Page 13 of Dance of the Phoenix (Cloak of the Vampire #3)
Aileen
I never got to ask Jada all the questions I had because a knock on the door put a stop to Jada’s story, and Yelene’s voice came through, saying, “Aileen, the morning training is in five minutes.”
Jada jutted her chin toward the door. “Go,” she said, looking more worn-out than before with her tearstained cheeks. “You know most of the story now anyway.”
“Jada—”
“Don’t.” She shook her head, scowling at the pity I couldn’t quite hide in my voice. “I’ll be fine. I’ll get over him threatening to turn me into a fucking zombie somehow. So just ... go.”
I had nothing to say, so all I could do was give her shoulder a squeeze and leave for the training, hoping I didn’t make things worse.
Everything that Jada told me, along with my own startling conclusions about the Tefat and the Realms of Oon, circled around in my head while George ordered us to do pull-ups. I was so out of it that I failed to complete the set first and thus was sent to run laps again.
Which was just as well, since I needed to clear my head, and a good jog was bound to do that.
At least, until George called for me to stop and said, “Today, you’re going to duel one another.”
I felt a headache coming. This was the last thing I needed right now.
“CJ and Zoey, you’ll start,” George said and motioned to the bench at the back. “The rest of you sit down and watch.”
Once we were seated, George turned to Zoey and CJ and said, “You have five minutes. Use everything you know, every trick up your sleeve, to defeat one another. The loser will be determined by which one of you is forced to yield first.”
When they started the duel, I was physically watching, but my mind had traveled back to Jada’s room. And it seemed like I wasn’t the only one unfocused on the duel, because next to me, Yelene leaned over and whispered, “You talked to Jada.”
I glanced at her and nodded.
Yelene’s face seemed to relax. “How is she?”
“Not fine,” I murmured back. “But I hope it changes soon.”
“She allowed you to enter her room,” she said quietly. “That’s progress.”
I glanced at her again and saw her giving me a small smile before she returned her eyes to the duel. I did the same, and this time, I forced myself to focus on CJ.
I’d noticed it before in the mock battle during the talent show, but the way CJ moved was both graceful and swift.
It reminded me of Tansy’s ballet dance from the Auction on one hand and Ragnor’s fighting techniques on the other.
It was a strange mix of the two, but CJ executed his moves as if he’d done it hundreds of thousands of times before.
It made me wonder how old he was. Scratch that—if he was a Malachi, how was he a vampire now? Could Malachi become vampires? What was a Malachi’s lifespan?
Whatever the answers were, Zoey stood no chance. The duel was over in less than one minute, with CJ’s hands wrapped around Zoey’s neck as he pinned her to the floor.
George nodded for them to part, and they did.
“Zoey, your reaction time is great, but you leave yourself too open while you’re attacking,” he said now, pointing at her stomach, which she seemed to massage while wincing.
“You might’ve landed that kick to his upper arm, but you got punched in the gut in exchange.
If it was a Hecatomb battle, your adversary could’ve easily aimed for your chest and torn your heart out. ”
Zoey scowled but nodded.
“CJ,” George said, turning his prying eyes to Chanjomaron (if the situation weren’t so dire, I would’ve so made fun of him for this). “Flawless, as usual.”
CJ’s face was grave as he gave our mentor a sharp affirmative nod.
While Zoey shot CJ a dirty look, George turned to us on the bench. “Next up, Sulien and Aileen.”
Again? I couldn’t help but think when Sulien and I switched places with Zoey and CJ. Sulien, the same guy I mock battled in the talent show, was now standing in front of me, giving me an indecipherable gaze. I studied him more thoroughly this time too.
Sulien had a gentle face that didn’t quite go with the athletic ridges of his figure.
His eyes were a warm brown and in a tilted shape that gave him an almost pitiful look.
Last time we battled, I had been so busy following his movements that I didn’t pay attention to his face, but I really should have—because despite his naturally puppy-eyed look, there was an almost wild feel to him. As if he wasn’t quite civilized.
“Begin,” George now said, stepping back.
I got into position, preparing myself, but to my surprise, Sulien raised his hand and said, “I’d like to ask Aileen a question first, if I may.”
George glanced at me for a split second before he nodded. “Make it quick.”
Sulien stepped closer to me, and I released my stance, staring at him. “What is it?” I prompted.
He stopped a few steps away. “Last time we fought,” he said, “you used a technique I’m unfamiliar with. What was it?”
I probably shouldn’t have been so surprised, and yet I was in shock. “Oh.”
He frowned. “I don’t believe my question is out of place.”
“It’s not,” I murmured, slowly shaking myself from my stupor. “It’s a type of martial art. That’s all.”
“That much I know,” he said dryly. “I asked which one.”
I was about to tell him it didn’t matter and that he should drop it, but then I reconsidered. What was the harm of telling him the name? It wasn’t like he could find any information about it anywhere. It was practiced by very, very few, if any at all.
