Akarnae

  “Do you need a push now?” Kaiden whispered as he walked past her. From anyone else she might have thought it was unnecessarily cruel, but she could see the compassion in his eyes. He, at least, understood that what Karter asked of her was impossible.

  “Come on,” Declan murmured, indicating for her to follow him to a free space. “And don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you.”

  “Don’t,” Alex said firmly.

  He paused and turned around to look at her questioningly.

  “Don’t go easy on me,” she told him, not wanting him to forfeit his grade for her. “Just do what you would normally do.”

  “But… No offence and all, but I’ll probably hurt you,” he said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. His muscles flexed with the movement, hinting at the strength she already knew he commanded.

  “It wouldn’t be the first time,” she said, mustering up a wry smile.

  He laughed lightly before turning serious. “It’s not a fair fight.”

  “Is it ever?” Alex asked, shrugging. “Please don’t hold back on my account. Maybe we’ll both get lucky—if you knock me out again, I’ll get to skip the rest of the exam.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” he said with a slight grin, continuing towards the far side of the Arena.

  “On my count,” Karter bellowed, his voice carrying around the massive area. “Three, two, one, begin.”

  Alex frowned when Declan hesitated. “You’re not afraid to hit a girl, are you?” she taunted. “You never used to be.”

  He narrowed his gaze but still didn’t come at her. Alex noticed Karter watching them and she knew that, even though she was destined to fail this exam, she wouldn’t let Declan go down with her.

  It took a lot of goading—and some low blows on her part—until Alex was able to convince Declan to fight. Even then, he still wouldn’t flat-out annihilate her, but he put up a pretty good show. Alex, however, was more impressed by her own much-improved reflexes, which helped her stay on her feet far longer than expected. The last time she’d fought Declan she’d acted on pure survival instinct, whereas this time she was actually in control. And it felt good.

  At least it did until he managed to catch her around the waist and wrestle her to the ground, trapping her in place.

  “Jennings, you’re out,” Karter called across the Arena, as if she hadn’t already realised as much.

  Declan eased up off her back and she rolled over, accepting his offered hand. They walked together to the side of the Arena and watched the rest of their classmates attack each other. Alex couldn’t help noticing that they were all much more violent than Declan had been.

  “You’re not too bad, you know,” he said kindly. “Much better than last time.”

  Alex snorted and rubbed a tender spot where it felt like he’d almost shattered her thigh. “Yeah, right.”

  “I mean it,” he said. “You dodged most of my attacks. Your reflexes are excellent.”

  “But I completely suck at attacking,” she said.

  “That’s because you don’t have any experience. With a bit of work, I reckon you could learn how to hold your own.”

  “Well, thanks for the vote of confidence,” she said. “But we’ve still got over two and a half hours of this exam left and no one can learn that fast.”

  “Yeah,” Declan agreed, wincing with sympathy. “Not your best afternoon.”

  Soon Karter blew his whistle to signal that the first interval was over. None of the others had been defeated. She had a feeling it was going to be a very repetitive—and painful—afternoon.

  As Alex continued swapping through partners, she realised that Declan had been way more than easy on her. Her reflexes continued to help her during her unarmed combat with both Sebastian and Nick, but ultimately both boys brought her down hard—and with much more force than Declan.

  But none of her unarmed matches were anywhere near as bad as her round with Brendan, where they attacked each other with heavy wooden staves. Again, the only thing that kept Alex in the fight was her ability to duck and dodge every time he swung the weapon at her. She probably ended up more injured from throwing herself to the ground over and over again to avoid the wooden staff than from any actual contact with it—at least until he clipped her in the stomach, forcing the air out of her lungs and winding her. She automatically doubled over into a protective ball with her arms wrapped around her abdomen, and he took the opportunity to swing the staff up at her head, smashing it into her skull.

  He must have completely pulled back on his attack, since while it hurt like crazy, she was only dazed for a few seconds, as opposed to unconscious or dead—both of which could have been possible.

  The hit still disoriented her enough that he was able to use the staff to trip her over and onto the ground, pressing the weapon firmly against her windpipe.

  Karter’s call of “Out, Jennings!” was definitely a welcome relief. Especially since it meant she only had one more opponent to face before the first part of their examination was over.

  As Alex took her place in front of Kaiden, she felt her heart thudding erratically in her chest. Of all the matches, this one was the most dangerous. The swords they were using weren’t wooden practice weapons—they were the real deal and they had very sharp blades.

  “Do you know what to do with that?” Kaiden asked.

  She looked at the sword glinting dangerously in her hand and jabbed it forward in three quick, consecutive thrusts. “Stab, stab, stab, right?”

  “There’s a little more technique to it than that,” Kaiden responded dryly. “Finesse. Etiquette. It’s like a dance.”

  “And then you stab, stab, stab,” Alex said again. “Right?”

  His lip twitched as if he was holding back a smile. “Why don’t you give your method a go and see how well it works for you?”

