Everyone was terrified of me ever since the broadcast came out. They looked at me like I was deadly, like if they stared too long, I’d lose my temper and kill them on the spot.
At first I didn’t mind it because I wanted the space. I didn’t want to talk to anyone but Peter or my brother anyway. But now it was getting under my skin when people literally ran in the opposite direction once they saw me coming.
Long black hair was blowing in the wind up ahead. I squinted closer and saw Vallie was already waiting for us. “You changed your hair,” I commented instead of saying hi.
She nodded once. “Kallon helped me.” I didn’t ask her why she wanted to get rid of the red, and she didn’t give up any more information than that. The dark color didn’t suit her. It made her face look washed out, accentuating the dark circles under her eyes. But I wasn’t about to tell her that. I knew I looked like shit too.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, putting my hands in my pockets, more out of habit than for warmth.
Peter looked toward Vallie who was staring down at her feet. “She wants to train,” he answered.
I was surprised. The girl didn’t have an ounce of muscle toher. She was all curves with feminine features. She wasn’t built as a fighter.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “Why are we out here in the middle of the night then? Training happens every day during normal hours.” Technically, the rings didn’t close, but no one ever stayed past midnight, and right now the five rings were completely deserted.
“I don’t want to be in groups,” she answered. I looked toward Peter, whose face said it all. She didn’t want to train when there were hundreds of males crowded and crammed throughout the rings. Peter told me how she couldn’t stand being touched, how she flinched anytime someone got too close. I could understand that, but what I didn’t get was whyIwas here. If she didn’t want to be around males, it didn’t make sense why Peter asked me to help.
“I’m sure Scottie would be happy to help train you—”
“No,” she cut me off.
“Okay…” I said slowly, trying to keep my expression neutral. “What do you want from me then?”
“Go through drills with me,” my friend answered for her. “You’re one of the best fighters, and I don’t want to ask anyone else. She isn’t going to be sparring for a while. We just want to go over the basics for now.”
Another two weeksof waking up hours before dawn to train Vallie passed. I was getting used to the lack of sleep and was surprised to find Vallie still coming every day. I’d asked her once why she never seemed groggy waking up so early and she responded with, “I don’t sleep anymore.” I didn’t bother making small talk with her after that, not wanting to risk saying the wrong thing. She was broken, beyond broken. I didn’t know how to help her, and I knew Peter was struggling with the same.
After the first week, Peter started to drag Lilia along. Having another girl around Vallie was the right move, and I knew Peter wanted his sister to train, but Lilia was the worst person he could have picked for Vallie. She was goddess-damned awful. I’d never met anyone with worse hand-eye-coordination than her.
The only positive was that we could demonstrate the maneuvers on Lilia, who would then show Vallie. But Lilia was so bad, it was honestly more time consuming.
Peter was getting stressed. While Vallie was improving, she still needed someone to spar, and Lilia just needed a shit ton of help.
After training today, I entered the communal dining tent actually needing one of those drinks the mortal consumed every day. The coffee was helping me get through the mornings, and I was discovering I loved the bitter taste of it.
The little bit we did sleep every night, Peter took up most of the bed, so I usually just found myself staring up at the fabric that made up the ceiling, trying not to think about how I lost both of my parents.
Lavender hair flashed in front of me as Savannah made her way toward the table with her brother.
I followed her.
She looked up and noticed me standing there. “Can I help you?”
“Yes.”
“With?” She arched a brow.
I gritted my teeth, looked around the room, and braced myself for what I had to ask her. “Can we talk in private?”
She looked down at her uneaten breakfast, then at her brother. “Don’t touch my bacon. I’ll be right back.”
Wells shrugged as he kept eating from his own plate. I watched her grab hold of her coffee before following me out of the large tent. I didn’t start talking until we were long out of earshot from anyone.
“How did you learn to fight?”
“What kind of question is that?” she asked, blowing on the steamy liquid in her hand. I tried not to focus on her lips as she took a slow sip.
“A serious one. Who taught you?”
