Thayla #3
“I’d rather he not.” My nose scrunches, but the hurt that crosses her face has a sigh slipping from my lips.
“I’m not mad at him or you. I’m embarrassed.
Obviously, my powers didn’t feel the need to push his off and I didn’t expect…
internal revelations to come over me. I wasn’t prepared for that, and I don’t like sitting in and examining my emotions. ”
She quickly covers her snort, but I still cross my arms and stare at her.
“I know, but really, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. We all know you and since yesterday you’ve been beating yourself up about this when you shouldn’t have been.
We just didn’t call you out like Iric did.
Plus, you are one of the most empathetic people I’ve ever met.
You just have your own way of going about it. ”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen, and you can tell Iric I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” she agrees as she holds her arms out for a hug.
I scoff but definitely give in to the comforting embrace. Truth be told, I don’t know what I am.
Am I upset he used his power on me? Yes.
Do I recognize that he didn’t mean to do that? Also, yes.
It’d feel hypocritical of me to flip my shit on him for not controlling his power when we were literally fixing something my power did without my consent or knowledge.
Plus, he didn’t hurt me. Everything that’s been explained about his power was just proven true. He doesn’t fix or heal. He reveals things we try to block out and brings them forward until they’re unignorable.
Fuck, the things he could drag up in a purposeful, one-on-one session.
That honestly petrifies me.
“Come on. Let’s go teach the Attendants some shit,” I say, and she chuckles as she pulls away from me.
We make our way down the hall that enters the Court, and she whispers-yells, maybe laughs, my name as I flip the Beginning Gods in the ceiling mural my middle finger.
I can confidently say now that one of them is Obliteration, and although I can’t see his face, I believe the other he’s fighting in the painting is the God of Boundaries.
Too bad they didn’t off each other in that moment. If that was a real moment in time.
My intention was to give all the Attendants a polite smile as I walked past them, but instead, a glare crosses my face as my gaze sets on Mara talking to Kyzen in the center.
Other than Gladian, none of his Valtrue is supposed to be here.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I say.
Yemi smirks at my ass as her pace picks up to keep up with mine.
“About to give us our first demonstration, huh?”
“Not funny, but possibly.”
She laughs, then purses her lips as Kyzen’s attention turns toward us. The tight smile he gives me doesn’t help the fury in my belly.
I swear to the fucking Valories, I’ll flip out if Mellcom or Jeremiah pop up in this Court.
“Everything okay?” he asks as we walk up, but I keep my focus on Mara. She looks…different today.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I’ll give you two a second.”
My eyes narrow as Kyzen backs away from us.
“That’s a shitty way of saying hello.”
“I don’t want to say hello to you, Mara. Gladian was supposed to meet with Creed and Sevryn, and none of his Valtrue were supposed to be here today. You’re going to freak everyone out.”
She glances over my shoulder for a moment, then flicks her attention back to us.
“I’m not that scary.”
“Cut the shit now and tell me what you’re doing or just go.”
We stare at one another until she finally drops her crossed arms and the facade. Her unsure gaze jerks between Yemi and me.
“I don’t want to be stuck at the barrier with Mellcom and Jeremiah every day. I was asking Kyzen if he thought it’d be okay with you if I stayed here and assisted you. He told me I’d have to man up and ask you myself. So I’m manning up.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because of that right there.” I point my finger at her face and I swear she snarls.
“Your mouth and attitude. These aren’t Defenders who’ve been training every day for gods only know how long.
These are Attendants who are scared of all the changes being thrown their way.
I’m not going to have you here being a bitch and discouraging them. ”
“I’m not going to be a bitch or discourage them. I’ll listen to whatever you say.”
My eyebrows scrunch together as I search for her lie. As my eyes squint, I catch the difference I couldn’t put my finger on when I walked up.
She slaps my hand away as I reach out toward her. “Don’t touch me.”
“Don’t knock my hand away again or I’ll knock you out.”
She clenches her jaw as I brush my thumb across her cheek, smearing the strange, tinted ointment she has on.
Covering her black eye.
I hum.
“Which one did it this time?”
“None of your business.”
“I’m making it my business. You tell me, or I go show my ass to Gladian. I should do that anyways, but take your pick.”
“Why the fuck does it bother you so much? Why can’t you just tell me I can stay in here and that be the end of it?”
