I could even raise my sword again, placing the
cold metal on my neck.
He
lowered it. “Again,” he said, and he started to slash at
me once more. I only blocked once, and I did that for several tries
before I finally got two blocks in.
Grix
and January practiced nearby, and I could see her smirking at me
almost every time I failed.
Finally,
when my arms were aching and the sun had started to come up, we heard
the trumpets wailing from inside the dorms, making a bizarre sounding
melody ring off the walls of the arena. I let the sword drop to the
ground, and Grix and January stopped practicing. I noticed that Grix
had a few cuts on his body, but I felt better when I saw that January
had her share of injuries, too.
There
was only a small cut on my neck, where Roland had pressed his blade a
little too hard. That had been after I’d gotten three blocks,
the best I’d done all day.
I
heaved my sword over to the table where it belonged before I followed
Grix, January, and Roland out of the arena. None of the students had
come out yet, so I knew we would be the first ones in the dining
hall. Roland sat at a trainers table, while the other two sat at a
student’s table together.
I
found one a little farther away and sat there to wait for my friends.
One by one, the dining hall was getting more full. Abby came in, and
I thought that she would sit with me, but she ignored me and sat
somewhere else. The first one to sit with me was, surprisingly,
Natalia.
“ I
noticed that you went out early to train,” she said. “You’ll
have to work on your stealth skills.”
I
smiled at her. “Is that something that you could help me with?”
She
shrugged. “I could, but I’m not sure that I want to.”
My
smile faltered. “Why not?”
“ I
don’t want to interfere with Niko’s training. Only a fool
would do that. Or someone who is more talented than Niko.”
“ Then
why not use your talent to teach me your talent?” I asked.
Her
mouth twitched as she hid a smile. “Good point, but I still
don’t think I can. Niko is a wizard. It wouldn’t matter
if I was stealthier than him.”
I
nodded. “I understand.”
Another
girl joined us, and then Liana finally came into the room. She sat
next to me and asked, “Why were you not in bed this morning?”
“ I
woke up early to train,” I said.
“ Really
eager to get out, huh?” she replied with a frown.
I
didn’t answer. The number platters came in. We got tent number
7, ‘an easy one’, Liana had said, and it was. She
galloped along with her bow and arrow, and Natalia dove into the deep
river as a mermaid, her scales a shimmering, iridescent black. The
other girl disappeared into the forest, and I didn’t see her
again until the end. I flew in the air, letting my wings bathe in the
sunlight. I came across a meadow and saw a small deer grazing. I dove
down quickly and the poor thing didn’t have time to react
before I’d killed it. It made me feel better to know that it
wasn’t real. That deer didn’t even exist...at least I
didn’t think so.
Anyway,
we settled down for a huge breakfast of sausage, eggs, biscuits,
gravy, cheese, bacon, fruit, and hot chocolate. I ate until I was
completely stuffed, something I regretted when I was training with
Niko, because I had to stop to throw up everything that I’d
eaten.
He
looked on with disgust before making me get back on the ground for
some push-ups.
The
day ended with a medium sized meal from a desert oasis that I could
barely contribute to.
On my
way back to the dorm, it felt as if I were slogging through
waist-deep mud. I didn't even bother to change clothes before
crumpling into my bed and slipping into slumber.
CHAPTER
TEN
An
icy draft pulled me out of my slumber the next morning. I noticed
movement to my right and looked over to see January disappearing into
the other room, glaring at me when she realized that I was awake. As
much as I wanted to pull the covers over myself and slip back into
sweet
cold metal on my neck.
He
lowered it. “Again,” he said, and he started to slash at
me once more. I only blocked once, and I did that for several tries
before I finally got two blocks in.
Grix
and January practiced nearby, and I could see her smirking at me
almost every time I failed.
Finally,
when my arms were aching and the sun had started to come up, we heard
the trumpets wailing from inside the dorms, making a bizarre sounding
melody ring off the walls of the arena. I let the sword drop to the
ground, and Grix and January stopped practicing. I noticed that Grix
had a few cuts on his body, but I felt better when I saw that January
had her share of injuries, too.
There
was only a small cut on my neck, where Roland had pressed his blade a
little too hard. That had been after I’d gotten three blocks,
the best I’d done all day.
I
heaved my sword over to the table where it belonged before I followed
Grix, January, and Roland out of the arena. None of the students had
come out yet, so I knew we would be the first ones in the dining
hall. Roland sat at a trainers table, while the other two sat at a
student’s table together.
I
found one a little farther away and sat there to wait for my friends.
One by one, the dining hall was getting more full. Abby came in, and
I thought that she would sit with me, but she ignored me and sat
somewhere else. The first one to sit with me was, surprisingly,
Natalia.
“ I
noticed that you went out early to train,” she said. “You’ll
have to work on your stealth skills.”
I
smiled at her. “Is that something that you could help me with?”
She
shrugged. “I could, but I’m not sure that I want to.”
My
smile faltered. “Why not?”
“ I
don’t want to interfere with Niko’s training. Only a fool
would do that. Or someone who is more talented than Niko.”
“ Then
why not use your talent to teach me your talent?” I asked.
Her
mouth twitched as she hid a smile. “Good point, but I still
don’t think I can. Niko is a wizard. It wouldn’t matter
if I was stealthier than him.”
I
nodded. “I understand.”
Another
girl joined us, and then Liana finally came into the room. She sat
next to me and asked, “Why were you not in bed this morning?”
“ I
woke up early to train,” I said.
“ Really
eager to get out, huh?” she replied with a frown.
I
didn’t answer. The number platters came in. We got tent number
7, ‘an easy one’, Liana had said, and it was. She
galloped along with her bow and arrow, and Natalia dove into the deep
river as a mermaid, her scales a shimmering, iridescent black. The
other girl disappeared into the forest, and I didn’t see her
again until the end. I flew in the air, letting my wings bathe in the
sunlight. I came across a meadow and saw a small deer grazing. I dove
down quickly and the poor thing didn’t have time to react
before I’d killed it. It made me feel better to know that it
wasn’t real. That deer didn’t even exist...at least I
didn’t think so.
Anyway,
we settled down for a huge breakfast of sausage, eggs, biscuits,
gravy, cheese, bacon, fruit, and hot chocolate. I ate until I was
completely stuffed, something I regretted when I was training with
Niko, because I had to stop to throw up everything that I’d
eaten.
He
looked on with disgust before making me get back on the ground for
some push-ups.
The
day ended with a medium sized meal from a desert oasis that I could
barely contribute to.
On my
way back to the dorm, it felt as if I were slogging through
waist-deep mud. I didn't even bother to change clothes before
crumpling into my bed and slipping into slumber.
CHAPTER
TEN
An
icy draft pulled me out of my slumber the next morning. I noticed
movement to my right and looked over to see January disappearing into
the other room, glaring at me when she realized that I was awake. As
much as I wanted to pull the covers over myself and slip back into
sweet
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