“No, Dix, that’s not—”
“It’s okay, Alex,” D.C. interrupted her. “It’s not like I don’t understand. While he doesn’t trust us, it’s clear he does trust you. I’m not going to ask what he wanted you for, because you’re my best friend and I don’t want to put you in that position. Keep his secrets, but just know that I’m here if you want to talk, okay?”
Alex threw herself across the room to embrace her friend.
“Thanks, Dix,” she said, hugging her tightly. “You’re the best.”
“It’s not like I haven’t asked you to keep my share of secrets.” D.C. smiled as she pulled away. “It looks as though you’re the go-to girl for royal confidences.”
“Woohoo,” Alex said dryly.
D.C. shook her head in amusement before saying they had less than half an hour left for breakfast.
“Do you mind if we swing by the Med Ward on our way?” asked Alex as she picked up Fletcher’s lab coat. “I need to return this to Fletcher.”
When they were outside and heading towards the Gen-Sec building, D.C. said, “Jordan told us about your weekend trip. I can’t believe Hunter made you do all that!”
“It was pretty intense,” Alex said.
Total understatement.
A few steps later D.C. spoke again, quieter this time. “Did you really fight Aven?”
Alex shuddered as the memory washed over her. “Yeah. Or, I tried to, at least. He’s… really good.”
“He is Meyarin,” D.C. reasoned. “Still, I heard you held your own long enough to buy some time and get everyone out of there. I was amazed when Jordan said so. Especially with all the other gifted people on Aven’s side.”
“We were very lucky,” Alex said, honouring her promise to Roka and keeping her new Meyarin abilities secret. “Nothing more.”
D.C. appeared doubtful. “If you say so.”
They dropped off Fletcher’s coat and hurried to the food court to eat a quick breakfast. Jordan and Bear were already waiting for them, finishing the last of their meals.
After Alex had scoffed down her scrambled eggs on toast she turned to Jordan and Bear. “I have some news.” They looked at her curiously and she drained her juice before speaking again in a whisper, “Do you guys remember Zain? The massive guard from Meya?”
“He’s hard to forget,” Bear said, and D.C. and Jordan nodded in agreement.
“Well, he visited me last night and told me he’s going to be Karter’s teaching assistant for a while,” Alex said, deliberately leaving out her trip to Meya.
D.C. eyed her shrewdly, but since Alex’s words weren’t actually false, she didn’t think her roommate would call her on them.
Jordan and Bear were clearly surprised and she quickly finished her explanation.
“He wants us to act like we’ve never seen him before. It’s for our sakes, mostly, since it wouldn’t be good for anyone to think we’ve been in contact with a Meyarin. That said, Zain doesn’t actually believe anyone will figure out that he’s not human. They’ll think he’s intimidating—and attractive. His words, not mine.”
She scowled a little when she thought about the guard’s teasing. Stupid Mey “Why’s he coming here?” Jordan asked.
Alex thought about her answer carefully before she responded. “He’s going to be keeping an eye on everything, I guess. They heard about what happened with Aven yesterday and they seem to think it’s a good idea for me to have a babysitter. Or something like that.”
Okay, so she hadn’t told the complete truth. But she knew Roka wouldn’t be pleased if she gave away Zain’s real mission. So she told them what she’d first thought the guard was coming for, and her explanation was believable enough that her friends nodded their acceptance.
“Your very own personal bodyguard,” Bear said with a smirk. “You’re moving up in the world, Alex.”
“I think this is a good thing,” Jordan said seriously. “I’ll sleep better at night knowing Zain is here to keep an eye on you, just in case Aven turns up again. Meyarin against Meyarin is way better than human against Meyarin, that’s for sure.”
“I agree,” Alex said. “Although it is a little annoying.”
“Annoying might just save your life,” Bear pointed out.
The gong rang then, telling them to head off to class.
“Remember, you don’t know who he is,” Alex said to D.C., who had Combat first up.
“Amnesia, got it,” the red-head replied before taking off for the Arena, while the rest of them headed to the lake to test their water survival skills in PE.
After narrowly avoiding death-by-drowning, the rest of Alex’s day passed from Archery—where she had to shoot at moving targets over a hundred feet away—to lunch, and finally to Equestrian Skills where Tayla made them all participate in a game similar to polo, except they had to ride bareback while sitting backwards. It was remarkably unsafe, in Alex’s opinion, but Tayla was adamant that it taught them how to feel the horse’s movement underneath them. That, and apparently it was a great exercise to help increase their balance and coordination skills.
Alex fell off three times. But that was less than most of her classmates. D.C. landed on her royal behind a total of seven times, and the others hit the ground even more. Needless to say, everyone was relieved when the class ended.
As Alex hobbled from the Stable Complex to the Arena, she wondered how she might get away with skipping her last class. Nothing came to mind, so she stood up a little taller, winced when her backside and shoulder protested from the movement, and entered the colossal structure.
“You’re late, Jennings,” Karter grunted.
“Sorry, sir,” she said, knowing he wouldn’t care to hear about how painful the simple act of walking was.
“As I was saying,” Karter said, shooting her an irritated look, “my new assistant has more experience than most of you will ever have in your lifetime—combined. When he speaks, you listen. Understood?”
Alex and her classmates nodded their agreement and when Karter was satisfied, he called out, “Zain? Anything to add?”
The Meyarin warrior stepped out from an alcove in the Arena’s wall and Alex had to hold back a grin when she heard the indrawn breaths of those around her.
“I think they get the point,” Zain said to Karter. “And if they don’t, they will.”
Alex wasn’t the only one who trembled at the look he levelled at them, but she also knew that Zain was really a teddy bear— albeit one who could land her on her back with a sword at her throat without any effort at all.
But still, a teddy bear.
Karter smirked at their reactions and ordered, “Run two laps around the Arena for a warm-up, then grab a wooden staff and find a partner.”
They sprinted off as ordered, and when Alex was halfway through her first lap, Kaiden matched her pace and moved closer.
“Do you want to tell me why there’s a Meyarin helping to teach our Combat class?” he whispered, after making sure the others were a safe distance away.
Alex schooled her expression into disbelief. “A Meyarin? Really?”
He snorted. “Please, Alex. You can drop the act.”