Akarnae Page 29

  She winced, wondering if maybe she should have just lied after all.

  “Why did you, then?” His eyes searched her face.

  “Because they’re talking about me,” she said, defiantly. “And I think I deserve to know what they’re saying.”

  Hunter continued to stare at her as if judging her character on the basis of what he saw in her expression. After a moment he nodded slightly and said, “I agree with you.”

  She gaped at him, swallowing the new defence that was already on her tongue.

  “But I also believe it’s now time for you to deliver your message so that you can go and think about what you’ve learned,” Hunter added.

  Alex hesitated and asked, “You’re not going to tell them I was listening?”

  He smiled slightly. It was the first expression she’d ever seen on his face that didn’t make her want to run in the opposite direction. “If they were foolish enough to leave the door open while discussing delicate topics, then that’s their problem. And for what it’s worth, you did well to not give yourself away, considering the content of their conversation.”

  He’d complimented her. An actual compliment from Ghost, of all people. She wasn’t sure how to respond, but it turned out that she didn’t have to, since he raised his hand to knock loudly on the door.

  The conversation ceased immediately and Hunter pushed his way into the room, not allowing those inside to realise the door had been unlatched during their entire discussion.

  “Ah, Hunter,” Jarvis greeted warmly. “We were just discussing—”

  “Alexandra Jennings is here with a message for you, Administrator,” Hunter interrupted, causing Jarvis to pale slightly when he saw Alex moving into the room.

  Despite everything else, she was curious how Hunter even knew her name. He seemed to know a lot, she realised, since it appeared that Jarvis had been about to include him in their conversation.

  “Alex, I didn’t see you there,” Jarvis said, somewhat awkwardly. She’d never before seen him look so uncomfortable—or so guilty.

  Maggie and the librarian were watching her closely, and so was Hunter, who was silently urging her to act normal.

  “Administrator,” she greeted, pasting a smile on her face. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important?”

  She saw Hunter smile ever so slightly again and knew he approved of her approach.

  “Not at all, Alex,” Jarvis said, a shade too quickly. “What can I do for you?”

  Alex explained the reason she was there and Jarvis quickly excused himself to go and access the student’s file, which was apparently held in a different office. He was only out of the room for a total of two minutes, but it felt like a lifetime while Alex waited with Maggie staring straight at her and the librarian avoiding her eyes completely. Hunter was the only one at ease; he sat on the edge of Jarvis’s desk, cleaning his nails with a wicked-looking dagger.

  Finally, Jarvis re-entered the room and gave Alex a copy of what Fletcher needed. “Is there anything else I can help you with?” he asked, but she could tell he was eager for her to leave.

  Alex opened her mouth, but before she could say anything she caught Hunter’s gaze again. He shook his head a fraction, the motion so small that no one else would have picked up on it, but his warning was clear.

  “No, Administrator,” she said, breaking away from Hunter’s dark eyes to look back at Jarvis. “I’ve got all I need, thanks.”

  And she did have all she needed. Because as she walked down the Tower and back out into the sunshine, Maggie’s final words played over in her head, clicking everything into place: If he gets through, do you know what will happen? The moment he steps through that doorway—

  A tide of understanding washed over Alex, making her feel lightheaded. She tried to restrain her whirring thoughts, but like a jigsaw snapping itself together, all she could do was wait for the pieces of the puzzle to settle. And once they did, she finally saw the bigger picture.

  Alex was from Freya. She’d been brought through to Medora by the Library because she was Chosen. Being Chosen meant she could access the secrets within the Library, including—hypothetically—the doorway back to her world. She didn’t know if she could find it again, nor was she certain whether the headmaster would be able to once he returned. He was still gone for who knew how long, anyway—which was probably why Maggie had said that Alex was the only one who could give Aven what he wanted. And what Aven wanted, Alex now realised, was to find a doorway to her world: he wanted to get to Freya.

