Chapter 10
TEN
athena
I was desperate for everyone to quickly move on from the whole tier four announcement Simon made earlier. But—because this was my life and I could literally never catch a break—it was all anyone could talk about.
At least one good thing had come from this shitstorm. Simon had been given strict instructions to not train Sinner and me. We were too risky to the safety of the barracks.
Eating dinner was impossible. I’d sneak into the mess hall in search of something that would settle my grumbling stomach, only to be bombarded with a dozen mystics asking me questions about my gift.
Questions I didn’t want to answer. Questions I didn’t even want to consider.
So, after doing my best to hide from the other cadets, I found myself at the bathhouse. I didn’t dare actually bathe—though god knew I needed it—but I hid in the shadows of the tall, stone pillars, taking long, deep breaths and calming my nerves.
Director hadn’t told them about my power. She’d let them assume I was a three.
But she had to know Simon would discover the truth with a gift that allowed him to sense the magic in others.
Still. I’d barely survived my first day here. Seeing Director might actually make me drop dead.
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, exhaling. But my moment of peace was short-lived.
“A mind whisperer.”
I jumped at the voice behind me.
Florence. The redhead I was quickly coming to hate. No—scratch that—the cadet I already hated.
“When were you going to tell us?” she sneered, coming into view. “Or were you going to wait until the war games to use your little mind tricks on us?”
“That’s not exactly how it works,” I sighed, rubbing my temples.
She squatted in front of me with her claimed right behind her. “No? Why don’t you tell us how it works, then?”
She had sharp features. Pretty ones, really. She reminded me of Katherine a bit—she had a spark in her eye that told me we absolutely would not get along. But she was a fighter.
“What about you?” I retorted. “Everyone’s so interested in my magic, but I don’t know anything about any of you. Why should I go around telling strangers the details of my own power? We’re supposed to be saving it for the games, aren’t we?”
She smiled. Behind her, her claimed didn’t move a muscle. “I knew there was something strange about you and your claimed.” She surveyed me, taking her time, like she had the right to.
With every second that passed, my anger flared hotter.
Heavy footsteps approached, and a shadow loomed over Florence’s face.
The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up.
“Leave her the fuck alone. She doesn’t owe you anything.”
Florence laughed, and her claimed straightened a little at Sinner’s appearance.
“Of course you want to protect her,” Florence said. “She makes you stronger, right? You claimed with a tier four.”
“Watch it,” he growled.
My hackles rose, but I didn’t know which of them was affecting me the most.
“Why?” She stood from her crouched position and craned her neck, glaring at Sinner.
“What did you have to do to get her to claim with you, anyway?” She looked him up and down, and suddenly, I was standing, too, my instincts screaming.
“Although I guess getting into bed with you wouldn’t be the worst thing. ”
Her claimed stepped forward, eyes darkening. Okay, maybe he wasn’t a statue after all.
Florence noticed this, too. “Relax, Riot. I’m only kidding. How they claimed is none of our business.”
Yeah right. She was nosey. And she’d already crossed way too many boundaries.
“It’s in your best interest to remember that,” Sinner said.
She spoke to Riot over her shoulder, words I couldn’t make out, and then the two of them looked us over one more time before retreating to the exit.
Once we were alone, I leaned back against the stone pillar and took a long breath. I really couldn’t catch a break, could I?
“I’m getting really tired of those two popping up like that,” Sinner mumbled.
Irritation stirred inside me. “I could have handled them by myself. I didn’t ask for help.”
He let out a dry laugh. “Really? I thought we were supposed to have each other’s backs around here.”
“Are you kidding me?” I pushed off the pillar and took a step closer to him, that annoyance morphing into anger.
The water reflected off his golden eyes in the dim lighting of the bathhouse, but I ignored how beautiful they were.
“God, I can’t keep up with you,” I snapped. “Every time I think I know what you want, you switch things up. You want to protect me? You want me to leave you alone? You want me to stay away from all other men, even though we…” I stopped the sentence.
“Even though we what?” His brow furrowed.
“You know what.”
His menacing smile disappeared. “Even though we haven’t actually completed the claiming.” His attention flickered down my body in a way that was very different from the way Florence scanned me. “We haven’t had sex.”
I ground my teeth. “No. We haven’t.”
“You know the deal.” He sighed. “We have to do this if we want to survive. We agreed to keep up this ruse so we could get out of this damn disaster.”
Arms crossed, I grunted. “Trust me, I remember.”
“Good. Then forgive me if I act like your claimed and come to your rescue every once in a while.”
My body deflated. He had a point. I didn’t like it—but he was right.
I took a step back, exhaling. “Is that what today was, then? You were simply putting on a show?”
He shrugged. “Maybe I was.”
My heart sank, but I ignored the sensation. “And was it worth it? That punishment looked brutal. We didn’t exactly get a chance to talk about it.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” he gritted out, his attention darting away. “I saved your ass from drowning and Simon thought that was a weakness in me. It’s fine.”
“Fine?” I scoffed. Right. Fine. “It definitely didn’t look fine. What happened, anyway? What did he use to punish you?”
His eyes darkened. I could have sworn—even with the shields—that a shadow slid over his pupils. “You.” He spoke quietly. Softly. “He used you.”
The breath left my lungs. The way he had reacted in that room…no. There was no way I could have caused that kind of pain in him. That agony.
Alexander… Sinner had freaked out about Alexander after his punishment.
