Curse of the Fae (PA #3)

Chapter Ten

Ragnar (Wrath)

Willow is acting strangely. She arrives at combat training without incident and with Kian, Ari, and Rome in tow, but she doesn't say a single word to any of them.

They talk around her, throwing worried glances at each other when she exhibits no sign of listening to them. Her only movement is the restless fidgeting of her fingers against the hem of her skirt. She taps rhythms only she can hear, paying no mind to the world surrounding her.

Concern gnaws at my insides, mingling with a healthy dose of anger at the culprit for her detachment. Is Greed responsible for this? My little warrior spent the night in his bed, bravely facing the most ornery of the Morningstars.

He hurts feelings for sport, always endeavoring to bring others down to his level of self-loathing. Greed's a classic bully in that sense. He wants everyone to feel as bad as he does.

I don't pretend to truly know my brother. We've never gotten along—he's hated me from birth and hasn't stopped—but I do know anger. I've always sensed it in him and I can guess at his reasons for lashing out as he does.

Willow wants us to get along. She's wanted that forever, but now we both have the proper motivation to adhere to her wishes.

So, if Greed is the reason for Willow's behavior, I won't punish him. She'll be more effective at it regardless, and I have no desire to upset her by hurting him.

"We're practicing tracking and evasion today," I say, voice echoing in the arena. The students fall silent, straightening their spines and listening carefully to my brief directions. Willow's tapping stops, so my words continue. "Half of you will be tracking, the other half evading. Nowhere in the realm is off-limits. Once you catch your target, teleport them here."

A third-year demon raises their hand. "How will you be dividing us?"

"Magic."

That's not true. I stayed up all night making a list, attempting to pair students up by the maximum level of challenge provided to each of them. While I could've done it this morning, I wanted to be awake and alert in case something happened with Willow and Greed and she needed me.

"Is there a time limit? What happens if you don't get caught?"

The angel blurts out their questions, and I stamp down my annoyance. I have to remind myself that they can't read my mind, nor are they smart enough to answer their own questions.

"You have until dinner. If you don't get caught, you pass and your tracker fails. The list's on the wall by the entrance. Trackers, give your targets a ten-second head start."

My fingers snap and the students scramble. All but Willow and her men teleport to the arena's main entrance, likely trampling each other to see their assigned role.

I reckon Lizzie's elbowed her way to the front with Killian not far behind her. She'll be pleased to find that she's tracking Gwen, and I have no doubt the two of them will give it their all to win.

I do some teleportation of my own, landing nearly on top of Willow. The toes of our shoes touch, her sloppily-tied laces hanging over my steel tips.

Was she in a rush this morning? Willow normally double knots the laces, wary of tripping and embarrassing herself. She cares too much about minuscule things like that.

Though, her level of care isn't something I should take for granted. It's what allows her to understand the worst parts of me and choose to like me anyway.

"You're with me, little warrior."

Her only reaction is a creased forehead.

Rome reads the expression and then addresses me. "Isn't that unfair? You're not a student."