Page 47 of Interion

The argument might even have been scientifically valid. However, no one had ever seen a male Yonserian cover up, even though their skin had the same lack of melanin as the women’s.

And so the vrokiu was no longer mandatory. The UFNO maintained that women didn’t need to wear it, since sunscreen was effective against ultraviolet rays. Still, some Yonserian women kept wearing it—whether by choice, habit, or simply out of fear. Anninka always wore hers, while Adele, despite pulling her hair back in a ponytail, never hid it under the black fabric. And even though I didn’t like her, part of me was glad about that, especially after hearing what Naoki had said about her.

Breno kept watching the boys with the look of someone itching to start trouble. The thing was, he didn't know even half of what had happened, since the director had kept the whole part about Naoki's incident under wraps. The class had no idea that Adele and I had gotten into trouble with the quartet. I chose not to tell the whole story because I didn't want my friend getting into another fight with them. And also because Ivanov had paid dearly for keeping it quiet. I trusted Breno a lot, but he might let the information slip without meaning to.

“Hey?” I snapped my fingers in front of his face to get his attention. “They're already hurt enough, so stop it. I don't want you getting involved. I have to learn to fight my own battles, don't I?”

“The thing is, you don't know how to fight your own battles.”

“And if you fight them for me, I never will.”

“Maybe, but if you want to really fight, you have to stop hiding from the enemy—and that's one more reason to come to the party with me!”

I rolled my eyes.

“It's not safe, Breno. I've already maxed out my humiliation quota for this semester. We'll have to save something like that for next year.”

“Come on, Kay.” He clicked his tongue in disapproval. “I'll be there, and no one's going to do anything to you because it's a pre-graduation party and there'll be security.”

He snapped his fingers and a blocking bubble surrounded me. I kept forgetting how easily he could create these barriers. I poked the bubble and it vibrated around me, but Breno quickly dissolved it. I sighed, staring into his blue eyes. Today he was wearing his cap backwards and had that impeccably disheveled look. Earlier, I'd noticed some girls admiring his body during the warm-up, but I didn't say anything—after all, his ego might inflate to the point where it wouldn't fit inside the gymnasium.

“It's a nighttime party, Breno. Going to the faerie district in daylight is fine, but at night it's dangerous for people like me.” On the other side of the gymnasium, Hiro was training with the punching bag. His red, peeling headphones sat over his ears, and from here I could hear the heavy music blasting through them. I wondered if it was dangerous for him too. Even though only his height and green eyes betrayed his genetics, he was still a descendant. “Besides, I don't like this whole university party thing. Too many people packed together suffocates me.”

“Oh, by Amarwen's braids, Kyller! How do you know you don't like university parties if you've never let yourself go to one?” He raised his voice, going overboard, and some students started paying attention to our conversation. “It's a class party, and I've told you a thousand times I'll protect you. You never go out with me, never come to class events, you don't even invite me to do anything fun. I'm starting to think you either don't have fun or you're just avoiding me.”

While he laid out my social aversion, I elbowed him in the ribs and shot him a silent “shut up” with my eyes. He looked around and seemed to notice how many people were staring. Then he flashed a huge smile at the curious onlookers, who immediately looked away, pretending they hadn't seen anything. Zion glanced at me over his shoulder, as if he'd also picked up on something.

“They don't like me, so why should I go to their parties?” I asked quietly, watching the students waiting for their fights on the mat. Breno and I had been thrashed. Today I'd fought Anninka, the level 300 Yonserian with water power, and Breno had fought Hiro. Now we were both sitting on the losers' bench.

“Just flip your sentence around and you've got a pretty good answer: 'they don't like you because you don't go to their parties,'” he exclaimed, as if it were obvious.

I thought about what Zion had said about earning my place here. The students' aversion certainly started with my physical appearance, but I'd also never done anything to change that first impression.

“It just doesn't seem like a good idea.” Actually, every instinct I had told me this would be foolish—suicidal, even.

“Come with me just this once. It'll be on Rosnir's holiday—you won't have to work and you'll be rested. If you don't like it, I'll bring you back.” He looked at me, his gaze intense and sincere. “Please, just this once.”

I thought for a long moment while Breno kept staring at me. He was partly right—I'd never been to a party, or even to the movies, or any activity that normal students planned together. Ambrose kept encouraging me to go out more, even if it was just to get ice cream on the corner of the central district, since the other districts were too dangerous. But I saw no point in going out to have fun when going out only brought me panic and the fear of walking into an ambush. Breno kept looking at me as if begging me to believe I'd be safe with him.

Part of me really wanted to believe that.

“All right,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes. “But I decide when we leave.”

“Okay! You always get the last word! I'll send you the digital invite—you just need to add your name to the list.”

I reached for my phone in my pocket, then remembered I didn't have it—someone had taken it last night.

“Um, Breno. I don't have my phone this week—something happened and I need to take it to the shop. But send it anyway, and I'll accept when I can.”

I stared at Adele, who stood by the mat waiting for her turn, solitary as always. I was almost certain she was the one who'd taken my bag—after all, she was the most cunning person in the class, and she'd been on campus the day before. After last night's scene, I didn't doubt anything anymore.

As I suspected, the umbros had removed her powers, and now I was dealing with the injured students alone. I was still shocked that Adele had used healing as a form of attack—it would be a miracle if she managed to hide the temporary block from the academy. And gods help us, let it be temporary and not permanent, because if anyone so much as suspected, she'd be expelled.

“Want to borrow a phone while you get yours sorted out?”

“No, that's okay. I'll handle this as fast as I can.” I shot a fierce look at the healer. I would definitely handle it.

I turned my attention back to the fights. Today, new students joined Breno on the bench of defeat. The warm-up had been brutal—Zion had us climb ten-meter ropes, and it felt like an eternity. Then we ran laps around the entire military district, like some suicidal competition to see who could last the longest without passing out. At least I managed to keep a decent pace and didn't fall too far behind the class. Ludmila, Adele, and Lorena did worse. But nothing I did could hold my attention, because I was still frying my brain thinking about the previous night, and every time I remembered what happened, I felt like throwing myself in front of a truck.