My energy shifts towards the door and I can feel Braxton coming closer. The door opens and a face appears next to it.
“Are you ready for training?” he breathes out, holding his face emotionless and in place. I jump off the bed excitedly and put my hair in a ponytail as I feel his gaze over me.
“Never been more ready to learn how to block you out,” I sing, slipping my arm through his. He pulls away quickly, his eyes darkening as he looks into mine. Normally, the green in his eyes is like fresh grass and the blue as bright as the ocean. But now a dark haze covers them, making him look like he wants to kill me. I feel him slipping into my mind.
“Scared I will listen to your conversations when you’re flirting with another boy?”he purrs.
I lift my chin in response.
“Are you jealous, Braxton Lance Dunkeld?” I breathe out squeaky. A tingle moves in my stomach and besides the fact that I act confident, I feel like I am going to sink through my knees. The darkness in his eyes disappears and I think I see some uncertainty race by.
“Jealous over you? Never,” he insults, letting out a huff. He straightens his back and walks off. I can’t help but chuckle, slipping in his mind I can feel some of his emotions. Oh boy.
He was definitely jealous.
“Your duo has the ability to slip in your mind at any time. The further you are away from each other, the more energy it costs. Just like using your signet, using your bond will cost energy,” Da explains to the group, who are sitting on two benches in the garden, me included. Apparently, they have a training place in their garden too. I sit next to Kailey and Braxton as Da gives us some theory first. “As all of you probably have noticed by now, you can talk to each other when needed, but also when it isn’t your intention. Some of you might even have the ability to feel each other’s emotions and these get stronger when you’re getting closer to the other,” he announces, facing me. By some of you, does he mean not everyone can do that? I turn to my left at Braxton. I see his jaw ticking and he faces me. His eyes are narrowed but they have something like worry in them. An annoying voice breaks the silence and I tense at the sound.
“By some, do you mean not everyone can do this? And will they never be able to?” Aaliyah, the snake herself interrupts. Da presses his lip together and wipes the beats of sweat off his forehead. It is probably the nerves, but the sun is burning on my face too. It shines so bright I can see the sunburn arise on Braxton’s nose. It shines too bright and everybody will get blasters if I don’t do anything. Besides that, I have to practice, practice and practice, so why not now? I focus on my signet and try to move the sun under a cloud. I need to focus on an emotion—a strong one. Da and I walking through the woods, picking flowers and making a flower crown or the times he would read me all kinds of stories before tucking me in and kissing my forehead. A happy feeling fuels my body and my skin tingles. I watch the sun move behind a cloud. Da looks at me as the burning sun in his neck disappears.
“I am learning it,” I mouth to him in silence. He gives me a small smile as he answers the snakes question.
“No, not everyone can do that. You have to be open to your bond. The better your compatibility and the more you’re open to it, the stronger and more effective your bond will be. But the bigger the impact is too.” A worried expression crosses his face. I don’t get him, but that’s fine. He doesn’t always need to worry about me. I can fight my own demons and battles. I feel Braxton shove aside me. He folds his hands together and clenches his jaw so hard I see it ticking. I would swear I can hear the sound coming from his teeth that are crunching together.
“Can you please keep your tooth and jaw relaxed? The sound of your teeth clattering together makes my stomach turn and gives me the urge to slap you,”I hiss, shooting him a heated glare. Before he can respond, a fire of questions erupts.
“What are the consequences if one of the duo dies?” Kailey asks.
“We don’t know yet. It will depend on how strong your bond is,” Da answers. Almost before he answers the next questions are brought up and I can’t even follow who asks what.
“Are you experienced with this kind of bonding?”
“How can I block my duo out?”
“Who gave the king the permission to do this? I didn’t sign for this.” “How long will this bond last?”
“Is it possible to rebond? I don’t like my duo.” All the questions make my brain spin, and I am not even the one who needs to answer them. I feel sorry for Da that he is put in this position. I look next to Da over the garden and I start counting flowers to distract myself. All the pink ones.
One, two, three, four—
My gaze turns blurry, and I don’t hear anything Da tells us. My foot taps uncontrollably. My heart rings in my ears and I don’t feel like breathing. A warm big hand covers my thigh and fingerspress softly in my leg. I look at the hand. It is only then I notice the tattoos of Braxton’s hand. I feel the sweat dripping down my back, and I can’t think straight. A tingle moves from the places where his hand lies down, straight into my stomach. I can feel my face turn red as I get dragged back into reality. The whispers change back into normal voices and faces aren’t that blurry anymore. I turn to face Braxton, but besides the fact that he comforts me with his hand his face is still like steel. Everybody around me is sitting still, looking at Da, but mouths are shut, like they are realizing something. I missed what happened. Fuck.
“Does this mean there are going to be two winners?” Braxton questions Da, interrupting my panic—again. His voice is deep and raspy like a campfire burning. The butterflies in my stomach continue to race around. No, they aren’t butterflies, right? The best I can describe them as are little points of light pricking in the sides of my stomach. But hold on. What does he mean, are there going to be two winners?
Oh.
He is asking if he needs to kill me to win.
He probably will do that. He already looked at me before like he could kill me so he would probably do it without hesitation. He is being described as a bloodthirsty monster after all. I am not sure I will believe it though. I look Da straight in his eyes and something glossy appears in them. It is only when he looks to the ground that he says the redemptive words.
“No,” he whispers. “That isn’t the king’s intention” It is soft, but I can figure the words out. Well, this is going be a once in a lifetime experience—literally. I am not going to kill Braxton. It is not my plan. I am not even sure I would be able to kill someone. My magic would be able to.
My heart wouldn’t.
I don’t want to think about it.
I can’t.
Da walks around as every duo is standing in front of each other. “Today you’re going to learn how to block your duo out. Right now, you can talk to each other, but also slip in someone’s mind by accident. Blocking someone out is not only the hardest but is the most important part too. If you can block your partner out at the moment you’re hurt, the damage will be less.” I shuffle my feet and tap my fingers as Da walks past me. I face him and make eye contact. “To block your partner out, you have to lock them away. Find your place of comfort, ground or settle there, look around where the bond is coming from and make it impossible for the bond to get in. Despite your partner, there will be more people trying to get in, not only in this trial, but always. Build your wall and keep them up.” Da’s eyes are smiling at me as he gives Braxton a gentle squeeze in his shoulder. Somehow, that little touch got Braxton to relax a bit more. Luckily, Da taught me how to build my walls up brick by brick as a little kid, scared of the danger coming my way. I have them up all the time, or I try at least. Braxton shakes his limbs and puts his feet firmly in the ground. I roll my shoulders back and do the same. I feel Braxton slip in my mind.
