“Looks like the new recruit’s showing off,” the wheat-haired boy says to his companions. He seems to be the leader of this bunch. “Making up tall tales.”
The leader is a tower of muscle with sunbaked skin and short, cropped hair. Next to him is a tall, lanky boy with braided hair and dark skin. And then there’s the girl, who is lithe and muscular. Her raven hair cascades over her skin like the sea waves against a pale shore.
“Shall we see if she’s as good a fighter as she is a runner?” the girl asks.
She raises her fist and swings. My training kicks in. Years of Sullivan leading me through his various fighting sequences force me to sidestep her arm and shove her with my shoulder.
The girl stumbles, surprised, and Sora gasps as if I committed a grave sin.
She swung first, and I just retaliated.
“Do you know who I am?” the girl snarls. “My father is a governor. You will be executed for this!”
I tighten my lips. Her father reports tomine. Her words are not as impressive as she intends them to be. If I weren’t so embarrassed about being his daughter, and if it wouldn’t put a target on my back, I would mention it.
I grin, letting the faintest flash of teeth show. “I am not afraid.”
The girl lunges again. This time, I duck, roll to the side, and land behind her. Around us, the courtyard hums with otherrecruits running drills, unaware of this altercation. I wonder if they even realize that our sergeant was sent away by a bunch of entitled brats.
“Show her why she should fear us,” the blond menace says.
The girl raises her hand, and along with it,me. I curse in my head. She’s a Kinetic just like Warrick. Panic spikes through me. I don’t have my gun; Ender didn’t give it back, and I never got a chance to replace it from the armory.
A startled sound tears from Sora’s throat.
The air squeezes out of my lungs as my boots leave the ground. My spine locks with instinct, bracing myself for the fall, while my hands claw at nothing.
The girl’s fingers curl slowly, deliberately, holding my life in the palm of her hand. She smiles up at me, drunk on power. If she lets go of me, I’ll break every bone in my body, and she knows it.
“Commons aren’t supposed to look us in the eye,” she says. “They’re supposed to remember their place.”
Blood roars in my ears. I force myself to breathe. She wants me to be afraid. She wants me to plead for my life, but I won’t give her the satisfaction.
“Please,” Sora cries, stepping forward. “You have to stop!”
The leader tilts his head, amused.
“We won’t kill her,” the boy says. “The sergeant might notice.”
Sora sighs before he finishes.
“We’ll just break every bone in her body,” he adds maliciously.
Sora races off into the distance. I’m not upset that she left me behind. She hardly knows me, and it’s smart of her to save herself.
My feet dangle uselessly, toes scraping empty air. She’s holding me in place, not raising me higher, which is a smallsatisfaction. Not that this height is any less forgiving. I wonder what Warrick will do when he finds out I was killed by a bunch of Gifted kids. I wonder if he will even bother to avenge me, or rather, Mercy. Maybe if it’s Mercy, he will make an effort.
Something sparks in the girl’s eyes…hesitation, maybe? She expects me to beg, but my lips are sealed.
“You don’t scare me,” I say hoarsely.
Her smile is razor-sharp like a wolf who has just smelled blood.
“You’re brave for a Common.”
Her hand drops, and gravity pulls me under. I reach for the place inside me. The one my Mother taught me to lock down and to guard like a vault. I’m not supposed to use my powers, not ever, but I refuse to die at the hands of these cruel Gifted.
I don’t fully stop time, but I slow it enough for me to fall carefully. I tuck my chin and let myself drop. The descent takes minutes rather than seconds. They won’t notice, since I’m the only one who is aware and in control of the time vacuum.
