“She did not,” Ariel muttered and sighed. She looked into the eyes of her coaches. She was helpless. The blademaster status was slowly slipping away from her, and Ariel couldn’t do anything about it. She couldn’t challenge Demetrius in the meantime.
Ariel struggled to her feet, Marissa and Cassandra hurrying to assist her. She shuffled to the windows. Below her was one part of Ialith Street. Road lights flooded the way. She looked up to the distant spire of the Telocan Tower at the Heart, the center of Virtus City, emitting all the colors of the spectrum. Thousands of flying vehicles crisscrossed around it. Then there was the moon and stars floating above. The city held her attention for a moment as the suffocating anxiety built up inside her.
“This is treachery,” she said, seeing her sad reflection on the glass windows. “I thought all these people were for me. Turns out they’re not. My brother … Edna.” Ariel shook her head. “Toby.”
“Toby?” asked Marissa.
“Those two never do anything without consulting one another.” Ariel turned around. “I see Edna and Toby as one unit. They think everything through together.” She made her way back to her seat carefully to finish what remained at the bottom of the cup. For the first time in a while, Ariel could not see the future. Demetrius was clouding her perception. She gulped in terror. “I’m afraid, you guys. I … I don’t know what to think.”
“Shh,” said Marissa, taking Ariel into her open arms. “We’ll work something out.”
Ariel moved her good hand up and slung it over Marissa’s shoulder at her back. She smelled the almond scent on Marissa’s skin. “You guys should get some sleep. I know you have a lot to do tomorrow. I’ll get some rest.”
“All right,” said Cassandra, picking up the remaining cups and jug.
“We’ll check on you tomorrow,” said Marissa.
Ariel watched them exit the glass doors and walk down the hall to the elevator. Once the doors took them in, Ariel’s wetting eyes revealed the turmoil within. Squeezing her fist, she stood up and paced through the available space in the room. No matter what she did, she couldn’t relax enough to come up with a plan. Every day she would spend healing would be a dent in her skills, offering a foothold to the other players in her group.
Each mentor—eight current blademasters including Edna and Toby—headed a group of skilled swordfighters. Besides Ariel, there were about fifty others under Edna and Toby, none of whom came close to her, but she couldn’t afford four days of inactivity.
Minutes had gone by, and Ariel decided to go in before a caregiver would come by to check the floor. She ambled gently to bed. But sleep refused to arrive. Kirsten, her roommate, was fast asleep, breathing whispers, just shy of a snore, in the darkness of their room.
She had three hours to get some sleep. She was exhausted but anxious, and the anxiety seemed to be winning.
She had a target now. And his name was Demetrius. She knew now what was in her blind spot. She could now deal with it. She’d heal. She’d challenge him. She’d make him pay. Make him hurt. Make him suffer.
With each passing second, Ariel became elated. Make him cry. Make him regret ever hurting her. Make him the laughingstock of Gladius. Her heart was settled on this. He wasn’t her brother anymore. He was her opponent.
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