And yet everyone's eyes had drifted over to land on Torian. When he realized it, he grumbled under his breath again.
"Yes, I care," he said. "Not because of the privileges and that bullshit. I care becausetheywill care." And he stabbed a finger in the general direction of the school. "I care because those titles? They're bounties on our heads. Aspen's most of all."
"So," Wilder said, "maybe we need to stop being pissed because we have to get better, and simply focus on learning how to work together to destroy anyone who wants to hurt us?"
A grin was growing on Aspen's face as she watched her brother.
But Torian began to nod slowly. "That's what I needed to hear. I'm good with learning how to destroy."
"Welcome to Introduction to Annihilation," I joked. "On your transcript, this will most likely look like a varsity level sport."
"Might have AP credits too," Keir said as he headed for the back wall. "So, first thing first. Who wants a sword?"
"I do!" Aspen said.
Keir reached for a slim and delicate thing. "I think this one might even be pretty enough for you. Torian?"
"No."
Keir gave him a warning look.
Torian just smiled. "I need to learn how to stop an asshole with a sword. We can start there."
"Yes," Keir agreed. "We can. I'm good at being an asshole."
"So am I," I added. Because Ms. Rhodes was right: we were going to need this. Probably sooner rather than later.
Chapter Thirteen
TORIAN
When Ms. Rhodes had dragged us out to the gym, I'd expected a lecture about learning to protect ourselves. I'd been braced for a sermon about how our power could fail for any number of reasons - including iron. Basically, I'd expected the worst: a waste of my time.
What I hadn't expected was to be turned loose. Nor to see how Keir worked with my sister.
He was gentle with her, but didn't pamper her. Over and over, he made Aspen hold a sword, swing it around stupidly, then hold it again. Depending on what she did, he either put it aside to teach her later, or made it clear she shouldn't use that kind.
Rain pulled Wilder away and asked if he'd help her practice stopping a spell before it was cast. I knew she'd learned how to do that before she'd gained access to her Wild magic. Now she was trying to use those skillswithher power.
Hawke? He moved to my side to watch our friends figuring this out. He had a heavy blade in his hand made from Earthmaterials. Bronze and carbon fiber, I thought, although I wasn't positive. It was the sort of brutish weapon that would cleave a body with enough force. Perfect for him, in my opinion.
And once everyone else was invested in what they were doing, I had Hawke try to actually hit me. After all, I didn't want them to say I wasn't taking this seriously. When he swung, I did my best to use the smallest amount of magic necessary to deflect his blade. Most times, it worked. When it didn't, he still didn't hit me.
Everything was fine until Aspen asked for a demonstration. Keir and Rain squared off in the middle of the room with their wooden practice sticks and began swinging at each other. I stopped. Hawke turned. Wilder was clearly judging them both, and Aspen was nearly bouncing in place with her excitement.
But I didn't expect Keir to look likethat.
The man's weapon was the powerful kind, but he moved it like a saber. His feet never slowed. His eyes jumped across Rain's body, checking for movement that would tell him what she was about to do. He flexed, bent, and braced like a man who'd been doing this his entire life - and it looked good on him.
Rain was learning fast, but she was still hacking more than attacking. In the months she'd been here, her body had toned more than I'd realized. Her legs were now muscular and sculpted. Her biceps bulged when she swung. Her dark ponytail swung behind her as she bounced around Keir on the balls of her feet.
They were a matched set: his gold to her shadow. Both of them were smiling, and there was a comfort in their motion, as if they'd done this countless times. And yet, I was sure Keir was holding back. Not that he didn't think Rain could keep up. It was more like he was leading this dance and simply didn't want to wear her out for no reason.
Soon enough, there was a hard rap at the door. A second later, it opened enough for Bracken to stick his head inside.
"That's enough for today," he said. "Talk about what you need and let me know tomorrow. Now get out of here!"
"Am I going to ache all over?" Aspen asked as she passed her weapon to Keir.
