“You know, even though this is a realistic sim, I feel like he’d be way worse in real life.” She shivered dramatically.
“I knew you could do it,” Koa murmured, unable to take his eyes off her.
Zuko crossed the space and kissed her like he’d been holding his breath for a year. Twice. Three times.
“Fates, pretty little poison, that was so fucking hard to watch,” he mumbled against her lips.
Four times.
“It is a literal simulation,” Rune reminded him against his mouth, tugging the robe more closed.
“Who cares?” I grabbed her, pulled her in, and hugged her because I needed to feel that she was okay. “If this weren’t fake, I would’ve killed him myself.”
“If it weren’t fake, I still would’ve killed him first,” she giggled into my neck. “But I like that you wanted to.”
“We all did,” Dimitri admitted, his gaze boring into her. “You did good.”
“Apparently, everyone did,” she noted with a smile, staring at all of us.
“Not everybody,” Hawk muttered sourly to himself, and I hadn’t even noticed him coming up.
The simulation fell, and Professor Hunting clapped her hands. “Some of you passed with flying colors. Some of you failed segments but still passed the class. One failed. Remember, failing a segment does not mean failing the course. It means we find where you fit. To the one who failed, you’re on academic probation as of now.”
A holo-ledger unfurled in the air.
Names flickered, each with a neat little verdict.
Rune—passed on all segments.
Eleanor—passed on all segments.
Dimitri—passed on all segments.
Slater—passed on mission, docked for removing a squadmate from their mission.
Koa—passed on mission, docked for unnecessary collateral.
Zuko—passed on mission, docked for prolonged torture.
Raze—passed on mission, docked for inability to resist murder.
Hawk—failed; inability to neutralize five out of five threats.
Lorian—passed on all segments.
Aura—passed on mission, failed in ability to stay neutral.
Relief punched through me that Rune and I landed on the right side of the ledger, but something uncomfortable still gnawed at my ribs. I needed a night with her pulse under my skin to ease this feeling. And I knew this simulation would give me nightmares in my sleep…the collar around my mate’s throat, the gold room, and the way that monster looked at her.
I rubbed the hollowness behind my sternum, and I knew I’d always throw myself into danger to get Rune out of it. I just had a feeling she was the type to dive headfirst into it, so I’d have my hands full.
rune
. . .
We werefinallyfinishedwith quarter one of year one.
Hunting had dropped us into a simulation within Cursinia in a werewolf village. For once, there was nothing on fire and no one screaming. Instead, there were sunlit porches, laundry fluttering on clotheslines, and kids tumbling in muddy puddles while parents chased them around.
