Chapter 5
FIVE
athena
“Split up! Claiming pairs should be in opposite groups. Today, we’ll push your individual strengths.”
The sun was just rising over the horizon, but I’d been awake for hours already. Not only was there an absurd amount of uncertainty in the air, but while lying in bed, we were surrounded by dozens of people we couldn’t trust.
Nope. Sleep wasn’t happening.
Though Sinner lay there with his eyes shut and his breathing even, the dark lines etched into his face told me he was running on fumes—same as me.
He hadn’t said a word since our little spat in the bathhouse. I wouldn’t waste my energy on him. He wanted to be the selfish asshole everyone thought he was? Fine. Who the hell was I to try and change him?
I had enough shit to deal with on my own. And that’s apparently what I was now—on my own.
Head high, I turned, ready to make my way to the left side of the breezy field. But before I could take a step, a hand gripped my wrist, yanking me back.
“Wait,” Sinner said.
With a tug, I tried to pull my arm free. It only made him grip tighter. At the risk of causing a scene, I asked in a hushed whisper, “What do you want?”
He opened his mouth and shut it again, his eyes darting around. “Be careful, okay? You can’t trust anyone here.”
A harsh laugh escaped me. “You’re pretending you give a shit?” This time when I yanked my arm away, he let go. “Don’t waste your energy. You can’t pick and choose when to care,” I gritted out. “I told you to keep your distance, remember?”
The muscle in his jaw tensed and his eyes gleamed beneath his thick, black lashes.
Rather than backing off like I expected, he stepped closer, looming over me.
With the heat of his body radiating into me like this, the hustling cadets around us disappeared. Sinner’s frame blocked the light from the rising sun, casting a shadow over me. “Keep fighting me, Athena. That’s fine. Out here? Around them? We’re claimed.”
Holding my breath, I forced myself to walk away. That flipping in my stomach didn’t mean anything. It was because he was familiar. And as close to safe as I could get. It had nothing to do with his words.
He’s an asshole, Athena. Get your shit together. Focus on training today. Nothing else.
“All right!” Simon clapped. “For those of you who are new, I’ll explain what we’re doing briefly.”
Across the field, Sinner stood, arms crossed and expression stoic.
“We’ll spend the first few hours on physical training,” Simon went on.
“Your body is your most important weapon. Your magic flows through your physical vessel. We’ll hone our magic after we break for lunch each day.
The closer we get to the games, the more intense training will become. ” He scanned the group of cadets.
Most of them looked bored, probably having heard this speech before. A few looked nervous. On edge. And a couple—like Florence—looked way too confident.
“Your magic will be shielded until we begin training with our powers, so don’t even try to use it.
Our blocks are working around the clock to ensure you follow this rule.
You’re all threes here, we get it. You’re the big, powerful cadets on campus.
Trust me, you’ll have your chance to show your skills in the war games. ”
He still thought I was a three. Nerves fluttered through me. Maybe Director really was full of shit. Or, maybe she’d kept that tiny bit of information to herself.
Or was Simon keeping my identity on the down-low, also?
“Today, we’ll be training in the water. Group one—” He motioned to my side of the field. “Hit the waves. Group two—” He looked to Sinner’s side. “Follow suit.”
An echoed groan filtered through our side of the field. Clearly training in the water, whatever that was, wasn’t a cadet favorite.
As we all trudged toward the sandy beach beyond the steel buildings, I surveyed the cadets we passed—other trainees that I assumed were tier one and two. They were gathered near their barracks, some in small groups practicing hand-to-hand combat, some already wielding steel weapons.
“Hope you’re a fan of the waves.” Alexander appeared beside me, bumping his shoulder against mine.
“What’s that supposed to mean? We’re swimming today?
” I asked, remaining focused on the water ahead.
The sea roared with an unruly energy this morning; white caps swelled as waves crashed onto the sandy beach.
I was a good swimmer, but this water didn’t look particularly inviting, and I didn’t have a death wish.
“I wouldn’t say swimming,” was his response. “More like modified torture.”
I winced. “That would explain the groaning.”
His laugh was quiet. “This place will try to break you, sweetheart. Lesson number one? Don’t let it.”
We walked the rest of the way in silence—much like the rest of the group. I forced myself not to look back and search for Sinner. He didn’t deserve my attention, and I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of my curiosity.