  “Nah,” she responded. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

  This time he did smile. His entire face lit up with the expression and she felt as if she’d been winded by the wooden staff all over again. Alex knew she had to get her head back on straight, but she was still a sixteen—nearly seventeen—year-old girl and he was way too attractive for his own good. Even covered in dirt and sweat, with his messy dark hair plastered to his head, he was still gorgeous. She’d noticed before—how could she not after observing him and the others for months?—but she hadn’t had many opportunities to be up close and personal with him. And now they were about to attack each other with lethal weapons.

  Sometimes, life just wasn’t fair.

  “Three, two, one, begin!” Karter called out for the final time.

  Alex brought her sword up in front of her, balancing her feet and distributing her weight evenly. If ever there was a time when she needed to pay attention to a fight, it was now. Not only was Kaiden talented, but he was also fast and creative. She didn’t stand a chance against him, but she wanted to at least put up a bit of a fight—hopefully without losing a limb in the process.

  “Ready to dance, Alex?” he asked, his eyes sparkling with the challenge. “I’ll lead.”

  She didn’t get the chance to respond before he lunged at her, thrusting his sword towards her abdomen. She blocked him just in time, and the force of their two blades clashing caused her to back up a step in order to brace herself against his strength.

  Alex stared at him in shock, certain that if she hadn’t blocked his sword it would have sliced her in half. All he did was wink at her and pull his weapon back before thrusting it towards her again.

  Game on, she thought as she deflected his attack and knocked his blade aside again. She didn’t wait for him to come around a third time, and instead she pivoted to aim a powerful side-kick at his stomach. He was too fast, jumping out of the way with ease.

  Once again he lunged at her, changing his attack at the last moment to come from above. She watched as the blade sailed in an arc towards her head and she threw herself at the ground, somersaulting out of the way. Alex continued rolling and us
ed her forward momentum to jump back up to her feet again—remembering to keep her sword well away from her body.

  Kaiden seemed surprised by her unexpected gymnastics and she took the opportunity to leap towards him while he was partially unguarded. She stabbed her sword at him but he parried it effortlessly, knocking her arm away as if she was a fly and he the flyswat.

  Clearly he hadn’t been as unguarded as she’d thought.

  She stood back for a moment, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she waited for his next move. He seemed to be waiting too, but for what, she wasn’t sure.

  And then, as fast as lightning, he lunged at her, almost catching her unawares. She managed to meet his blade in time, but then she realised that the unexpected attack had only been to distract her from his real intention. It wasn’t just the sword she should have been watching for.

  Alex was on the ground before she even realised that he’d tripped her, and she watched in slow motion as his sword streamed once more towards her head. She knew he would pull it before actually beheading her, so she took the chance to kick out at him—her aim actually good for once. He grunted in pain as her heel landed on his ankle with much more force than she’d intended.

  It was a stupid thing to do, in hindsight, since her kick broke his concentration just as he was pulling out of his attack. He jerked with surprise and his sword naturally followed the movement. At least he had enough sense to flick the blade away from her neck rather than continue its downward path, and his fast reflexes were the only thing that allowed her head to remain attached to her body. But she still hissed in pain as his blade grazed her from collarbone to shoulder.

  Kaiden’s eyes widened as her skin broke, his expression immediately remorseful. But this was a fight and he wasn’t supposed to feel bad for hurting her, especially since she’d just injured him as well. The cut wasn’t deep, and he could have easily done much worse.

  His hesitation gave Alex the time she needed to spring back up to her feet with renewed determination. He must have noticed the resolve in her eyes, and not fear or pain, because his own face cleared of its concern and he was once again back in attack mode.

  Alex feinted forwards, figuring that if Kaiden could do a fake move, then maybe she could too. But as she twisted her arm and spun it around, aiming to hit him with the hilt of her sword, he was one step ahead of her. At the very last second he surprised her by dropping his weapon and throwing his right hand out to intercept her swinging arm. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward, causing her to lose balance and stumble straight into him. Using her unsteadiness to his advantage, he quickly spun her around so that her back was pressed up against his chest. She struggled and almost managed to pull away, but his left arm wrapped around her waist, trapping her against his body.

  The entire manoeuvre had been so unexpected that she was left a bit stunned. She wasn’t exactly sure what had happened until she felt the cold, hard steel of her own blade pressed against her neck, with Kaiden’s hand engulfing hers on the hilt of the sword.

  Alex froze, remembering the night of the Gala when Gerald had held her in a similar position. She stopped breathing for an instant and shuddered as the memories washed over her.

  Kaiden must have felt her distress because his arm around her waist squeezed reassuringly and then loosened a fraction.

  “It’s a dance, remember?” he whispered in her ear, his breath on the back of her neck raising goose bumps along her skin. “But sometimes your way works too.”

  Her eyes lit up as understanding flowed through her. In one single motion she heaved his arm with the sword away from her neck—only gaining a few inches but it was enough—and she used his advice and stabbed her other elbow into his stomach.

  Kaiden grunted and hunched forward, and she took the opportunity to spin out of his hold. But she’d forgotten that his other arm was still wrapped around her, and she ended up spinning him as well, unbalancing them both. They fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs, each trying not to impale themselves on her blade.

