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“Remember, you don’t know who he is,” Alex said to D.C., who had Combat first up.

“Amnesia, got it,” the red-head replied before taking off for the Arena, while the rest of them headed to the lake to test their water survival skills in PE.

After narrowly avoiding death-by-drowning, the rest of Alex’s day passed from Archery—where she had to shoot at moving targets over a hundred feet away—to lunch, and finally to Equestrian Skills where Tayla made them all participate in a game similar to polo, except they had to ride bareback while sittingbackwards. It was remarkably unsafe, in Alex’s opinion, but Tayla was adamant that it taught them how to feel the horse’s movement underneath them. That, and apparently it was a great exercise to help increase their balance and coordination skills.

Alex fell off three times. But that was less than most of her classmates. D.C. landed on her royal behind a total of seven times, and the others hit the ground even more. Needless to say, everyone was relieved when the class ended.

As Alex hobbled from the Stable Complex to the Arena, she wondered how she might get away with skipping her last class. Nothing came to mind, so she stood up a little taller, winced when her backside and shoulder protested from the movement, and entered the colossal structure.

“You’re late, Jennings,” Karter grunted.

“Sorry, sir,” she said, knowing he wouldn’t care to hear about how painful the simple act of walking was.

“As I was saying,” Karter said, shooting her an irritated look, “my new assistant has more experience than most of you will ever have in your lifetime—combined. When he speaks, you listen. Understood?”

Alex and her classmates nodded their agreement and when Karter was satisfied, he called out, “Zain? Anything to add?”

The Meyarin warrior stepped out from an alcove in the Arena’s wall and Alex had to hold back a grin when she heard the indrawn breaths of those around her.

“I think they get the point,” Zain said to Karter. “And if they don’t, they will.”

Alex wasn’t the only one who trembled at the look he levelled at them, but she also knew that Zain was really a teddy bear— albeit one who could land her on her back with a sword at her throat without any effort at all.

But still, a teddy bear.

Karter smirked at their reactions and ordered, “Run two laps around the Arena for a warm-up, then grab a wooden staff and find a partner.”

They sprinted off as ordered, and when Alex was halfway through her first lap, Kaiden matched her pace and moved closer.

“Do you want to tell me why there’s a Meyarin helping to teach our Combat class?” he whispered, after making sure the others were a safe distance away.

Alex schooled her expression into disbelief. “A Meyarin? Really?”

He snorted. “Please, Alex. You can drop the act.”

“What are you trying to say, Kaiden?” she asked defensively.

“These days most people don’t remember what Meyarins look like, let alone get the chance to see one in real life,” Kaiden said, echoing Zain’s words from the previous night. “Two in the space of as many days is unheard of. But for some reason, I’m not surprised. And you don’t look surprised, either.”

Alex didn’t say anything, but simply continued to run while stealing glances at him. She wondered how he seemed to know so much, but there was no way she could ask if she wasn’t willing to answer in return.

“Just tell me this, is he on Aven’s side of whatever’s going on?” Kaiden asked, seeing that she was maintaining her stubborn silence.

Alex wasn’t going to answer. Really, she wasn’t. But after everything he’d been through with her and the secrets he was already keeping, she couldn’tnotreassure him.

“No,” she whispered. “Zain’s one of the good guys.”

He sighed loudly—how he did that while running, Alex had no idea—and turned to look at her again. “I take it I’m not supposed to know he’s not human?”

“That would be preferable,” Alex said. “He’s aiming for anonymity.”

Kaiden laughed at the ludicrous idea, and Alex found herself smiling with him.

“Well, he’stryingfor anonymity,” she amended.

“He’ll probably succeed,” Kaiden admitted. “Very few people would believe that we have a Meyarin on the teaching staff.”

His eyes danced with humour as if his words had an added meaning, but they were coming to the end of their second lap and Alex didn’t get the chance to ask if there was more to his comment than she understood.