Page 46 of A Touch of Stars and Stones (Kirrian #1)

twenty-six

. . .

Ever

K yra’s waiting, already in my room when we return to the residence, and I’m too glad to see her to worry about people coming into my room when I’m not there. It’s not like we lock the doors.

“Are you okay?” She stands in greeting, and I watch as her eyes sweep me in an assessing glance.

“I’m fine.”

“Rowan always wants to push people, but if you ask me, what he’s doing with you borders on cruel.” Her petite frame and sing-song voice don’t match the upset expression on her face. Her brows knit together with a scowl firmly in place.

“It’s fine. I appreciate you both helping and taking me to see her.”

“What did she say?” Kyra asks.

I look between her and her brother, debating if I want to share our conversation and what she divulged.

There were parts of our interaction that felt private and just for us.

Because nobody else here is like us. There’s a small amount of comfort in this.

I’d felt alone in my power until now. Even if this solidarity is with the woman I always thought of as a witch.

I walk around the bed to the nightstand where the small teacup I’d brought with me from home still sits with a sprig of dying flowers. My fingers gently lift it from its spot to examine the markings and the pattern, and I hold it in my hand for a moment.

“She asked if I believe in coincidence.”

“And what did you say?” Micah asks.

“I don’t.”

Silence stretches, and if I wasn’t preoccupied with the message she’d given me about one of only four possessions I’ve ever cared about, I’d be worried. But Micah has been far too quiet today, so I continue.

“She told me that I needed to train. And that I needed to stop waiting for answers.” That was the truth, no lies, but all I was happy to share for the time being.

“Good.”

We all turn at the low, threatening voice coming from the door. “Because Rowan isn’t going to give them to you. And I don’t want you going in blind like you have been, especially after what Azur did.”

“Ten!” I say, shocked at seeing him standing there, his arms crossed, his broad shoulders blocking most of the door, but not enough to keep Calix out, too.

I notice the swelling around his eye and the scrapes to his face, and look between him and Calix, who looks to be in similar shape.

“What did Azur say?” Micah asks, pulling me back to the conversation rather than the injuries littering Ten’s face. We hadn’t stayed after it became clear something was wrong with Azur. I was a mess of desperation and needed to escape, and Micah obliged.

Stars, had all of this happened only a few hours ago?

“That he led Ever into a maze within her mind to trap her.”

He turns his attention to me. “You might have figured out how to get out and ended up doing worse to him, but that was only instinctual, right? You’re not planning any of this because,” he shifts his weight where he stands just inside the door, “if you are?—”

“No. No, of course. I’d never… that’s why I went to see the Maker, like Aurelia said. I’ll visit with Kamari, too. I don’t want to be a risk. To anyone.” I make sure my eyes land on everyone in the room. Even Calix. Showing them that right now, I’m in the dark as much as anyone.

Ten nods at me, his eyes finally settling for longer than a second, and that heat tingles between us. Only, I’m nervous about it now—about what it did to him.

Is he really okay? And how did he get those bruises?

“I’m fine. I promise. But with the trials not far away. We need to do something.” He answers my silent question.

“Don’t remind me. But it sounds like you have some kind of plan?”

“I do.”

“Care to fill us in? And shut the door,” Micah says, as I try to stifle the hope Ten’s words have sparked.

He steps further into the room, but his eyes land on Kyra. “Training is usually reserved for trainees.”

“Kyra already let me practice on her.”

“Ever!” she scolds.

“Sorry, but if you hadn’t helped explain and told me what to try and do, then today might have been even worse.” They should know that she’s here to help just as much, if not more, than anyone.

“Shit.” Calix shakes his head.

Kyra’s already done more than all of them by breaking whatever silly rule there is about touch. However, that wasn’t quite true because they’d all helped in their own way.

They are all here to help.

The words clang in my head, and my eyes burn at the realisation.

Friends.

Even Calix. Maybe.

“If you want to help, Ten, then she’s in, too. She’s my friend, and I won’t have more people dictate and tell me what to do.”

Ten looks at Micah and then Kyra, and to her credit, she stares him down just as hard and doesn’t flinch under the weight of it. She’s shorter than I am, so he towers over her, not to mention that he’s about twice her size.

“Fine. We need Raiden, too.”

“Not likely. She and Ascella are really close. And we all know how she feels about Ever.” Micah chuckles.

