Page 5

Five

G rimot would kill her, if she didn’t kill herself first. If she really cared so little about her own life, then he would remind her exactly why dying was a coward’s move.

He stormed into the classroom, and abruptly halted when he saw Headmaster Dritoria. She was leaning against the wall, chatting with some of the students. Her hands moved animatedly as if she were telling a great story on a stage, instead of being encased in a large hole in a mountain with no sun. He may have his own personal issues with her, but she was clearly a good leader who was passionate about her role.

“Professor Grimot,” she smiled when she noticed him. “I’m excited to observe the students today. See where they are starting from, and how they’ll improve under your care.”

“Wonderful,” he mumbled under his breath. He dreaded the next two hours.

“I think there is something you need to say before class begins, correct?” Her high, joyous pitch grated his ears.

Grimot internally groaned. Maybe he should just off himself at this point. Maybe he understood why Kamine wanted to do it, especially with how he had embarrassed her.

He faced the poor victim. She was dressed in Skola training clothes, the black fabric hugging her body like a second skin. He could tell she hated wearing it, with the way she stood with her shoulders slumped. He agreed that it didn’t suit her. He preferred the dress she had been wearing the first day, when she bumped into him. He thought of the way the fabric billowed behind her, the white contrasting against the stark darkness of their environment. It suited her.

Expectant eyes stared at him.

He cleared his throat. “I may have overstepped during our first class, and taken things too far, too quickly. After all, I expected greatness from such inexperienced children.” Someone in the room snorted.

“We’re adults, jackass,” someone else said. Grimot guessed it was Lycaster. He hadn’t learned from their first lesson that outbursts were not tolerated. Perhaps he could loosen up his teaching style, just slightly, so that he wouldn’t have the Headmaster constantly disturbing their precious time.

Headmaster Dritoria butted in. “I think there is someone specific that this should be directed towards.”

Right, Kamine . She wasn’t even looking at him, instead she was reading a worn book that looked about ready to crumble into dust. Her eyes moved quickly across the page, her one hand playing with something at her wrist.

Through gritted teeth, he said, “My apologies to Kamine.”

She ignored him, her eyes still focused on the page. Headmaster Dritoria softly cleared her throat to try to get Kamine’s attention, but the Headmaster had more patience than he did.

“Did you hear me?” he said, a little louder.

Kamine finally turned her attention to him, slamming the book shut. “I did. I don’t accept.”

“Don’t accept what?”

“The apology.”

So much for taking it easier. He stalked over to her, ripped the book from her hands, and threw it across the room. “You don’t get to decide whether to accept or not.”

“Actually, that’s exactly how apologies work. But I’m not surprised that someone like you doesn’t understand that basic etiquette.”

His jaw tightened as his hands cinched into fists.

Headmaster Dritoria clapped, her authority causing some rocks from the ceiling to crumble and fall. “Kamine, Professor Grimot is sincerely sorry for his behavior in the last class. Please accept his apology so that class can resume.”

For the second time in his life, he was grateful for the woman. The first had been when she had allowed him to become a professor.

Kamine pushed up her glasses. “Fine.”

“Great,” Headmaster Dritoria said. “Now that that’s sorted, I’m going to let you begin your lesson.” She then excused herself, her rose scented perfume wafting across the room.

So she hadn’t actually cared about the progress of the students—or at least she had a second motive. She wanted to keep an eye on him as if he were a child, as if the apology itself wasn’t embarrassing enough.

Grimot stood at the front of the classroom. “We’ll be doing the same exercise. You—” he pointed to Lycaster, whose powers needed a lot of work. “You’re first.”

Kamine sat cross legged on the ground. When she did, she knew that Professor Grimot clocked it, and that he desperately wanted to reprimand her. For some reason, he held back. In fact, he completely ignored her. Everyone was called one by one to the front of the classroom to try and defend themselves from an oncoming rock. Some even moved onto larger boulders, including Janina and Zoya.

With the way it was going, Kamine would be last.

At least that gave her an opportunity to observe, to closely examine the tactics that she needed to try. Most of the cohorts moved their hands, which allowed them to redirect the trajectory of the rock. Others, like Franciz, could destroy the rock while it was mid air. He seemed to flinch his neck slightly, to do that. One student—Magda—even resorted to kicking the rocks with their heavy boots. Professor Grimot did not like that, proven by how he threw a larger rock the next time. They were now in the infirmary with a broken toe, most likely.

Kamine waited and waited, anticipating her turn.

But it never came.

“Class is over,” Professor Grimot said. “Next time, we’ll move on to have multiple objects being thrown at you at once.”

The students began to file out of the classroom. Janina and Zoya both bit their lips, clearly noticing Kamine’s lack of a turn.

“Go ahead,” Kamine said, stretching her legs. They had grown stiff after she had sat for nearly two hours. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

They nodded nervously. Zoya even rubbed Kamine’s shoulder, and wished her good luck.

Professor Grimot used his powers to move all the rocks back into neat piles. He could lift many at once, with not a grimace of discomfort. Kamine dreamed of the day she could move just one with such ease.

“Professor,” she said. He turned towards her, his eyes widening, as if finally noticing that everyone else had left, perhaps even confused why she was still here. “Do you have a moment?”

Kamine could tell he had the urge to say no, but she continued on before he could reject her. “I was wondering why I didn’t have a chance to practice today.” She tried to sound innocent, not angry. She didn’t need his hostility, or to fuel his hatred of her.

A rock floated above her head, and she winced when it grazed her curly hair.

“You clearly don’t take this seriously, so why should I waste my time.”

“I spent last night torturing myself to try and trigger my powers. Is that not serious enough for you?”

“Thinking that inflicting pain will make your powers come out is stupid, and na?ve.”

Her mouth gaped open. It was unbelievable that he thought so little of her. “I have read numerous accounts from past Undertaking participants that their powers amplified during it because of their fear. It was not crazy to try something so extreme.” She crossed her arms, her point made.

He just laughed—actually laughed—his shoulder-length, wavy hair shaking as he did. “Reading is not going to solve your problem.”

“Problem?”

“Something is holding your powers back, and the only person who can unearth that is you.”

“So, what, I’m supposed to just practice by myself with zero guidance for the next few months? Do you not think that is what I spent my whole life doing?”

“Not by yourself. With me.”

What was this man saying? “That is the point of this class! Yet, you ignored me.”

“Not during class,” he clarified. “Just you and me.”

She blinked, stunned by the offer. “Is this approved by the Headmaster?”

“I don’t need her approval.”

Kamine prepared to retort, but she stopped herself, and thought about it. Private lessons might actually be the solution.

“I could see you thinking, Kammy—”

“Kamine.”

“Accept. Or face the reality that your village might be left in ruin.”

“You’re so confident in yourself, aren’t you?”

He lifted a heavy rock using his hands, his arms straining against his white shirt. Kamine ignored his corded forearms with little success. He extended the rock, offering it to her. Kamine put her arms out, and he dropped it into her grasp. She fell immediately to the ground, the rock almost crushing her hands completely before she could swipe them from under it at the last moment.

“You’re desperate, and that makes you willing to try anything.”

Kamine didn’t like the sound of that. But he was right, and she hated it. She could always back out if it wasn’t working, right?

“Fine,” she said. “When do we begin?”