Page 80 of Nova Academy

‘Forget it,’ he snapped, then stomped away to where Foryk stood at the weightlifting station. The large Tornu didn’t need any more muscle, but he was apparently going for the boulder look.

My gaze drifted back upwards, though it was blurred slightly by my furrowed brows. I didn’t understand what just happened completely, but I thought I detected what I could only discern was jealousy. Did Bromm believe I was leading him on and then flirting with other men right in front of him?

Surely not. I thought I had been pretty clear about my intentions, or more accurately the lack thereof. I didn’t understand why he thought I would turn him down only to flirt with someone else, even after I’d all but admitted my growing feelings for him too.

Or was that the issue? Did he think I had rejected him for someone else? ForCadmus, of all people? I might not have been able to allow whatever was brewing between us to stabilise into something more tangible, but I didn’t want to leave him thinking I was so callous and careless with his feelings.

But he was a Griknot. Besides Adara, they were notorious for their lasciviousness. I didn’t know they were even capable of feeling jealousy, and from what I understood from overheard conversations between him and Foryk, they had shared lovers in the past. Which meant he wasn’t adverse to multiple partners.

So where was this really coming from?

Objectively I knew it was irrational to feel guilt when I had been open and honest about my rejection, but I still found my legs moving me towards his retreating back. Foryk saw me coming and glanced between us, his interested causing him to back away to allow me to move closer to Bromm.

‘You can’t just storm off like that,’ I berated.

He scoffed. ‘I can do whatever I want,’ was his oh, so immature reply.

‘If you have an issue with me, Bromm, then tell me. Don’t talk in riddles and expect me to read your mind, because I may have quite a few skills in my arsenal but telepathy isn’t one of them,’ I hissed through clenched teeth.

‘I don’t want you to read my mind. I want you to leave me alone so I can work out. You know, likeyou’resupposed to be doing, too?’ he snarked back, and his attitude was really starting to make my blood boil. I didn’t know why I was reacting this way. I never let anyone get under my skin like this, and I certainly shouldn’t be acting on it.

‘You’re behaving like a child,’ I told him, disappointment colouring my tone. I had expected more from him. More maturity. More honesty. This version of Bromm was one I hadn’t met before and he was reminding me more so of the whiny elitists than the man I had begun to know.

‘Oh,I’ma child? You’re the one checking everyone out!’ he barked.

‘And you don’t?’ I asked, genuinely confused.

‘Not since I realised how much I actuallylike you.’ He was in myface now, breathing heavily, but his words pulled me up short.

I didn’t know how to respond.

He softened almost immediately when he noticed how lost I was, melting right back into the Bromm I was familiar with. ‘Come with me,’ he said, wrapping my hand in his and pulling me along behind him. I let him. I could have gotten out of his hold if I’d really wanted to, but that part of me I had spent so long pushing away was refusing to budge. Iwantedto go with him. Iwantedto make him feel better. Iwantedto taste those luscious lips again, to feel his beard tangling in my hair and sucking gently on that sweet spot beneath my ear.

‘Min’Tuk! Mercer! Where do you think you’re off to?’ Corporal Gwym called down from the dome. He dove down and landed before us, tucking his wings in close to his back. ‘You’re not dismissed, cadets.’

‘Sorry, sir,’ I said, the reality of where we were and what we were doing crashing down around me. ‘We were just heading to the bags,’ I redirected, pointing at the rows of punching bags we had been about to pass. The corporal knew it was a lie, giving us both a shrewd, narrow-eyed glare.

‘Do you think that’s the best idea after last time, Mercer?’ he asked, doubt clouding his voice.

I shot him a sheepish smile that wasn’t even false, then squared my shoulders and looked him in the eye. ‘Are you saying the others are faulty, too?’

The entire left side of his face twitched. I had just won that round whether he liked it or not. ‘The bags are fine, Mercer. No one’s breaking these ones.’

He moved aside to let us pass, and I was now the one dragging Bromm.

‘Arty, are you sure about this?’ he whispered behind me.

‘Would you rather get a demerit for skipping class?’ I retorted.

He huffed but squared up against one of the punching bags. Hecast me a wary look out of the corner of is eyes, settled into an awkward stance, wound his arm back, then launched the sloppiest punch I had ever seen. It might have done some damage against flesh and bone, but he also would’ve injured himself in the process. Not to mention how his entire body fell into the action, almost dropping him face-first onto the mats before he caught himself on the bag as it swung away. He stumbled with its momentum.

Stop,’ I said, moving behind him. I gripped his hips and kicked his legs out further. ‘Bend your legs a bit more,’ I instructed. He did. ‘Good. This will keep you balanced and steady even when someone hits you back,’ I told him, then proceeded to prove my point by giving him a little shove. He wavered for a moment but quickly righted himself, and he looked shocked but pleased by the change.

Without waiting for any more instruction, he began to wind his arm back for another attempt. I gripped his fist in my hand to stop him.

‘Wait. You’ll hurt yourself if you punch like that.’ I let go of his fist to bring it up to eye level, tsking at the position of his fingers. ‘If you tuck your thumb inside your fist you’ll break it,’ I said, peeling his fingers back to release the offending digit and reforming his fist into the correct shape.

‘And when you pull back,’ I began, moving his entire torso into a sturdier position, ‘you want to follow through with your upper body. Twist your hips, but keep your feet planted on the floor. And try to hit the bag gently. Your hands aren’t wrapped.’

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