“We need to get you to combat,” Kage says softly after a long pause, effectively changing the subject.
“Where will you be going?” I ask as I gather my empty tray and rise.
“I’ll be in the arena, but I train alone.”
“I wish I could train alone,” I gripe under my breath.
“It’s boring,” he says as we walk toward the exit. He’s still several feet away from me, but it’s easier to deal with now that I understand why. There’s a big part of me that wants to reach over and grab his hand, to prove I won’t die if we touch. If there’s one good thing that comes from what I am, this could be it, but it feels wrong to force him. I know what it feels like not to have a choice, and I won’t do that to him.
“It has to be better than getting clobbered by a giant, boring or not. I swear I ate about a pound of sand, and I know he was pulling his punches.”
Kage gasps. “He punched you?”
“No, not really. He just knocked me down a whole hell of a lot and made me draw a bow about seven million times.”
“You need to be able to defend yourself,” he agrees.
“Or figure out how to take others’ powers like the other void could,” I disclose.
“That would certainly be useful. Have you ever tried?”
“Not really. I thought about it, for sure, but before the other day, I didn’t know it was even possible.” I turn around to face him while walking backward. “Earlier today, when I heard bug boy screaming, for a split second, I thought I’d turned the tables on him.” I laugh softly.
“Were you trying?”
“I don’t know how to really try, but I was imagining them turning against him. He was so mad after he sicced his bugs on me last time and it didn’t work, he tried to attack me. That teacher stopped him though, and now I know why.”
“What?” Kage asks, reminding me he has no idea that wasn’t the first time I met bug boy.
“They came to my father’s. He did the whole bug thing then too. I’m guessing he’s the reason I’m here.”
“I should have killed him sooner. Have you encountered anyone else from Ivy?”
I spin back around to watch where I’m going before answering him. It would be mortifying to trip or slam into a wall. “Not that I know of, but it’s not like I could remember them all anyway.”
“Tell me if you do.”
“Why?”
He waits so long to answer, I don’t think he is going to, but eventually, he says, “I want to know so I can make them pay for what they did to you.”
“Most of them didn’t do anything, Kage, they just tried.”
“But they wanted to.”
I can’t really argue with his statement, but I don’t know that every person who tried to test me really deserves to die either.
When we turn down another hall, familiar doors come into view. I may not have known how to get here, but I know where we are. My emotions war within me. I’m excited to see Ziv and feel his eyes linger on my skin, but there’s no part of me that wants to join him in combat.
“I hope I don’t have to do anything after this.”
“You don’t. You have combat for the next three hours.”
I gape. “Three hours!”
“It will go by quickly,” he promises, but I hear the lie.
“Only if I lose consciousness.”
