9. Pass Out
W hen Aeden opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Harrison standing over him, worry in his eyes as he leaned down and tapped his face lightly.
In the time that Aeden had been passed out, it had started raining. Not heavily, but enough to ensure that he was completely soaked.
“Oh, great, you’re awake,” Harrison said with a smile.
Aeden groaned as he sat himself upright. “What happened?” It took him a few moments to gather his bearings as he endured a head rush.
“You blacked out,” Harrison said, but for some reason he was smiling. “What was it like? Being so close to an Aer-Kin?”
“Horrendous yet amazing at the same time.” It was the best way that Aeden could explain it.
“Master Storme said that’s the closest he has ever seen a first year get to an Aer-Kin, especially on their first attempt. I still think he hates you, but he was definitely impressed.”
“Where is everyone?” Aeden said, realising they were in the field near the changing rooms. As he spun around, another hot flush came over him, and Aeden couldn’t fight the sensation anymore. He leaned over and vomited, much to the disgust of Harrison, who moved to his side and patted his back.
“There we go, better out than in,” he said. “The others that got sick are inside the changing rooms freshening up. Master Storme said we had to get back to training as soon as you were awake.”
Aeden wiped at his face with the damp sleeve of his top and looked at the field behind them. Vegar was nowhere to be seen, and Master Storme was standing in the centre of the field with the rest of the students, who stood opposite him, mirroring moves that he was showing them.
Aeden got back to his feet with Harrison’s assistance. He was unsteady, but he felt like he would be okay once he had come around. “If everyone is inside the changing rooms, why are we out here?” Aeden asked.
“You have Master Storme to thank for that,” Harrison said. “He said that the rain would help bring you back around, turns out he was right. Who knew that he would know what he’s talking about after all. There’s me thinking he is just a mass of bulk and anger?—”
Master Storme bellowed at the students he was training, apparently not happy with their performance. His voice echoed, making it boom even louder than it was naturally .
“Well, he’s still a mass of bulk and anger,” Harrison said with concern. “One that we best get back to. I don’t fancy having to do extra laps or anything like that. This first lesson has been brutal.”
“Why are you outside with me?” Aeden asked.
“He wanted someone to stay with you so I volunteered. Something about swallowing your tongue, told me to keep an eye on you until you woke up.”
“You’re awake,” Vivienne said as she exited the changing room. She was pale, looking like she had continued to be sick long after Aeden had passed out. “That was intense, good but intense.”
“How is it in there?” Harrison asked. “Sounded like a massacre.”
“I think everyone is finished being sick now. That weave was like nothing I’ve ever felt before.” She raised her head and closed her eyes, allowing the rain to run down her skin. “Ah, now that is refreshing.”
“Thank you,” Aeden said to Harrison, who seemed distracted. “For waiting with me.”
“No problem. Do you think Serene noticed? You know, that I offered to stay with you?”
Aeden laughed. “Seriously? Is that the reason you waited for me?”
“Well, if I can help a friend and impress the love of my life, then I class that as a win-win situation.”
Vivenne shook her head as she set off towards the rest of the class. “Boys will be boys,” she said, but Aeden was sure he sensed a playful tone to her voice. “Just a heads-up though . . . Any woman here will be looking for a man. ”
Aeden let out a sigh. He was both physically and mentally exhausted. “You haven’t known Serene for a day yet. I don’t think it’s love that’s guiding you.”
“What can I say. When you know, you know,” Harrison said. He was either completely deluded or extremely overconfident, but Aeden just laughed again.
“Come on, let’s get back to the others. I want to make sure Master Storme knows that I am strong enough to be bonded with an Aer-Kin.”
After experiencing the weave, after seeing the connection that Master Storme shared with Vegar, Aeden felt more determined than ever to experience the powerful bond himself one day with his own Aer-Kin. That thought, that wish, was all the motivation Aeden needed right now.
After all, he couldn’t put his plan into motion if he didn’t make it through the bonding ritual.
By the time the session was over, Aeden definitely felt like he was done with the day.
He lowered himself into the bath and let out a groan of pain, exhaustion, and joy.
Master Storme had given the class no reprieve from their experience with the weave, and had expected all of the returning students to start where they left off.
Except he hadn’t stopped to show them the moves they were practising.
Instead, Master Storme had the students show them by practising the moves on them. They’d had to adapt quickly to figure out what the moves were and how to defend against them. Now Aeden felt like he had been rolled down a cliff, his body battered and broken .
This bath, this was the first bit of luxury that Aeden had experienced since arriving at Aviara Academy, and he wanted to savour every last moment. He closed his eyes, wanting to drift off into some kind of meditative state, his breath slowing as he finally felt like he could rest.
Aeden allowed himself to submerge into the water, and for a moment, he was in a state of peace, of the harmonious balance that his mind needed.
The day had been nothing short of relentless, and so much had already happened since he first walked through those large gilded gates of the academy.
