Corin reached forward, enthusiastically shaking Aless’s hand. “Thank you for this honor, Master Aless.”
“Pleasure’s all mine, I assure you of this,” Aless replied, drawing his hand to his side and giving Corin a large smile.
Corin felt his heart drop low in his chest. Master Aless was being so polite, especially compared to the casual nature the other guardians now greeted him with. And those eyes—Corin couldn’t describe it, but he felt as though they were drawing him in, and suddenly he couldn’t look away. His throat dried, and he tried desperately to form words.
Selena glared at Aless. “Can you stop trying to hypnotize my student?” she snapped, pulling Corin back and placing herself between them.
“I apologize, Master Zephyr,” he answered. “It’s been a while since I had a chance to communicate with people.”
“If that’s everything, we really need to go back to training,” Selena replied, gesturing for Corin to return to his exercises.
“Oh come on, Lena. He just wants to get to know the kid. That mana would stand out in any room,” Piers pleaded. Aless suddenly felt very grateful for his friend’s ability to cope with Selena’s attitude.
“Even if that is true, Piers, I still need to continue my training. If he really wants to meet Corin he can do it on his time, not mine,” Selena stated.
Piers grabbed her hand, kissing the back of it and giving her a wink. “As you wish, my lady. You win,” he teased, grabbing Aless’s shoulder and pulling him away. “We’ll leave you and your dear apprentice to your training. We’re gonna be sparring pretty soon, though. You and Corin should take a break to watch. I promise it’ll be worth it.”
Selena turned around. “I don’t think it would help him to watch two brutes hit each other, but I’ll consider it.”
Piers tugged Aless to a nearby training circle. Selena watched out of the corner of her eye, making sure they were out of earshot before immediately approaching Corin.
“I want you to stay away from Aless,” she snapped, louder than she had intended to, causing Corin to jump in surprise. He knocked the bottle to the side with a more powerful gust than earlier.
“W-what?” Corin asked, turning to face his teacher.
Selena took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for yelling,” she began. “I won’t punish you for today—Piers forced you. But it’s an order. Do not talk to Serac’s guardian at all. If he tries to talk to you, say I told you not to, if it will help.”
Corin felt a wave of disappointment flood through him, his expression immediately falling. Serac’s guardian—rather, Aless—had been so polite. He couldn’t understand Selena’s command. He knew that Aless had been banished for quite a long period, but he seemed perfectly normal now.
“If I may ask, Master,” Corin began, keeping his tone low, “and I’ll obey either way, don’t misunderstand, but why must I avoid Master Aless?”
“Firstly, you will call him Master Serac, not Aless,” Selena ordered, “and it was before you came here, but Master Serac’s exile should have been longer—he threw the entire clan into chaos, believe me. You heard what Cyril said, didn’t you? The details aren’t important, but Aless is dangerous. Should I catch you talking with him, I’ll make you run laps until your feet bleed.”
Corin looked at the ground. He couldn’t believe Selena’s words—how could she speak that way of Master Aless? He seemed perfectly nice, perfectly calm. He bit his lip. “I understand, Master. I apologize for my questions.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Selena replied. “Now, in order to do a successful extraction….” She droned on. Corin looked over her shoulder, watching Aless and Piers.
Chapter 5
“SATISFIED?” Piers asked, stripping out of his shirt and stretching his arms over his head, attempting to warm up for their upcoming spar.
Aless leaned against one of the pews. “Not even close. Is there a reason Selena refuses to allow me more than a few moments?”
Piers turned to him. “You were trying to hypnotize him. And yeah, I could see it too—don’t try to lie your way out of it. You didn’t reallyexpect her to allow that, did you?” he asked, unlacing his boots and throwing them lazily to the side.
“I don’t know,” Aless replied, removing his footwear. “I expected to receive the benefit of the doubt from her, you know? I really haven’t done anything wrong. I was more polite than she deserved, at the very least.”
“Hey now, let’s not be rude about it,” Piers scolded.
