(Akilah's pov)
The cafeteria was louder than usual.
Or maybe I was paying more attention to everything except the conversation happening directly in front of me.
I sat next to Nadira, while Eria sat opposite us, staring down at the food on my tray as if it had personally offended me.
I pushed a piece of roasted potato from one side of the plate to the other.
Then back again.
Then I stabbed it with my fork.
"You know," Nadira said slowly, "most people actually eat their lunch."
I didn't answer.
"Akilah."
I blinked.
"Hm?"
Nadira narrowed her eyes.
"I said, ' Most people eat their lunch."
"Oh."
I looked down at my plate."I'm eating."
Eria glanced at my untouched food.
"No, you're playing with your food."
"I have no appetite," I said placing my fork down.
Nadira sighed dramatically and leaned back in her chair.
"You have been doing that for the past ten minutes."
"Have I?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
Nadira exchanged a look with Eria.
I pretended not to notice.
My mind had been somewhere else all morning.
Or rather, someone else.
Kael.
I hated that his name could still exist inside my thoughts after everything he had said yesterday.
I hated even more that I could still remember the way he had looked at me before everything went wrong.
That was the part I couldn't reconcile.
The boy who had kissed me.
The boy who had held me like I was something precious one moment and then looked at me as if I were nothing the next.
I grabbed my fork, trying to find the strength to at Least eat something.
It meant nothing.
The words came back with irritating clarity.
My fingers tightened around my fork.
I wanted to be angry.
I was angry.
But beneath the anger was something far more humiliating.
Hurt.
I hated admitting that even to myself.
"Are you going to tell us what's wrong?"
Nadira's voice softened.
I looked at her.
"Nothing."
"That was the worst nothing I've ever heard."
Eria nodded.
"Agreed."
I sighed.
"I'm fine."
Nadira gave me a skeptical look. "I hope whatever mood you're in isn't about Kael."
Before she could interrogate me again, something suddenly ruffled my hair.
I nearly jumped out of my seat.
"Who—"
I twisted around, ready to snap at whoever had touched me.
Then I stopped.
Taylor.
He stood behind my chair with the most infuriatingly charming smile I'd ever seen.
"Relax."
I stared at him.
"You almost lost a hand."
He laughed.
"Good to know."
He walked around the table and dropped into the empty seat opposite me.
"Hey, Nadira."
"Hey."
"Eria."
"Taylor."
He greeted them casually before turning his attention back to me.
And then he smiled.
Not the polite smile he gave everyone.
A real one.
Warm.
Dashing.
The kind that made his eyes brighten.
Before I could say anything, he reached across the table, stole a grape from my tray, and popped it into his mouth.
I stared at him.
"Did you just steal my food?"
He chewed thoughtfully.
"Yes."
"You could've asked."
"You would've said no."
"I would've."
"Exactly."
Nadira snorted.
I rolled my eyes, but despite myself, the corner of my mouth lifted.
Taylor leaned his elbows against the table.
"So…"
I waited.
"Are you ready for your first Vanguard practice today?"
I froze.
My smile disappeared.
"Today?"
Taylor blinked.
"Yes."
I stared at him.
"Today?"
He laughed.
"Yes, Akilah. Today."
I looked at Nadira.
Then Eria.
Then my tray.
"Oh, my God."
I dropped my fork.
"I forgot."
Taylor's eyebrows rose.
"You forgot?"
"I completely forgot. I've had other things on my mind," the words slipped out before I could stop them.
Nadira slowly turned her head toward me.
Eria's eyebrows lifted.
Taylor looked at me for half a second longer than necessary.
Then he smiled.
"Well…"
He reached for another grape.
I slapped his hand away.
"Stop stealing my food."
He laughed.
"You don't have to worry about training."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Because Kael will be training us."
My stomach dropped.
Of course.
How could I have forgotten the most important detail?
Coach Rhyder was away for the week.
Kael was taking over Vanguard training.
The exact person I had been trying not to think about was now going to be standing in front of me for the next seven days.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
Taylor seemed completely unaware of the internal disaster taking place inside my head.
"Don't worry, Kael is the best in the game. He knows what his doing," Taylor calmly said.
"Of course he did," I muttered.
