26. Iron Fist
“ I s this all you have?” Master Storme bellowed as his hulking shadow engulfed Aeden.
Aeden was face down on the mat, hands pressed against the floor as he panted for breath. Sweat dripped from his face, splashing the surface of the floor underneath him.
Oh, how he hated this guy. If only he had the strength to back up what it was he wanted to do to him.
He was a long way from forgiving him for what he had done to Vivienne, Serene, and most of all, Harrison.
He may not have landed the blows on them, but he had orchestrated everything.
It was him who Aeden held responsible for that lesson.
“I don’t understand what you want me to do,” Aeden said through gritted teeth. The two of them had been sparring for a while now, and this was the session he had been dreading, one-on-one training with the combat instructor.
The academy had banned Aeden from sparring with the rest of his cohort until they had at least bonded with their own Aer-Kin.
Aeden understood that, although he didn’t feel stronger nor had he seen any evidence of it.
He had been told that the weave would make his speed and agility more enhanced than the other students.
That meant he was left sparring with Master Storme for the rest of the term, and the thought of that filled him with dread.
To say the session had been gruelling was an understatement.
So far the session had consisted of Aeden attempting to maintain a defensive position while failing to out-manoeuvre Master Storme’s attacks.
All Aeden had learned was that he was no match for the battle-hardened teacher.
Master Storme was relentless, and Aeden lost count of how many times he had been sent crashing to the mat, his body aching, his temper flaring.
“I want you to defend yourself. There are far stronger people out there than me. You need to be able to evade attacks and counter or escape using your skills.” Master Storme was pacing up and down in front of Aeden.
“That’s if you have any,” he muttered under his breath.
The frustration in his voice matched how Aeden was feeling.
Aeden climbed back to his feet and took up a defensive position, his hands raised slightly in the air.
Master Storme charged at him faster than Aeden could react, and with a roar of frustration, he wrapped his arm around Aeden from behind and lifted him up from the floor.
Aeden instinctively grabbed hold of Master Storme’s forearm, trying to relieve the pressure as he was choking him out. But Aeden had no chance. He continued to struggle, his feet flailing in the air like a rag doll as Master Storme’s grip tightened.
“Yield, Harrington,” Master Storme growled, his knuckles clicking as his vice-like grip only tightened .
“Fuck you!” Aeden said through struggling breath. There was no way he was going to yield to this asshole. The edges of his vision darkened as he tried in vain to kick back at Master Storme.
“Yield!” he demanded.
Aeden slammed his hands into the tree trunk-like forearm that gripped him, each blow getting softer and slower as he was choked out.
“For god’s sake!” Master Storme bellowed, followed by a roar of anger.
He used his weight and strength to his advantage as he loosened his grip, only to grab hold of Aeden by the scruff of his neck and toss him to the other side of the room.
“That stubbornness will get you killed on the battlefield.” Master Storme walked to the side of the room, picked up a towel, and dabbed it against his face.
“You get that from your mother!” he spat.
Aeden sat bolt upright. This was the first time one of his parents had been specifically mentioned since he’d arrived at the academy, though Master Storme had alluded to possibly knowing his father.
“You knew my mother?”
Master Storme shifted uncomfortably. It was clear he regretted what he had said in his own frustration.
“How do you know my mother? Did you know my father?”
“Forget what I said.”
“Humour me. I’m stuck here training with you for the rest of the term. The least you can do is answer my question.” Aeden remained on the floor, his arms folded in defiance. “And until you answer, I’m not going to train anymore. What do you know about my mother? ”
He could practically sense the cogs turning in Master Storme’s head as he thought about what his options were.
“FUCK!” Master Storme bellowed, turning his back on Aeden. “Fine, I’ll answer one question, but then we spar. That’s what we’re here to do, and you aren’t going to get stronger if we sit and talk all day.”
“Sounds like a fair trade.” Aeden got to his feet and adapted a defensive stance once again.
“Just one question though.”
“How – do – you – know – my – mother?” Aeden asked slowly and clearly, his eyes fixed on Master Storme, who clicked his neck with an audible crunch.