Aless snorted. “Selena gets a free pass and I don’t?” he asked, folding his coat and placing it to the side and unbuttoning his shirt. “Let me guess, if I grow a pair of breasts you’ll begin running to my defense?”
“Look, you’re my oldest friend, Aless, but you have been gone for ten years,” he explained. “Kateline and Selena are also my friends. We’ve been working with each other for a very long time—it’d be impossible not to care for her a little bit.”
“You know me well enough to know I’m not trying to hurt her,” Aless replied, folding his shirt and placing it on top of his long brown overcoat. “I’ve served my time, damn it! She could at least give me a chance.”
“It’s not as if I don’t agree with you, really,” Piers explained, tightening his restraints, the golden rings standing out brightly on his skin, “but Selena’s got a reason to act the way she does.”
“And if you’d tell me, I’d do my best to correct it,” Aless countered.
“And if I was allowed to tell you, I would,” Piers retorted, “but trust me on this, Aless, it really is not anything you’ll have the ability to fix.”
Aless looked at the ground. “That student of Selena’s is intriguing, I must say….”
“You’ve got that right,” Piers agreed.
“When I was closer to him I got a better look at his mana. There’s something so incredibly unusual about it; could you feel it too?” he asked. “I couldn’t determine which element would suit him best…. Have I really been so out of touch?”
“Ah, so you felt it too, then.” Piers replied. “Something’s off about it, isn’t it?”
Aless replied, “I know this may sound strange to you, but I was intoxicated by it. I wasn’t intending to hypnotize him—I wasn’t. I’m not going to lie to you about that. It just happened, it was the strangest feeling.”
“Same thing happened to all of us, Aless. Myself included,” he admitted.
“And here I thought you didn’t fancy men.”
“There’s something about that kid that makes everyone want him,” Piers replied. “Really, Selena’s the only one who’s been able to keep herself under control, as terrible as that is. I mean, as I said before, Corin has no elemental aptitude for fire, earth, air, or chaos as far as we can tell, but we all thought it was safer to have a guardian watch him than not.”
“I could understand that,” Aless replied, looking back toward Corin and Selena for a second. “Has anyone tried him with water?”
“No one strong enough to train someone with that amount of sheer mana,” he answered. “Why? Did you sense he’d have a knack for it? If you did, you really should tell us—we’ve been searching for his element since he first arrived.”
“No, I couldn’t sense what element he belonged to,” Aless confessed, “but it seems like an obvious choice—no one with that much raw mana would be without an element.”
“So ask him to train with you,” Piers suggested, walking over to one side of their training ring. “Ready to spar?”
“Physical or elemental?” Aless asked, carefully examining his bonds, ensuring the silver rings on his thighs and neck weren’t close to falling off.
“Elemental is so much more fun,” Piers replied.
“I’m set, in that case. You prepared to be beaten once again?”
“Not in your lifetime!” Piers declared, summoning a fire barrier around himself, his eyes flashing bloodred.
Aless lunged forward, covering his arm with an icy shield, tearing thr
ough Piers’s fire and slamming into his side. Piers hissed, reforming the blockade with vigor and burning Aless’s arm.
Aless allowed his spirit to take partial control, flashing his eyes much like Piers had during the start of their spar. A few nearby students approached their circle, attempting to get a glimpse of their fight.
Piers threw a punch, but Aless was too fast, managing to grab his hand and release a thick cloud of steam toward the crowd. Piers leapt back, allowing larger fireballs to be conjured in his hands. He gave a small smile.
Aless slid across the ground, attempting to use his feet to knock Piers over. However Piers managed to predict his kick, sidestepping the ornate move and gripping Aless’s arm, twisting it back at a painful angle. Aless let out a cry, strengthening his water skin and sending more steam into the sky.
Piers dropped Aless’s arm and leapt. This was definitely what he had missed about fighting with Aless. The two were largely evenly matched—Aless having more skills in regards to spells and Piers having more raw, physical power. It made for interesting spars, and seeing the steam released by their clashing elements made it very satisfying.
