Page 4

Four

A fter another day of grueling classes, Kamine, Janina, and Zoya were now all in the bathing room in the middle of the night. The large room was quiet, except for the stream of water coming from the small waterfall, filling the bath. Steam effused the strong scent of herbs, and the other baths were thankfully empty, though the girls had chosen the late hour to avoid an audience. It was almost peaceful, but knowing what came next left Kamine’s heart pounding in her ears. She did not want any witnesses to what would surely be a sad spectacle.

The other cohort members had already started making jokes about her lack of powers by hiding their faces with their hands, just like she had done when the rocks were thrown at her. She was just grateful that magic class was not scheduled everyday, because otherwise she would never have a moment to recover. They had engaged in cardio and muscle building today, and thankfully she had been the fastest runner. However, it was a skill that wouldn’t help her all that much during the Undertaking—but at least she was mildly capable of doing something right.

“I think this is a bad idea.” Zoya said from the corner, her arms wrapped around her knees. She was wearing another bright colored ensemble made by her own hands—as were all her clothes—Kamine had been told when she asked about them.

“You say that now ?” The bottom half of Kamine’s body already sat at a ledge inside the large hole in the ground that the school considered a bath. Her toes didn’t reach the ground when she stood, the depth expansive and unknowable.

They all had to drag in bags of ice from the kitchens. The cooks had not been impressed when they had asked for them. Kamine just hoped it was enough to have an impact.

“It’s not a bad idea, it’s brilliant.” Janina corrected as she dumped the first bag. The ice bounced up and floated. “This will work.”

“I wouldn’t be so confident,” Kamine responded.

“Well, this could go quicker if Zoya helped.” Janina said pointedly to the woman who still had not moved from her spot. Zoya startled at being called out and grabbed her own bag.

The water began to cool down. It wasn’t unbearable yet, but Kamine guessed it would soon turn tortuous. She had worn her full training clothes to keep her warm for as long as possible.

“Last one,” Janina announced, pouring the ice from high up, which caused it to cascade down Kamine’s arms.

“Ouch,” Kamine yelped. “I don’t need you adding to my growing collection of bruises.”

“Sorry,” she winced.

Kamine waved her off, not actually in that much pain. “So the plan is that you’ll hold my head down, and if I’m literally on the brink of passing out, I’ll start kicking or waving my arms around for you to stop, right?”

They both nodded.

“You got this,” Zoya encouraged, even though her face showcased her own fear.

Kamine passed along her glasses to Zoya and took one last deep breath, savoring her life, before dipping her head under the freezing water.

She opened her eyes immediately, needing to know her surroundings. It was practically pitch black, but she could see the outline of her hands if she brought them close to her face. She looked at her palms, and willed them to do something. Janina and Zoya left a pile of small rocks for her outside the bath to manipulate. She just had to move one rock, and they would let her up. Simple, so simple. Even her four-year-old brother would be able to do it.

She flexed and unflexed her hands. She thought about the rocks moving, and envisioned them flying across the room, and splashing into another bath.

Only shards of ice responded, burning her skin as they floated in the cold bath. She shook her head, focusing again.

Move, move, move, she repeated like a mantra.

She thought of her mother who failed, her mother who let her own selfishness get in the way of acting as a parent. The moment she discovered her mother dead had stuck with Kamine like a splinter that refused to budge no matter how much she tried to pick it out.

She couldn’t breathe.

Panic set in as her lungs began to burn. Her mouth begged to open and let in some air, but she forced it closed. There was no air here. Only water, all water.

She used that fear to call to her powers. Work you blasted, useless thing. Save me.

But no one pulled her back up. She hadn’t successfully used her powers, then.

Kamine was growing desperate, her mind no longer centered on her powers, but rather on the growing need to get the fuck out of the cold water. A thought passed her that she would die. Right there, right then. Maybe that would be for the best. That way, she would never have to face the Undertaking, never have to face her failure, and never become a hollow shell like her mother had become.

But, if that happened, then her whole village would die.

Kamine cried out, water funneling down her throat. Her body ached, her limbs frozen. Kamine fell deeper and deeper into a pit of cold darkness. This was it. She couldn’t tell up from down anymore. It didn’t matter.

Something warm swam by her. Something moved. She didn’t react, however, nor feel scared. Let the creature eat her. Let it relieve her despair.

It grabbed her and lifted her up, up, up—until she gasped as she broke the surface of the water.

“You idiots!” a male voice yelled. The presence forced her down onto her back and pumped at her chest. As she coughed, and heaved, and vomited all over herself, she didn’t have it in her to be embarrassed.

She could hear an intake of breath from somewhere near. Zoya, she thought through the fog as she came back to her senses. Her body shivered, and her hair clung to her face, cold water dripped down her skin, onto the tiled stone.

“What the hell were you doing?” the man asked her. But even if her frozen lips could muster a word, her mind was incapable of constructing a coherent sentence.

Thankfully, Janina responded, her voice a whisper. “We were trying to help. We thought it would nudge her powers.”

“What idiots would think that would work?” He gritted. As he held Kamine, he shook her like he needed to physically relieve his growing frustration.

For some reason, that angered Kamine. This man had no right to reprimand her friends for trying to help. Because that is what they had become even in such a short time. Her friends—who didn’t judge her for her lack of powers, and who only wanted to help her reach her potential.

Kamine finally opened her eyes, and registered exactly who it was. She narrowed her eyes at Professor Grimot. “Get away from me!” She weakly shoved him back from her, the stones on his clavicle poking at her skin. “Don’t you dare touch me without my permission.”

His usual lightly-tanned face looked practically ashen, and his shoulder-length black hair was a soggy mess.

“You were seconds away from dying, and you’re angry that I touched you so I could save you?” He sounded exasperated, his tone condescending.

Janina stepped in, kneeling beside Kamine and sliding her glasses back on. With Kamine’s vision no longer blurry, she could see everyone’s reactions clearly now. Janina looked disturbed by the whole scene, but she brushed Kamine’s hair from her eyes. “I think she might just be in shock.”

“No.” Kamine said clearly. “I don’t want him anywhere near me.”

He squeezed the bottom of his shirt, water trickling down. He was avoiding her gaze, or he just didn’t care. What Kamine didn’t expect was to see the outline of his torso through his damp shirt. His muscles rippled under the see-through fabric, his long torso beautifully formed, with a sprinkle of dark hair that covered it. She didn’t allow herself to stare too long.

“You’ll be stuck with me for the next few months. You can’t get rid of me that easily, Kammy .”

“Kamine,” she corrected, her eyes hard as stone. “And what were you even doing in here?”

He rolled his eyes. “Contrary to what you might think, the whole school shares this bathing room. Even professors need to clean up after a long day.”

Oh , Kamine thought. She supposed that was a simple enough explanation, even if the late hour suggested that sleep eluded him like it did her.

“Go to bed,” he ordered. “All of you.”

Zoya unraveled her body from the small ball she had been in. She was shaking, and Kamine felt guilty for scaring her.

Janina and Zoya helped her up unto unsteady legs.

“Do you think you can walk back to your room?” Janina asked.

Professor Grimot remained kneeling, still looking down at the ground. It was as if he was waiting for her to answer, waiting to hear if he would need to assist her to her room.

“I’m fine,” she choked out, her voice raw.

Kamine used both her friends as support, wrapping her arms around their shoulders as she walked off the ordeal. She would surely regret this during class tomorrow, where she could almost guarantee Professor Grimot would punish her for taking such a foolish risk.