51. Fault Lines
A eden found himself ruminating as he stormed past Harrison across the field and towards the academy. His anger was rising, and he was far from realising that his head had truly gone.
“ What’s wrong? ” Nyra said, reaching out to him through the Weave.
“ I’ve had enough of this place ,” Aeden said. There was a growl to his voice, and it was lucky for him that there was not a wall nearby, as he may well have thrown himself into it – at the very least tried.
“ I don’t like seeing you this angry ,” Nyra said, her voice quivering. “ Aeden, please calm down before you do something you regret .”
Quite simply put, Aeden was furious, his mind swirling.
How could Master Sorrel be so ignorant? To think that Support was nothing better than a condiment on the battlefield?
Aeden felt he had every right to be angry.
Raw energy coursed through his veins, causing his skin to tingle and prickle.
His breathing was heavy, and he took his steps two at a time.
A run might be more beneficial to channel his rage.
He found himself on the training field where the combat dummies were lined up.
Without thinking, he drew back and punched one with as much force as he could, rattling the dummy so much that it nearly came straight off its stand.
His strength was far superior to what it had been when he had started at the academy.
“ Aeden, please calm down ,” Nyra said once more. “ This really isn’t helping. Remember, we need to keep a low profile. That’s what Lyric is telling us .”
“ It’s just so much to process ,” Aeden said. There was a crack in his voice for a moment. Tears stung the sides of his eyes and a heavy lump formed in the back of his throat.
“ Listen to me ,” she said. This time, there was a more assertive tone to her.
Aeden leaned against the training dummy, a large, cracked dent forming in the body of the figure where he had struck it, splintering it out like a crater hitting the ground.
“ I need you to breathe ,” she said. “ I need you to listen to what I tell you. You can’t go storming out there. To do so would be madness. If you cross paths with Kael, you’ll just get into another fight, and that won’t help. Not with the Sable twins around .”
Aeden trembled as he gripped the training dummy, but he did as she asked and took a large intake of breath through his nose and then back out through his mouth.
“ Thank you ,” Nyra said. “ Now do the same again .”
Aeden did as he was told and started breathing in and out. With each breath he took, the tremor got easier to manage, and slowly, the clouded red haze that had descended on him began to fade away.
“ Why don’t you head over here? ” Nyra said.
Aeden took a few moments to respond as he was still gathering himself. “ I’m sorry ,” he said. “ I didn’t mean to get so worked up. I didn’t mean to argue back with Master Sorrel, but he was just so pig-headed. He wasn’t listening to me .”
“ I understand that. I really do. I just hate feeling you this wound up. That won’t do you good. It won’t do me good. It won’t do anyone any good .”
“ Thank you. I’ll just take a few moments to gather myself and then I’ll head over to the hatchery. It’s probably worthwhile catching up with Lyric anyway .”
“ Okay ,” Nyra said. “ Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid .”
“ I promise ,” Aeden said – something that he knew he needed to stick to. To do that, he needed to allow himself some time before he headed over to the hatchery. He needed to clear his head as best he could.
“ I’ll see you soon ,” he said. “ Please don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay .”
“You calmed down?” Harrison said, catching up to Aeden from behind. “For a second there, I thought you were going to rip that dummy in half.”
“I nearly did,” Aeden said, stepping away from the training dummy, revealing the fractured dent he had created.
“Woah. I knew you became stronger when you bonded with your Aer-Kin. I didn’t realise it would make you that strong so soon. If only it had been Kael standing in your way and not this dummy. That would be something I’d like to see. ”
Aeden thought on the sentiment for a moment. It was a good job that no one he had ill feeling towards had been nearby. He dreaded to think what he was capable of when he was angry, especially when the world felt like it was getting on top of him.
“I’ve been forbidden from engaging in combat with anyone from our cohort – whether sparring or in a fight.
They see it as an unfair advantage on my part.
That’s only something that can be remedied when everyone else has bonded with their Aer-Kin,” Aeden said with a sigh.
As much as he would like a confrontation, doing so now wouldn’t be a fair fight, and if anything, Aeden would want to prove that he was better than that – that he could beat him in a fight when it was fair.
“So, what was that all about?” Harrison said.
He stepped behind the training dummy and took hold of it on either side, bracing his shoulder up against it.
“Go on, give it another hit,” he said. “I mean, I understood everything you said, but even by your standards, that outburst was not like you. Sure, you’re a hothead – you’re not afraid to have a fight – but one thing I’ve never seen you do is start a fight. ”
“That wasn’t a fight,” he said. He jabbed at the dummy, Harrison barely managing to hold on.
“Shit,” he said. “I knew you were strong, but wow.”
“It was more a disagreement than a fight,” Aeden said defensively. “I mean, what am I supposed to do? What Master Sorrel said – it was completely wrong.”
Aeden jabbed the dummy another couple of times before Harrison readjusted himself and got into a more comfortable position .
“Look,” Harrison said, “don’t get me wrong, he came across as a little condescending, and I’d like to think that we’re worth more than simple bolt-fodder.
Though we are Supports – that’s why we’re at this academy, and that’s why we win battles and wars.
Having had a sparring session, I don’t disagree with you in the sense that I kind of like having to fight, and I also agree with you – but what you’re saying requires us to change the way the whole academy thinks, and that isn’t something we’re in a position to do. Not as first years in our first term.”
