by Sophia Shade
Running over, I grab a practice sword before she can finish her sentence. I don’t want to tell her no to sparring if that’s what she was going to ask, but I need to get closer to the girl with the note. I stand next to the blonde just as she’s slipping the piece of paper into her pocket.
“Hey, why don’t you spar with me?” I ask. “It’s good to work with new people, right? Keep us on our toes?”
“Umm, sure, I guess,” she says.
She introduces herself as Ferria, a full fire elemental. I’ve seen her around before. She’s known for being reserved, but her powers are strong and well controlled. I doubt she’s someone I could actually take on in a fair fight, but I don’t plan on fighting fair.
“Okay, let’s review some of the motions we have practiced before,” Coach Thorne tells us. “First position, raise your sword. Second position, to the side. Parry. Gently thrust.”
Everyone follows his commands, going through the mindless motions we’ve done a hundred times before. I can’t help but think this isn’t how a real fight would go down, but whenever I’m training with Erick, he does similar things, and he says it’s part of learning the technique.
Once you learn the technique, then you can get creative with it, he always says.
Coach Thorne nods to the group. “Excellent. Now, everyone, face your partners and go through the motions again.”
I face Ferria and smile. “Hey, nice to finally get to talk to you.”
“Sure, Imogen,” she says softly, but she doesn’t smile back.
“I’m glad to still be in the class,” I say, going through the motions as she does the same.
“Yeah, good for you.” Her motions are a lot cleaner than mine. It’s clear she’s being doing this longer. “We all thought you were a goner.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“Back to first position!” Coach Thorne say.
“Oh, you know, the way you couldn’t control your fire,” she says, going through the motions. Parry. Gentle thrust. “You seemed rather hopeless.”
“Okay, everyone,” the coach says. “Now, students on the left, slowly move to attack while your classmate defends. Good!”
I advance on Ferria with my sword high. She crosses her sword in front of her.
“Well, I’ve come a long way.”
“Everyone’s noticed,” she says. “It’s been a shocking transformation. No one expected you to last longer than a day. Now look at you.”
While I can’t find fault with her words, there is something in her tone, in the look in her eyes, that tells me these are no idle compliments.
“What do you mean?” I ask again.
“Advance again,” Coach Thorne says. “Good!”
“About your ability to control your powers, silly.” She flashes me a half-smile. “And you’ve made so many friends. Even with an Unseelie prince.”
Inwardly, I chuckle, but don’t move a muscle in my face. She’s jealous! This is almost too easy.
“Yeah,” I say. To the side. Parry. “Caleb is hot, and such a sweetheart, too. I just love spending time with him.”
Thrust.
“Students on the right,” the coach calls. “Advance! Advance!”
“You’re not worth his time,” she growls. She steps toward me and raises her sword. “Worthless ashling!”
There it is. I hit her sore spot.
“No need to call names just because Caleb isn’t into you,” I shoot back.
Actually, I have no idea how Caleb feels about her, but this seems to be just the right thing to provoke her.
She grunts loudly. When she slashes her sword at me left and right, I jump back to avoid the blows.
“Hey! What’s going on?” Coach Thorne yells. He’s pretty far away from us, but it’s enough to give Ferria pause. “Stick to the motions, ladies!”
I reach out, pushing her firmly in the chest.
She steps right back at me. “Oh, you are going down, Imogen.”
“Bring it on.”
We toss our swords into the grass, and lunge toward each other. She points her hands at me, but before she can call forth her flame, I grab her wrists and thrust each hand to the side. Fire shoots out of her hands, but away from us.
This isn’t going to do me any good. I’ll never get to the note this way. I let her struggle free, but then shove her again, knocking her to the ground. Jumping on top of her, I toss her hands back. Her arms thud against the field, and her hands are pinned so she can’t call forth her fire again.