Like I said. He could keep his damn distance.
The sun now blared with full force above the horizon, but the cool breeze off the sea stung as it whipped across my skin, confirming that the water was cold. And I hated being cold.
“Group one, let’s go!” Simon yelled. Any ounce of patience I swore I’d caught in his voice earlier was gone. He was all business, and he wasn’t waiting around.
Around me, cadets linked their arms, then tromped into the harsh waves.
Confusion swirled through me. So…we weren’t swimming…but we were still getting in the water?
Alexander snaked his arm though mine without warning. “Don’t think about it too much. The more you suffer, the more your eye candy of a claimed back there suffers.”
Still not entirely sure what was happening, I followed him, though my feet got heavier with each step.
The water slapped my legs hard, stealing my breath. The thin fabric of my new trousers—courtesy of the barracks—clung to my legs as we ventured into the waist-deep waves.
Alexander turned so we were facing the beach, forcing me to follow, and linked his left arm with another person, connecting us to a long chain of cadets.
A slim young woman I hadn’t seen before snaked her arm though my free one. Together, we formed a long fence of bodies against the rough surf.
Simon stood on the sand with the entirety of group two—Sinner among them—and pulled a stopwatch from his loose trouser pocket.
“The time starts now,” he shouted, his words barely audible above the waves.
“One of you falls, you’ll endure the punishment.
A claimed interferes, and you’ll endure the punishment. ”
What? A fierce wave crashed against my back, sending my body surging forward.
Shit. I sucked in a sharp breath as I was yanked away from the bodies on either side of me.
We held tight to one another, and I nearly took the girl on my right down with me.
She hissed, but said nothing as we struggled to find our footing.
On my left, Alexander was sturdy, like he was almost unbothered by my flailing.
We were standing in the freaking water? How was this training?
“How long are we supposed to stand like this?”
“Until lunch,” he answered. “I’d say we’ve got around six hours, right, Willow?”
The girl on my right huffed. “If we’re lucky and he decides we’re worth feeding.”
My stomach lurched. What. The. Hell?
Another aggressive wave slammed into us, but I was more stable this time. It quickly retreated, sucking water back into the sea like it was trying to get far, far away from our training commander.
I dug my feet into the shifting sand below, but even so, it took nearly all my strength to remain upright.
“How is this supposed to help anything?” I groaned.
“It’s not for us,” he replied, nodding toward the beach. “Pay close attention, sweetheart. It’s for them.”
I followed his gaze. We were the ones standing in the frigid, relentless water, but our partners…
They were stuck watching us. Helpless. Unable to interfere as wave after wave pummeled us.
“He wants them to interfere,” I acknowledged. “That’s the test.”
Karlyle stood in the crowd on the beach, almost directly in front of us, hands tucked into his pockets and tense shoulders raised.
He was looking anywhere but at us. His attention skimmed over the water, up to the sky, over the cadets in his group.
“They can sense our pain,” Alexander explained. His voice was steadfast with a flirty edge per usual, but another emotion seeped out with his words, too. A hint of anguish. “It goes against every one of their instincts to stand there and do nothing.”
Another wave crashed into us and I sucked in a breath. Damn. This was going to be a very long six hours.
Simon stepped forward, only stopping as the waves lapped at the toes of his black-laced boots. “Your enemies in war will try to break you. They will use your claimed against you. You will have to fight against yourself in order to stay calm and think logically.”
The next wave knocked me off my feet. Again. Alexander’s arm tightened around mine, keeping me from going under. “Shove your toes in the sand,” he whispered. “Take a breath every three seconds and prepare.”
I did as I was told, but I still had to brace every freaking muscle to stay afoot as the current once again returned to sea.
“This is stupid,” I gritted out. “Sinner’s not going to care if I’m being freaking tortured by the enemy.”
Another wave hit, knocking the wind from me. Yep. That one was going to bruise.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, sweetheart.”
For the first time, I allowed myself to find Sinner.
And my heart plummeted. Oh. Shit.
Sinner loomed in the crowd, a stoic force among the cadets. Even from here, I could sense the intensity in his eyes. It was so strong it could have sliced the air between us.
Another wave hit.
I swallowed a face full of water and zeroed in on Sinner.