Leo’s face changed, contorting from amusement to frustration. “Why do you put yourself through this? You’ll never end up on the battlefield; your fights always end up like this. With youbroken.Is self preservation not in your DNA?”
“You’re one to talk. Ever heard of restraint? Or is your brain too small to comprehend something like that?”
This was our norm. The back-and-forth spats, the endless attempts at one-upping each other. Leo’s only focus was combat, and dragged through every other course. He sat in academic classes with me even though he was a year ahead and never bothered to take any notes or answer any questions. He was one ofthoseguys; the ones that thought everything could be solved by winning a fight.
“You’ve got a real mouth on you for someone who’s so weak,” he snarled, and I could see embers starting to spark on his tongue. “Just give it up before you end up dead.”
The daydream flickered, fading in and out while I watched Leo’s face. It was always strange — how angry he looked, how irritated he was with my existence. I wasn’t the weakest link, far from it, but my ability was difficult to navigate in a fight. It shouldn’t have mattered to him, but he always poked at me, always had something to say.
“Sloth?” his voice grew fuzzy, and anger surged in my chest.
I hated that nickname. It started after I’d fallen asleep during training, the first time he realized what the backlash of my ability was. After that, Leo was determined to tear me down at every opportunity. And I was determined to beat him because of it. On days that got difficult, when Joon’s encouragement met deaf ears, the little rivalry between Leo and me actually broughtback my spark. I wanted to show him I could be the best; that I could beat him, if I wanted to.
And sometimes, I managed to do it. That made him even more angry, more annoying and tedious when he picked me apart. Leo was weak to my ability, and I was vulnerable to his flames. The deciding factor was who managed to attack first.
He faded, then disappeared completely, still whispering that stupid nickname. By the time I woke up, morning light filtered through my windows, and my phone was buzzing beside me on the ground.
I groaned as I reached for it and didn’t even check the caller ID before putting the phone to my ear.
“Yeah?” my voice was hoarse, my head throbbing.
“Alex,” Minnie breathed into the speaker. “I’ve been calling you all morning. Are you okay?”
I blinked the sleep from my eyes and sat up slowly. “Yeah…rough night, but I’m okay. What’s wrong?”
There was a pause that made my belly sink before she answered. “I went to submit the recommendation for an extension of your leave from the VIA. I don’t want to worry you, but… it hasn’t gone through. I don’t know what’s changed; it’s always accepted within a day or two, but this time it’s like the account is frozen?—”
My ears started to ring, and my hands went cold.
“… technical error, maybe… try again, don’t panic…”
I didn’t hear the rest of Minnie’s explanation as dread filled me. For three years, there had been no problem with my absence from the VIA. I wasn’t important enough to keep; there were plenty of intelligence based agents. I wasn’t sure if I’d said goodbye as I hung up the phone, and I wasn’t sure if I’d grabbed a glass before snatching the bottle still sitting on my countertop.
Red wine flowed, and the memories disappeared.
FOUR
LEO
“Have you found anything?”I leaned forward in my seat, elbows on my knees as I watched Dahlia typing away. “About Ale—Daydream, I mean.”
The office smelled of ink and leather, and the only sound that echoed against the wood-paneled walls was Dahlia’s frantic jabbing on her keyboard. She’d been an agent with the VIA for years; she wasn’t a Variant, but she was the most efficient coordinator we’d ever had. Everything from Hero assignments to funding, to press conferences went through Dahlia.
She must have been in her mid fifties, with gray hair that was always pulled into a tight bun. Thin framed glasses slipped down her nose as she lowered her brows, eyes set on her computer screen. Once she was locked in, it was almost impossible to get her out.
“I was thinking about my next mission,” I mused, trying to act bored although irritation made my jaw clench. “I was hoping to burn down a hospital.”
Dahlia didn’t even blink.
“The next press conference, you should let me speak. I’ll tell the governor to go fuck himself.”
Nothing.
“Tea is better than coffee.”
Her gaze snapped up to mine. “What nonsense are you spewing right now?”
Jeez, lady. Talk about a one track mind.
