Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (37 page)

It took three days before the doctors finally let Syney leave the infirmary. Shortly after her arrival, they had moved her to a larger room in the infirmary that Mellisandrianna had arranged. Syney preferred this room, if only because the bed tilted so she easily could sit up and talk to whoever visited, and visit they did. Noelle and Helen came by every day. Helen even continued their lessons, for which Syney was grateful, if only for the distraction. Sitting in a bed and being yelled at every time she tried to leave became stressful after a while. She had a Protector on her at all times now. Reed wasn't so bad. He was young but very eager. After one day of his standing guard, literally at attention, Syney finally had talked him into playing cards with her. She taught him how to play Palace, a card game she and Jessie used to play a lot. He finally started to relax after that and even started to joke around. Fern, on the other hand, refused to even speak to Syney, beyond calling her "Princess" and asking if she needed anything. Luckily, most of the time that she was there, Syney was asleep. Even with as cold as Fern was, Hunter was the coldest of all of them. When he was on duty, he sulked by the window or the door. He never came within three feet of Syney, and conversation was completely nonexistent. Syney wasn't sure how she felt about it or him. Since her attack, every time she woke up there had been someone by her side, even Mellisandrianna, but none of them had been the only person she wanted there—Hunter.

Both Hunter and Reed escorted her out of the infirmary. The doctors had wanted her to ride in a wheelchair, but Syney just stared at them and shook her head. She was feeling almost 100 percent herself. There was only one nagging pain on her right side, but it was the largest scar she had, so she just figured some time would make it go away. No one was quite sure how she had healed so quickly, but Syney shrugged it off. There were a lot of things she had done—like healing Hunter and producing purple lightning—that didn't make sense to her, so why dwell on them?

They all walked in silence the entire way to Syney's room. They passed the dining hall and the Lycin gym. Both were full, with noise pouring out of them. Syney debated grabbing some food but opted not to. She didn't want all of the stares and whispering. But once she got to her room, she stopped and stared at the door. She didn't think this would be that hard, but this was her room, her sanctuary. The one place in the palace that was just hers for her to be herself. And now it was tainted. They still hadn't found who had attacked her, but Leaf did tell her that it was a male Magic User. That didn't make her feel any safer—just the opposite actually.

"Noelle cleaned it all. Looks just as you had left it," Hunter said softly.

Syney nodded but still continued to stare at the large wooden door. She couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't safe, even with two wolves standing behind her. She wasn't safe because she couldn't do anything herself. Rose had it right. If she couldn't protect herself, she would always be at risk. She took a deep breath, turned back, and headed down the hall.

"Princess, where are you going?" Reed asked, falling into step beside her.

"I have to do something," she said.

The Lycin gym was large, the walls and floors all padded. There were at least thirty Guards there, all practicing hand-to-hand combat. They were being closely watched by three trainers and Leaf, all of whom weaved their way through the pairs, stopping them every once in a while to give a pointer or correct their form. When Leaf looked over and saw Syney, Hunter, and Reed at the door, he yelled for the rest to stand at attention. He walked over to the trio and gave Syney a short bow. "Princess, how are you feeling?"

Syney smiled at him. She had seen Leaf several times since she had been attacked. He even had brought some flowers and updates on the search for her attacker. "Good, actually."

"I'm glad. If there's anything you need, please let me know."

"Actually there is something." She glanced around at all of the Guards, who stood at attention. None of them were looking over at her. "I, um, was wondering if you could take on another student."

Leaf studied her for a moment. "You want to learn self-defense?"

"And maybe some offense."

"That's what your Protectors are for."

"Oh, I know, and they do a great job. I just...want to be prepared next time."

"I hope there won't be a next time."

"Me too. But it's better to be safe than sorry."

Leaf looked down in thought. When he looked back up, he nodded. "We'll start tomorrow at one."

Syney gave him a big smile. "OK. Thank you."

"Anytime."

Syney tuned to the Guards and gave them all a wave. "You're all doing a great job! And thank you!" she yelled to them before leaving the gym.

When they were halfway to her room, Hunter grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. Reed, who was leading the way, didn't notice them and kept walking.

"You could have asked me for that," he said quietly, as he looked into her eyes.

Syney pulled her arm away from him and nodded. "I know." She turned and headed down the hall after Reed.

Spending the night with Fern patrolling the room wasn't an ideal situation. In the infirmary the room was much larger, and she barely noticed Fern, but her room was so intimate that even Fern's footsteps irritated Syney. She finally gave up on sleeping and sat up in bed. Fern was over by the balcony, looking out. When Syney flicked on the nightlight next to her bed, Fern looked over at her. "What's wrong?"

"Can't sleep."

Fern looked away.

Syney sighed. "Were your parents guards?"

"No."

Syney waited for more and rolled her eyes when she didn't get anything. "What did they do?"

Fern looked over at her. "Is there a reason you're asking?"

"No, I just... Never mind." She grabbed a book Helen had given her off the side table and opened it.

After a moment Fern said, "They were farmers in the outlying lands."

Syney looked back at her. "Where is that?"

"Outside of the Village walls but still inside Magic User territory. There are some scattered farms there."

"And they were allowed to do that?"

Fern was quiet for a moment. "Before the war, being trained as a guard was a choice. Now it's required for any qualifying family."

"Would you have chosen to stay on the farm?"

"No. Being a member of the Royal Guard is a privilege." She walked away from the balcony and to the end of Syney's bed. "Being a Protector is even more so. And being your Protector is the highest honor."

"Thank you, I guess."

"You need sleep. I won't patrol. I'll just stay by the balcony. That's the weakest point in the room."

Syney nodded and put the book back before turning off the light. "Good night, Fern."