“Capella, then?” Ten answers.

“Maybe. She’s one of you anyway,” Micah says.

“One of us?” Calix asks, frowning.

“Chamber members.”

“Zuns, no. None of that bullshit, if this is going to work, Star,” Ten states.

“Wait… hold up. What are we talking about?” I seem to have lost a step.

“We’re all here because you have unique abilities. You need proper training because the Custodians are doing a shit job of helping you, so we will. All of us. This isn’t about Chamber members or not.”

“And what exactly happened to spur this change of heart, Ciro? Care to share?” Kyra levels her glare back at Ten.

“I was the one who had to go into Azur’s mind to help him back. I was the one who saw Ever…” He looks at me for a beat. “It doesn’t matter. But this isn’t a fucking change of heart.”

He said he’d always help me. And he has kept to his word, but his action here, fighting for me, makes my heart skip.

“So, what’s the plan?” I ask.

It’s late enough that we’re all starving, especially Calix, when we file out of my room and head towards the food hall.

We say goodbye to Kyra, and she promises to see us tomorrow.

As she isn’t a trainee, she’ll have to be careful about her movements, but there aren’t any rules that say she can’t be in my room, and neither Ten nor Calix thought it was a good idea to use their old apartment residences to meet.

Seeing where Ten grew up does pique my interest, but I try and keep that from showing in my eyes when they inevitably fall to his.

The other trainees are still in the hall, finishing up dinner, and we draw their attention as we all walk in together. Calix being with Ten isn’t strange, but add me and Micah to the group, and it’s enough for everyone to stop eating.

I watch the table where Capella, Raiden, and Ascella sit together and wonder what Capella will say.

For me to practice and train to the fullest, I need to work with someone from each Order to utilise different combinations.

That’s what Ten declared was the purpose of all of this.

On the surface, there isn’t a lot of difference from what we’d been doing so far in class.

But knowing what’s coming, discussing our tactics, no physical combat or aggression, and doing it with people I can trust, all add up to a difference I feel eager about.

What we’ve done in class hasn’t worked out. It’s been unpredictable, and I felt woefully underprepared.

Calix will be training me, building my strength and endurance, because although it’s improved since I arrived, I’ve been getting by on luck until now.

Kyra will continue to help me focus and build my control, and Micah will work with me on pushing my power when I combine with another. Ten will be focusing on my mental capacity, as Aurelia suggested, and we’ll both be visiting Kamari.

Ten’s put all of this into motion. Whatever happened in the classroom has pushed him to act, and that he has, solidifies something in my chest and gives me the confidence that maybe I’m not as alone in all of this as I first thought. That it won’t just be me and the Maker.

Her words still rang in my ears. And I have to decide how much to let my friends in on her warnings.

They are helping me, so maybe they deserve to know.

Earth and space and time and everything in between.

Possibilities… Nurture or destroy . It all felt daunting to try to find reason and sense in it.

Crimson draws my attention back to this room.

Calix hadn’t mentioned her earlier, and neither had Ten.

But the three of them, according to Micah, had been best friends forever.

Her past reactions gave no evidence that she’d be all smiles at me walking in here with her brother and friend, and I was still to discover just what she and Ten were to each other—more than friends? For her part, I assumed yes.

Micah peels away from us and heads for Capella. Despite what he said earlier, he has a better relationship with her than either Ten or Calix.

We all grab our food from the servery area: chicken, vegetables and those delicious bread rolls.

“No. More. Like at breakfast. Especially now,” Calix gives me a sharp command, and it’s there, on the tip of my tongue, to argue.

“Don’t. He’ll win. Trust me.” Ten quicks a smile in my direction.

I add another roll and another slice of chicken to my plate before we go and take the only unoccupied table.

The hair on the nape of my neck tickles with awareness, and I know I would rather face the Maker again—alone—than sit and wait here.

The three of us eat in silence, our heads down.

Keeping my eyes on my food instead of checking on Azur at the table across from us is harder than expected.

I hadn’t waited to check on him before Micah got me out of the classroom.

But then, should I have stayed? He had no qualms with going in fighting in our first encounter, weaving a dangerous path for me with the full intent to do me harm.

Both he and Ravi stand and leave a few minutes later, leaving Crimson to head in our direction.

Here we go!