Page 50

Keahi

I wake up in the morning as tired as if I’d never slept at all.

I didn’t leave the training room until the very last guard had left yesterday, unsure of where to go since crawling back to Malia clearly wasn’t an option, and it took me a while to decide to ask Eteri for help.

As it turned out, she was staying at the guards’ quarters as well, and she was willing to help me out and let me stay with her until the battle was over.

After we agreed on that, I decided to take a run through the woods to blow off enough steam to calm my racing mind.

It helped.

Once I got to the room, I was tired enough that I was out like a light as soon as my head hit the pillow. Seeing as that was only three hours ago, though, I’m battling my exhaustion.

Seeing as Eteri is already gone, I force myself to get up anyway.

There’s a meeting scheduled at 1 pm, leaving me with some time to kill.

I consider going to the library, but the chances of seeing Malia there are too high. Instead, I go to one of the single training rooms to blow off some steam.

It feels a little like old times, come to think about it.

Me, angry and frustrated because of Malia and coming here to avoid her.

Even her hostility seems to be somewhat the same, never mind that my feelings have taken a bit of a turn, to put it lightly.

I wanted to go back to our room last night more than I care to admit, but some sense of self-preservation kept me from it.

Even if her outburst yesterday was just because of the incident with Wystan, what kind of person would it make me if I crawled back to her so soon? She wouldn’t even let me.

She’s just too confusing. One moment she’s flirting with me, kissing me senseless, and the next she’s acting like she can’t stand being in my proximity.

It’s getting close to 1 pm, so I head to the meeting room.

There, I’m determined not to look at Malia, even though I keep focusing on her in my peripheral vision.

"As planned, the archers will be hiding on the roof until the Shadow Handlers come out of the safety of the woods.

There will be no warning shots, we’re going for their heads.

They’ll block, but it should take them by surprise, giving us an advantage.

"Once they are aware of us, we attack from the other sides.

The plan is to stay in the trees and kill them silently, which we now know how to do," Flint’s voice trails off unhappily.

"Hopefully, once they realize they’ve walked into our trap, they’ll retreat." They won’t, I think, and by the looks on the other adults’ faces, so do they. I risk a glance at Malia. Her expression is cold and detached, her eyes unreadable.

We spend the rest of the meeting talking about each person’s position and the responsibilities of assigning the guards that aren’t present.

By the time the meeting ends hours later, I’m drained.

It feels unreal that tomorrow at five am I’ll already be sitting in a tree and waiting for the enemy. We decided to get there early since we don’t know when they’ll attack.

"How was the meeting?" Eteri asks when I slump on the bed.

I fill her in on everything relevant before we go to bed.

By necessity, we’re just as close as Malia and I were but it’s not the same. I like Eteri well enough. She’s moved on from her feelings for me a long time ago and we’ve progressed into more relaxed, friendly territory, but having her this close now doesn’t feel right anymore.

There is a loud knock on the door and a voice yelling for us to get up.

I force myself to open my eyes and hear Eteri groan beside me.

"Fuck the plan, I say let them come.

Can’t be much worse than getting up now," she mumbles.

I grunt in response and slowly get ready.

Eteri’s still in bed by the time I’m fully dressed, so I force her to get up as well.

We head toward the kitchen before meeting with the other guards in front of the door.

Flint says a few words, which I pay absolutely no attention to, and we head for the forest in the direction of the Dark Fraction’s camp.

I hate how much can go wrong with this plan, from mistaking the place they’ll come from to the number of enemies, but we did the best we could.

Every second-or-so guard has a pack with food and water in case this mission will be a long one.

Getting off our trees to get more supplies is not an option.

We climb up the trees, some more easily than others, and I see Malia on a branch nearby, already lounging comfortably against the trunk when I reach my branch.

As time passes, none of the guards seem to grow tired, and the air around us is getting thick with tension.

Everyone is quiet and it leaves me to deal with my thoughts.

It’s so petty that Malia and I came here without sorting out our differences.

Honestly, it’s not unlikely that one if not both of us die here, and I’d hate for my life to end knowing that Malia hated me.

Well, nothing you can do about it now, I chide myself and pull my mind out of the gutter.

Right after the sun has set, I hear faint footsteps from the direction of the camp.

I’m on alert and see other guards getting into a better position.

Malia’s fierce blue eyes are focused on the ground, and the water she’s been playing with for the last hours vanishes.

The Shadow Handlers’ troops walk right beneath us, and I find it hard to hold myself back.

Not yet.

I remind myself. How many times have I imagined this? A face-off with the whole camp of monsters that killed my parents. Now that it’s here, I’m not filled with the anticipated glee and bloodlust. I’m not a kid anymore, and my wish to kill as many enemies as possible has faded into better sense. I don’t want to be like them.