She struggles in my grasp. After nearly falling forward when she tries to pull her arms up, I slam her hands back down and hold firmer. Her fire powers may be better than mine, but I’m bigger. Stronger.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!” some of our classmates chant.
It’s so cheesy I almost want to laugh, but I’m in real danger. The only way I can keep her from roasting me is if I keep her hands pinned. It’s not hard to keep her from freeing herself, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen if I let go of her hand to reach into her pocket.
I’m going to have to let myself become a crispy critter if I want a chance at that note.
After more of the stagnant grappling, I let her wrench free. The struggle keeps her distracted as I reach into her pocket, and as expected, she gains the advantage—at least the physical one. She doesn’t notice what I’m doing because she’s blind with rage. She shoves her hand in my face, and I hold my breath as I brace for impact.
“Enough!” Coach Thorne’s voice is firm when he grabs Ferria’s wrist and pulls her away.
I breathe a sigh of relief. My body feels buzzy and numb, but not from magic. That’s good old human adrenaline at work.
“She touched me,” Ferria screams. “That dirty halfling attacked me with her hands!”
“I saw,” Coach Thorne says. “But we can do without the name calling, Ferria.” He turns to me, waiting while I stand and dust myself off. “That was a poor showing, Imogen. We do not attack one another in such a barbaric fashion. There are better ways to handle conflict, as you both should know.”
Over his shoulder, I can see Erick staring at me with that horrid look of disappointment. I want to tell him why I did it, that this is different from the mistake earlier, but now’s not the time.
Yes, I made a mistake earlier. But this time, I got it right. It just didn’t look that way to anyone else. Not yet, anyway.
“Sorry, Coach Thorne,” I say with my head down.
“Go get cleaned up. And I don’t want to see either of you back in class for at least a week. I’m ashamed to look at you.”
“Yes, Coach Thorne,” we both say.
I’m surprised a week’s suspension from one class was all we got. Back home, this would be a possible expulsion, and I was already on thin ice at Callador. Intel needed to save the school or not, I had to be more careful going forward.
As we head for the locker room to change, I feel genuinely guilty for ruining Coach Thorne’s class. He’s at least been trying to help me, unlike a certain mentor. But I had to get that note. It is our only possible lead to stop a much bigger problem at the school.
I pass Dannika, who has an appropriately confused look on her face, and give her a wry smile and wink to let her know I’ll be okay.
After all, I can feel the note crinkling in my pocket.
Twelve
“Unacceptable,” Damon yells after he practically drags me into a meeting with Coach Thorne and Lady Shadowburn the next day. “I told you she was dangerous. You cannot let this stand, my lady.”
I’d mistakenly thought being grounded from Elemental Application was going to be my only punishment.
“I am entirely capable of dealing with students in my own classes, Mr. Clawfire,” Coach Thorne remarks in an amazing show of calm. He really is the perfect person to teach a fighting class; he never loses his cool.
“This isn’t about you, Coach,” Damon grits out, apparently trying to sound polite but failing. �
�It’s about Miss Firepants here.”
“Miss Firepants?” I ask, stifling an inappropriate giggle. “Is that the best you can come up with?”
“Watch it, girl,” he says, wagging a finger at me. “You are this close to getting tossed out on your ass…”
“Mr. Clawfire!” Lady Shadowburn finally says firmly as she stands.
Even though she’s not quite yelling, I can feel the tiny hairs on my arms stand on end, like I touched a balloon charged with static electricity.
“That is quite enough,” she continues. “I understand everyone’s concerns. But can we discuss this calmly?”
Damon and I both lower to our seats, but only sit on the edges.
“You know, I wasn’t the only person in that fight. Isn’t Ferria—”
“Ferria is none of your concern,” Lady Shadowburn says. “This meeting is about you. Now, care to tell me what happened? This seems quite out of character for you. You have had your struggles, yes, but those were academic. You’ve never mentioned any problems with the other students.”
