Chapter 10
Ten
The chill in the air feels like shards of glass in my lungs as I round the last corner of trees and slow on the incline towards the tree line. Jullia beside me with Hanna on her other side follow my lead and the three of us come to a walking pace.
I tug the wires of my earbuds as I rest my other hand on top of my head. Jullia and Hanna do the same as they continue walking to cool down and regulate their breathing. Asher and Callahan appear a second later both drenched with sweat.
Instead of continuing a walk or raising their arms up, Asher falls forward to rest his hands on his knees with Callahan doing his best to breathe deeply without heaving. Jullia comes up to my side to watch them with me as she jogs in place.
“You would have thought we made them do like six marathons back to back,” she grumbles to me as she winces at her boyfriend.
Asher snaps his head up with a huff and a disbelieving – slightly deranged – expression. “We’ve been running – full blown running – nonstop for almost two hours. Not even training with Asier and D’etre is this gruesome.”
I match Jullia’s disapproving stare as I look up to Callahan who finally loses his internal battle and begins sucking in air like he wasn’t just breathing.
Hanna approaches my other side and lightly scoffs at them. Her breathing perfectly regulated as she places her hands on her hips. “Jules is right, this is kind of pathetic. I mean, Mavyn was comatose for two months barely a week ago and she still outran both of you.”
I check in on my blood flow and heartrate as I carefully take in deep, controlled breaths through my nose and release them out my mouth.
Asher tries to glare at me but he’s still gasping for breath. “Not – “ Gasp. “Fair – “ Gasp. “At all.”
I turn away from them and continue walking to cool down. “He’s right,” I respond, keeping my breathing even. “I may not have trained when I was resting, but magic does play a part in strength and stamina. If I was human or even a regular vampire I wouldn’t have lasted an hour.”
Someone puffs out a breath and when I turn I see Hanna observing me.
I’m sure she and Jullia would be like Asher and Callahan right now too if it wasn’t for their water element helping with the moisture in their throat and lungs and the fact that most of their training focuses on their endurance and stamina.
Which is why two warriors who, although train every day and were able to keep up with us, are exerted whereas Jullia and Hanna could probably run for another two hours.
“Why do you keep such a tight hold on it?” Hanna finally askes. She’s been watching me with curiosity and questions burning in her eyes. “I could understand wanting everyone to underestimate you, but we’ve all seen your magic now. Why do you continue to keep it all contained?”
Uncontrollable.
Uncontainable.
I shake my head and blow out a breath. “Because it’s a lot and very dominant and intimidating. People are already wary of me.”
She scoffs and half a second after I raise my arm up where a sword of ice imbeds itself into what looks like air five or so inches from my forearm.
Callahan’s devil aura floods the small glade we stand in within the edge of the tree line. Hanna doesn’t pay him any mind as she rips her sword out and swings again. I use another burst of raw magic from that third door now unlocked to block again.
“I thought you controlled lightning,” she huffs with a smile, “not air.”
She twirls the handle of her blade made entirely of ice before stepping back and pointing it at me. There’s been talk about mandating training, even for first years. At least to learn the basics of self-defense because of the rebel attacks, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Taking my nails, I dig them into my opposite palm and slice to allow my blood to flow. I only draw out enough to form my own sword and twirl the handle as she did before pointing it at her.
“I do not control air,” I correct, though I don’t give another answer and Hanna’s grin turns sharp as she swings at me.
I block purely out of muscle memory and rely on my magic for strength. I’ve only been out of my coma for four days and aside from my dip in the fountain last night, today is the first day I’m starting back on my training.
And pushing myself to keep an even running pace for two hours probably wasn’t the best way to start. I’ll be sore for sure even with all the stretching in the world.
That still doesn’t stop me from pushing for the spar Hanna wants to have. Her sword of ice connecting with my sword of blood and it sounds like a frozen lake cracking.
“Hanna. . .” Jullia starts to warn, but the three of them are drowned out by the rush from the fight as Hanna pounds at me and I focus all my energy in blocking from her ruthless onslaught.
I can feel my body wanting to protest against the strain I’m putting it through, but I simply crack that fourth door already unlocked within me instead.