Aless looked out toward the crowd, raising an eyebrow when he saw Corin staring, even from the next training ring over. He let his mind wander back to Corin, sidestepping one of Piers’s kicks and throwing a wave of water to counter.
How could such a young man even be present on their grounds, he wondered, and how did Corin manage not to have a guiding spirit? His essence had been intoxicating, Aless could sense that much, but he had never felt a spirit quite like that, even before his banishment.
Piers suddenly threw a punch, hitting straight against Aless’s stomach and leaving a large, blackened burn. “Focus!” he barked, raising his arms to counter Aless’s retaliation.
Aless tried to get his mind back into the spar but found his concentration waning. Corin looked unlike any others he had ever seen. Piers’s assessment of his genealogy had been accurate, as far as Aless could tell. The young man was gorgeous, having almond eyes, pointed ears from the Far Eastern islands, and a ruddy skin tone from Central. It was unique, and not a look very common—
“Focus!” Piers snapped, gripping the back of Aless’s arm and flipping him over his shoulder, slamming Aless into the ground and blackening his wrist. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Piers yelled, conjuring more fire.
Aless stood up once again. Piers sighed, stepping back and relinquishing his fire skin, sealing Corona fully inside him. “Just stop, Aless,” Piers called out, tightening his restraints until his eye color returned to normal.
Aless sighed, sending his water skin into the ground and following suit, stepping back and huffing for breath. “Good spar,” he offered, offering his hand.
The crowd applauded, beginning to disperse. Piers grabbed Aless’s hand, shaking it roughly. “Corona be damned, it was!” he cursed. “It’s dangerous to fight when you’re so distracted! If you can’t keep a clear head you should have refused!”
“I’m sorry,” Aless apologized, panting.
“Damn it, Aless. You’re going to be scarred for months,” Piers stated, examining the cuts Aless caused. When he compared them to Aless’s burns they were benign.
“I’ll heal. Serac can help next time I pray to him,” he answered, finally feeling the severity of his injuries. Even before Aless had been exiled, Piers had always left painful wounds. The trick to beating him was always dodging, avoiding hits regardless of circumstance. “I should’ve called it off earlier,” Aless admitted, glancing back at Corin and Selena.
Piers sighed, leaning back against one of the training pews. “Do you want me to distract her?” he offered, gesturing toward Selena.
“Why?” Aless asked, turning back toward Piers.
“Look,” he began, “it’s pretty obvious to me you’re not gonna be satisfied until you have some more time with the kid. You say the word, I’ll distract Selena for a few hours. You’ll be free to do what you please.”
“You could do that?” Aless asked.
“Sure,” Piers replied. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but annoying Lena is a ton of fun. At least for me it is.”
“You do seem to take some pleasure in riling her up,” Aless replied. “If you’re willing, I promise I’ll make the best of my time.”
“I’m sure you will,” Piers answered. “What do you want with Corin, anyways?”
“I think,” Aless replied, “that with raw mana like that, I would like to take him on as my apprentice. I can’t do a worse job than anyone else, and I’d like a fair shot.”
“Works for me,” Piers said, sauntering over to the two training, not bothering to clothe himself. He couldn’t make out what they were saying for a while, until suddenly the bottom of Selena’s dress caught on fire, eliciting an ear-piercing scream.
“Why would you do this, you idiot?” Selena screeched, desperately trying to put out the fire with no success. “You fool! Why would you do this? What made you think this was a good idea? You moron!”
“Aww, but you’re so cute when you’re mad!” Piers yelled, almost matching her volume. “Besides, your legs look far nicer like this!”
There was a bit more shouting, mainly filled with Piers laughing and Selena screaming.
“Corin! You stay out here and practice while I get changed!” she shouted, storming back into the main temple. Piers trailed closely behind, offering obscene comments in response.