Taylor tilted his head.
"You'll be fine."
"I know."
"You're a good fighter."
"I know."
He grinned.
"But you do have one problem."
I narrowed my eyes.
"What?"
"You overthink."
"I do not."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You're doing it right now."
I opened my mouth, then closed it.
Nadira laughed.
Taylor stole one last grape from my tray.
"Hey!"
He stood up. "I'll see you at the training grounds."
He winked at me.
Then he walked away.
I watched him disappear into the crowd.
Slowly, I turned back toward Nadira and Eria.
Neither of them said anything.
They simply looked at me. Giving me a look I knew too well.
I sighed.
Then dropped my forehead onto the table.
"Kill me."
Nadira burst out laughing rubbing my head.
"You will be fine," she said.
I just groaned in response.
By the time I reached the training grounds that afternoon, I had convinced myself I was calm.
I wasn't.
The training grounds were enormous, surrounded by tall stone walls and open fields. Weapon racks lined one side of the arena, while climbing structures, weighted equipment, and combat stations occupied the other. There was even a huge track field.
Everyone who was part of the team stood together near the center.
Darien was stretching his shoulders.
Taylor was talking to him.
I spotted Kael almost immediately.
Of course I did.
He stood several feet away from the others, dressed in black training clothes, his sleeves pushed to his forearms.
He looked completely at ease.
Like yesterday had never happened.
Like he hadn't looked me in the eyes and shattered every foolish hope I had allowed myself to have.
His gaze moved across the team.
For half a second, it landed on me.
Nothing.
No reaction.
No expression.
He looked away.
Something inside me tightened.
"Everyone here?"
Darien raised a hand.
"Present, Your Highness."
Kael gave him a look.
Darien grinned.
"Sorry. Couldn't resist."
Kael ignored him.
"We're not doing anything complicated today."
My eyebrows rose.
"Today is assessment."
He walked slowly in front of us.
"I need to understand what each of you can do before I decide what needs work."
His eyes moved over everyone.
Then stopped on me.
"Akilah."
My back straightened.
"Yes?"
"Step forward."
I did.
Kael pointed toward the center of the arena.
"Show me your footwork."
I blinked.
"That's it?"
"For now."
I moved into position.
The first thing I noticed was that Kael wasn't looking at me like he had yesterday.
There was no heat.
No softness.
No trace of the boy from the bathroom.
Only the cold focus of a trainer.
It should have made things easier.
Instead, it made me want to prove something.
"Begin."
I moved.
My body reacted before my thoughts could catch up.
Left.
Pivot.
Duck.
Step.
Spin.
I moved through the course quickly, using the agility that had always come naturally to me.
The final strike landed against the padded target.
I stepped back.
Darien whistled.
"Not bad."
Taylor smiled.
Kael didn't.
He simply said:
"Again."
I frowned.
I did it again.
Faster.
Cleaner.
"Again."
My irritation grew.
Again.
"Again."
By the fourth time, my lungs were burning.
I stopped.
"What exactly are you looking for?"
"Your limit."
I stared at him.
"You've already seen it."
"No."
His answer was immediate.
"You've shown me your speed."
He stepped closer.
"Speed isn't the same thing as strength."
There it was.
The weakness.
I clenched my jaw.
Kael looked toward the equipment.
"Weighted strikes."
I walked over.
He handed me a pair of weighted gloves.
They were heavier than they looked.
"Put them on."
I did.
Then he pointed toward the training dummy.
"Twenty strikes."
I looked at him dumbfounded. "I can't do twenty."
"I was asking," he said coldly.
I bit my tongue and lifted my hands into position.
One.
Two.
Three.
By eight, my shoulders burned.
By twelve, my arms felt heavy.
By sixteen, my strikes had slowed.
Kael watched every movement.
"Again."
I hit the dummy.
"Again."
Another strike.
"Harder."
I gritted my teeth.
I struck it again.
"That's not harder."
"These are too heavy," I snapped at him.
"Did you expect them to be lighter? Now do it again and this time hit it harder."
I glared at him.
"You're enjoying this."
"No."
His expression remained completely blank.
"I'm correcting you."
I struck the dummy again.
"Use your hips."
I adjusted.
"Drive through the target."