“Because I know all too well what it feels like to walk around like that because of them and have no fucking one stand up for me. You may get on my last damn nerve, but I’m not going to drop shit like that.”
Her chest heaves as she stares at me.
“Gladian is taking up for me. Now. Hence why I’m here. He made me come here with him rather than go to the barrier with them.”
“Why now? He should’ve gotten his point across more clearly the first time this happened.”
“Because the last time, it was here in the Court during sparing, not in the middle of our kitchen when I told Mellcom to fuck off.”
Anger brews beneath my skin as flashes of my past assault my mind.
Pieces of fucking shit.
“Mara.”
The energy in the Court instantly shifts with Gladian’s loud-ass yell. All the Attendants take a step back and Mara peers over her shoulder.
“Never mind. Don’t worry about it.”
She turns on her heels and stomps toward him, Creed, and Sevryn.
My fingers flex at my side. Before I can spin around, Yemi grabs my forearm.
“Thayla.”
“What?”
“Go tell her she can stay.”
“What? No. You of all people shouldn’t want to be around her.”
“I’m not saying I want to be around her. I’m saying…” She sighs and slides her hand from my forearm to my fingers. “What Mara did to me was wrong, but she apologized. I’m not saying a sorry excuses actions, but that moment in the forest really opened my eyes to why she is the way she is.”
“Oh, yeah. Pray tell. Why is she an ass to those she believes are below her?”
“Because she was raised that way. She comes from a very dominant line of gods, and rumor around the Attendants is that her family still isn’t proud of her.
Her whole life she’s had to prove herself, and I think you were right in assuming she doesn’t want to do that.
She’s just never had a different choice.
“Now, she’s asking you for the choice to be away from more people who are abusing and treating her like shit.
It sucks being the bigger person, but we’re going to be in this case.
Besides, I’m over what she did. You beat the hell out of her in this very Court.
That was a pretty good lesson learned if you ask me. ”
I sneer at her and the stupid ‘I know I’m right’ smirk on her face. She gives my hand another squeeze before she leaves me standing here while she joins the other Attendants.
Gods damn it.
Stupid fucking empathy.
Yemi and her annoying forgiveness.
It’s also annoying that I’m positive life would be easier if I could just let go of some shit.
“Gladian,” I shout, marching over to them.
Kyzen joins me, questions brewing in his eyes. I don’t answer them or the ones in Creed’s curious smirk.
“What do you want, Godrun? I got places to be, and you got a rotation to start.”
“Don’t tell me what I got to do, asshole. Mara’s staying with me. I need her assistance.”
His nostrils twitch as he glances between us.
“What assistance could you possibly need from her?”
“There’s no one else here other than Kyzen who can spar with me. He’ll be busy with the male Attendants. She’ll be good for my show and tell.”
He grunts. “She doesn’t want to stay here.”
“You didn’t even ask her opinion, you dick.”
“That’s two slurs against me in less than a minute,” he says and I shrug.
“I can come up with a few more if need be.”
Too bad Riven isn’t here. He’d be spouting them off.
The thought draws a slow smile to my lips, and Gladian rolls his eyes as he shifts his attention to Mara.
“Do you want to stay here and help her?”
I keep my focus trained on him and his reaction to whatever answer she gives him.
“Yes.”
His shoulders drop the tiniest amount, and his eyes soften for the barest of seconds.
Well, that’s surprising.
Disappointment wasn’t the reaction I expected. At least, not that kind of disappointment.
Oh Mara…
“Okay,” he agrees quickly, but not too quickly. “I’ll see you after this rotation.”
He turns and starshoots away after a few steps. I smirk and blow Creed a kiss as his forehead wrinkles. Kyzen chuckles as he walks away and claps his hands together, calling for all the male Attendants to gather around him.
“Well, that went better than expected.”
I cut my eyes at her. “You’re either playing this off really well, or you are so blind.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
I give her a moment to answer her own question, but she continues to stare at me, all confused.
“I’ll let you figure this one out on your own.”
“Figure what out?”
I chuckle and walk toward the female Attendants.
“Come on, little God of Strength. Let’s introduce ourselves and get to work.”
“Don’t call me that.”
My smile widens at the horror in her tone. It eases the tension in all the Attendants in front of us, though, so I keep it plastered to my face. Hopefully, in the next few rotations, the fear that’s so present will fade completely.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Thayla Godrun. Welcome to this hell that we call the Court.”