“It’s called Iovan’s Imperium,” I told him now. “Now can we go back to the duel?”
Sulien was about to speak, but George interjected. “Enough. In position.”
Sulien seemed annoyed, but he finally dropped it and stepped back. When George said once again, “Begin,” Sulien was on me like an animal taken off the leash.
This time, I refused to use Iovan’s Imperium, despite George’s instructions. I refused to give Sulien more food for thought.
Unfortunately, that decision led to my very quick loss.
When training ended, I followed the others outside and was about to head to the cafeteria when I saw a familiar man waiting near the escalator leading up. “Bowen.”
“Aileen.” He nodded toward me before he turned to look to my right.
I did, too, and saw CJ come to a stop right next to me. He was glancing between Bowen and me. “You having lunch together?”
Before I could respond, Bowen said, “Yes. You too.”
CJ frowned but didn’t object.
Thus the three of us walked to the cafeteria in complete silence. A silence that stretched until we sat down at an empty table, each with a plate full of food. Then, as if someone flicked a switch, Bowen spoke. “Aileen spoke to Jada this morning.”
While CJ’s head whipped toward me, I looked at Bowen, surprised. “How did you know?”
Bowen’s eyes were dark. “She came to work and told me.”
My lips parted, but CJ beat me to it. “What did you talk about?” he asked, voice insistent and strained.
I was about to speak but again was cut off before I could.
“Jada told her about you,” Bowen said, voice low as he looked to the sides before his angry eyes settled on me. “Which is all fine and dandy, but she’s now acting as if she’s already dead .”
Now I knew what he meant by dead . What Jada would suffer if CJ were to die was a fate far worse. It would be a different kind of death. A torturous one. “I didn’t say anything, I swear,” I hissed, agitated. “I just pushed her to talk to me. That’s all.”
CJ pushed his uneaten food away and rose to his feet. “Is she there now?” he asked, looking at Bowen. When the latter nodded, he stormed off toward the kitchens.
Bowen glared at me before he got up on his feet too. “I wanted you to talk sense into her, not make her relive everything that enforces her stupid decisions,” he spit before he left after CJ.
Feeling sick to my stomach, I stared at the food for a few moments before I made the decision to go to the kitchens after them. I couldn’t help but feel responsible for this, even though logically I knew I wasn’t.
The kitchens were full of staff working on lunch. I could hear Lon, the kitchen manager, screaming at some poor assistant at one of the stations and quickly avoided running into him by entering the dishwashing area.
That’s when I heard Jada screaming, “ I wish you were dead already so I could start my suffering now! ”
Great.
Taking a deep breath, I turned the corner and saw CJ and Jada facing each other, glowering. I’d never seen CJ glower before. He usually was such a chill dude, but now he seemed as though he’d been a sleeping volcano the entire time, and Jada was the trigger for his eruption.
“I’m so disappointed in you, Jada,” CJ snarled now. “I didn’t know you had such little faith in me. That you didn’t believe in me. That you think I’m not strong enough to survive this. That tells me our entire relationship has been a sham.”
Jada’s face shattered and to my shock she slapped him. “ Asshole! ” she yelled, tears escaping her eyes. “ You ruined me, you ruined my life, you ruined Everything ! ”
CJ’s eyes glowed. “ You got it backward, Jada ,” he growled, grabbing her arms and shaking her. “ You ruined me !”
“Stop, both of you,” Bowen said, and when I turned to look at him, he seemed on the verge of hysteria. In fact, he stared at the two as if he’d never seen them before. “You don’t mean any of those things, I know you don’t—”
“ Stay out of it! ” Jada screamed at him before returning her cold glare to CJ. “If I could turn back time, I would’ve never come to Boston,” she told him in a shuddering hiss. “Meeting you was the worst thing I ever did.”
CJ released her and stepped back. “Couldn’t agree more,” he said bitterly.
A freezing silence stretched in the room, making my heart race and my blood chill over in response. It’s your fault, a nagging voice whispered in my head. You were the final nail in the coffin of their apparently broken relationship.
But how could soulmates have a broken relationship? They were supposed to be soulmates . The whole idea of that, according to fairy tales at least, was to fall in love and live happily ever after.
I might’ve only learned about this earlier today, but clearly, the fact that Jada was CJ’s Alara Morreh, or whatever it was called, was the actual source of all their issues.
So what was the point of having an Alara Morreh, a soulmate, if shit could still hit the fan anyway?
My thoughts went to Ragnor then, and suddenly I was filled with utter relief that he was no Malachi and I wasn’t his Alara Morreh. Because if that was what being soulmates was all about, then I could do without it.
Ragnor and I were already going through some shit as it was, so having our souls bound to the point we became each other’s life source?
It sounded like an absolute nightmare.