He arrived with two bullet wounds to his torso. One of the bullets was still lodged in his side, making it impossible for the wound to close and stop the bleeding. Who did this? And why? I rub my thumb against the back of his hand.
The door of the clinic room opens, and Odyssey and Alexis, one of my fellow recruits, walk into the room.
“What are you two doing here?” I ask, annoyance clear in my voice.
“Your brothers sent us. They’re handling the rest of the guys and all of their questions. They asked us to watch over you,” Alexis replies.
Did they really? I’m surprised they didn’t send Elijah, Skunk, or even Owen.
Odyssey snorts. “Owen is about ready to lose it on a few of the recruits because they keep talking about your boobs. It’s probably best he stays with the twins.”
I roll my eyes at Odyssey. Whatever.
“How the hell do you know that? I was standing next to you the whole time. You did not talk to Kaminari, not once since we found out G’s a girl,” Alexis balks.
Odyssey grimaces and looks back at me. Sighing, I turn toward Alexis. Without warning, the ball of energy hits Alexis in the stomach, forcing him to fall to the floor. Rushing forward to check on Alexis, Odyssey comments on controlling my magic.
“Oh, like you’re some expert! You had magic for all of—what?—three minutes!”
“I have a better handle on it than you do!” he spits back.
“Lay off! Why are you always giving him—I mean, her—hell? It wasn’t like she did it on purpose.” Alexis joins in, which only provokes Odyssey more. The door flies open, and a very angry Elias stands in the doorway. He could probably hear us arguing from down the hall. Looking up at Elias’s seven-foot frame, I grimace and admit that it happened again.
Elias wipes a hand down his face, steps into the room, and closes the door. “Which one?” he asks.
Wincing at his question, I answer, “Both of them.”
He sighs. “These two gave you the most shit when you first started. Instead of striking them with lightning, you give them magic,” he scoffs.
Alexis’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “You can do more?”
Odyssey snorts. “You’d be surprised at how many secrets she has in that brain of hers.”
“That’s exactly what it is—secrets. You shouldn’t be privy to any information about her personal life because you didn’t earn it,” Elias lectures. “Do I need to remind both of you that this isn’t high school? Although we expect you to get along, there are some things you don’t need to know. I don’t care if she kicks your ass and shoves a lightning bolt down your throats. Your job, if and when you graduate, will always be to protect her and lay down your lives for her, if it comes to that. Am I clear, or do I need to send your assess home so you can think about it?”
“No, sir. We understand, sir,” they say in unison.
“Good.” Elias looks between the two of them before asking me, “Now what the hell can they do?”
“So far, Odyssey can hear everyone’s thoughts. I’m not sure what Alexis can do,” I reply.
Alexis steps away from us and turns his attention to Reggie. “Whoa. G, did you give this guy magic before he got here?”
“No. I never met him in person. I only spoke to him on the phone briefly. He’s Shadow's new personal assistant.”
“Well, I think we should leave before something happens.”
Elias pulls me close to him.
Alexis continues, “He’s pulling in electrical energy from his surroundings. You don’t see it?”
I narrow my eyes, studying Reggie, but I still don’t see anything.
Odyssey steps forward, tilting his head to the side. “He’s dreaming. He and Shadow are running. They’re getting shot at. Shadow’s yelling at him over the gunfire. ‘Find the Princess. Tell her what you know.’ Shadow has magic, too? The guard program is full of secrets, huh?”
Elias growls at him.
Odyssey leans closer to Reggie’s clinic bed. Alexis reaches out to stop him. Odyssey cocks his head, listening to something only he can hear.
