She stopped, almost as if that one word blew away the cloud of lust from her mind.
“Oh, good,” Headmaster Dritoria said, her coily hair framing her sharp face. “I was looking for you both.”
Kestra cleared her throat and backed away. Grimot sighed deeply, like breathing for the first time after drowning. Images of Kamine in that deep pool of water flashed before him, how lifeless her body was. He shook them away, recentering himself to the present.
“I wanted to speak about the logistics of the Heart. Grimot currently has it in his room for safekeeping, but Kestra, you’ll need to pray to the Weather Gods to tell you where to place it this year.” The Heart resided in his room because as a new professor, it was considered an initiation ritual to ensure he took on the role for the right reasons: the wellbeing of the Thunder Court. He stared at the amethyst gem regularly, each time beingtransported back to the moment he had touched it during his Undertaking.
Kestra and the Headmaster chatted, while Grimot did his best to seem engaged. Conversations about the Heart always made him uncomfortable. Everytime he walked into his room, he wanted to shatter it, but he now had a responsibility for its safekeeping. He would be damned if he let his emotions get in the way of accomplishing what he had set out to do.
Nine
“Let’s go,” Professor Grimot said as soon as Kamine entered the classroom for their next session.
“So demanding,” she whispered under her breath. His hands clenched at her words, but she wouldn’t apologize.
He led her out of the room, and charged through the halls, even with a slight limp Kamine hadn’t noticed before. Perhaps he hurt himself. Kamine was nearly running just to keep up with him, but she refused to lose him through this maze of a school. Even though it had been a few weeks in, she still struggled to navigate the place. She could have sworn the halls moved at night to trick everyone. Janina thought that was the most ridiculous thing ever. She said mountains don’t move that way. Maybe not all mountains, but this one…Kamine wouldn’t be surprised to learn if the walls of this place were crafted by the hands of Goddess Buraza, herself.
“I thought we were having another lesson,” Kamine hissed as she almost twisted her ankle on the uneven ground.
“Don’t ask questions, just follow,” he responded.
He always had to boss her around, didn’t he? Kamine kept quiet, more for her sake than his. She had no idea where they were headed, but she could feel the slight decline of their path.
Since Kamine was taking private lessons, she no longer had to attend actual class. At least not for now, Professor Grimot told her. Headmaster Dritoria had apparently been informed of these lessons, and she had agreed that Kamine should not overexert herself.
Janina and Zoya filled her in on how things were progressing with everyone in class. They were continuing one-on-one practice. Apparently, Professor Grimot had them throw one rock between the two of them, and they had to work together to keep it afloat. The professor would then ring a bell, and they competed to see who could shoot the rock at the other person first. It tested their diligence and speed. It sounded like Kamine’s nightmare, but her friends both enjoyed the exercises, and thought they were helping.
Kamine spent her extra time reading one of the few books she brought from home. She would need to find a library soon, because she was nearing the end of her stash. A problem for another day.
They ventured down some stairs, and Kamine could feel the air growing thicker. She swore she heard a trickle of water somewhere too. For the first time in weeks, she felt that connection with the earth that she had been missing, her body closer to the ground, perhaps even within the depths of it, with the soil and dirt a short distance away.
Instead of losing focus, she memorized the path as best as she could, so she could find her way back. Knowing the professor, he would leave her to fend for herself after whatever hell he was about to put her through.
Professor Grimot abruptly stopped and turned towards her. Kamine startled and almost fell backwards, but he steadied her.He held onto her shoulders for a moment longer than necessary, and when he pulled away, he looked at his palms, as if she had burned him.
He cleared his throat.
“When we get in there,” he started, his tone serious, “don’t think too much. Allow yourself to be present in the moment.”
Kamine narrowed her eyes. That was the closest thing to good advice he had ever given her. She didn’t know what it meant exactly, but her heart skipped a beat at the anxiety of facing the unknown. Her palms began to sweat, too. She hated being surprised.
“And,” he added, right before they entered, “don’t use your hands.”
Grimot had no idea if forcing Kamine to come to this would be good for her, but sometimes, an unexpected shove was exactly what someone needed. Not something deadly, like her attempt with the baths, but something challenging. He just hoped she wouldn’t get herself killed. He promised himself to keep a close eye on her, and use his own powers if it called for it. He didn’t need Headmaster Dritoria up his ass for getting one of her students hurt again.
Kamine stopped as soon as she entered. Her eyes were wide, unsure, but they hardened when she saw that the rest of the cohort was here, too. Along with some new faces: past Undertaking participants.
It was tradition, one he explained to the current cohort during class. Kamine wasn’t there to hear it, and he questioned if he wanted to let her know. She hadn’t improved. At all. But…therewas some kind of spark in her that made him tell her to come. He had a feeling she would have hated being left out.
“What is this?” she whispered.
“A game.”
She gulped, and he could see the flutter of her pulse in her neck. She was nervous. He would be too if he was in her position. This game was brutal, and it required skill she didn’t have.
Janina and Zoya waved at Kamine, but the rest of the cohort seemed to slow their warm-ups. They must be wondering why the fuck someone like her would be allowed to do this.
She faced him. “So what’s the goal?”