I did.
"Again."
I hit it.
The dummy moved.
Not much.
But enough.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Better."
One word.
Somehow, that single word irritated me more than an insult would have.
After the assessment, the others began their own drills.
I was still standing near the equipment, rubbing my aching wrists, when Taylor approached.
"You okay?"
"Fine."
He looked at my gloves.
"You look exhausted."
"I'm not."
"You are."
I glared at him.
He smiled.
"You're very convincing."
I rolled my eyes.
Then Taylor picked up one of the heavier training weights.
"Try this."
I stared at him.
"That's heavier."
"Exactly."
"I thought you were supposed to be helping me."
"I am."
He placed it into my hands.
"Your agility is already good. Your strength is where you need work."
I looked at him.
"You sound like Kael."
Taylor laughed.
"Don't insult me."
I smiled.
He stepped behind me, keeping enough distance to demonstrate without crowding me.
"Don't use your arms alone. Your whole body has to move."
I tried.
He corrected my stance.
"Again."
I struck.
"Better."
My arms started burning.
But something was different.
With Taylor, I wasn't trying to prove that I belonged.
I was simply learning.
He encouraged me when I improved.
He laughed when I messed up.
And when I finally landed a solid strike that made the target swing backward, Taylor's face lit up.
"There."
I smiled.
"I did that."
"You did."
I hit it again.
Harder.
Taylor laughed.
"Okay, show-off."
I stuck my touge at him causing us both to laugh before we continued.
Through all that not once did I glance at Kael.
Taylor moved beside me and demonstrated another technique.
I copied him.
"Keep your shoulder relaxed."
"Like this?"
"Exactly."
I struck.
The target swung.
Taylor grinned.
"See? You're getting it."
I laughed.
"Maybe I'm not as weak as everyone thinks."
"No one thinks that," Taylor said.
"Yeah okay," I replied.
We finished with the weight training before moving to something else.
"I think we should do some basic conditioning," Taylor said.
"I believe I'm okay with that," I replied.
"True, but you can always become better right," he said with that annoying smile which I couldn't resist.
"I'm only looking out for your best interests. You're already a good fighter but you struggle in some parts for example not knowing how to use your height. You struggled to climb over the tree during the challenge," he said.
I didn't argue back because I knew he was right. Back home I never really focused on my strengths just my fighting skills.
"Besides if you want him, to get your back I think we need to put in overtime," Taylor said looming behind me.
I followed to see he was looking at Kael who was training with Darien. They were currently lifting some weights.
I could see his tense muscles as he lifted the weights above his head while his face remained calm it was as if the weights weighed nothing.
A warm feeling rushed through my body as I thought about his strong arms holding me. How he used his strong hands to make me completely explode all over them.
I gave myself a mental slap betrayed by my mind replaying those memories.
"Okay I think he should do some sit-ups," Taylor said snapping me back to reality.
I groaned, dropping down to the ground already dreading this.
————
"Come on one more," Taylor said as he held my feet from lifting off the ground.
"Easy for you to say. You went through this with ease," I retorted as I did my last sit-up.
By the time I was done, my T-shirt was soaked with sweat.
I tried to stand up but tripped over my own feet. Before I could hit the ground I felt someone catch me.
I looked up to see Taylor holding me against him. Our eyes locked together. I then noticed the small distance between us and the placement of his hands around my waist.
Taylor was about to say something when we heard a slight cough beside us. We turned to see Kael standing right beside us. We pulled away from each other clearly embarrassed.
"I see you two are training hard," his tone cold as ever.
Taylor just looked at me with a smile while I could barely look back at him.
We looked around us to see that students were starting to disappear as it was past training time.
I tried to leave but not before Taylor called my name.
"If you need any more help with strength training then you know where to find me," he said.
I gave him a soft smile. " Of course I do."
I looked back at Kael, who simply stared at me. His stare was so tense I thought he was gonna yell at me but instead he just kept glaring at me.
He stared at me a moment longer before turning and walking away.
I didn't know why he glared at me, but knowing Kael, it was probably his way of reminding me that he hates me, or because of the relationship his friend and I had and he hated it. Either way, whether he liked it or not I was going to be very very close with Taylor and there was nothing he could do about it.