  Alex still didn’t understand why he needed her permission—or even what that meant—nor did she have any idea why he was so desperate to get to her world. But what she did know was that his reasons must be nefarious indeed if the stoic Maggie was so worried.

  When it came down to it, Aven’s purpose didn’t matter, because there was no way Alex would ever let him step through that doorway. She might not have much waiting for her back in Freya, but it was still her world, her home—and her parents were there. If there was one thing Alex was sure of, it was that she would do whatever it took to protect the ones she loved from Aven, no matter what his plans were.

  Thirty-Seven

  Neither Jordan nor Bear could shed any light on why Aven might want to get to Alex’s world, but they agreed that it sounded dodgy enough to be a cause for concern, so the three of them remained more vigilant than ever over the next few weeks. But despite their best efforts, it didn’t take long before they all became distracted by the daunting amount of revision homework they needed to do for their end-of-year exams.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  “How much I can’t wait to go to sleep,” Alex answered, when Jordan’s question pulled her from her thoughts. “I keep reading the same paragraph over and over again.”

  “I think you’ve been studying for too long. I say we get out of here for a while.”

  Alex looked pointedly at the pile of textbooks and study notes scattered across her table in the Rec Room. “You’re not serious?”

  “Of course I am!” Jordan said. “All we’ve been doing is study, study, study—forever!”

  “It’s been, like, a week, mate,” Bear said, joining their conversation. “Tops. We put it off as long as we could, remember?”

  “A week too long,” Jordan whined.

  “A week necessary,” Alex corrected. “Exams start on Monday.”

  “Sometimes it’s good to take a break,” Jordan argued. “Too much studying can make you forget everything you’ve learned.”

  Alex looked at him sceptically. “I’m not sure that’s how it works.”

  “Maybe not where you’re from,” he said, “but here your brain can rot and start oozing out your ears if it’s stuffed too full of information.”

  “Ew!” Alex wrinkled her nose. “Graphic, much?”

  “Hey, if you want your brain to start oozing out of your ears…”

  She threw a wad of paper at him and opened her Med Sci textbook. “You’re going to have to try better than that.”

  “But Alllleeeexxxx…”

  His whiny tone reminded her of a cute but annoying child, and when he started making pathetic whimpering noises, Alex found herself relenting. They had been studying for hours, a little break wouldn’t do any harm.

  “What exactly do you have in mind?” she asked.

  “Yes!” he cried, fist-pumping the air victoriously.

  Bear closed his textbook with a snap and asked, “What’s the plan, Sparkie?”

  “I don’t know,” Jordan admitted. “I didn’t think you guys would actually take a break. But now that you’ve agreed, why don’t we go for a walk? Maybe we should go and see what’s happening in the Library?”

  He’d said it innocently enough, but still Alex tensed slightly at his meaning. She hadn’t had any more Library experiences since her journey down to the cavern, but she wasn’t willing to tempt fate, especially since she’d begun to realise that it was only when she went
looking for some kind of adventure that the Library gave it to her. When she ventured in there just to study—a frequent occurrence over the past few months—she encountered no otherworldly experiences. But she was pretty sure Jordan didn’t intend to study there tonight.

  “I thought you wanted a break from schoolwork?” she asked, glancing around nervously. There were too many people still in the Rec Room for them to speak freely.

  “You can do all sorts of things in a Library,” he retorted. “Have all sorts of adventures.”

  A quiet snort nearby stopped Alex from replying immediately, and she turned to find her roommate sitting at the next table over, buried in her books.

  “Something funny?” Jordan asked the red-head.

  “Just the image of you playing hide and seek around the bookshelves,” D.C. said, not looking up from her notes.

  “You’re just jealous,” Jordan said with a grin. “Hide and seek is awesome.”

  “Do you want to come with us?” Alex blurted out before she could stop herself. If D.C. was with them, they couldn’t get into any trouble, right? Even so, she didn’t know who was more shocked by her question—her roommate, her friends, or herself.

