Page 34 of Black Onyx
The guys did not take my confession very well last night, which was honestly kind of surprising. I mean, only a few days ago, they wanted to sever our warrior Bond, and yet last night, they acted like they genuinely cared. Storm didn’t, of course; he just looked highly pissed off and yet bored at the same time. I don’t know how he manages to pull them both off simultaneously; it’s a gift.
Today is my first full day of classes, and I’m cautiously optimistic that no one is going to try to kill me; surely, the fates will grant me at least a day of no one with murderous intent coming for me, right? I haven’t seen Poca since yesterday, but that’s not unusual. He'll show up when he feels like it or if I’m in trouble, and the only time he hasn’t been able to was when he was somehow blocked from coming to my aid during the incident.
Walking the castle pathways with the guys gives me a sense of anonymity that I didn’t expect to have on my first full day, and that’s all thanks to Kill being the lost prince. That, coupled with his formidable reputation, is keeping all eyes glued to him, and for the moment, they’re skipping straight past me. I’m sure it won’t last for long, but I’m going to enjoy it while it does.
When we get to the door of my classroom, I turn to say goodbye, and they each reach out to touch me in some way while Storm pushes past us all with a dark glare on his face.
“Erm, bye,” I say again when they all start to follow me into the classroom and head towards the back of the room
“This is our class,” Loki says grinning on his way past me.
I huff, “Why did we all stop outside then?”
He just shrugs and continues to his seat, making me frown in confusion.
I don’t get the chance to mull over their confusing actions like I’d like to because now that they’ve all left to take their seat, everyone is now staring at me and my usual scowl slams into place. I’m not used to being seen; I spend most of my time in the shadows or locked in my father's castle's cells. The attention puts me on edge, and I practically stomp up to the professor to get my book.
“Farren,” I say bluntly when I get to the desk, and the professor looks up with a raised eyebrow. He doesn’t say anything as he hands me a thick textbook.
“Find a seat. You’re all adults now, so there’s no seating plan.”
I nod, taking the large textbook entitled History of Supernaturals and the Realms. That seems like a pretty broad spectrum of things for one class to discuss, although according to my schedule, this class is double the length of all my others, apart from combat and weapons, which we have every day—that one I can understand. We are supposed to be the protectors of the realms. Lifting my eyes, they immediately land on Killian, who’s scowling, his fingers twitching and his tail do the same like he’s desperate for one of his blades as a truly stunning fae leans on his desk, giving him a perfect view of her tits as she practically shoves them in his face, her dark hair blowing in a gentle breeze that only seems to be available to her, Air Fae then. It would be amusing to see how utterly bored he is with the entire situation if I didn’t know how much he hates people in his personal space. If she touches him, I know he’s going to snap. The fact that he doesn’t seem to hesitate around the guys shows me just how close he was to them and that there’s a level of trust between them that they’ve earned.
I get to where the guys have chosen to sit at the top of the stadium-like seating just as the fae woman reaches out her hand to place on his arm. Before she can connect and lose her head, my hand strikes out, grabbing her wrist in a tight grip.
“Nope, I wouldn’t suggest doing that,” I warn, manoeuvring myself so that I’m between her and Kill’s desk.
I let go immediately and stare her down, crossing my arms over my chest. I’m not here to make enemies, but I also won’t fade into the background. Unless I’m on a job, my personality simply doesn’t allow that. I may not like having so many eyes on me at once, but I’ve never been afraid to stand up for myself and apparently those I care about; that’s a new development; I’ve never really had anyone in my daily life that I’ve cared to protect. Most of them were involved in my torture and could rot in the fucking underworld for all I care. I am incapable of defending myself against my father though, he could end me far too easily, and with all the remorse he may feel being for the asset he’d lose, not me as his daughter.
The Fae sneers as she looks me up and down, “I don’t think he would’ve complained if I touched him.”
I sigh, glancing over my shoulder at Loki, “Damn, why is it always the hot ones that have the personality of a toad?”
His eyes spark with mirth as he lets out a loud laugh, “Not all hot ones have shit personalities,” his eyes trail over me, leaving heat in their wake, and I fight the blush, trying to pinken my cheeks by turning back around to face the bitchy dark haired beauty to distract myself.
Something flashes in her eyes that almost looks like regret, and I feel my curious nature perk up. Hmm, maybe she’s not what she first appears to be; possibly she’s just prickly and protecting herself?
She glares at me with no real heat, turns on her heel and stalks over to the other side of the room to sit with a group of equally stunning supernaturals. Keeping my eyes on her as I round Kill’s table and sit to his left, I see the fake smile she shows them all as they all start whispering. The look she sends me is icy, and the power I can sense from her is enough that I know I need to stay on my toes around her.
I need to keep an eye on that one. Whether she’s friend or foe is still to be determined, but judging from our interaction so far, I’m leaning towards foe.
“Thank you,” Kill mutters, barely audible over the sound of the other students talking, and I thread my fingers through his and squeeze.
“Alright, everyone, quieten down.” The professor calls the class to attention, “today, we’re going to be discussing the history of the Warrior Games.”
Whispers go around the classroom at his words, and I feel my eyebrows raise. I have never heard of the Warrior Games before, but from the reaction of the rest of the class, I must be the only one who doesn’t know what the professor is talking about.
A shifter in the front row puts her hand up, and the professor’s eyes dart to her as he nods. “Yes, Miss Benner?”
“We haven’t finished learning about the last Fae war. Why are we moving on to something different already?”
Her question brings a murmur of agreement from the rest of the class. The professor seems to tense for only a second before he continues as if the woman never asked the question in the first place, causing her to frown at the dismissal. This is my first lesson with him, so I can’t say for sure that his behaviour is odd; I mean, for all I know, he could refuse to answer student’s questions all the time, but a quick glance around shows the unease on the other student's faces which quickly squashes that theory. Something else is going on here.
“As I was saying, today we’re going to be talking about the Warrior Games. Do not let the name fool you; they are not fun, nor are they something to be taken lightly. They are brutal and deadly tests of strength, intelligence and strategy. All things that determine the ultimate warrior.”
I lean forward in my seat slightly at his words, excited to learn more about the Warrior games despite his warning. It sounds like fun to me.
“They were a centuries-long tradition that the realm itself used to determine the warriors that were capable of protecting our realm from outside forces. The Fae were always called from this academy, which was the entire purpose of the academy when it was first founded. The last games were over one hundred years ago, and the Realm hasn’t started another Warrior Games since.”
