Akarnae (48 page)

“You jumped in front of a dagger that was aimed for my heart,” D.C. said, backing away so that Alex could see the oh so familiar sardonic look on her face. “I’d say that falls into the category of big deals. Huge deals, in fact.”

Alex sat up, pulling her legs underneath her so that she was sitting cross-legged on the bed. “It was the least I could do,” she said quietly. “Especially since I nearly killed you before that.”

She expected an awkward silence, but D.C. just laughed and said, “I think you had that pretty well in hand.”

Alex gaped at her. “Are you serious? I was about a second away from slicing you in half!”

“You would have stopped in time, even without me screaming at you,” D.C. said, smirking. “You were much too afraid of killing the heir to the Medoran throne. Imagine how that would have looked on your résumé?”

“I can’t believe you can joke about this,” Alex said, not quite sure if she wanted to laugh… or throw up.

D.C. sobered immediately. “I have to joke about it. It’s the only thing that’s helped me get through the last few days.”

Alex looked closely at the other girl and noticed the dark shadows under her eyes.

“I came to visit you,” D.C. said after a pause. “A few times. But you were always asleep.”

“Thank you,” Alex whispered, touched by the gesture.

“I meant what I said about us being friends.” D.C.’s blue-green eyes were steady but her hands fidgeted nervously. “I think we should make it official, now that we’re not under duress. If you still want to, I mean. No pressure or anything.”

“Are you kidding?” Alex asked. Then she realised how her comment could be taken and hurried on to say, “Of course I still want to!”

D.C. grinned and reached out her hand. “To a new start?”

“A new start,” Alex agreed, and they shook on it.

“I think introductions are necessary if we’re to begin with a clean slate,” D.C. said, sitting up straighter. “I’m Delucia Marsina Cavelle, royal princess and heir to the Medoran throne.”

“I thought you wanted me to quit with the princess reminders?”

“It’s called being
polite
,” D.C. said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Something you clearly don’t know much about, since you still haven’t introduced yourself.”

“You already know who I am, D.C.,” Alex said, shaking her head at her friend’s antics.

“Call me Dix.”

“Huh?”

“Dix,” D.C. repeated. “It’s an actual nickname, not just my initials. It feels more personal.”

“Dix,” Alex repeated. “I like it.”

D.C. snorted. “I’m so pleased I have your approval. Now hurry up and introduce yourself.”

Alex groaned. “You can’t be serious.”

“Humour me.”

“Fine. I’m Alexandra Rose Jennings. Good enough?”

“No,” D.C. said, frowning. “You didn’t tell me anything about yourself.”

“You
already
know about me!” Alex said, but at the look on her roommate’s face she huffed and elaborated. “I’m originally from Freya and I’m Chosen by the Library. Happy?”

D.C. smiled. “Immensely. And I’m very pleased to meet you.”

“You’re impossible,” Alex said, but she was smiling too.

They talked long into the night, finally having the chance to share their secrets with someone who understood the importance of keeping them. The subject of giftings eventually came up, and D.C. was amazed when Alex explained her newfound
ability and how it had saved them from Aven. For someone in D.C.’s position where power-plays and manipulations were all a part of court intrigue, Alex’s gift was highly enviable.

Alex herself thought the same about D.C.’s gift.

“I dream about the future,” her roommate said. “They’re real dreams, of things that will actually happen.”

“You’re psychic?” Alex asked, slightly awed and a little sceptical.

“Not psychic. More like prophetic, I guess,” D.C. replied. “Unlike most gifts, I can’t turn mine on and off at will. The real dreams aren’t very common, but when they happen, they almost always come true. My gift also allows me to revisit the dreams over and over again if I want. Sometimes I get more information, but more often than not I just see the same images repeated.”

Alex was amazed by some of the examples D.C. gave her, and one in particular that occurred over the Kaldoras holidays where she’d dreamt of being abducted in a dark place and made to walk through a corridor of doors before being tied to Alex. That was why she’d grilled Alex on her return to the academy after the Gala, because she’d known something bad was going to happen to them. A voice in the dream had repeated the words ‘
I haven’t found it yet!
’ over and over again, which was how she’d been able to assure Alex in the Library that letting Aven through the first doorway wasn’t going to do any immediate damage. She hadn’t dreamt anything new after the imprisonment dream, despite trying to revisit the image on numerous occasions—all of which had only showed her the same events and nothing more.

“Incredible,” Alex said, before they moved to a less serious topic.

Hours went by while they caught up on a year’s worth of knowing each other, and soon they were slurring their words
together. It was no surprise to Alex when she woke in the morning and found D.C. still curled up at the end of her bed, both of them having fallen asleep mid-conversation.

“Wake up, Dix,” she said.

“Wha—?” D.C. mumbled as Alex nudged her with her foot.

“We’ve got to get up if we want breakfast before classes,” Alex mumbled, yawning.

“Mmkay.” D.C. curled up even tighter.

Alex kicked the other girl off her bed, much to the red-head’s displeasure.

“Hey!” D.C. cried. She raised herself up from the ground and delivered her best quality glare.

“That doesn’t work anymore,” Alex said. “I know you don’t mean it now.”

“That’s what you think,” D.C. grumbled, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. Their newfound friendship was still such a novelty for them both.

“Come on, I’m starving,” Alex said. She hadn’t eaten real food in four days.

They quickly got ready and headed to the food court. Alex half expected everyone to fall silent at the sight of them entering the room together—their enmity had been fairly obvious to everyone—but no one paid them any attention.

“Alex! D.C.! Over here!”

She smiled at Jordan, grateful that he’d included her roommate in his invitation.

“Are you ready for this?” Alex asked the other girl.