  D.C. looked up from her book, unsure whether it was a real invitation or not. Alex tried to keep her expression open, but all she could think about was the fact that they hadn’t spoken to each other about anything other than class projects in weeks, possibly months. D.C. must have been thinking along the same lines because she quickly dropped her gaze.

  “No, thank you,” she said quietly, turning back to her notes. “I have to study.”

  Alex wasn’t sure why she felt so disappointed. Jordan and Bear didn’t seem to mind either way, and they waited for her to pack up her books.

  “Actually, I think I’m just going to head to bed,” Alex said, not in the mood anymore. When she saw their deflated expressions, she added, “Why don’t you go and play some hopscotch?”

  Their faces lit up with excitement.

  “Just don’t—uh—fall or anything,” she said, trying to subtly warn them not to deliberately get into trouble. They wouldn’t necessarily make it out in one piece like she had.

  “We’ll be fine,” Jordan assured her, his eyes shining with anticipation. “Mere child’s play.”

  After they left, Alex collected her stuff and headed to her room. D.C. appeared a few minutes later and, as always, the silence between them was uncomfortable.

  “Do you want the first shower?” D.C. asked tentatively.

  Alex blinked, surprised that the other girl had spoken at all, let alone asked a polite question. “Um—no, thanks. You go ahead.”

  D.C. nodded and collected her pyjamas. Soon after she entered the bathroom, Alex heard the water turn on.

  She stared at the wall, thinking about their almost friendly interaction. In the end she came to the conclusion that, like everyone else, D.C. must have been feeling the stress of the exams—so much so that her usual hostility was toned down.

  It was a nice change, Alex thought, even if it was unlikely to last.

  “I feel like I’m dying,” Alex groaned, collapsing onto a chair in the food court.

  It was Wednesday night, and she was just over halfway through her exams. They were so much harder than anything she’d ever experienced before in her life, and she was already feeling physically and mentally wrecked.

  “Hear, hear,” Bear agreed, slumping down next to her.

  Jordan only mumbled inarticulately as he rested his head on the table, not even able to formulate proper syllables.

  The three of them had just come from their PE assessment, and Finn hadn’t held back. He’d tested their endurance, strength, speed and resourcefulness over a three-hour period of progressively nastier challenges in the field, forest and lake. Out of their class of sixteen, only eight had actually finished the entire examination without being carted off to the Med Ward. Alex wasn’t surprised that Jordan and Bear had made it through fine, but she was beyond shocked that she had, too. Finn had actually smiled at her—slightly—once it was all over.

  “I don’t even think I have the energy to eat,” Jordan mumbled into the table. “Can someone else feed me?”

  No one answered him, too tired themselves to verbalise their thoughts.

  So far Alex had completed her examinations in Medical Science, SOSAC, Archery, Equestrian Skills, and now PE. The others had also had their Core Skills exam, but Marmaduke had ended up exempting Alex from the assessment. At first Alex had been pleased to learn she had one less exam to worry about, but then she’d been told that it meant she would have to repeat the class again in her next year or until she developed her gift and passed the test. How annoying.

  Alex’s favourite exam by far was for her Equestrian Skills class, where she’d had to complete a cross-country course in the forest. She’d ridden a horse named Fiddle, and together they’d jumped logs, dodged low swinging branches, trudged through a muddy riverbed, swum through a creek, scaled and descended a steep hill and galloped across grassy fields. At the end of the exam Alex had been covered in mud and scratches, but she’d still had a smile on her face from the exhilarating experience.

  It would have been great if all of her exams could have been so much fun—but they weren’t. Alex’s brain had strained so hard for the answers to her Medical Science and SOSAC exams that she’d actually wondered if Jordan had been right about it oozing out of her ears.

  “Only four more to go,” Bear said, moaning in pain as he reached for his menu. “Six down, four to go. We’re over halfway. Just two more days left.”