“I was in her cohort, same as your father,” he said before rushing at Aeden.
For a split second, time stood still as the heavy footsteps of Master Storme crashed into the floor.
Aeden didn’t know why it affected him so much, but as much as he hated the teacher, Master Storme had known his parents, he had trained alongside them at the academy.
Had he been at the battle where they both died?
Did he know what happened to them? One question turned to two, then three, then four, all cycling through his head in quick succession.
He barely even noticed the teacher charging towards him.
Master Storme grabbed hold of his arms and squeezed them in his grip before spinning and throwing him like a hammer. Aeden flew through the air before crashing into the tiered benches at the far side of the room.
Wood splintered as he not only fell into them, he smashed through them, leaving a pile of destroyed benches in his vicinity .
All of Aeden’s body ached, and he coughed and spluttered as dust settled down on him, planks of wood digging into his back.
“Your defence is borderline shambolic,” Master Storme said as he stood over Aeden.
Aeden raised his hand for Master Storme to help him up, but Master Storme simply tutted, shook his head, and walked away.
What an asshole , Aeden thought as he wriggled around uncomfortably until he was in a position to stand up. He looked around him at the broken benches. Wetness dripped down his face, and when Aeden mopped it with his hand, his fingers turned red.
“Defence is definitely what we need to work on,” Master Storme said.
“You said you were in the same cohort as my parents,” Aeden said, panting. His body ached, and the pain coursing through his back was intense.
“I did. I fought alongside them.”
“You fought with them?”
Master Stormee nodded. Aeden went to speak again, but Master Storme cut him off quickly. “I said one question. If you want my advice . . . let this go. Whatever you think this is, it isn’t worth it.”
Something felt inherently cryptic about what Master Storme was saying. Let what go? All Aeden had asked was if he had known his parents, and even that question had only been asked because Master Storme had mentioned his mother.
“How can I let it go? For all I know, you’re the only person in the academy that knew them. ”
Master Storme walked over to his towel, picked it up, and tossed it over his shoulder before heading towards the door. “This sparring session is over, and so is this conversation.”
Aeden was about to follow when Master Storme raised a dismissive hand, stopping him in his tracks.
“Make sure you tidy this mess up. I’ll see you at our next session.
Seems like I have my work cut out with you.
” With that, Master Storme vanished, leaving Aeden with nothing but his thoughts as he looked at the splintered benches around him.
Letting out a sigh, Aeden set about cleaning the mess up, finding himself in a trance as all he could think about was his parents. Guilt overcame him and tied a vicious knot in his stomach. With everything that had happened to him, he had lost sight of the very reason he was here.
With this being the last session of the day, he knew where he would be heading after he had finished tidying the room.
The one person Aeden had met so far who seemed to know anything about his parents – who might be able to help him in his investigation – just happened to be the teacher he hated most. He would either have to swallow his pride and find a way onto Storme’s good side, or he needed to find someone else who could help him.
He continued to pick up the broken panels of wood until they sat in a neat pile just in front of the benches.
His back should have been broken from the force, but here he stood, only a bit battered and bruised.
It caused him to wonder just how much the weave had altered his body already.
Then his thoughts returned to his parents and the very reason he had enrolled at the academy.
He couldn’t afford to lose sight of that, no matter what happened in the meantime.
It was a shame that it had taken a beating and a throwaway comment from Master Storme to remind him of that.
Aeden fetched a broom and started sweeping up the last of the mess when a noticeable cough drew his attention from the doorway.
Turning around, Aeden saw Cassian standing in the doorframe, examining the room.
“Holy shit,” Cassian said, his eyes wide, a grin tugging on his mouth. “What the fuck happened in here?”
“Sparring with Master Storme,” Aeden said, continuing to brush up the mess.
“Fuck.” Cassian stepped into the room and picked up a second broom from the side. “Guessing that hole here was caused by you?”
“More my body.”
“That’s brutal. I’ve heard words of what’s been happening with you. Sounds like you’ve had it rough.” Cassian started brushing up the debris, forming his own pile.
“Thanks for the help, but you really don’t have to.”
