11. Hidden Helper
A eden dusted himself down, re-dressed, and made his way back to his quarters.
Mistress Plato had explained to him that he had in fact been unconscious for a day and that she deemed him well enough to return to his education on campus.
That was time that Aeden should have spent learning skills to keep him in the academy, time that was now wasted.
It was late evening now, the hallways of the academy proving particularly quiet apart from Aeden’s hollow footsteps as he traversed the hauntingly beautiful corridors.
Mistress Plato was adamant that the wound on Aeden’s chest was already partially healed when he’d been found, and this was the focus of Aeden’s thoughts as he made his way through the darkened academy halls.
Not the attack, not the symbol that had been carved into his chest, but who exactly was it that had healed him.
Mistress Plato could account for the other healers from her wing, as they were with her at the time of the attack.
Surely there would be other students at the academy with healing powers?
This just confounded Aeden even more. Why would they heal him in secret, and why only partially?
Had they been disturbed? That didn’t make sense to him either, and he found a dull headache forming at the base of his skull.
He saw the occasional student as he made his way back, but thankfully there was no sign of Kael or his goons.
Aeden had an air of nervousness around him, taking extra care to follow the route back that Mistress Plato had told him.
He was that little bit more wary of the shadows he found, wondering if Kael would be waiting to ambush him once again.
Maybe he wasn’t stupid enough to attack him again. Perhaps he was. Either way, Kael had shown Aeden precisely how far he was willing to push things, and Aeden now had the scars to prove it.
As Aeden made it outside to the courtyard, he took a moment to appreciate the soft breeze that grazed his face, and he looked up at the crescent moon above him.
The sky was littered with stars, not a cloud in sight, and he wondered what it would be like that high up, riding an Aer-Kin, truly free of the burden that the academy would place on them as bonded riders.
The courtyard itself was dimly lit, with strategically placed torches lining the pathways to the different wings of the academy.
Aeden recognised one of the statues as where he had stopped earlier with Cassian and Rowan.
That already seemed like such a long time ago.
As he continued to make his way to the bunkhouses, Aeden’s mind returned to the vivid dream that he’d had.
It had felt so real, like he could physically feel and hear the things he had experienced.
He looked down at his stomach where he had seen the light reach out to him and latch onto what felt like his insides.
The whole experience left a lasting feeling of curiosity and intrigue, though it also left him exhausted; right now, he just wanted to get back to his quarter, get into bed, and sleep until tomorrow.
Any intentions of resting that night were quickly put to bed when he opened the door to the bunkhouse to find his bunkmates conversing noisily.
Harrison, Vivienne, and Serene all stood together, talking.
A young woman with jet-black hair sat with her knees to her chest, reading a book.
She hadn’t seemed to notice Aeden entering the room.
A young man with shaggy brown hair and a thickset frame who was smoothing over his bed gave Aeden a polite nod before carrying on.
The third was nothing but a large bulge underneath their sheets with their back turned to him.
“You’re awake!” Harrison said with a beaming smile. He rushed towards Aeden and wrapped his arms around him like he was his big brother, except Aeden had only just met the guy, so he felt a little overwhelmed.
“I am,” Aeden said. He let out a nervous laugh as Vivenne and Serene approached.
“Give him room to breathe, Harrison,” Serene said, offering Aeden a nervous smile and brushing her hair behind her ear. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay,” Aeden lied, “just a little tired.” He wasn’t okay; his mind was swirling, his own thoughts of revenge now circling his head.
He couldn’t allow himself to be drawn into any more arguments.
If he was dead or even kicked out of the academy, he wouldn’t be able to achieve what he had set out to do – the whole reason why he was at the academy in the first place.
Harrison suddenly became more self-aware and let go of Aeden, allowing him to catch his breath. “Sorry, I was just worried what would happen, if you’d even wake up. You were out cold when I found you.”
“It was you that found me?” Aeden asked. Mistress Plato had told him that when he’d been found, he had already been partially healed. The situation could have been far worse for Aeden if someone hadn’t helped him.
Harrison went from a look of relief to cocksure as he gave Serene a side-glance. “That healing lady told me I saved your life.” He paused, as if waiting for adulation from Serene, but she didn’t so much as glance in his direction.
“Was it you who healed me?” Aeden asked. He wanted to get to the bottom of this, but most of all, he wanted to thank whoever had helped him in his time of need.
Harrison shook his head. “No, you were all bloodied when I found you, so I ran for help. It was only when Master Storme got you to the healers quarter that I heard one of them say you were partially healed. I asked if I could stay with you, but they dismissed me and told me to leave. Besides, I’m not bonded, so I don’t have any powers yet. ”
“Those bastards will pay for what they did to you,” a fired-up Vivienne said. She was wearing a black sleeveless vest, revealing a jagged pattern tattooed into her upper arm.
Her arms were filled with muscles, and from their small group, it was clear she was one of the more athletically gifted students. Quite rare for a Support.
“What happened?” Serene asked. “All we have is a bunch of gossip, but no one actually knows the truth. ”
“They mess with you, they mess with me,” Harrison said, slapping Aeden in his upper shoulder.
“We heard that Kael and some other students attacked you, not just from our cohort but from the more senior cohorts, too,” Serene continued.
“Everyone knew Kael was behind it, but as always with the Blackthorns, he has been absolved of any guilt. It was a third-year student who took the fall and got expelled. I mean, the whole situation is preposterous. Just because the Blackthorns are a financial contributor to the academy doesn’t mean they can go around trying to kill students!