Strength from my magic floods my veins, my muscles, my bones and energy renews. I take an opening to go on the offense but pain slices down my arm from a second blade. Hanna’s sword made of ice liquefying and resolidifying into twin long daggers instead. That opening a trick to get me close.
I huff a laugh as I twist out of her reach and shift my sword made of blood into a staff instead.
Twirling it around me and fixing my stance as Callahan grumbles darkly behind me.
I can feel his magic wanting to push in around us, but he remains at the edge of our fight with Jullia and Asher watching.
It is, however, nothing compared to my aura dominating the space. My eyes I’m sure as red as my blood-made staff. The sweet floral scent almost suffocating even to me as Hanna’s stance hitches.
I twirl my staff before me again and wait for her to move first. If she wishes to cut this spar to a draw I won’t condone her for it.
She grips her daggers tighter. “That’s all you got,” she taunts, and then she comes at me again.
Truly, it’s an unfair fight. My condition now, physically, is about the same as it was right before the battle on the eastern field. Magic gives an advantage like nothing else.
Hanna is a skilled opponent, but after another several minutes of our sparring and my patience waning, I do what she thinks she wants.
Pushing her back a few feet, I unlock all four of my doors and stare hard into her lavender eyes.
The change is immediate and just as quickly I lock all four of those doors back up.
My staff made of blood falling to the ground in a splatter and my aura disappearing back into my veins to make me once again feel like nothing.
Callahan’s aura is wrapped back around him and the tension between all of us feels just as suffocating as my magic and scent did.
His magic doesn’t stay wrapped around him for long though as ribbons of his aura strike towards me.
The black and white threads wrapping around me and within there’s that tug.
I glance at him to give Hanna a reprieve from my stare. My attention with all of my magic was only on her for a second and it was still too much. Her body – the fear, horror, terror, petrification – responded immediately.
I let my eyes trace his aura before raising a brow at him. He’s leaning against a tree with his arms crossed – trying his best to look nonchalant, but his body is wound tighter than Hanna’s but not with fear of me.
“Every time you do that it feels like you die,” he says, though it’s strained. “Even though I can see you’re still here, alive, it feels like you died.”
I didn’t know that. Yet another reason to get rid of my soul so he doesn’t have to worry about that.
I face Hanna again and her back is straight with her shoulder back, but her face is pointed to the side and her eyes are deliberately looking away from me.
“I’d say I told you so,” I start with a lilt to my tone – which causes her to snap her eyes up at me, “but this might be the wrong time.”
She glances past me to where Jullia and Asher had been and then blows out a breath. “Sorry.”
I only shrug and roll my neck to crack. “That’s alright.” I turn towards the tree line and start walking back to the dorms. “Ms. Elaycia and Nana still tend to brace too. . . even after all these years. It’s just easier to hide for everyone.”
Which is true. It’s easier to control too.
I can feel them following. Their blood flowing in their veins like rivers I trace. Jullia skips up to walk beside me and bumps my shoulder.
“You ready for classes today?”
The sky is starting to lighten as we round our dorm building. Jullia shifts and waves to Asher and Hanna as they keep going. Hanna to her dorm building and Asher to Stone House. I can feel Callahan hesitating on the pathway, but I keep walking into the dorm. I’ll see him in a couple hours anyways.
Ricka is sitting at the desk and doesn’t even look at us as she mockingly salutes. I shrug my shoulders to Jullia. “We’ll see how I keep up since I missed two months.”
That’s what I’m mainly worried about. I don’t have the threat of dying if I fail, but that just means I have the threat of Nana now. I’m still pissed about all of that.
Jullia opens the door for us and says, “You’ve been reading all the textbooks practically nonstop for the past three days, and you’re smarter than you give yourself credit for. I think you’ll be fine about all that.”
I close the door behind me and go to my desk to check on Lasairorm. She’s coiled up within her cave and scenting me peaks her head out.
“Why did you name her that, by the way?” Jullia asks. I touch the glass and Lasairorm flicks her tongue at me.
“Lass – aye – uh – roar – um,” I pronounce. “It means spirit of my love, soul of my star. The name given to a crown of stars after a queen forged it with her own spirit.”
Jullia hums. “Sounds like an interesting story.” I smile at my viper with her knowing eyes. “And how are you feeling about everything else?”