Aless laughed. Well, he’d give Piers some credit—it had taken him under a minute to get Selena to storm away from the grounds altogether. If it were anything to go off of, Piers would manage to annoy her for the remainder of the afternoon. He felt a tinge of sympathy for the girl, having been on the receiving end of Piers’s antics many times in the past.
He gave a quick look toward his pile of nicely folded clothing, debating whether or not to redress himself before approaching Corin, who had a small, adorable smile on his face. If he was going to impress Corin, he might as well put his best foot forward. Besides, he was still overheated from his fight earlier, and was already dreading having to wear more than his pants.
He sighed, rolling back his shoulders and approaching Corin’s training area.
Chapter 6
CORIN smiled from his training pew, watching Piers practically chase Master Selena back into the monastery. If he had to choose a guardian he favored the most, aside from Master Selena, it definitely would’ve been Piers. The man was always so friendly, and he always went out of his way to cheer up Master Selena when she got stressed and on edge.
Corin suspected that Master Selena’s feelings extended beyond pure friendship when it came to Piers. She always blushed around him, something Corin never saw her do in any other circumstance. Also, she let him get away with far more teasing than anyone else in the monastery. Corin was more than certain if he even tried half the things Piers got away with, Master Selena would make him run laps.
He placed the bottle back on the pew, attempting to focus on the task Master Selena had given him earlier. Corin respected his master, he really did, but sometimes he wished she were just a little bit less strict. He had caught a few glimpses of the spar between Master Aless and Piers earlier while walking between buildings, and he had been dying to get a closer look.
Piers and Master Aless had looked immensely graceful during their spar, and Corin wondered if Master Selena and Kateline would look the same in a similar situation. Piers’s and Aless’s bright eyes and toned bodies meshed perfectly in combat, and the steam radiating from them was beautiful. It was fire and water—the perfect opposites.
However, when Master Selena had caught him staring she had scolded him heavily, making him knock the bottle off the pew at least ten times before even letting him attempt the new technique! He frowned at this. He knew Master Selena was working in his best interests, but he had never had such a harsh guardian before her. Piers and Kateline had never forbidden him from speaking to anothe
r guardian, either.
Corin allowed his mind to flow back to Serac’s guardian. He really was a talented fighter if he was able to take Piers in hand-to-hand combat. It was an impressive feat. Corin had seen a few trainees after a duel with Piers, and they almost always looked near death.
Corin looked up at the sky. When he became stronger, perhaps he’d be granted the pleasure of sparring with one of the guardians, one on one. He sighed, feeling a slight lump in his stomach. The new technique Selena had taught him was brutal; he couldn’t get the hang of it no matter how hard he tried. She claimed it was a basic extraction of air, used to make his gusts stronger, but he couldn’t find it to extract in the first place.
“Why the long face?” Aless’s voice came, startling him out of his thoughts. Instantly Corin snapped back into his training position, pretending he hadn’t been slacking off.
Corin bit his lip. Master Selena had warned him not to talk to Aless, but he really didn’t seem like a bad man. Besides, she wasn’t around, was she? And if Piers was any indication, she’d be gone for a decent amount of time.
Corin turned to Aless and gave a small bow, feeling a blush staining his face. “Master Serac,” he greeted, finally looking up at the Water Guardian.
Nothing he could’ve done would’ve prepared him for the sight.
There stood Master Aless, shirtless, with his marks practically glowing in the sun. His chest and arms looked like they had been carved out of pure stone, he noticed, and his clan marking stood prominently around his heart. A light sheen of sweat covered him, brown, wavy hair sticking to his forehead.
“Aless will be fine, as I told you before,” Aless said, stretching and running a hand through his hair.
“I… I apologize, Aless,” he replied, averting his gaze from the attractive, tall man in front of him. He thought of Master Selena’s words once again—he just couldn’t believe the man standing in front of him was as evil as she said. “Master Selena said I was not to talk to you!” he blurted out, covering his mouth almost instantly after saying it.
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