Whitethorn Academy

Chapter Thirty-Four

The rest of my morning classes, and lunch, were unimpressive. They all passed in a sort of blur and before I knew it, I was changing into my skin-tight training uniform again. Naomi looked as nervous as I did, and she gave me a tight smile before we headed out of the locker room.

Coach Knight was already waiting for us in the middle of the room. Her stern face watched the milling students as she waited for everyone to finish changing.

Once everyone was in the training room, Coach Knight called for silence. Naomi nervously twirled a piece of her red hair between her fingers. She didn't look at me, just stared at Coach Knight, her skin pale enough to make out each of her freckles spattered across her nose and cheeks.

"I have assigned you each a sparring partner. You will work closely with your partner in this class. I have a list here. I have assigned partners according to the results of your exhibition fights yesterday."

Nerves churned in my stomach. Coach Knight had picked our partners for us. I highly doubted I'd be able to stay with Naomi, even though that was what I wanted. Even if she wasn't good at fighting, she also wouldn't try to murder me every day either.

But would she partner me with someone on the same level as me? Or would Coach Knight pair the beginners with the more experienced students?

Coach Knight turned to pin the list to the bulletin board behind her. "Find your partner, then wait for further instructions."

As the rest of the class surged to the front, Naomi and I held back. Neither of us was eager to see who Coach Knight had paired us with. The stern-looking woman stood next to the paper, looking at the students as if challenging them to question her decision. We joined the end of the line, watching the students in front of us as they groaned or cheered as they read their partner's name.

Mari, who stood next to Alek, moved to read from the list. After about a minute, she let out an enraged screech. It was animalistic and inhumane. She spun on her heel, her ice-blue eyes boring into me with venomous rage.

"How dare you!"

I shared a glance with Naomi, who was just as confused as I was. "What do you think I did?" I murmured to her, my eyes finding Mari again. Alek stood next to her, a passive expression on his face.

She shrugged her shoulders, but the fear as Mari marched our way was clear in her eyes. Whatever I'd supposedly done had made Mari angrier than I'd ever seen her. And this was the same girl who'd dumped oatmeal on my head simply for bumping into her.

But a new fear raced through me. Mari had magic. Would she use it against me? Nausea clawed its way up my throat, but there was no time to react.

Stopping short, just inches from my face, Mari was radiating anger. It rolled off in waves and I could have sworn magic curled around her fingers. I swallowed hard.

"Just who do you think you are?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I truly didn't. Besides, I usually stayed out of Mari's way for reasons just like this. I had no desire to be the object of her anger.

"Alek is supposed to be my partner, not yours. We're even going to be Bound one day."

Bound? What did that even mean? Did it have something to do with when my mother spoke to Inara? Elyse had said something about Bonded. But before I asked a question or even could even respond, Mari seemed to snap, her anger coiling like a snake ready to attack.

Magic crackled around her fist as she raised it, poised to strike. My heart plummeted into my stomach as fear shot across my skin like electricity. But when she went to hit me, she seemed to freeze.