Page 11 of Cruel Destinies

I did, and after that first time, I didn’t need to focus on the kiss anymore. The light gave me a joy that was plenty enough fuel. Each time the light came back to me, I couldn’t help but giggle. Hell, I could do this all night!

But a sound intruded on my play time, an obnoxious ringing. Ms. Heather knelt to pick up the tablet that had been leaning against the wall on the floor safely away from the hearth. She tapped the screen, and the ringing stopped.

“Celeste?” she asked to the tablet.

“Maya, would you please send Arya to the gym when your session is over?” Celeste’s voice sounded from the tablet.

“Of course. We’re about finished. I’ll send her over now.” Ms. Heather tapped the screen, and the call ended. “I think that’senough for today. You did very, very well. Next time, we’ll do more with light, show you more ways to use it.”

“Great. I can’t wait!” I said, sending the light back to the fire for the last time.

I rubbed my hands together as I left the training room, marveling at how naked my hands felt now. I had never felt this fulfilled training with water, and I was almost sad to be returning to the shadows that were so abundant under the Dome.

Chapter 5

Arya

I headed next door to the gym, wondering why Celeste wanted to meet me there. After two hours of Defense class and an hour of light manipulation training, I was completely spent. I understood the need to prepare for my prophesied fight against Hadrian, but I didn’t think I could take any more physical exertion today, even with the fire’s energy filling me.

If anything, the warmth radiating from my core was relaxing me to a state of drowsiness, and all I wanted to do was collapse on my bed.

The gym was filled with older students and graduates, all training harder than usual. I even recognized some teachers in the mix, which, for some reason, was disconcerting. It looked like they were preparing for war.

Celeste stood by the door to the Simulation Room, wearing a cute aerobics bra and leggings, her long red hair up in a tidy ponytail.

My gut tightened with dread.Oh, no,not another sim run. But I obediently proceeded, gulping as I approached the fiery mermaid teacher.

“Good afternoon, Arya,” Celeste greeted in an all-business tone.

Usually, the Mer leader spoke to me with a chipper voice, all smiles, so this new attitude was a striking contrast, and it stung a bit. Was Celeste insulted that I’d chosen to stay at the avian wing permanently?

“G–good afternoon,” I replied.

“How did your first harpy training session go?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer. Should I hide my excitement over the hour I spent playing with light?

“It was...very enlightening,” I answered, deciding to go with vague humor.

Celeste ignored the pun and nodded.

“Good. Well, while I understand the desire to train you in your newly discovered talent, the prophecy stated that asirenwould defeat Hadrian, so I believe that is the area we should focus on.”

I must have made an exasperated expression because Celeste added, “Don’t worry, we won’t start today.”

She giggled, which again confused me as to the new state of our relationship. “I don’t want to overwork you. We’ll start tomorrow on the siren training. After speaking with Caesar, we’ve decided that you’ll switch off on training sessions each day: one day with him, one day with me, and one day with Maya.”

I nodded slowly, puzzled. If Celeste hadn’t called me here to train, then why was I here?

As if she could read minds—who knew, maybe she could—she answered my unspoken question.

“As for this evening, I understand you feel underwhelmed by your mermaid abilities. When the vampires attacked your friends, I heard that you didn’t put up much of a fight, and that’s my fault. I failed to teach you how to use your powersoffensively. So, I called you here to show you how a mermaid can use their powers to fend off vampires, specifically. I will run through a sim, and I just want you to watch.”

My brows jumped, and my eyes widened. She was giving me the chance to watch her fight!

Celeste turned on the screen on the wall so I could see into the sim room, then walked in and closed the door behind her. Through the smart wall, I could see her tighten her ponytail as the white of the room was replaced by an urban scene.

She stood on what looked like a rooftop, with a full moon illuminating the night sky and city lights sprinkling the horizon. It reminded me of when I watched Tobias do his sim against the dragons.

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