‘What are youdoing?’ I hiss and turn to him. I feel eyes on me, heads turning our way from all over the room, causing my stomach to twist.
Sebastian ignores me. He drops himself into a fighting stance right in front of me, then calls out to the crowd.
‘First years, listen up!’ he shouts. ‘Nocthare has kindly volunteered to show you all whatnotto do when faced with athreat.’ The emphasis he places on the last word isn’t lost on me. He wants me to know I’m not safe with him. That he’s not the person I thought I knew. Well, the message is loud and fucking clear.
An excited holler roars up from somewhere in the room, followed by someone yelling, ‘Teach that bitch what it means to be Malachite, Zain!’ There’s an onslaught of clapping and more insults. Sebastian’s lips curve upward.Prick.
‘Get into a fighting position, Nocthare,’ he orders. ‘It’ll hurt less if you do.’ The dangerous smile that lights up his eyes makes me think that hurting me isexactlywhat he’d like.
Well, I won’t give him the satisfaction.
I drop into a defensive stance, planting my feet wide and bringing my hands up like Lukas taught me to. I’m not delusional; there’s no way I’m about to beat Sebastian Zain in hand-to-hand combat. He’s three times my size and has years of training on me. But he’s pissed me off, and I told myself that I wouldn’t show weakness around these people again. So even if he lays me flat on the ground in under a minute, at least I can walk away knowing I didn’t back down.
‘What’s the criteria for becoming a unit leader?’ I taunt. ‘Picking fights with first years?’
‘No, but putting them in their place sure is one hell of a perk,’ he retorts a second before he lunges forward, so fast that I barely have time to react. I leap backward in an attempt to get out of his way, but I’m too slow, or maybe he’s too quick. Either way, his forearm thuds against mychest, shoving me backward right as one of his legs wraps around the back of mine and sweeps my feet from under me. I fall to the mat,hard, landing right on my back. The force of the fall knocks the air from my lungs and causes my teeth to clack together. I blink several times as I gasp for air to return to my body, just to find Sebastian looming over me with a self-satisfied cock of his brow.
‘See? Perfectly in your place,’ he sneers. ‘On the ground with the rest of the dirt.’
‘F-fuck you,’ I seethe, pushing myself up to face him once more but he’s already given me his back, effectively dismissing me as he turns to address the other students.
‘All right, listen up,’ he calls out. ‘Nocthare thinks she can walk in here and expect to train with us.’ He gestures to me as I get to my feet. ‘She thinks she is one of us, but she’snot. So let this be a warning. If I catch any of you trying to help her train in this room, inmydomain, you’ll be answering tome. Got it?’
A uniform chorus of ‘Yes, Unit Leader’ rings out, echoing off the walls.
Fury licks up my skin.He can’t do this!I have as much right to learn and train as anyone else here. My teeth grind together as I glare daggers at him, wondering what I ever saw in him. He just smirks, his corded arms folded over his chest. I don’t think I’ve ever been so blindsided as I feel right now. I want to scream, but instead I clench my jaw and fists as I skirt to the side to watch Moira Davis waltz into the fighting ring with a wooden stave over her shoulder.
Her cold blue eyes narrow as she looks me up and down like I’m something gross she stepped in.
‘Get out of the ring, scum. Didn’t you hear? You don’t get to train.’
EIGHT
Iwas forced to sit out of the entire two-hour class. No one was allowed to train with me or speak to me. At one point, one of the new acolytes looked like she was going to walk over to me out of pity, but another of her friends yanked on her arm and pulled her away. She didn’t spare me a single glance for the rest of the class.
I got up at some point to find myself a wooden stave and an empty mat, figuring that if they wouldn’t let me train with them, I’d train by myself. But the second I reached the rack on the wall, people rushed over and grabbed every single stave that was left. I know it was him.Sebastian.
They were shutting me out, cutting me off from learning – from training – completely.
Eventually I gave up, and instead found a spot against the wall to lean on and simply observe. I noticed a white ring of what looked like salt sprinkled around the mat that Sebastian and I had fought on. I hadn’t noticed the salt ring before, but it had to be how the no -magic rule was enforced. It’s the only mat with a ring around it, likely for the benefit of first years still learning to harness their element.
I watched and listened to the instructions the older students gave the younger ones. I watched how Sebastian moved around and parried with his opponents; his footwork and where his eyes went seconds beforean attack came. I silently took note of the corrections and guidance he offered the others, storing it all for later.
When it was time to hit the showers, everyone filtered off in different directions. According to my timetable, I have two official classes a day, a break in between, and free periods set aside for training. It feels unfair that my first day’s already been cut short. I missed my first class and showed up late to my second. Now I’m unsure of where to go next.
I need to get back into Malachite, I know that for certain, if only to find out where all my belongings were placed and what room I’ll be sleeping in. But the problem I’m facing is that I need a Malachite student to grant me access. There’s no way for me to get into the dorms without someone else, and seeing as Sebastian won’t let anyone speak to me, I’m effectively locked out.
A heavy sigh falls from my lips as I leave the Training Centre. I wonder if I could find Tilly, but I have no clue where to look other than the Opal Unit’s tower, which I can’t access either.
Instead of heading across the manicured lawn toward the Grand Hall, I decide to wander for a while. I’m not quite ready to face more students and I’d rather enjoy the peacefulness of being outside. Whenever I have felt overwhelmed or like there’s too much happening inside my head at once, the one thing that’s always brought me comfort is nature. I’ve always loved the outdoors and have often found peace just from breathing in fresh air and listening to the melodic sounds of birds chirping among the gentle sway of tree branches. It’s why back home, even though I hate the cold, I’d find myself choosing to walk through snow across the city just to clear my head, instead of taking the carriage.
I eventually find myself at the Malachite tower and start to wonder if there’s another way to get inside – from out here. There can’t just be one way in and one way out; surely that’d be a safety hazard. I’ve almost made it around to the other side of the tower – no door or secret entrance in sight – when a coarse but feminine voice calls my name.
I whirl, bracing for some form of verbal or physical attack, because apparently I’m now developing post-traumatic stress disorder.
Fabulous.
But the girl jogging over to me stops a few feet away and points up to the tower. A gust of wind blows her hair back, revealing two pierced eyebrows that light a spark of recognition. She was in the room when I was attacked by Harley. She’s the one who warned me that I shouldn’t be there.