“Me?” I asked again. “What did you see?”
“I’m sure you can guess.” He swallowed thickly. “Don’t make me say it. It’s burned into my fucking brain.”
We stood like that for a minute, surveying each other. Sinner didn’t take his eyes away. Neither did I. The bathhouse disappeared. Everything except the two of us disappeared, actually.
I couldn’t keep up with him. One second, he was telling me this is just for survival, but in the next, he admitted to losing his mind over visions of me with another man?
Unless this was all for show. Maybe he reacted that way to give Simon the response he was clearly looking for.
Yes, that had to be it. Because there was no way in hell that Sinner cared that much about me.
Yet…
Memories from mere hours ago flushed my mind.
Tell me you’re mine.
Was that for show, too?
He broke first, holding a paper bag up between us. “Here,” he said. “You didn’t get to eat.”
I froze. “You brought me food?”
“If you’re going to survive another day of training, you’ll need it. Just take it.”
My stomach growled on cue. Yeah, it wouldn’t have let me reject the food if I wanted to. I ripped the bag away from him like a starved, feral woman and dug in.
He’d given me food in the dungeons, too. This was a kind gesture, even if he was acting like an asshole. Once again, I was getting whiplash. He wasn’t as evil as he pretended to be. I’d discovered that much already. But why was he back to trying to convince me of that?
Why was he still pushing me away?
“You can bathe, too, when you’re done. I’ll stand guard. Make sure you aren’t rushed with questions about your tier.”
Heat flooded my cheeks. While he’d done something similar in the dungeons, this was different. The tension between us wasn’t chaotic anymore. Or at least not right now.
I could have sworn he wanted to protect me. That he would keep watch—not because he was being possessive, but because he wanted to help me.
Because we were a team.
I finished eating, then Sinner stood with his back to the last pool in the bathhouse while I took my clothes off and dipped into the hot water.
As the water caressed my skin, a hiss escaped me. I hadn’t realized how badly I needed this. Today had been freaking horrible. Not only had I been physically pushed to my limits, but I’d had to watch Sinner suffer. Then my secret had been exposed before the war games.
Horrible freaking day, indeed.
I slid into the water until my chin touched the surface, and a quiet moan slipped past my lips.
Sinner shifted behind me, but he didn’t turn around. “Please do not make noises like that.”
Eyes widening, I slammed my lips shut. “Sorry.”
He groaned quietly in response.
Curious, I snuck a look up at him.
His broad back muscles were tense—tight beneath his clean shirt.
By the look of his skin, he’d snuck in here to bathe himself, and the thought made my stomach twist. Yes, the bathhouse was big enough that several people could bathe in mostly private areas, but the thought of another person seeing those broad shoulders in the hot, steaming water made me ill.
Snap out of it, Athena. What are you, in love with the guy or something?
I shook my head. God, I didn’t have the mental energy to entertain that thought right now.
We were supposed to be acting claimed, though, weren’t we?
So, yeah. I should pretend to be jealous.
And maybe that facade bled into my real feelings a little. So what?
With an exhale, I forced my mind to settle. Then I took my time, relaxing in the warm water and washing away the dread of the day away—partially, at least.
Sinner waited until I was fully clothed and standing in front of him before he finally looked at me.
“Let’s go,” I sighed. “We need to rest before tomorrow. I already feel like I’ve been hit by a damn truck.” I rolled my neck and rubbed my shoulder exaggeratedly, going for funny.
But Sinner didn’t laugh. “Are you all right?” he asked, his forehead furrowed. “Are you hurt?”
A sigh escaped me. God, this was getting exhausting. “I’m fine. And we’re alone, so you don’t have to act like you care, okay?”
I was too tired to keep deciphering his words. Too tired to keep ignoring that tiny throb in my heart that grew every time he lashed out at me.
So I flipped my wet hair over my shoulder and marched back to the barracks.
I snuck inside, expecting most of the others to be fast asleep by now. Sinner was on my heels, no surprise there. But half the bunks were empty. Maybe more.
“Where is everyone?” I whispered to nobody in particular.
Karlyle sat up in his bed. “They’re at the beach.”
I peered out the window. Not that I could see the beach from her. “Why would they be at the beach?”
He leaned forward, cocking a brow, so I stepped closer.
“After long days of training,” he murmured, “connecting with your claimed partner can help you regain strength. Our magic is being restricted here, obviously, so people use…well, other methods to connect.”
“Connect with your claimed partner…” I mused, working to decode his words.
That brow arched higher. “Yes, as in…physically connect…”
The meaning of his explanation snapped into place, and my face flamed.
Sighing, Sinner retreated to his bed behind me.
“Are you serious?” I questioned.
Karlyle had a safe energy about him. He was kind and quiet, though I would never mistake him as weak or foolish. He seemed smart. Reserved. And best of all, honorable.
“Half our group is down at the beach having sex right now?”
He shrugged. “You know what it’s like. Sometimes, you have no choice in the matter. Your magic needs what it needs, and in this place, where we can rarely even let our magic out, it’s desperate for connection.”
God. With a nod, I stepped back, then made my way to my bed near the corner.
I couldn’t even look at Sinner—I wasn’t sure why. Luckily, he avoided looking at me, too, as I slid into bed.
At least I’d had a chance to bathe and eat. Those were the only bright spots in this horrid day. And tomorrow would be the same damn thing. And the next day.
Until we figured out how to get out of here.