Thorns

Chapter Six

I stood silently between Ivan and Salem. Neither brother had spoken a word since we got here, and I wasn't about to be the one to break that silence. Instead, I preoccupied myself by letting my gaze travel hesitantly around the room we currently stood in. For some reason, I couldn't help but feel like if I looked at any one crevice or crack wrongly, the room itself would be the one to shove a much deserved knife into my neck. Oh what a show that would be. I could only imagine my bright, crimson blood staining the white floors as the other students gazed down at my lifeless body. They would be traumatized.

They deserved to be traumatized.

The room wasn't anything special. It certainly wasn't as impressive as the rest of the palace. It was simple. Minimal. Spacious. It was everything a training room should be.

The blank, white walls stared down at me, seemingly analyzing my every move. I felt a ping of anxiety ring through my chest, but I chose to ignore it. I was in an unfamiliar environment, surrounded by equally unfamiliar people, of course I was going to feel a little anxious. I would have been more concerned if I had felt completely comfortable when I had walked in.

The room was empty all accept the ring in the middle and the targets on the wall parallel to the doors. The only other things within the room were the students. I examined them, wondering how they could look so confident in themselves when their abilities were legal. Legal meant safe. Legal meant not a threat.

My abilities were everything but legal.

No matter how I felt about the students or the unsettling silence unfolding through the air around me, it was relieving to be away from Kioshi, although I knew he was waiting patiently for me just outside the doors. Kioshi was the Nullifier who had been assigned to me. King Garrick had gone out of his way to assure me that Kioshi was the most powerful, and most trusted, Nullifier he had.

Part of me felt bad for Kioshi. The poor man even had to sleep in my rooms. He was just as trapped as I was.

"Good morning, kids! I hope you're all ready for today, and if you aren't than thats too bad!" A tall, skinny middle aged man strutted through the door, his smile a little too wide for my liking. Under his arm, he carried an unopened package of bottled water. Somehow, I knew that, that wasn't for us.

He had brought the water. He knew we would want it. But he would never let us have it. I remember my brother teaching me something about that specific training tactic a few years ago. Tamlin had gone through a phase where he had been obsessed with old methods of combat training. He would go into the market place and steal books and pamphlets and then fill his brain with as much knowledge as could. Every time he learned something knew he would get so excited that he would tell me about to for hours, even if it was only five minutes worth of information. I never minded though.

My heart sank in my chest. I wondered how they were doing. I missed them more than I wanted to admit, and part of me hoped they missed me just as much as I missed them.

I pushed my homesick headaches into the back of my mind, drawing my focus back to the man standing in front of us.

He looked like he was in his fifties, maybe a little older. It was difficult to tell. His lips were thin and cracked, and his skin possessed a yellow-orange hue that suggested he hadn't been born in our kingdom. One big scar ran from his temple all the way down to his collar bone. He was wrinkly and graying, but even with his old age his glossy blue eyes were still filled with life.

I believed that the eyes reflected the soul, even if we were all nothing but flesh and bones. He still had life inside of him. He had hope. Happiness. Regardless of his past, he still found a way to live a life where it only took his presence to brighten a damp atmosphere.