  Alex twisted violently, trying desperately to extricate herself from his embrace, and then she was on top of him—not even knowing how—and her hands held the sword steady at the base of his throat. She was certain he could have easily pushed her aside and retaken the lead in their ‘dance’, but at that moment Karter blew his whistle and Alex looked up to see the rest of her classmates watching as she straddled Kaiden in the middle of the Arena.

  Despite everything, she felt herself flush with embarrassment, and she looked back down to find Kaiden grinning up at her.

  “Good dance,” he said. “We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

  “You cheated.” She was puffing from the exertion and she quickly slid off him and stood to her feet.

  “How so?” he asked, standing beside her and collecting his sword.

  “You let me win. You could have easily beaten me a heap of times, but you didn’t.”

  “Maybe,” Kaiden said with an amused, one-shouldered shrug. “Maybe not. Either way, I think it’s safe to say we now know why you have the potential to be in this class.”

  Alex didn’t know how to respond to his comment, so she said nothing and just started walking back over to their classmates who were still watching them both intently. Declan was grinning, but the rest of them didn’t seem to know what to think.

  When they reached the group, Karter eyed the shallow cut at her neckline. “Do you need to get that looked at?”

  “I’m fine to continue,” she said, surprised that he’d even asked.

  He nodded approvingly and motioned for them to follow as he moved to one of the chambers off to the side of the Arena. Alex hadn’t been in this particular room before, but she still had an idea of what they would find there.

  Sure enough, inside they discovered an obstacle course of epic proportions. Even the guys inhaled sharply at the sight of it.

  Alex almost smiled. She’d been facing off against Karter’s hellish imagination for months, and for the first time all afternoon she felt like she might have the advantage.

  “Who can tell me why the last part of your exam is an obstacle course?” Karter asked.

  “Because it’ll test our reflexes and defensive skills in an unknown environment,” Nick answered mechanically.

  “Exactly,” Karter said. “It also forces you to think under pressure, both from the challenges of the course, and also from the fifteen-minute time limit you’ll be given.”

  Alex quickly did the maths in her head and realised that fifteen minutes each would take up the entire last hour and a half of their testing period. Piece of cake. Well, not really, but it beat having the stuffing kicked out of her for another ninety minutes.

  “You’ll be judged by how far along the course you get,” Karter said. He clearly didn’t expect many—if any—of them to actually complete it. “If you fail to make it through an obstacle, you have to start at the beginning again.”

  They all nodded their understanding.

  “We’ll work down in age, oldest to youngest, which means you’re up first, Labinsky. Get ready.”

  One after another her classmates entered the course. Brendan first, then Nick, Sebastian, Declan and Kaiden. None of them managed to fully complete it, but Alex paid close attention to where they went wrong so she could learn from their mistakes.

  “Jennings, you’re up,” Karter finally barked.

  She stood and walked over to the starting line, jumping nervously from foot to foot while she waited for Karter’s go-ahead.

  “Three, two, one, begin.”

  Alex started the course strongly, sailing through the numerous obstacles with only minor difficulties. As she approached the second last challenge, she realised just how well she was doing—better than anyone else so far. Even though she had to be nearly out of time, she was determined to see how far she could make it.

  “Hello, old friend,” she muttered to the obstacle in front of her. It was the moving balancing be
am with the sandbags, a combination she’d tackled numerous times over the past few months. This particular beam moved erratically, not sequentially like she was used to. Up-down-up-left-down-right-left-up-right-down. There was no order to its movement, which meant she wouldn’t know which way to lean to help keep her balance when it changed direction. And if that wasn’t enough, there were five sandbags swinging above it, not just the three she’d dealt with in the past, all moving at different times and speeds.

  Alex prepared herself and jumped up onto the beam, keeping her arms out by her sides for balance as she grew accustomed to the irregular movement. She stepped forward hesitantly and almost fell when the beam jerked to the left under her. She managed to steady herself and took another hesitant step, then another. Eyeing the first sandbag swinging dangerously close to her, she waited until her timing was perfect before stepping again, further this time. Her step coincided with the jagged movement of the beam, and she fell down on one knee as she lost her balance.

  Alex waited, calming her trembling limbs and telling herself that it was just a little further until she’d be done. She rose carefully, wobbling even more but eventually managing to get back upright before stepping forward again.

  Step—wobble—step—wait for sandbag—step—wobble—step.

  She continued the entire way across the beam until there was just one sandbag left between her and safety. After that, only one obstacle remained in the course and she would be through. She glanced ahead to look at the finish line, but her distraction cost her when she should have been paying attention. The beam jerked to the right, before it continued in a quick up-down-up-left action that tilted Alex forward—right into the path of the final swinging sandbag. It smashed straight into her, throwing her off the beam and into the mud below.

  The pain was instant. Since she had no protective gear on, her shoulder joint had taken the brunt of the impact, and even just flexing her hand sent daggers down her arm. She had to bite her tongue to stop from crying out in agony. Tears sprung to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Instead, she used her good arm—the right one, thankfully—to push herself to her feet.