“It was just a fluke, I think.” I spread my hands, palms up. “One of the guys has been showing me a lot of attention, and I think she was jealous.”
“Ah, I see.” Lady Shadowburn nods as she looks at my folder on her desk. “Would this be Caleb Darkflame?”
“Oh, gods,” I say, aghast. “Why would that be in my record? We aren’t even a thing. We’re just friends!”
“We keep track of everything here,” she says, snapping the folder shut. “But in this case, I can’t help but keep an eye on things. You do know who Caleb is, don’t you?”
I shrug. “He’s an Unseelie court member, if that’s what you mean.”
“It is,” she says. “But not just a court member, Imogen. A prince. He has many obligations to his family and his people. They won’t take kindly to him spending so much time with…with a Seelie half-Fae.”
“That’s really no one’s business,” I say. “Nor is it right for everyone around here to treat halflings like we’re some kind of disease!”
“We’re not—”
“Aren’t you, though? Isn’t that what this is all about?”
“Imogen,” Coach Thorne says. “Please. We’re trying to help you here. You need to let Lady Shadowburn speak.”
“Imogen,” Lady Shadowburn says with a tight smile, “I understand your concerns, but I can assure you, we give equal opportunity here at Callador. And redirecting this conversation from its true purpose won’t be tolerated. Understand?”
“Yeah,” I mumble. “Understood.”
“And after your little blowup with Lord Ralnor…” She makes a little tutting sound with her tongue. “You’re starting to present a concerning pattern. I don’t want to believe this is who you are. As I said, you’ve never displayed behavior problems before, and now twice in one day? What’s going on, dear?”
I don’t want to tell them that I think the Unseelie are poisoning the Seelie. Or that I think the poisonings have something to do with the attacks on Ohdows. After the way Erick has reacted to my ideas, I don’t think they would believe me. I’m in enough hot water as it is.
“Nothing,” I finally say to my lap before straightening. “Nothing is going on.”
The room is silent. Lady Shadowburn, Damon, and Coach Thorne exchange glances. They don’t believe me, but they don’t seem to have anything else to go on other than my weird behavior.
“Can I go now?” I ask. “Erick is waiting for me at practice.”
“Of course, Miss Flareburn,” Lady Shadowburn says. “Just know that my door is always open. And hopefully next time you walk through it, it won’t be to discuss another problem.”
I nod and leave the room. Lady Shadowburn seems nice enough. I almost think I could trust her, but I’m not quite sure yet. Coach Thorne is cool, but I’ve given him enough trouble. As for Damon. Ugh. What is up with that guy? Some mentor! He seems determined to see me fail. Well, he’s going to be waiting a good long while, because I have no intention of doing so. What is it they say? The best revenge is success? He can kiss my ass at graduation.
When I get to the locker room, I shut myself in one of the stalls and take out the note I swiped from Ferria.
Meeting tonight.
We need to deal with this enemy once and for all.
We are in this together.
Darn. It’s so short. No names, no places. I risked everything for this?
I read the note again. It is talking about getting rid of an enemy. According to Professor Silvers, the courts have viewed each other as enemies throughout history. Old feuds could be popping up again. Old wounds, old alliances. I wonder how big this conspiracy is. There could be any number of people at this meeting.
Still, I think I’m on the right track. Ferria and her Unseelie friends are up to something. They are wanting to take out an enemy. Possibly tonight. I need to tell Erick.
I rush off for my tutoring with him, bursting out onto the field before even changing back into my gym clothes.
“Hey,” he says, eyebrows pulled together as I jog across the field toward him. “What the heck is going on with you? Why did you attack Ferria?”
I hold up the note, and then hand it to him. “Because of this. I saw another Unseelie student sneak onto the field and give it to her.”
He unfurls the note and stares down at it. He rubs his jaw, and I can see his gaze tick across the short note a few times before he looks back up to me.
“And you think this supports your crazy theory?” he asks, handing it back.
