I stop and lean over to catch my breath. "They do whippings here?"
Corinne looks down at her black sneakers. "Sometimes. If one of our own is being punished."
I don't enjoy seeing people suffer, and I can tell Corinne feels that doubly. "Any idea who?"
Wytt shakes his head. "Haven't heard a thing about it. Weird. Usually these things are being talked about days in advance."
I start walking to my room when Corinne calls me. "Where are you going?"
I look down at my sweaty body. "To shower."
Wytt laughs and throws an arm over my shoulder. "Oh darling, you have much to learn. We have fifteen minutes to grab breakfast before our Combat class begins. Where you will just get sweaty all over again."
I slump under the weight of his arm. "Really?"
All my muscles are sore from running, pushups, sit-ups, the obstacle course and not sleeping enough. Now I have two more hours of training? At least I'm going to be in excellent physical condition by the end of the quarter. If it doesn't kill me first.
We make quick work of breakfast, with me begging off food in favor of Life Force and coffee. Turns out coffee still tastes like coffee, even with my new Nephilim taste buds.
I'm still guzzling too-hot coffee as Corinne and Wytt push me out of the dining hall.
We enter the Arena where our Combat class is taught. It looks different today, more like the empty ruins it was modeled after rather than the bustling stadium it was last night. A few scraps of red cloth from discarded tokens are all that remain as a reminder of the celebrations.
There's about twenty of us waiting for class to start, and it's the first time I've seen all the Initiates in one place without the other Knights. Corinne, Wytt and I stand to the side, leaning against the Arena wall. I take the time to study the other students.
Garin and his two buddies are standing in the middle, clowning around and mock-fighting with a few of the swords that hang from a weapons' rack near them. He has a fighter's face, his bent nose looking like he might have broken it a time or two. When he sees me looking at him he sneers, but I don't turn away my gaze. I feel bad that his sister lost her spot at this school, and I hate that I'm the reason for it, but I'm not about to let my empathy excuse his bullying. So I hold his stare until he turns away and punches one of his friends in the shoulder, who yelps and punches him back.
"Do you two know everyone here?" I ask.
Wytt nods. "Mostly, yes." He points to a girl alone off to the side. She's pretty, slim, with golden brown hair in an A-line cut that shines under the sun—which finally woke up—and golden eyes. "She's a bit of a mystery. Comes from royal blood, or so I've heard. An old family, but I'm not clear on which old family." He points to the oldest member of our class. An Asian man probably in his forties, with shoulder length black hair. He's doing a graceful kata that looks meditative, like something he's done his whole life. "His name is Akio. He's been trying to get into this school for a few years and finally made it. He's not of noble blood, but his family is well-respected in Japan and very wealthy."
I'm impressed. "How do you know all this?"
Corinne snorts. "He's a busybody."
"I resemble that remark," Wytt quips with a grin. "I just know how to ask the right questions."
I point to a guy and girl who are flirting with each other. "And them?" She's got dark hair and eyes, with a curvy body. He's tall, blond and attractive, the kind of face that could sell movie tickets.
"The girl is Lana. She's from a noble, and very rich, Spanish family. And he's Prince Jaden of Sweden. Not the Crown Prince, so he gets to have more fun."
I look around and notice someone missing. "Where's your brother?"
Corinne frowns. "He'll be here soon. Punctuality isn't his strong suit."
As if on cue, Kai comes striding in, that cocky gait to his walk, just moments before King—Master—Varian comes in with Jax by his side. The King is dressed like all the Masters, in a long black robe with the Castle crest on one side of his chest and his own Order on the other. But you can't watch him walk and not see the royal blood in him. The leader. The King. Even without the fancy outfit and crown. Even with just a leather strap holding back his hair, and his swords at his hips.
Jax looks around and stops when his gaze lands on mine. He smiles, his eyes crinkling in that way I know so well, and I smile back. For that moment, we're still just those kids who liked to build forts together in my backyard. Who played with sticks and pretended they were swords. It's all so strange, seeing him in this world. With a real sword strapped to his hip. He outranks me in every way imaginable, and yet he's still the boy I grew up with.
Everyone starts to line up as Master Varian walks to the front of the class. "You know who I am, and I'll learn about you as I see you fight. So we're going to skip formalities and get straight to it. In this class, you will learn combat. With weapons, with your hands and feet. With your mind," he says, pointing to his own head. "But first, I want to see what you're made of. So, I'm going to pair you with one of your classmates, and each team will take center stage and spar until one of you wins."
My hands start to sweat as he calls out names. Corinne is paired with Lana, Wytt with Akio… and I get stuck with a smirking Prince Kai.
Kai walks over to me and grins. "Guess my dad likes you even less than he likes me."