Chapter 37 #3
The first part went smoothly. Cauê walked us through the defense movements with all the patience in the world.
Things got complicated during the obstacle course.
They'd added a new challenge—when the whistle blew, each student had to climb a tree and hang from the thicker branches, exactly ten meters up, for at least five minutes.
It was insane, but clearly something Zion would come up with.
It required agility to tackle the obstacle course, intelligence to get past the obstacles, strength to climb the Mother Trees, and endurance to keep hanging there.
By the third whistle, my arms refused to cooperate, and whenever Cauê turned around, I'd shift to another branch to take some weight off.
During class, I healed a few students who fell from the trees, though by this stage of training, we'd already learned how to fall without hurting ourselves too badly.
I noticed everyone had improved since the first day of Zion's classes, and the physical transformation was remarkable.
Even Adele, who had the slimmest build, now showed well-defined muscles.
Late in the afternoon, the trainer let us choose our own weapons and practice.
Some trained with swords, others with daggers, spears, and shields.
I went with arrows, and this time there was no minimum hit requirement.
As I held the wooden bow and fired, I remembered the movement from my dream—the straight posture I'd seen the girl use.
I widened my stance and gripped the bow as if it were the deadliest weapon in the world.
In the dream, the bow's weight had been distributed throughout the body, as if it were just another extension of me, as natural as a leg or an arm.
The more I imitated that position, the better my arrows hit the target.
I found myself absorbed in practice, thrilled to discover a new way to shoot.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Breno approaching.
“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” he asked, surveying the targets. I'd filled my target with arrows and moved on to the empty lanes, hitting everything I could while practicing shooting on the move.
“Maybe I've found a new hobby.”
He raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical.
“I can see that! You were good with the bow last week, but this is a whole other level! Look at how precise these shots are!” He gestured at the arrows stuck in the targets. “The army archers would be jealous. Damn, I'm jealous.”
I laughed and grabbed another flexible wooden arrow. Across the lawn, Hiro was practicing his aim with axes.
“We could train together in the late afternoons—maybe have a little competition,” I suggested, firing another arrow. He looked at me with mock astonishment.
“You're inviting me to train? The world must have gone crazy,” he said, laughing.
“It's just that archery doesn't feel like training to me—it's just fun,” I grumbled, landing another shot and finally setting the bow aside. “I was thinking we could have a competition. What do you think? Keep a scoreboard at the end of each class. We could invite Hiro and Aish too.”
“I think that's an excellent idea,” Breno replied as I lined up my arrows and slid them back into the quiver. I left everything organized on the table, wrapping up for the day. “There's just one problem. I don't know if you've noticed, but Hiro and Aish aren't speaking to each other.”
“What do you mean? Hiro adores that girl.”
“He adores her, but she doesn't feel the same. It's a long story—come on, I'll tell you on the way.”
Unexpectedly, Breno linked his arm through mine the way we always used to in our first years at the academy. Simple as it was, the gesture brought a sense of normalcy back to our relationship, and I thanked the gods that he'd truly forgiven me.
“Aish told him she has no intention of getting attached to anyone here in Interion,” Breno said, steering me toward the gymnasium doors.
“You know how it is—Amperians put race and homeland above everything.
It's dishonorable for an Amperian woman to get involved with foreigners unless the foreigner defeats her in a fight and claims his rights.
Apparently, after the party, she made that crystal clear.
Now Hiro spends his days moping to me, saying he'll never win a fight against her, let alone claim any rights.
Anyway, it's worse than Vinturian drama.”
“By the gods. Why do people have to complicate things so much? Hiro must be in deep shit.”
“He's in deep shit and keeps dragging me down with all his unrequited love talk.”
“I'm sure he'll figure something out. Hiro's a good guy—she'll see that.” I genuinely believed what I was saying.
We walked through campus arm in arm. I was happy to have his company—being with Breno was natural, light, easy, and I loved that simplicity.
We talked about his brother Dominic, who was showing promise with the blocking gift, but when I asked Breno about the agreement with the king, my friend changed the subject.
He seemed uncomfortable, genuinely worried about it.
At the academy gate, I said goodbye. He lived in the campus housing—he found it more convenient than driving to his mother's house in the fairy district every day.
The sun was already setting, and the lower it sank toward the horizon, the more my hands sweated.
Butterflies filled my stomach—I didn't know what to expect from training with Zion, and I was anxious.
On the way home, I stopped at a small restaurant and picked up two takeout meals.
I had a feeling this was going to become my new routine.