Chapter 37: Terra

In spite of myself, my spirits lift when Kahn walks in the room. I feel giggly, like a little kid getting an extra fruit pie. I feel almost dizzy looking at him. I need someone to slap me. When I realize I'm smiling like a halfwit, I scowl immediately.

Duncan finally says, “Thank you for coming, Kahn. As I mentioned, I have a special assignment for you.”

Kahn's wearing black boots that rise almost to his knee, a white linen shirt, and dark brown pants. His blond hair’s tied back with a leather strap and his eyes flash as he inclines his head. “Yes, sir.” Light still seems to gather around him, but I'm getting used to it.

“I'd like to introduce my daughter Alora to you. You didn't get off to the best start, but after yesterday, even you must agree that she belongs here.”

“She lacks control.” Kahn's kind smile belies his harsh words.

Duncan frowns. “No one could have predicted what happened yesterday.”

“Which is exactly why the Warden is dangerous—we know nothing about her, or what she can do.”

My scowl feels a little less forced, and I consider Lifting a plate. . .and sending it crashing right into his beautiful head.

“That’s what we need to find out,” Duncan says. “She may well be our biggest weapon against Devlin.”

“We need to sharpen her up, for sure,” Kahn says.

Jesse jumps to his feet. “Alora’s proven herself to be bright, resourceful, and creative.”

I love him.

“Relax,” Kahn says. “I only mean that while she has a remarkable amount of power, she doesn't know how to optimally use it yet.”

“Do I get a say in this?” I ask. “Because I’d prefer a different teacher.”

Duncan frowns. “No one else is more qualified, other than me, and I can’t be spared at the moment.”

Kahn clears his throat. “Perhaps Kincaid—”

“No,” Duncan says. “I want her tested and taught properly, and you’re the best option.”

The only way I could get out of this would be to explain the exordium to Duncan, but I fear that might have the opposite effect of the one I want. I want to grumble and moan until he changes his mind, but I settle for saying, “It’s fine,” in my surliest tone.

Kahn beams at me, and I catch myself staring too long at his mouth, his dimples, and the curve where his neck meets his collarbone.

I shake my head.

“Honestly,” Jesse whispers. “I know you don’t like him, but Kahn is smart and talented. He’ll do a great job.” Jesse crams his last roll in his mouth in a very ignoble manner and walks toward the door. “Father, Amanda said we need to be there by—”

“No, I know. We need to go immediately.” Duncan leans in to hug me and then pauses. He straightens and pivots on his heel. Why is everything so awkward with him?

After Duncan and Jesse leave, I can't stop staring at my nearly empty plate.

“Are you finished?” Kahn asks.

“Not quite,” I say. “Have you eaten?”

Kahn sits down in my father's seat. “Yes.”

I take a bite and chew. I've never noticed how loud chewing is. I'm not going to be able to eat all of this while he stares at me. And if I stare at him, I’ll lose focus and forget that I don’t like him at all. “How about this? You let me know where to meet you, and when I'm done, I'll join you there.”

“I'll wait.”

Three bites later, I can't take any more. “Fine, I'm done.”

He glances at my plate, but says nothing.

“Let's go.” I follow him out of the room, almost jogging to keep up with his long stride. He doesn’t look at me, not even a sideways glance.

But I steal plenty of looks at him.

He’s tall, taller than either Jesse or Duncan. He walks with purpose, with confidence, and with gravitas. His cheekbones are high, his jaw is severe, and his features are all perfectly proportioned. All in all, if Mother Terra had to shove a soulmate at me, he’s at least easy on the eyes.

Several people call out greetings as we pass into the courtyard, skirting around the rubble cleanup operation. I ignore the pangs of guilt that leaving them to clean up my mess causes, because I doubt that repairing cobblestones qualifies as the type of training Duncan has in mind.

Kahn finally turns and heads up the steps of the gray stone building that Jesse said are the barracks for the squadron.

“We're training in there?” I ask.

“The side walls are divided into housing for the men, but there's a big room in the middle built for training purposes.”

He pushes through the doorway, and I follow him into the main room. It's three stories tall with windows that open onto it from rooms on each floor.

It’s divided into four equal sections. The one on my right has big black iron racks full of weights. Roland uses similar equipment to increase the size of his muscles. The area to my left is a large open space with weapons racks along the walls, interspersed between the windows. They hold weapons of every size and description: maces, clubs, sticks connected by a chain, staffs, swords, throwing stars, and knives. The sizes, weights, and styles vary widely. Near the back of the room to the right, a series of wires hang suspended in the air from huge pillars, but there are more of them, like, way more than the two we usually use. The back left has enormous boxes fixed to the ground, but I can't tell what they hold.

“Where would you like to start?” Kahn asks.

Staring at his lips is too distracting, so I keep my eyes focused on the sections in the room. The longer I’m in his presence, the more accustomed to it I become. It’s like candy. The first bite is overwhelming, but by the third or fourth, it’s not nearly as shocking.

“I'll be honest,” I say. “I don't know what any of this is, but I'm pretty good at both balance and heights.”

“Let's start with the suspended wires, then.” He walks to the back right and climbs a ladder. I climb the one several feet over. He stops halfway up. “What are you doing?”

“I'm climbing. What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Why aren't you following me?”

“You want me on that wire?” I ask.

“Yes, you need to be on the same wire as me for this exercise.”

That would have been helpful to know earlier. I'm almost to the top, so I climb the remaining few rungs and walk a few steps out.

“I said—”

Before Kahn can complain again, I leap to his wire.

He pinwheels his arms to keep his balance from the bouncing of the wire I caused by leaping over, and then closes his mouth with a click.

“Ready?”

“I may have misjudged your balance level. Why don't you show me what you're comfortable doing up here before we start training.”

I start with my typical warm-up, running back and forth, and jumping from one wire to the next. I've never had seven separate wires of varying heights, and it's pretty fun. I feel like a monkey in the treetops. Once I'm warm, I reach my senses out and feel the wires. I reach to the corners of the room until I feel some dust. I Lift it over to me, and use it to make holds, until I remember my trick yesterday. I drop the dust and Bind the air in place instead when I need a handhold. So much easier! I use the spots to flip, pivot, and climb. I can sense the places I've Bound so it's easy to leave a few and use them over and over.

After a few more moments, I glance back to Kahn. “What now?” It feels nice to be competent at something already.

He snorts. “You can teach our balance class from now on. We're done here.” I release my remaining Bindings, scamper down the ladder, and look at the other three sections.

“Which one looks the most foreign to you?” he asks.

“Probably the weapons,” I say. “Other than the staff, I haven't done anything in that realm at all, and even my experience with a staff has been strictly for show. But the boxes are the most intriguing. What are they?” From my perch on top of the wires, I could see inside the six boxes. They hold what appear to be small metal balls, piles of shredded pieces of wood, sand, strips of cloth, mounds of feathers, and in the last one, water, I think.

“Your father wants me to test you in each at some point today. I think maybe we should keep weapons for last, in case you need some Healing after that one.”

I lift one eyebrow. “Planning on slicing me up?”