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Forty-Seven

“Well, well, well. Look who’sfinallydecided to grace us with her presence.”

Alex held her annoyance in check as she walked into the Arena the next afternoon. It was her last class of the day, of the year in fact, and it justhadto be Combat.

“I’m on time,” she said, crossing her arms defiantly.

“You weren’t for the rest of the week,” Karter said.

Alex couldn’t believe him. Was he seriously blaming her for being unconscious on one of those days, and in an exam on the other?

“I’m just pulling your leg, Jennings,” he said after a tense moment. “Relax.”

She gaped at him. Was that asmileon his face?

“Queenie!” Sebastian called. “We heard you were in the Med Ward, like, all week. What’d you do? Eat some bad chicken? That’s what everyone’s saying.”

Alex turned around to find her classmates staring at her, waiting for an answer. She didn’t know what to say and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Queenie?”

“It’s your new nickname,” Sebastian said. “Queen of the obstacle course. You totally nailed it last week.”

“All right, enough chitchat,” Karter interrupted, saving Alex from having to respond.

He told them to take a seat and everyone hastened to follow his order.

“It’s been a big year,” Karter said, pacing back and forth in front of them, “but you’ve all made it through. I’m the first to admit I don’t go easy on my Epsilon students, and you’ve each proven your worth, one way or another.”

Alex couldn’t believe it. He was almost… encouraging. Supportive, even. Nothing at all like the drill sergeant she was used to.

“I expect even more from you in the coming year.”

Yay, Alex thought sarcastically, but she was still amazed by his encouragement.

“That said, this year’s not over yet. So, GET OFF YOUR BEHINDS AND GET TO WORK!”

Ah. There he was. Normal Karter was back.

The six of them scurried up from their seats. The boys headed automatically to the opposite side of the Arena where the weapons were kept, but Alex held back, awaiting further instructions.

Karter turned to her, heaving a sigh deep enough to blow storm clouds off course. “The headmaster wants to see you, Jennings.”

She blinked at the unexpected words. “Err—okay. When, sir?”

His eyes narrowed. “When do you think, girl? Use your brain. He wants to see younow, obviously. In the administrator’s office.”

“Oh, right. I’ll—I’ll just go now, then?” she asked, uncertain if he was giving her permission to leave his class or not.

“Go,” he said dismissively.

She hesitated, wondering if she should say something like ‘See you next term’ or ‘Enjoy your summer’ or ‘Thanks for teaching me how to dodge things in your own stupid way’. But in the end, the moment passed and she walked away, glancing back only briefly to look at her classmates one final time. Her eyes caught Declan’s and the big guy gave her an easy grin and a goodbye wave, which she returned.

Just as she began to turn away another set of eyes caught hers, and she became trapped in Kaiden’s searching gaze. After a moment he nodded and gave her a slight smile before he turned back to face his opponent.

Alex walked quickly out of the Arena, ignoring the fact that her heart was beating faster than normal. It was probably just nerves because she was finally going to meet the headmaster. That was all. Nothing else.

Yeah, right.

By the time she reached the Tower she was too distracted by her upcoming meeting to think about anything—or anyone—else. She’d been waiting months to meet Marselle, and there was a lot riding on their conversation—her entire future, really.