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Niyx!Alex cried, frustrated by his responses.

Kitten, Kyia and Zain are two of the bestZeltoraMeya’s ever seen, but they’ll be pulling their punches because, despite what you’ve told them, they won’t believe that you’ll stand a chance against them. They’ll be overly cautious not to hurt you, just like Roka was when you trained with him. That’ll give you the upper hand, as long as you take advantage of it immediately—before they realise you were telling the truth. Go for the metaphorical kill straight away and you’ll have them both subdued within seconds.

That all sounds good, though, Alex said, confused about his earlier lack of recommendation.

It does. But it might make them question how you’ve become so competent so quickly, Niyx said.There’s nothing to be done for it, so go ahead and we’ll deal with any fallout later if it comes—which, hopefully, it won’t.

Their mental conversation took place in the span of but a few breaths that Alex was able to mask as having spent thinking over Kyia’s question.

“Both of you at once,” she confirmed.

Ignoring Zain’s clear amusement and Kyia’s doubtful incredulity, Alex said, “The clock’s ticking. Are we doing this, or not?”

Zain’s amusement vanished. “You’re actually serious.”

Curbing her frustration, Alex said, “I am. And I’ll fight you right here if I have to, though I’d rather not since, while this tent is large, I’d prefer more room to move.”

Seeing her determination, Zain’s features brightened with the thrill of the challenge. Kyia continued to look uncertain, before rolling her eyes to the heavens and sighing with resignation.

“All right, little human. We’ll humour you in this,” Zain said. “If you can prove you’re able to handle yourself, we’ll hold off on training you—for now. But if we’re not satisfied, then you’ll find the time to work with us daily, agreed?”

Niyx, are you sure I can do this?

You’ve got this, kitten. No doubt about it.

Spurred by his confidence, Alex nodded to Zain, noting his smirk—and concealing her own—as she said, “Agreed.”

Seventeen

Niyx’s assumptions had been correct.

After relocating a short distance from Roka’s tent—close enough to protect him but far enough from curious Meyarin eyes—both Zain and Kyia had been hesitant to attack Alex. She’d taken full advantage of their caution, lashing out with a fervour that had unarmed them and shocked them into defeat in less than two minutes flat. The swiftness of the fight and their surprise at her competence had kept them from making any comparisons likening her style to Niyx’s, meaning she was in the clear on that account—at least for now.

The haste of their defeat had prompted Kyia and Zain to demand a rematch, but Alex had claimed that hadn’t been part of their bargain. They’d been left to grudgingly accept that, just like them, no one else would expect her to be so fiercely combative. If nothing else, they believed she would have the surprise factor in her favour. And that was enough for them to yield their demands to further her training—at least for a little while.

After promising she would return again soon to update them on how the rest of her weekend cultural visits panned out, Alex returned to the Library, arriving in the foyer just seconds before Bear.

“We have a problem,” he said without preamble.

Alex’s mind jumped to the fifty thousand potential possibilities before she decided it was best just to ask. “What’s happened?”

“Luranda caught Jordan and Dix making out behind Gen-Sec while you were gone,” Bear said. “For obvious reasons, I wasn’t with them,”—he pulled a comical face—“so I couldn’t use my gift to charm her into being more lenient. They’re both stuck in detention with her for the rest of the day.”

Alex sighed. “Those two. I mean, I’m happy for them, but still. Hopefully they’ll be able to keep their hands off each other long enough to not miss out on coming tomorrow as well.”

Bear winced. “Actually…”

At his expression, Alex sighed again. “Their detention’s not just today, is it?”

He shook his head. “All weekend. Luranda has zero tolerance for teenage hormones.”

Rubbing her forehead, Alex dredged up a smile. “Well, I’m glad you’re still with me, Bear. Together we’ll take on the world.”

He chuckled and said, “Let’s just start with Maroo and see how we go from there.”

Grinning at him, Alex led the way towards the staircase and, when they stepped through to the corridor of doors, she asked the Library to show them the way to Maroo. Immediately a door opened and Alex and Bear walked through it.

Transported straight into the middle of a dense jungle, they were suddenly surrounded by trees and moss, by dangling vines and trickling streams.