Page 26 of The Stone Secret
I forced my body to relax as he put his arm around me and dropped a kiss on my head. “You didn’t save me an omelet,” he said, voice low. “Waxen’s been bragging about how delicious they were.”
“You didn’t come down for breakfast.”
“I’ll make sure to join you guys tomorrow.”
I looked up at him in surprise. He sounded softer, his gaze less angry. It suited him.
“We’re here to fight, not canoodle!” Farnell growled. He walked off muttering something about goyle males and sex drives.
The next twenty minutes passed quickly. Shar didn’t hold back, attacking with purpose, but my sessions with Selas had obviously done something because I was able to evade and even landed a couple of blows. Still, we ended with me in a headlock, patting her arm to indicate surrender.
“You did good,” she said. “Training with the elite is paying off.”
“I still have a way to go.”
She ducked her head. “I’m sorry for doubting you when you got here. I truly didn’t believe you’d make it, but now I know you will.”
Her words were like warm molasses filling the crevices of doubt in my psyche. “Thank you, Shar, that means a lot.”
“Now that you’re all warmed up, it’s time for a little field work.”
My ears perked up.
“You’ll be sent off campus in pairs to one of five locations,” Farnell continued. “You’ll have a map and some supplies and an hour to reach extraction point. You’ll need to work together to make it back on time. There’ll be points to the team who makes it back first and deductions for the team who makes it back last.”
“Do we get to pick our teammate?”
“In a manner of speaking.” He held up a bag. “You pick a name. If it’s your own name, you pick another. That will be your teammate. You won’t get to pick and choose your unit if you qualify. Out there, every guardian is your friend.”
Shar shot a worried glance my way, but I shrugged. Farnell was right. We were training for guardian, and in my case elite. There was no room for prejudice on the field.
Shar was called first and picked Waxen. Ginia got Saffe, and Palia got Curi. That left Dayn, Bax, Touron, and me. An awful sense of déjà vu came over me.
If I got stuck with Dayn…
Touron went up next, took a deep breath, and pulled out his own name.
“Again, Lomax,” Farnell drawled.
Touron glanced my way, the pressure visible on his face. I lifted my chin and smiled to let him know it was okay, no matter what.
He drew again, his shoulders tensing. My pulse stalled.
“Lowther,” he said.
He’d drawn Dayn, leaving me with Bax, which was fine by me. Bax was all talk around Dayn, but having some alone time with him might give us a chance to get to know each other. I wasn’t expecting to make friends, but we could be civil, which certainly wouldn’t have happened with Dayn.
“That leaves Bax with Basque,” Farnell confirmed.
Bax glanced my way, but Dayn grabbed his arm to draw his attention away.
The goyle was a bully. I couldn’t believe I’d overlooked his attitude thinking Curi was the asshole all this time. Curi, who now happened to be watching Dayn and Bax with narrowed, suspicious eyes.
“Everyone, move,” Farnell said. “To the gates. You’ll find packs and maps waiting there.”
Excitement mingled with anxiety because this was a chance for me to test myself. A challenge to push me up a rung toward taking the cadet exams, but the last time I’d left campus, we’d been attacked by grotesque, and I’d almost been kidnapped by Ignus. Was he a graynite? Lionel hadn’t confirmed it, saying it was intel for elite only.
Curi and Touron flanked me as we headed outside.