Aeden knew that Harrison was right, and that frustrated him even more. He gave another jab to the dummy.
“That doesn’t mean that I have to like it,” Aeden said. “It doesn’t mean that I have to agree with everything he says.”
“I understand that, buddy,” Harrison said, “but what you can’t do is go around arguing with everyone, or even picking fights with masters at the academy that you don’t agree with. That is just going to get you into trouble. And if you’re in trouble, so is Nyra.”
Aeden let out a deep, longing sigh. He had been such a hothead. He had allowed his emotions to overcome him and dictate his response.
“What’s happened?” Harrison asked. “I mean, I know what’s happened with your parents, and you’ve made your position clear about Supports being able to fight and what that could’ve meant for your family, but something else has happened. I can tell. You’ve got a look in your eye.”
“Earlier, at the hatchery, I was there with Lyric. We were watching the hatchlings grazing in the field. They were just playing. That’s all they were doing . . . ”
Aeden swallowed hard, the lump in his throat getting even bigger.
“Orion and Rosheen appeared, with nothing other than tormenting Lyric on their minds. There was no other reason for them to be there. Orion is dangerous. Much more dangerous than we first thought. He has some kind of control ability. He made Midnight attack Bertha. I had to stand and watch as Midnight tore out her own sister’s throat against her will.
I had to watch as Lyric’s heart broke, as he lashed out at Midnight .
. . as he told her he hated her. That isn’t Lyric.
And what’s worse is, he was just as powerless as I was.
Orion was demonstrating his ability for the first time. ”
“Shit,” Harrison said. “He’s a Controller? Some kind of mind control?”
“I think it’s more than that,” Aeden said. “I don’t know enough about powers and abilities. All I know is that his power makes him one of the most powerful people on academy grounds right now.”
“No wonder Director Vale is literally letting him get away with murder. She must be terrified of him.”
Something clicked in Aeden’s head like a complicated lock. “That’s it. But what if she isn’t letting him? What if the director doesn’t have a choice? What if he’s controlling her? What if the whole reason he’s here is because he’s making her allow him to be here?”
“That makes so much sense,” Harrison said. He braced himself against the training dummy again.
This time, Aeden hit it with a roundhouse to the side, Harrison barely holding on.
“What are we gonna do?” Harrison said. “I mean, how do we stop someone like that? ”
Aeden stepped away from the training dummy, allowing Harrison a reprieve.
“I don’t know,” Aeden said. He was out of ideas. How could they face someone so powerful when all he had to do was look at him and he would lose his free will, just like Lyric had, just like Midnight had?
What he did know was that Orion and his sister needed to be stopped. They needed to be away from the academy before anyone else was hurt by them and whatever twisted game they were playing.
“How’s Lyric?” Harrison asked.
“He’s broken,” Aeden said honestly. “Harrison, I’ve never seen him like that. The man lives to nurture the Aer-Kin. I’ve never seen him so angry. I’ve never seen such hatred in his eyes. It scared me. If Orion can do that to him, what can he do to the others at the academy?”
“I don’t want to think about that. But we still don’t know why the fuck they’re here. Maybe it’s about time we tried to find out.”
Aeden raised a quizzical eyebrow at his friend. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Didn’t you just lecture me about staying out of trouble?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Harrison said nonchalantly. “But maybe rather than suppressing that latent rage, we just learn to channel it . . . into the people who deserve it.”
“I’d be no match for Orion. We still don’t know what his Aer-Kin is or even what we think his power is. We can’t verify. We only have speculation.”
Harrison smiled. “That’s exactly it though, don’t you see?
If he is a Controller – if he’s using mind control or something like that – then that will mean the faculty want him here even less than we do.
And I don’t care how powerful he thinks he is, there’s no way that he and his sister would be able to take on the whole academy at the same time. ”
“How would we do that?” Aeden didn’t like where this was going.
“You just leave that to me,” Harrison said.
“Well, before we do anything, I need to head to the hatchery to check on Lyric and Nyra,” Aeden said. He also wanted to check on Midnight. Despite what happened, it hadn’t been her fault. No matter what was said or how Lyric acted towards her, surely he would understand that.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Harrison asked.
“No, that’s okay,” Aeden said. “But thank you. Nyra’s worried about me, so I need to go and see her. Let her see that I’m okay, and that I’ve not done anything stupid.”
“Yet,” Harrison added with another smirk. “Trust me, it’s only a matter of time before we get rid of those twins. And if you’re right about Orion being a Controller, then I think I know exactly what to do.”
“Why does that fill me with fear?” Aeden said. Exactly what was he planning on doing? And how had he gone from being so angry and Harrison worrying about him, to now worrying about Harrison and what he was scheming – especially against someone as dangerous as the Sable twins?
“As I said, you leave that to me,” Harrison said. “I’ll walk you over to the hatchery. At least that way, I can make sure you keep out of trouble. Just remember one thing though, okay?”
“Go on,” Aeden said.
“Just remember that you don’t have to do this alone. I’m here. We’ve got Vivienne. And my future wife, Serene. ”
Aeden laughed.
“That’s more like it,” Harrison said. “What I said – you’re not on your own. Please don’t ever think that.”
“Thank you,” Aeden said. The two of them left the sparring pit and headed towards the hatchery, Aeden’s mood lifting. However, his concern over everything that was going on remained the same.