” Serene spoke in an agitated tone, clearly pissed at the situation.
“All I can say is they attacked me,” Aeden said. “I did start all of this with the fight in the dinner hall.”
“You can’t blame yourself for this,” Harrison said defensively.
“Trust me, I am not blaming myself for that prick and what he did,” Aeden said, a fire rising in his belly. “What I am saying is, I’m not entirely blameless in all of this. An eye for an eye and all that.”
Aeden felt his curiosity piqued, however. If Harrison hadn’t healed him, then who had? “Did you see anyone leaving where I was?” he asked. “Before you found me?”
Harrison shook his head. “No, there was no one else around. I saw streaks of blood and footprints coming from the washroom, which is why I rushed in and found you. Then I called for help. I don’t know anything else other than that. Do you think it was someone in our cohort?” he asked.
“That’s not possible,” Vivienne said. “Only those bonded with an Aer-Kin are able to tap into their power. That rules out all of our cohort given we’ve only just started at the academy.”
The whole situation felt off to Aeden. “I guess I’ll never know. I just wanted to thank them.”
“That’s understandable,” Serene said. “Is there any long-term damage?”
Aeden shook his head. “Mistress Plato said I am incredibly lucky, that whoever healed me potentially saved my life.” He looked down at his shoulder. “The wounds were healed, but there’s a nasty scar on my chest where Kael hacked at me with the knife.”
“A battle scar already,” Harrison said.
Serene tutted in disapproval, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.
“What?” Harrison raised his hands and shrugged. “You have to admit, that’s kind of badass.”
“I still haven’t seen it properly,” Aeden said.
“Show us,” Harrison said, to Serene’s gasp of horror.
“Harrison, you can’t ask things like that.”
“It’s okay,” Aeden said, removing his blazer, “I could do with having a closer look myself.” He removed his shirt. “Does anyone have a mirror?”
“Holy shit.” Harrison’s eyes widened, not in awe but in disbelief.
Vivienne, Serene, and the other students were the same, their mouths wide open with shock.
“That motherfucker,” Harrison said.
“Here, use this.” Serene rummaged through her belongings and passed Aeden a small vanity mirror. It was made with polished silver, the handle of which was thin and twisted, with ‘ST’ stamped into it .
Aeden took the mirror and angled it so he could see the scar on his chest.
When he saw it, he muttered the same sentiment that Harrison had stated just a few moments ago.
Kael had carved a symbol into his chest. A rough circle sat at the centre of the scarred tissue, and above, below, and to either side of it were small, uneven triangles, with the smallest points reaching inside the circle.
“That’s the mark of Balor,” Vivienne said, “the mark of cowardice.”
“Not so badass now,” Aeden laughed, trying to make light of the situation – but he would be lying to himself if he didn’t acknowledge the wave of shame that washed over him. The mark of Balor was a mark of shame, reserved for those that were found to have fled battle.
He had been branded with that very mark, by another student.
Aeden could feel his arms and legs shaking as anger replaced that feeling of shame. Up until this moment, he had never experience hatred, not true hatred. He had experienced anger and frustration plenty of times, but never this. This was a rage that had been ignited inside of him.
“At least the wound is healed,” Harrison said.
Aeden appreciated his optimism.
“What are we going to do?” There was a fight in Vivienne’s voice and anger in her eyes.
Serene looked horrified by the scar, her eyes wide with shock.
“Yeah,” Harrison said, “just say the word, and we will retaliate, show Kael and the others that you don’t fuck with the Supports. ”
“And do what?” Serene said. “Don’t get me wrong, Aeden.
I hate them for what they’ve done to you, honestly, I do.
But we’re the Support class with minimal combat experience, if any.
Whereas they will have been training their whole lives to fight.
It’s what they are known for, that’s their role on the battlefield, after all.
It would be like going into a knife fight with a wooden stick. ”
Aeden knew that Serene was right; as much as he thought he could hold his own and prove a point with Kael, he had been knocked down a peg or two to say the least. As things stood, the retaliation had only happened to Aeden, and he didn’t want what had happened to him to happen to anybody else.
“As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I agree with Serene,” Aeden said.
“I created this situation, and with any luck, it is put to bed.” He traced his fingers over the new scar on his chest. It was about the size of a fist. As angry as he was feeling, and as much as he wanted revenge, he didn’t want any of his peers to end up injured or worse because of his actions.
“Are you sure?” Vivienne asked, sounding almost disappointed. “Just say the word, Harrington, and we will sort this.”
“Vivienne!” Serene walked into the centre of the bunkhouse.
“Look around you, look at the rest of us.” She spun in a circle, gesturing to the other students in the bunkhouse.
“You and Aeden might be built differently and able to hold your own in combat, but the rest of us are not. We are Supports. That’s what we’re meant to do.
Support, not fight. If we pick a fight with the Offence class, let alone the Blackthorns, then we are just asking for trouble.
And I, for one, would like to make it to the bonding ceremony. ”
“As I said,” Aeden started, “I don’t want anyone getting into trouble or danger because of me. Consider the matter closed. Kael has proven his point, and I am done with this pissing contest.”
It was a lie.
But if Aeden was going to do anything about Kael, he was going to take his time and strike when he least expected it. And he was going to do it alone.