“I’m not here to gossip,” Cassian said, raising his hands in the air in mock surrender. “I’m here as a friend and an ally. I know we’re not in the same class, but I just want you to know that with me and Rowan, you have at least two people who are friends.”
Would Aeden class him as a friend? He didn’t really know him that well. Aeden then wondered if he was simply being oversensitive about the situation. Maybe confronting and fighting everyone wasn’t always the best option.
“I appreciate it,” Aeden said, finally settling on accepting help .
The two of them continued tidying the room until eventually the rest of the wood and splinters sat in a neat pile.
“So, can I address the huge Aer-Kin in the room?” Cassian asked.
“Go on.” Aeden knew exactly where this was going.
“What’s it like? Like, how did you bond with your Aer-Kin without any support?”
Aeden spent a short period of time talking Cassian through everything that had happened, from the moment he fell down the embankment, to finding Nyra’s egg, and up to this morning where he had bound her wings.
One detail he did omit was that she had hatched from an egg made of stone.
There was already enough of a spotlight on her with her wings.
Cassian remained silent throughout, clearly fascinated with the whole process.
For Aeden, it felt nice to offload, to talk through everything, and it kind of helped him make sense of the situation himself.
Since he got back to the academy, he hadn’t had a second to process it all.
Talking to Cassian helped, although he did wonder how many times he was going to have to tell this story.
“So yeah, Nyra is currently resting, and Lyric” – Aeden paused for a second before correcting himself – “Master Ember has said she will need to rest. He’s working on something for her but didn’t elaborate on what.
He’s also warned me that people are going to look down on us because, you know, she can’t fly.
But I have already said I will do whatever it takes to fix her wings. ”
“Fuck anyone who wants to give you shit for being bonded to an Aer-Kin, especially our cohort. They could only dream of being in the position that you’re in right now. ”
There was a knock at the door, and the two of them spun to see Rowan stood in the doorframe. “Am I interrupting something?” she asked, tucking hear hair behind her ear. She looked at the mess and the broken benches. “What happened here?”
Cassian smiled. “There’s a lot to fill you in on, but let’s just say Aeden has been learning things the hard way since we last saw him.”
“I was just heading back to our bunkhouse. Saw you two so thought I would see what you were doing. I can catch up later.”
“It’s okay, you’re not interrupting,” Aeden said. “It’s nice to see you again. I’ve not really had a chance to catch up with everything that has been going on.”
Aeden was awkward in the way he spoke, reciprocated by the flash of pink that greeted Rowan’s cheeks.
Cassian’s eyes darted from Aeden to Rowan, and then he laughed and shook his head. “Whatever this is, I’m keeping the hell out of it.”
“There’s nothing here,” Aeden said defensively. He panicked, fumbling his words. He then looked at Rowan. “I mean?—”
Cassian simply laughed again. “Are we heading out, or do you plan on staying in here all day?” he asked. “What are your plans this evening? We can always catch up somewhere, maybe the archives. It’s nice and quiet there.”
“Because people want to read,” Rowan said, rolling her eyes, “not sit and talk.”
“Relax, Rowan, no one goes there, that’s why I suggested it. It’ll be empty, which will give us plenty of space to catch up. Besides, I want to hear everything about being an Aer-Kin rider.”
That statement in itself was enough to cause Aeden to pause. He had never looked at the situation like that. He had bonded with Nyra, but up until now, he hadn’t once considered himself a rider, and he didn’t believe he could until he had actually ridden her.
“Are you in?” Cassian asked. “I have so many questions.”
Aeden would have liked to, but he had already formulated a plan for the evening. It was something he had been dreading, but something he needed to do nonetheless. Tonight was when he was going to do it.
“I can’t tonight,” he said. “I need to go through my schedule, and I need to check in on Nyra,” he lied.
Lying made him feel uncomfortable, no matter how good the justification was.
Lyric had already told him that he didn’t need to check in until the morning.
But even then, Nyra would likely be asleep for the next two to three days, maybe even longer.
“Oh, okay,” Cassian said. “How about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow sounds great.” Aeden offered a tired smile. He was exhausted.
Tonight, however, was about visiting his mother and father.