Page 68 of Misbehaving With Minotaurs
She turns to go, passing Alkazar, who inclines his head respectfully. When she’s gone, he joins me at the table and sits, eyeing the feast in front of me.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you, Coach, but I needed to speak with you, and this is the only time we’ll have before I leave after the game.”
I sit forward and rest my forearms on the bench, clasping my hands together as I eye the young prodigy. “What’s goin’ on, kid?”
He sighs and looks into the distance, squinting.
It’s bad news.
Fuck. “You picked a team. Who?”
He returns his gaze to me, his expression cautious. “Punishers. My family used to visit Pine Gulch every summer when I was a kid, and I love it there. My best friend lives there now. I’ve been leaning toward it, and even though I don’t love the coach, I think I could still learn a lot from him.”
I hold back a few choice words because I’d have really liked to get him here. “It’s a good choice,” I offer instead. “Ever’d be a good spot for you too. Were you torn at all?”
He looks around at the Community Garden but shakes his head. “Not really, Coach. I’m supposed to visit a couple more havens, but in my heart of hearts, it’s always been the Gulch for me, if they’d have me.”
I hold back a sigh. It’s a major loss for Ever. And now I’m in a bad mood. The Punishers will be practically unstoppable with Alkazar on the team.
I smile at him. “You look like there’s more. Spit it out, kid.”
He sits up straighter. “I’m not gonna finish my last year at the academy. I’m moving over break.”
Fuck. Fuck me. That’s not great news. He’s a huge part of my first string, although no team should rely wholly on one player. But it’s a loss for the HQ team for sure.
“I know that’s not what you want to hear.” He sighs. “I didn’t want to share this news prior to the game, but better to rip the Band-Aid off.” He laughs a little. “That’s a saying one of the humans here taught me.”
I reach across the table to shake his hand. He takes mine and shakes vigorously, dark eyes glittering.
“Congratulations, kid. I can’t wait to see what the Punishers do with you on the front lines.”
He winks. “Well, and I mean this in the most respectful way possible, Coach, but I hope I kick your ass, wherever you land.” He looks around at the Community Garden again. “This is a beautiful little haven. Diverse, comfy, kind, feels like very little interference from HQ. But I miss the wide-open spaces. I need to look out my window and see…nothing. Sunset and wheat fields.”
His words rip a hole in my heart. He’s saying the same thing I’ve always felt about home. Yet when I think about leavingCatherine and Annabelle behind, the hole grows bigger until I’m nearly choked with anxiety over it.
Alkazar stands and claps me on the shoulder. “I’m gonna head to the stadium. I see I interrupted your breakfast, but can I help you clean this up?”
I stand and start grabbing food, putting it back in the picnic basket. “I’ve got it, kid. Head over and get your head in the game.”
He laughs. “You sure you don’t want me to throw it a little? Gil Stoneswallow is a grade-A jackass.”
I level him with a serious look. “Never tone yourself down for anyone, Hadrian. Not your Coach, not your team, not your family, not your future mate. Be you, and the right ones will stick by your side. If you learn only one thing from your time with me, let that be it.”
“Heard, Coach,” he says softly, shuffling the big leathery wings at his back. “You look really happy with her, by the way.” His blush grows darker. “I hope that’s okay to say. We don’t usually get into matters of the heart.” He rubs at his chest where his own heart will be silent until he finds a mate.
“I am,” I confirm, a grin overtaking me. “I’m… She’s everything I could ever want.”
I lose track of enough words to explain what Cath means to me, but Hadrian flares his wings with a little chuckle. He smiles at me for another moment, then pushes off the ground and beats up into the sky, flying toward the skyball stadium.
When I think about him moving to Pine Gulch, everything inside me clenches with frustration. That desire to be around the people I grew up with, in the spaces I grew up in. I want it so badly, I can taste it. But a stronger part of me knows I can’t lose my Sunshine. I lost her once, and it killed me. It’s my biggest regret in life.
I refuse to have that regret twice. Even if I don’t get the Ever job, I’m moving.
But I need to set all of that aside right now and focus on fucking Gil Stoneswallow up.
Six hours later, I’m standing in the middle of the skyball field with my team at my back, staring at Gil Stoneswallow as he raises the roof with both hands, trying to get the crowd to scream louder. It’s already loud as fuck in here. The stadium’s packed, every seat filled. I didn’t anticipate this. This was only meant to be an exhibition game, not this public fucking spectacle Gil’s turned it into. If Hearth HQ wasn’t hearing through the grapevine about my coming here, they’ll know now.
Not that it matters, because after this, I’m resigning and moving.