“Please,” D.C. snorted. “I could go up against Sparkie and his pet Bear with my eyes closed and
still
come out on top.”

“That’s great and all,” Alex said, “but here’s another idea. Why don’t you demonstrate the politeness you lectured me about last night and put on your nice-girl personality for a change? I know you have one—even if it is buried deep,
deep
, down.”

D.C. scrunched her face up but nodded in resignation. “All right. But only because I know they mean so much to you. And only if they behave themselves.”

Alex patted her on the shoulder. “They will.”

Together they walked over to the table where the boys had saved them both seats.

“Morning!” Alex said brightly as she ordered the first thing on her menu, so hungry that she didn’t care what she ate.

An uncomfortable silence surrounded them, and Alex didn’t know how to change it. She nudged D.C.’s rigid frame, encouraging her to relax.

Her roommate sighed quietly and then leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. “Did you guys watch the last Warriors’ game?”

Instantly the tension around them disappeared as Jordan, Bear and D.C. launched into a passionate discussion about some kind of sporting event. Alex had no idea what they were talking about, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face as her closest friends began to bond.

Alex was on her way to her Combat class after lunch when Professor Marmaduke approached her.

“Miss Jennings, I’ve been made aware that you may have developed your gift, is that correct?”

Alex tried to ignore the ‘
finally
’ that was practically screaming from the older woman and said, “Yes, Professor.”

“Excellent,” Marmaduke replied. “If you’ll come with me, I’ll give you your exam. Better late than never, and this way you won’t have to repeat my class next term.”

Alex looked at the woman before glancing at the Arena. Karter would kill her if he heard she’d skipped out on his class.

Marmaduke noticed her indecision and said, “I’ve spoken with the headmaster and he’s cleared it with Karter. You’re exempt from today’s class.”

Reassured, Alex followed Marmaduke back to her classroom where the professor tested her control. It was almost as if her gift was making up for lost time because, after an hour, Marmaduke was sweating with the effort of trying to use her own gift to break through Alex’s mind and manipulate her or even just read her, but to no avail.

The only part of the exam that actually involved Alex doing anything was in the final hour when the professor asked Alex to try and
use
her gift. At first, Alex didn’t understand what she meant, but then she thought about how Gammy could outwardly share her peace with others. Alex wondered if perhaps one day she would be able to do the same sort of thing. After an hour of trying, it was
her
who was sweating, with no results to show from her effort.

“Well, it’s something to practise, at least,” Marmaduke said as they finished up. “Something to work towards.”

Alex didn’t even know if it was possible, but she promised she would continue to try and develop it.

When Marmaduke finally released her, Alex had to run to her dorm so that she could get changed for her Equestrian Skills class. By the time she arrived at the stables she was almost late for her lesson, but she was saved by D.C. who had tacked up Fiddle for her already.

“You’re the best,” Alex panted, having sprinted the entire way.

“I know,” D.C. said, handing the reins over.

It was one of the best Equestrian Skills classes yet, with Tayla leading them all out on an end-of-year trail ride through the forest. Alex and D.C. rode side by side, talking and laughing for the entire ride.

When they finally arrived back at the stables and finished seeing to their horses, Alex had one more thing she had to do before going on holidays.

“You go ahead,” she told D.C. “I’ll be along in a moment.”

Her roommate looked at her knowingly. “What’s with you and that pony?”

“He’s just… adorable,” Alex said. “I’ll feel bad if I don’t say goodbye.”

“Fine, fine,” D.C. said, laughing. “I’ll meet you back at the dorm.”

It wasn’t hard for Alex to find Monster, but it
was
hard to say goodbye to the shaggy little pony. It took a while—and his entire body weight in apples—before he stopped head-butting her and allowed her to leave without following. She would miss the little guy, no matter where she was over the summer. But she promised him that one way or another, she would do her best to find her way back to him.

And Alex always kept her promises.

Forty-Seven

“Well, well, well. Look who’s
finally
decided to grace us with her presence.”

Alex held her annoyance in check as she walked into the Arena the next afternoon. It was her last class of the day, of the year in fact, and it just
had
to be Combat.

“I’m on time,” she said, crossing her arms defiantly.

“You weren’t for the rest of the week,” Karter said.

Alex couldn’t believe him. Was he seriously blaming her for being unconscious on one of those days, and in an exam on the other?

“I’m just pulling your leg, Jennings,” he said after a tense moment. “Relax.”

She gaped at him. Was that a
smile
on his face?

“Queenie!” Sebastian called. “We heard you were in the Med Ward, like, all week. What’d you do? Eat some bad chicken? That’s what everyone’s saying.”

Alex turned around to find her classmates staring at her, waiting for an answer. She didn’t know what to say and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Queenie?”

“It’s your new nickname,” Sebastian said. “Queen of the obstacle course. You totally nailed it last week.”

“All right, enough chitchat,” Karter interrupted, saving Alex from having to respond.

He told them to take a seat and everyone hastened to follow his order.

“It’s been a big year,” Karter said, pacing back and forth in front of them, “but you’ve all made it through. I’m the first to admit I don’t go easy on my Epsilon students, and you’ve each proven your worth, one way or another.”

Alex couldn’t believe it. He was almost… encouraging. Supportive, even. Nothing at all like the drill sergeant she was used to.

“I expect even more from you in the coming year.”

Yay
, Alex thought sarcastically, but she was still amazed by his encouragement.

“That said, this year’s not over yet. So, GET OFF YOUR BEHINDS AND GET TO WORK!”

Ah. There he was. Normal Karter was back.

The six of them scurried up from their seats. The boys headed automatically to the opposite side of the Arena where the weapons were kept, but Alex held back, awaiting further instructions.