”This is not an unseen link,” I sighed. ”So far, three people in history have been known to have had it. Two Defenders, one Attacker. It might be difficult getting your emotions in check, so I suggest you read books regarding them. Oliver King, Cade Fee, and Landon Prince. I’ll try to find their guidebooks as well.”
It was immense unsettling, how nonchalant he was acting while my insides were a turmoil of fear and desire.
“Thank you. Anything specific I should work on?”
I thought over her question.
”The exact amount of energy you need,” I finally responded, raising my hand and letting a small flame break out. ”Energy is like a double-edged sword. Use too little and you’ll lose control.” I showed this off my cutting off major energy for the flame I produced. It immediately turned orange, flickering wildly, trying to burn me. ”Use too much and you’ll end up hurting yourself.” The flame flickered to life, burning brightly before it began to gnaw at my skin. It went out the second I closed my fist. “Either way, you’re going to get hurt, so you should learn which technique requires how much.”
I stared, mesmerized, at his arms for a second, before I tore my eyes away.
“That sounds good, thank you.”
”Now you said sparring,” I started, furrowing my eyebrows. ”You should Now start focusing on learning the fighting style of your partner—your bondmate. That can be achieved by fighting against each other. So Scylla, Elle, you both are going to have a sparring match together.”
Scylla and I both looked at each other and nodded. I was afraid of hurting her, but…. I’d be careful. We both would. “Hand-to-hand?”
I nodded.
”And magic,” I added. ”Remember that you can even sense your bondmate. Try to keep that sense spiked up.”
“What’s the objective?” I spoke again, “I mean, how do you win? When you get the other person onto the ground?”
I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
”The objective, Elle, is to familiarize with your bondmate. You win when you can, in other words, harmonize with Scylla,” he responded. ”It’s different for everyone. Key and I do it when we don’t have anyone stronger or at our level to spar against.”
I still didn’t understand.
“Harmonize? But I’m fighting against her, not with her… what do you mean by that?”
I clicked my tongue in irritation. How in the world did Colton stand her?
”Yes, you are fighting against her, but the purpose isn’t to defeat the other,” he started slowly. ”It’s to pick out the different fighting styles that you can only do when fighting against each other. There are countless things you won’t know about your partner unless you fight against them instead of with them.”
He clicked his tongue; I was annoying him. Well, I’m sorry for not understanding something I’ve never done before.
But this time, his explanation made much more sense. “That—Alright, Thanks.”
I decided to give her a break, seeing as she looked just about ready to drop on the floor. They were now seated on the floor, catching their breaths.
”So, Elle…” I started, a plan forming in my head. ”What was your life like back at home?”
Scylla and I had been training since the crack of dawn, sparring back and forth, improving control, running laps and doing drills. By the time the afternoon rolled around, we were both pretty much ready to drop dead from the exertion. Luckily, I’d built up stamina to prevent myself from fainting in front of Colton (again), and it wasn’t nearly as hot now as it had been in September. So, when he told us to take a break, I sat down rather than collapsed on the floor.
Out of the blue, he asked “So, Elle… What was your life like back at home?” I immediately tensed, averting my eyes. Why did he care? He’d been nothing but cold and detached towards me all week, since Scylla had been healed, and now he wanted to know about my personal life? The life he wasn’t supposed to be aware of?
“Normal,” I responded evasively, running my fingers through Scylla’s feathers. She’d grown so much over the past week…. and still, she wasn’t finished evolving. “I danced. Skated. Went to school.”
I furrowed my eyebrows, pretending to be interested.
”I’ve been curious,” I started, crossing my arms, quirking an eyebrow. ”What did you look like with long hair?”
He was thawing….and he was doing so much too abruptly. What was going on with these constant mood swings?
“Like I do right now, but with long hair,” I answered vaguely, picking at the edge of my sleeve. And I found myself wondering… what would my life be like if he’d known I was a girl all along? If girls were allowed to attend the Academy? Would I still have fallen for him? Was there any possibility that——
I cut the thought off abruptly. Stupid heart…
I clicked my tongue, shaking my head.
“That’s not what I meant,” I said, my body reacting to the image it planted in my brain. Even if our mind was under my control, our body wasn’t. ”I want to see what you looked like with longer hair. More like a woman than a male.”
“I’m not showing you any pictures,” I said defensively, my grip on Scylla tightening. “Why do you care?”
”I don’t,” I answered nonchalantly. ”It’s simply hard to imagine you with long hair. I suppose you do want someone to know what you looked like while embracing your original gender.”
"Well, all my photos are in my room," I tried to stall, "And Kaden and Andreas would be suspicious of you showing up. So.…"
My eyes darkened at their names, but I was careful to not let anything slip by my mask. Those two. I would do anything to kill them, but unfortunately I’m not allowed to. Not yet.
”Then you can bring them here,” I shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. ”Or in my room.”
"I can't—I can't do that," I began to protest, shrinking back from him. In my arms, Scylla stirred, cracking open a single golden eye. "What's wrong?" she asked me, growing a bit agitated as she sensed my distress. "He wants to see a picture of me before… all this," I explained, biting the inside of my cheek. But my bondmate, instead of frowning, swished her tail cheekily.
"Isn't that a good thing? If you like him so much…… I'm sure he'll be impressed by a beautiful picture or two.." Had he not been sitting a few feet away, I would have gaped at her forwardness. "Scylla!"
But, as much as I hated to admit it…. she did have a point. I didn't want to upset him by refusing. And what was the harm, as long as I was careful with what he saw?
"Fine.." I sighed, still refusing to look at him. "Your room. Not here, where people can see."
I pulled on a grateful smile.
”Thank you, Elle,” I said. Do you hear that, Princeling? I’m going to see what your girl looked like before she began masquerading as a man. I’m going to see something you’ll never see. How does that feel? ”Then I suppose I’ll wait for you in my room?”
"I—Um, yeah, I guess." I rose to my feet, laying a very happy Scylla across my shoulders. "I, uh, know the way."