It’s the rule I’ve been following since I became a guard and saw the first dead person since my parents’ murder.

Not that I have a choice now.

I’m fairly deep in the forest and only realize that we’re attacking when enemies start falling limp to the ground.

Good to know we’re doing it as silently as we’re supposed to.

I get to take out a few before the Shadow Handlers catch on and start yelling out orders.

I try not to feel any remorse for the people that have fallen already by reminding myself that they were just on their way to murder hundreds of innocent children.

Knowing we’re doing this for a good cause and that these people might deserve it helps a lot, no matter that I can’t squash that guilty feeling digging at the base of my gut. They might’ve had kids. They might have been forced onto this path like Malia nearly was.

"They are around us, break formation!" Some of them start running into the safety of the bushes, getting out of our reach as they regroup.

Shit.

This is where the real fight begins. We all hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but if they locate us and attack back, we’ll be faced with an unsavory battle for sure.

I try to keep track of the vanishing figures when a black-clad figure lands in their midst, demanding my attention.

Mine and that of most of the Shadow Handlers.

They turn back around, focusing on the sudden intruder, and I seem to freeze as I recognize the person.

Malia is standing in the middle of the enemy’s troop.

"Come on, guys, leaving so soon?" she taunts leisurely.

Way to poke the sleeping fucking grizzly.

About a dozen of them attack her at once.

I realize then that I didn’t freeze because of shock.

I can’t move. I’m utterly and helplessly immobilized, from my limbs to my eyelids. No matter how hard I try to break free and help, I’m forced to watch Malia take on her opponents alone.

She’s killing them one by one, either with the sword in her hand or her powers, but more keep running toward her, eager for blood.

What was she thinking? She can’t kill them all alone!

A small woman jumps toward her from behind while Malia isn’t looking, and time seems to slow.

I’m still unable to move, to yell at her to dive, so it’s all I can do to send out silent prayers that this isn’t happening.

Milliseconds drag on as the woman slowly starts descending, sword raised over her head in a powerful arc. I want to fight my stupor to squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to see Malia die, but the small woman suddenly falls limp.

Her sword clatters to the ground only inches from Malia’s head, and I release a deep breath in an attempt to get rid of the chill in my bones.

Malia’s plan dims to me; she’s keeping them underneath us so we can keep killing them.

And it’s working.

I’m not relieved though.

Multiple Shadow Handlers have been able to injure Malia so far, even if not gravely.

Her left leg stands out at an awkward angle, and her uniform has been cut in several places, showing hints of broken skin. Even in the dark and from the distance I can see her movements getting sloppier, and I want to yell at someone to help her. If only I could open my mouth. If she survives this, I’ll kill her.

"We’re retreating!" multiple voices from below yell, and the Shadow Handlers start running back to where they came from.

None of them even stop to fight Malia anymore.

They just run past her while she stays still in the way, the perfect puppets following an order.

When the last shadows disappear into the forest, our guards start climbing down the trees.

Meanwhile, I still can’t move an inch.

I wish I could at least yell at Malia to release me. Instead, all I can do is look at her and wait. Wait as she stays where she is as guards pass her, not sparing her a glance or offering help in their hurry to get back to the academy.

My blood simmers at their behavior.

Even more so when I realize something looks wrong about her.

She’s still not moving, standing upright in a weird manner.

Then, I see her collapse on the forest ground and am suddenly able to move again.

Pure dread creeps up on me as I jump to the ground in my rush to gather Malia in my arms.

I don’t waste time trying to talk to her, running back to the academy instead.

The way to the infirmary has never seemed to take longer, and it has nothing to do with the extra weight I’m carrying.

Malia is looking pale and has yet to move a muscle since she collapsed.

I keep saying her name, but I get nothing.

The doors to the infirmary are open, and as soon as turn a corner and see them, I start yelling for a nurse.

Two come rushing out immediately as I sprint past them and lay Malia on an empty bed.

The nurses have obviously been informed about the battle and are ready to get to work.

I want to stay as close to Malia as possible but one of the ladies eventually pushes me away.

Something about harassing them.

Only because I asked a few questions such as what is wrong with her, apart from the obvious injuries, and if she’ll be okay.

If I have to stay away, pacing is all I can do to keep myself from snapping.

I’ll kill her for doing something so reckless.

And then she calls me the idiot. Excuse me, ma’am, but you tried to fight hundreds of adult assassins at once! Alone!

I wait impatiently until the nurses say they’ve done all they can and leave.

I collapse in a chair beside Malia’s bed.