"Good night, Princess."

The next afternoon Syney dressed in workout clothes and sneakers and headed to the gym with Noelle and Reed. The attack had a lot of people on edge, so Noelle begged to come along so she could pick up on some things as well. Leaf was already in the gym warming up when they got there. Of course he wasn't alone. Syney ignored Hunter and walked right up to Leaf. "I hope you don't mind Noelle coming along. She insisted."

"Not at all." He motioned for them to follow in the warm-up routines they were doing already. Reed joined in after patrolling the room. "OK," Leaf said, once they were done. "The first rule of self-defense is to run."

Syney stared at him. "Seriously?"

Leaf nodded. "If someone is coming after you, and you can, you should run. Fighting is always your last option. You have Protectors around you all the time. But there may be a time when you can't run. Then you'll need to use the second rule of self-defense. Find a weak spot."

Syney nodded. "One, run. Two, weak spot. Got it."

They spent the next couple of hours going over self-defense techniques. Don't go for what you think is a power shot, but go for what you easily can hit in whatever position you're in. Go for the eyes, nose, neck, or knees if you can. Also hit with your head, knees, or elbows, because they're the hardest surfaces on your body. Syney paired with Leaf, and Noelle with Hunter, as they went through drills. By the end of the two hours, Syney felt more worked up than she had when she had started. Every time Leaf grabbed her or attacked her from the front, she had a flash from that night. The feel of his hands. The smell of his breath when he got close to her face. The feel of the blade as it ripped into her.

When they were done, Leaf pulled her to the side. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. I just have some pain from one of the scars," she said, a little out of breath from the last sparring.

"I don't mean physically."

Syney stared at him. "I'm fine."

"Have you talked to someone? You've been through a very traumatic event."

"I said I'm fine," she said more sternly. She was about to walk away but didn't want to seem rude. "But thank you for asking. And for the lesson."

He nodded, studying her. "Twice a week?"

"Not every day?"

"That's too much. Your body, although healed, has been through a strain and shouldn't be stressed."

Syney nodded. "OK then."

She walked away, glancing at Hunter, who was staring at her, obviously having heard their conversation. She shook her head and kept walking. Leaf was probably right, but there wasn't anyone she really wanted to talk to. Hunter was far out of the question. She couldn't handle the way he looked at her now, and if she broke down to him, there was no telling what she might try to do, like kiss him just for comfort. She thought about Noelle or Helen or even Cass, but all three of them just gave her sad looks and told her how much they wish they could help more. Syney didn't want their pity. That didn't leave many people she actually trusted.

She told Noelle and Reed that she was tired, which wasn't too far off, and went back to her room to take a nap. Reed insisted on staying in the room with her, which she begrudgingly allowed. She hopped into her bed and lay there staring at the ceiling. She didn't notice Gabe come into the room until he jumped up on the bed next to her. She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Haven't seen you in a while," she said.

"Been lying low. New Protector?" he asked, smiling over at Reed, who stared back at him.

"He's OK, Reed. Don't worry."

"It's my job to worry, Princess."

Syney rolled her eyes. "Do you think you could leave us alone for a bit? I want to catch up with my friend."

"Can't do it."

Gabe glanced at the door. "Ask Hunter. He's right outside. I'm sure he'll say yes."

Reed narrowed his eyes at Gabe but went to the door anyway. Hunter stepped into the room and glared at Gabe.

"Just a few minutes alone, please?" Syney asked.

Hunter huffed but nodded and motioned Reed out into the hallway. "Five minutes tops," he said, shutting the door.

"So what do you want to talk about that you don't want them to know?" Gabe asked.

Syney stared at him for a moment before tears welled up in her eyes. "Someone attacked me. Right here. In my room."

Gabe pulled her head down onto his shoulder and laid his cold cheek on top of her head. She cried for at least ten minutes. She heard the door open at one point but close quickly after. Finally she picked her head up and wiped her face with her hands. "I'm a mess."

"You're allowed to be."

She sighed away some sobs and looked at him. "Why do all of these people hate me so much? I didn't do anything."

"They don't hate you, Syney Andrews. They hate the lost Vilori."

"But we're the same."

"Yes, but you can't take everything they do personally. It's not about who you are but what you are. I heard you took self defense lessons."

"I did today."

"That's good. Keep it up. But you need some other lessons as well."

"Like what?"

Gabe turned so that he was fully facing her. "You have so much untapped magical power. You need to find a way to get to it, to bring it out."

Syney took a few deep breaths. "I did...some magic. But it was before I got here."

"Like what?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Well. When Hunter and I were attacked by a Shifter in the woods, I did this...purple lightning thing."

"Out of your hands?"

She nodded. "And I might have healed Hunter also."

"With a spell?"

She shook her head.

He looked away for a moment, thinking. "Both of those are interesting. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Hunter told me not to."

A smile played on Gabe's lips. "He's smarter than he looks. The healing is a Vilori trait. But the other...the lightning... Try not to do that, even if you feel it building. That...is a very lost magical trait. If someone sees that, it won't be good."

She nodded. "OK. But you said I should tap into my power."

"Yes, you should. You should talk to Cass. Try to do some low-level spells first."

Syney looked at him for a moment before pulling him into a hug. "Thank you."

He slipped his arms around her. "For what?"

She pulled back. "For listening and helping. And for not asking me if I was OK."

He smiled. "I know you're not, so why ask?"

She lay back in her bed, finally feeling tired. "Will you stay?"

Gabe nodded. "Of course."

She sighed and pulled the covers over her. Before she fell asleep, she reached out and grabbed Gabe's hand. He didn't have the same calming feel as Hunter gave her, but he was still comforting enough for her to fall asleep.

Cass