“Doesn’t it?” I say more than ask. I thought for sure this would get me back into his good graces, and now I’m wondering why I bothered. He asked me to help. “It proves that some Unseelie students are up to something.”
“Why don’t you just ask your boyfriend what’s going on?” he asks, arching an eyebrow. “You have an in with an actual Unseelie prince. If anyone would know what the lower ranking Unseelie are up to, it would be him.”
“First, he’s not my boyfriend,” I say. “And after today, I don’t know if he’ll ever speak to me again.” Did I just see Erick’s lips curve at that? Jerk. “And second, I don’t think all the Unseelie are in on this. I don’t believe life is so simple as black and white, good and evil.”
“Your tune will change after you’ve been here a while,” he says. “You don’t—”
“—know how things work around here,” I finish with a sigh. “Thanks for the reminder.”
“Sorry,” he says. “I don’t mean to come across like an ass. I just don’t want you to head down the wrong path. Believe it or not, I’m trying to look out for you.”
“Funny way of showing it,” I mutter.
“I don’t know a better way,” he says softly. “I’m a full Fae. This is my world, my home. It’s all I know. I can’t relate to what you’ve been through, and I don’t know how to get through to you.”
“Maybe try sympathizing a bit. From what I’ve been told, this happens a lot, the Fae having children in the human realm. It’s really shitty, you know.”
“Yeah, I know,” he agrees. We start walking toward the middle of the training field, and he continues. “I have a half-sister in the other realm.”
“You…you do?” I ask, my arms crossed as we reach our sparring circle. I turn to face him. “Where is she? How do you know about her?”
“My parents were going through a rough patch.” He winces. “Mom left for a while. Apparently, she hooked up with a human. Then, when she and Dad worked stuff out, she left my sister with her dad. She’s probably like six or seven by human standards.”
“Wow.” I did not see that coming. “Does she know…anything?”
“She knows her mom has another family, but my mom doesn’t have anything to do with her.”
“That’s really sad for your sister,” I say. “For you, too,” I dare to add.
“Yeah, but I check on her sometimes,” he says. He motions at the ground a
cross from him as he sits down, and I join him as he continues. “She lives in Japan, in a little village in the north. I go see her occasionally. Take her birthday and lunar New Year presents. The locals call her a koropokguru, a little person from their traditional folklore. When she sees me, she does this little excited dance on her tiptoes. She’s so cute. Tiny thing with black hair and green eyes, but tough as nails. She’s gonna be a force when she starts school here.”
He laughs—genuine laughter that sheds a whole new light on him. It’s clear he loves her, and that being separated from her is not what he wants.
“What will you do?” I ask, running my fingers through the grass beneath my palms. “When she gets older, I mean.”
“I’m not sure,” he says. “I plan to be the one to tell her the truth when she turns eighteen, and I’ll bring her to our world. But I don’t know if I should tell her before that.”
“You should,” I say, emphatically and without hesitation. “I mean, not now, since she’s only six. But eventually. Before it’s time for her to come here. She needs to know who she is, where she comes from, what to expect.”
“What about my mom?” he asks. He tucks his legs into a crisscrossed position, similar to how we sit when meditating, but more alert. “She doesn’t want me involved.”
“She can do what she wants,” I say as if I’m suddenly an expert on Fae family relations. “Your mom’s relationship to her daughter is completely separate from your relationship to your sister.”
He looks away, like he’s mulling over what I’ve said. I appreciate he’s asking my opinion on this topic, and taking me seriously. And if I can help make his sister’s life a little easier, it will make the crappy way my transition went worth it. Maybe I should look into how I can do more of this, help the Fae community bring humans into this realm in a better way. Maybe Ella was right about us writing a guidebook together or something.
“Thanks,” Erick finally says. “That really helps. I hadn’t expected you to be able to understand things from my end.”
“See how that works?” I ask, grinning. “You should try opening up more often. Maybe we can help each other out.”