Page 44 of Black Onyx
“High praise, coming from you.” Storm replies.
Whereas he’s gotten more hostile with me, he
seems to have gone the other way when it comes to the guys, showing them more snippets of emotion other than anger. What the fuck ever, I’m done trying to figure him out.
“Food, I’m starving,” I say simply because I’m stabby, and food seems to help.
The guys share an amused look that seems to communicate something else as well, but I really can’t be bothered to figure it out. Shrugging, I make my way toward the changing rooms.
“Hang on a minute, Farren. Can you come back here? I need to talk to the whole team.” The instructor calls after me, and I let out an annoyed sigh before turning back around and heading back.
Wow, food seriously better help because my stabby-ness has reached a new level today.
The instructor eyes my petulant stomp with a raised eyebrow but wisely chooses not to comment. However, Storm scoffs without humour, and I meet his gaze daring him to say something to me right now because I bet he could give me a proper fucking fight. He opens his mouth, and I feel anticipation spark through me before it quickly gets snuffed out when Mayhem elbows him in the ribs, and Storm snaps his mouth shut, settling on glaring at me instead. Being the mature twenty-one-year-old woman I am, I stick my tongue out at him.
Loki snorts but quickly turns it into a cough when the instructor glares at him.
“How can we help you?” Storm asks formally.
“The Headmaster would like to see you all in his office before dinner. You’re being sent out on your first mission.”
“Already?” Mayhem asks.
“Due to recent developments, everyone will start to be sent out on missions over the next few weeks.” With no further explanation, he turns on his heel and walks off.
What a knob. He is definitely not one of these teachers that has their student's best interests in mind. He couldn’t care less and that’s not exactly something that you want in a teacher.
Chapter Fourteen
“Well, it’s official, something big is going on, and it affects everyone, not just royalty,” Loki mutters.
“It might not be the same two things. It’s entirely possible that something different is happening with royalty.” Rival suggests.
Storm gives him a dry look, “It’s too big of a coincidence. Come on, team, get changed, and we’ll meet out in the hallway. Let's get this over with.”
There’s a thrum of excitement that permeates the air around us. We may be going out on a mission earlier than students have done in the past, but we’re ready. At least individually, we are, but as a team, we might have a few hiccups.
My smile widens at the prospect of a proper fucking fight. Storm sees it and, of course, tries to make me lose it.
“You need to hurry up, Farren. No time to make yourself pretty.” He smirks.
“One, that makes no sense. When has Farren ever taken longer than us to get ready, and two, you know as well as I do, Farren doesn’t have to do anything to make herself pretty; she’s beautiful.” Reaper chastises, shaking his head and striding into the locker room while I stare after him.
He just called me beautiful, me!
“Pathetic,” Storm scoffs as he stomps past me.
“Uh oh,” Loki mutters, pure joy in his tone. They’ve witnessed enough of our sparring matches by this point that they know I’m not going to let that slide.
“Hey Stormy,” I call sweetly, knowing the name winds him up, which is why I use it. Despite himself, he stops and looks back over his shoulder at me. “I’ve met some pricks in my time, but you, sir, are an entire fucking cactus.”
The guys burst out laughing, and Storm turns red, but I swear I see the corner of his lip twitch slightly like he wants to smile. That’s become my new favourite game; trying to see if I can get him to smile a genuine fucking smile at me. Something other than the stoic façade or anger he usually aims in my direction.
Deciding that, for now, my point has been made, I strut past him, trying not to look smug so I don’t start a full sparring match, and we never get to the Headmaster. My mood has definitely improved now there’s a possibility of a good fight. Although now that I’m thinking about it, the chances of our first mission being one that requires us to use any of our combat skills are pretty low. It’s more likely that we’re going to be sent to settle a dispute using words only, which is not my strong suit, and in the mood I’m in, I may very well end up setting someone on fire just to entertain myself.
As I get dressed, I send up a quick plea to whatever god will listen, asking them to please let the job be at least mildly entertaining.
The smug smile I managed to keep at bay earlier returns full force as I realise that I’ve beaten Storm in getting ready. It’s not long until all the others, including Storm, are in the hallway, and I open my mouth to tease Storm as he glares at me, practically daring me to say something.
