Page 33 of Above
Another cry of agony clawed up my throat and over my tongue, breaking through my clenched teeth as he tugged on my leg, moving his grip to my thigh.
“Oh, Tershetta, you’re such an emb—“
I didn’t give him a chance to finish before I slammed my fist into his nose. The surprise and pain momentarily stunned him, leaving me enough time to slip out of his grasp and try my best to hop away.
Piercing pain shot through my body, but a smile still slipped on my face when Altair looked up and revealed the river of blood that poured from his nose like raging currents.
Sadly, I knew how this would end. With the fun gone and the show over, he rushed me, wrapping his large hand around my throat and lifting me. My fingers flew up on instinct, clawing at his skin in the hopes of catching even a single breath. I wheezed, my eyes feeling as if they would explode. Altair brought my face close to his, flashing me his bloody teeth as he hissed, “Did you really think you could beat me, akhata? Do you even know how ridiculous you look?”
Without warning, Altair threw me to the ground, my back hitting hard on the mat. Desperate for air, I panted, rolling over to my stomach. He would finish the fight now, but not before I finished my own performance.
“I never planned on winning, Snake,” I croaked, the words coming between pants. “I just wanted to prove that even an of eadi could make you bleed.”
“The round is not over until someone loses consciousness!” Captain Zade screamed, the crowd soon cheering Altair’s name. But he didn’t seem pleased; rather, he looked shocked. As he stepped toward me, the look of bafflement still pinching his pale face, I flashed one more triumphant smile.
And then his foot smashed into my head.
I spent two days in the infirmary.
While I had been prepared for him to go for my leg, I hadn’t been ready for the complete break or the hit to the face. Bothhad left me less than okay. In fact, even the long time medics struggled to heal the break initially. One night full of screams and uncontrollable vomiting later, and the bone was once more whole. After another day of internal whining and a lot of reading, Captain Walntal promptly kicked me out of her wing of the academy and told me to not bother her again.
Some medic.
The limb was still sore, but I was days behind the others and likely the joke of our training class. Making it worse by limping was not going to happen. I possessedsomepride.
Chatter escaped through the doors of the dining hall, breakfast well under way. Taking a moment to compose myself, I tried to summon every ounce of courage I had. After all, I was the only trainee to get that good of a hit on Altair. Ideally that would have earned me a bit of respect.
Pushing open the double doors, I welcomed whatever reaction would come.
Silence consumed the area, about one hundred sets of eyes turning on me. I wanted to run and hide, anything other than be perceived by these people, but that wouldn’t help me. So I lifted my chin and made my way to the large counter. While it was known that most shaytan families—in particular the cores—utilized eadi servants, it was still a surprise the first time I realized it was eadi who cooked and served our food. Today it was the older woman with white hair and wrinkled skin, her eyes nearly black. She wore no name tag, nor did she speak no matter how hard I tried to get her to. Despite that, I still smiled at her as she handed me a tray with a large pastry, an apple, and a cup of juice on it.
“Good morning,” I said. She gave me a slight smile, but said nothing else before disappearing into the kitchen. Sighing, I finally turned and faced the others.
They continued to stare, no one speaking. The cores sat at the center table, five of them facing away from me as if I were the least interesting thing in the room. Even Altair didn’t so much as glance my way.
Well, maybe it’d all be okay after all.
“If it isn’t Supernova, healed at last.” Cringing, I rotated to find Zade walking my way, a pastry in his hand and his arms spread wide. He wore the same smile he often did, as if life were simple and good.
“Hi,” I offered as I made my way to the nearest table. Zade took out one of the black chairs just as I did, sitting down as if he were racing for a prize too good to pass up. Really, he would just get my winning personality and memorable presence—so nothing good.
“You missed out yesterday. We all got to meet our division colonels,” he gloated, shoving the entire pastry into his mouth. I grimaced, wishing that he would at least chew with his mouth closed.
“I’m sure you had a ton of fun meeting your father,” I retorted, pretending that my food was more interesting than the thought of meeting the colonels who presided over the Alchemy Division. Colonel Dofrel and Colonel Folrop weren’t really the exciting part. It was the knowledge I would gain that intrigued me. What could I learn from them? Was it possible that they held the answers to my elixir? If so, how on Dajahim would I get the information out of them?
“Actually, he called me a disgrace for speaking to you and threatened to disown me. Turns out my mother has been paying more attention than I hoped.” My eyes flicked up to his, perplexity pushing away my panic as I took in how utterly unphased he was. Leaning back, he popped each of his fingers in his mouth, one by one, not a care in the world to be seen.
“Why are you sitting here, Zade?”
“I really wish you’d call me Talon.” He leaned forward, a bit of sunlight shining through one of the large windows and onto his tawny skin. Perhaps it was his unflinching ability to ignore horrible things, but I could feel the Zade heir continuing to worm his way beneath my skin. I feared what would happen if he burrowed there, securing a place in my tiny circle. Unlike my family, Zade owed me no allegiance. In fact, he was raised to hate me. People like that were dangerous.
“I really wish you’d answer the question,” I parried, rolling my eyes. His smile widened, the sight reminding me of a shark that found its next meal. “I’m serious. What is your goal? You clearly risk losing a lot. So what are you wanting from me?”
“For starters, I think you owe me for my help with the tech.” Of course. I knew he wouldn’t let me off so easily. “Dinner will be fine, seeing as we have limited options.”
A mixture of choking and gagging suddenly overcame me. The sweet pastry became stuck in my throat, not even my juice washing it down as I desperately gulped it.
“Oh please, don’t act like I’m not a catch.” Shaking my head, I finally caught the breath I had been chasing, my heart beating ferociously against my ribcage. I was not going on a date with him. I didn’t even want to be the prick’s friend. Allowing myself a few moments to take in air, I worked up my steely edge and finally responded.