He remained in this moment for as long as he could manage, then raised himself out of the water and rubbed his hands from his eyes and over the top of his head to slick his hair back.
A dry cough told him he was not on his own.
“Harrison, is that you?” Aeden asked as he opened his eyes.
It wasn’t Harrison.
Standing next to his bath was Kael Blackthorn and a group of other students who Aeden didn’t recognise. They all had menacing looks on their faces, and Aeden knew in an instant that they were all there for him.
“Fellas,” Aeden said, trying to come across as cocksure, but inside he was concerned.
“There’s a reason why people don’t fuck with my family, Harrington,” Kael spat. He leaned forward and grabbed the back of Aeden’s head, snapping it back.
Aeden didn’t have time to react before Kael hammered a fist into his face. Lights flashed across Aeden’s vision, and another blow followed, and another. Aeden tried to push up from the bath but just kept slipping. He lashed out himself but could only flail against Kael’s arms.
“Not so tough now, are you?” Kael said, his voice low and menacing.
Aeden opened his eyes. They stung like crazy, and his nose and face were throbbing. Then he noticed that his bath had turned crimson.
“The worst thing you could ever do is make an enemy of me,” Kael said, leaning into Aeden while still gripping the back of his head by his hair. “And you have.” His jaw was clenched tightly as he pulled Aeden’s head backwards into the bath, submerging him under the water.
In a panic, Aeden pushed, kicked, and flailed wildly as he attempted to pull himself free.
Kael pulled him back out of the water, and Aeden was greeted by another blow.
He was unable to register who it was, as the other students were now circling Aeden.
After being struck a couple more times, Aeden found himself submerged underneath the water again as Kael continued to repeat the process.
Aeden was defenceless. There was nothing he could do as he was beaten to a pulp, pulled in and out of the water, and beaten again.
The panic was the worst part; Kael seemed to know exactly the right time to pull him free of the water, just as his lungs were dangerously low on air.
He would allow him up, where Aeden would take one gasp of air before being struck again and submerged.
He didn’t feel he could go on much longer. Every second felt like an eternity as he continued to endure the sustained torture. At times, he didn’t even know whether he was under the water or above it .
With a panicked breath, he accidentally tried to breath in while submerged, and it was the worst feeling he had ever experienced in his life.
Fear overtook him. This was it. He was going to die, murdered by Kael, who would likely have his crime covered up by his wealthy family.
Aeden grabbed hold of the top of Kael’s arm and started tapping it, but it didn’t take long for his grip to start to loosen. He had no fight left in him.
It was at this point that Kael dragged Aeden from the bath and slammed him onto the floor.
Aeden gasped for breath, coughing and choking as his lungs heaved from the trauma.
A dark circle wrapped around the periphery of his vision as he started crawling towards the door.
That was all he could do. Each blow that rained down on him as he was persistently kicked by Kael and his group felt like nothing more than a dull thud as Aeden tried desperately to escape.
“You’re not getting away that easily!” Kael growled. “Get him.”
Aeden found himself dragged to his feet, his head lolling to the side. He just wanted to close his eyes and drift away into unconsciousness. He had no fight in him. He was broken.
“No, no, no.” Kael slapped Aeden across the face, then pressed something into his skin. Whatever it was, it was a sharp, acrid smell that forced Aeden to lift his head.
“I want you to remember every part of this,” Kael said through gritted teeth. There was nothing but anger and hatred in every word that slipped from his venomous tongue.
Aeden’s head lolled over again, but Kael snapped his head back once more. He could barely keep his eyes open. The swelling was getting worse, the taste of iron in his mouth becoming unbearable.
Kael lifted up a knife and held it tightly, his other forearm pressed against Aeden’s chest as two of the other students took hold of his arms, keeping him upright.
“Recognise this?” Kael asked, a maniacal glint in his eyes.
He was enjoying every moment of this. “You seem to have left it stained with my blood earlier today. Only fitting that I return it to you.” He looked the blade over.
“Even sharpened it, just for you, just for this moment.” Kael looked at the students holding on to Aeden’s arms and gave them a subtle nod. “Hold him still.”
Aeden tried to fight. He willed it to happen. He wanted to struggle, he wanted to kick out, but he had no fight in him. He watched in a daze as Kael leaned towards him with the knife.
A searing pain greeted the lefthand side of his chest as Kael started carving something through his skin.
Aeden let out a cry of agony. His feet started slipping in the blood that was pooling underneath him, and his head became fuzzy.
Don’t give up, don’t let them win .
He didn’t know where the thought came from.
It wasn’t his own. He wanted to give in.
He wanted all of this to be over. Something washed over him similar to the feeling of Vegar’s bravery, except this time it wasn’t bravery – it was determination, it was hope tinged with that same feeling of sorrow, despite feeling so alone, so ashamed that he couldn’t fight back.
It gave Aeden the smallest glimmer of fight .
He raised his head and stared into Kael’s eyes as the young man finished carving his chest. Breathing heavily, he didn’t say another word or make another sound.