“You weren’t at training. I was worried about you.”
This warrants a snort from me. “Nowyou were worried?”
“Zizi, I—”
I throw my hand out, stopping his speech. “Don’t‘Zizi’ me.”
Orion shuffles his feet, and I relish his discomfort. “Can I come in? Please? This isn’t a conversation to be held in a hallway.”
“If you must.” I feign indifference, moving to let him through.
Orion freezes as he discovers Leo attentively watching our encounter. “Can we speak alone?”
“No.” Leo and I answer at the same time. I throw him a sideways glare.
Orion’s eyes flicker between the two of us, and an internal battle about his next move is clear as his features morph between frustration and determination. “I’m sorry. I went too far.”
“You think?” I cross my arms and shift my weight onto one foot, refusing to let the uneasiness in the air infiltrate me.
“You need to handle the elements! I… I freaked out. It was too much; I see that now. I need you to maneuver whatever is thrown at you in these games.”
He makes me sound like a pawn, which makes me feel small. I am nobody’s pawn. I control my fate.
Leo tags in on the conversation. “Easy for you to say as you sit on the sidelines watching her risk her life.” He’s cold and emotionless on the surface, but I’m understanding that something darker and far more dangerous lies beneath the surface when he enters these moods.
“I’m ensuring her survival and looking out for her best interests. What are you even doing here?” For a moment, I see the internal inferno rising in Orion.
“Protecting her and her best interest since you’re failing so miserably at it,sponsor.”
Orion’s eyes ignite. “Watch how you fucking talk—”
“Enough!” I screech. Is every male that I encounter in Astralis doomed to be insufferable? “You know who is looking out for my best interests? Me!” I slap a hand right over my heart. “I decide what I do or do not do. I decide what’s too much. I decide who is going to be a part of my life. And I will decide my future.” I’m panting, my chest protesting at me raising my voice in a long-winded speech.
“You’ve said your piece; now get out. I don’t want to see you until my training resumes. Leo, I think you should go, too.”
Leo pushes off the island and stalks toward me, a wicked grin on his face. He invades my space, my insides melting as I struggle to maintain my composure in his closeness. “Like I told you, you’re going to light up the darkness.”
I manage to hold my chin high and thank him once more for helping me. Orion gradually trails behind, but I can’t bring myself to look at him. “I am not your means to an end. I am a human being, Orion. Do not forget that.”
Twenty-three
Imissed the entire third week of training, thanks to Pia’s recommendations. The frustration of missing the second-to-last week, combined with the restlessness of not moving my body the way I’ve grown used to, made me miserable to be around. Lenny came to see me every day, practicing puzzles with me late into the night. We work on cryptograms, crosswords, sudoku, riddles, and more.
Celeste stopped by to get me out of the apartment. We strolled leisurely through the city; the distraction was glorious. “Awfully dramatic way to get out of training, if you ask me.” She rolls her eyes but can’t maintain the seriousness, bursting into laughter seconds later.
“Do you need your sponsor to liven things up for you, Cel? I’d be happy to send Orion your way.”
“While I do appreciate that hunk of a man, I’d prefer not to singe my hair off.” She wrinkles her nose, examining the ends of her hair.
“He is pretty, isn’t he?”
“Only you would wind up with the two best-looking men swooning over you, you lucky girl.”
“Yes, look how lucky I am, concussed and slightly burnt.”
“You always know how to look at things on the bright side.” She winks, and I laugh, appreciating her endless optimism.
Leo also stopped by to check on me the night before I was set to resume training.