  Alex wasn’t sure if he was encouraging them or encouraging himself, but either way she was glad for it. It gave her the energy boost she needed to force down some food before following her friends to the Rec Room where they began to revise for their exams the next day—History and Species Distinction. While neither subject would be easy, at least they didn’t have practical components, which would hopefully allow her body the chance to recover. She desperately needed the reprieve, especially considering that Friday was going to be terrible, with both her Chemistry written exam and lab experiment, and her Combat assessment.

  No, she definitely wasn’t looking forward to that, even if it meant the end of her exams.

  Thirty-Eight

  Alex stared out at the colossal Arena on Friday afternoon and tried to convince her body to take the necessary steps forward.

  “Come on, Alex,” she murmured to herself. “You can do this. In a few hours you’ll be all done. Don’t let the butthead scare you. You can do this!”

  “Do you need a push?”

  Alex whirled around, embarrassed to find Kaiden watching her with undisguised amusement.

  “Uh—no, thanks. I’m good,” she said, trying to stand a little taller.

  “Let’s get in there, then,” he said, his blue eyes filled with laughter. “We wouldn’t want to be late for the butthead.”

  Alex felt her face flush and she quickly strode down the hill, hoping he wouldn’t notice her embarrassment. Too late, she realised, when she heard his quiet chuckle from behind her.

  She entered the Arena with her head held high, determined not to show her fear to anyone else. The rest of her classmates were already there, stretching and talking quietly amongst themselves. She sat down near them—not too close—and began her own warm-up routine.

  Ten minutes later Karter walked in and the six of them stood to attention.

  “Today’s the day we find out how much you’ve learned this year,” he said without preamble. “Pair up.”

  As usual, the group split in two, a pair of boys together—Brendan and Nick—and a group of three—Sebastian, Declan and Kaiden. Alex, as always, stayed on the outside and waited for further instructions.

  “Are you deaf, Jennings?” Karter barked. “I said pair up.”

  “But—” she swallowed her protest when he turned the full force of his glare on her. He wasn’t really going to mak
e her fight with them, was he? Her classmates had spent years learning how to attack and defend. She, on the other hand, had spent barely a few months learning how to duck and dodge as things flew at her face. There was simply no comparison.

  Knowing she had little choice in the matter, Alex looked over at the boys, wondering who she should pair herself with. Their faces showed everything from contempt to curiosity, and it was clear that none of them wanted to be stuck with her.

  She wasn’t sure how it happened—perhaps they’d noticed her miserable expression—but as she watched, Declan and Kaiden looked at each other in silent conversation and then began a paper-scissors-rock contest. Kaiden’s scissors cut Declan’s paper, causing the big guy to sigh in disappointment before he detached himself from the group and walked over to join Alex.

  “You so owe me for this,” he told her in a whisper.

  Alex nodded mutely, knowing that he was putting not just his grade on the line, but also his dignity.

  And then she realised exactly what that meant.

  Alex turned to look at her partner, taking in all six feet and four inches of pure muscle. She’d gone up against him once before and ended up unconscious. She wasn’t exactly excited about a repeat performance.

  “Right,” Karter said, interrupting her internal freak-out. “This is a three-hour exam. The first hour and a half will focus on attack and defence. You’ll fight for fifteen-minute intervals with a three-minute break after each match to catch your breath and swap opponents.”

  Alex swallowed nervously when she realised that meant she would have to fight all of her classmates at one stage or another.

  “The last hour and a half will be something different,” Karter added vaguely, before further describing what they were about to do. “Your first three rounds are unarmed combat, followed by staff and finally sword. If your opponent overcomes you to the point that you admit defeat—or I admit it for you—then you’re out and you have to wait for the next round. Now find a space and get ready to begin.”

  Alex gaped at him. Surely that wasn’t it? What about rules? Safety? Were they going to get any protective padding? Or at least a helmet?