt his pain. We had a powerful, destructive magic. But it could be beautiful too.
“It won’t,” I said.
He gave me a grim smile. “Thank you for helping me learn to control it.”
“No problem.”