The Unearthing (Book I of the Tebel Chronicles)

Chapter 28

The students were hardly in the training rooms the following week, the fear of the imminent theory exams keeping them locked in their rooms. This gave Cyan and Trey time to spend together. She found she could manage Rudi's taunts more easily now. Dakin complained more in her sessions with him, moaning that she seemed even more distracted than usual. But Cyan didn't care as much as she used to. She had barely eaten for the past week she felt so happy. Dakin had a point; she thought guiltily in reflection, the dangers of Tebel seemed to pale in comparison to the excitement of meeting up with Trey every day. Cyan seemed to be learning less about sword fighting now and more about Trey, until a first year almost caught them and they went back to focusing on the lessons. She wasn't worried about her theory tests, except for Skotonian history, for which she thought trying was pointless anyway since Evan was going to be marking it. She did however have a good grasp of the facts for the other tests. Trey had distracted her and she knew she wouldn't do as well as she could have, but it wasn't as if she was an actual third year student needing to graduate.

Cyan, Shyla and Kael sat together a couple of nights before the tests began and spoke about what happened in the stables. They agreed that there wasn't much they could do but be vigilant for any unusual activity round the campus. Cyan also took a moment to explain to Shyla her story from the desert. No one knew where she originally came from, however, and Cyan was terrified to go into details about that. She enjoyed her friendships too much to risk losing them again. But Shyla had been doggedly reminding Cyan to study, that she wanted her friend to know that the exams didn't count for her.

On the last day of the theory exams, Cyan had mixed feelings about the students being free again. She was excited to have Shyla and Kael more available, but the end of the exams meant that the other students would be joining the lessons and classes would start up again. Having the students back meant less time with Trey. It would also be harder to hide their blossoming relationship and so much more care would have to be taken.

'C'mon concentrate! Cyan, seriously!' said Dakin sternly. 'I don't know what's gotten into you these past couple of weeks. I feel like I'm wasting my time.'

'Sorry,' she mumbled, not the least bit sorry.

'Your suppleness seems to have improved – but your strength? Have you been doing the weight lifting like I said?'

'Uh, I try, but I've been . . . er, busy.'

'Yes, your sword technique is brilliant and worth spending time on, but that doesn't mean you can stop trying to be your best on other weapons. You may not always be able to count on your sword.'

She just looked at him blankly, trying to will the minutes away from the lesson, as she had started doing through all her lessons leading up to her lesson's with Trey.

'Come onto the mat,' Dakin instructed. Cyan walked over and stood on the floor mat as he passed her a staff. She hadn't had much practice since she started with Dakin and wondered if he was about to teach her a lesson for slacking on her training.

'Let's test your reflexes,' he said, swiping out quickly. She managed to block him. The impact didn't hurt as much as she remembered. She was just able to think before he struck her side.

'Ouch!' complained Cyan, stepping back.

Dakin ignored her and stepped forward again. She deflected his strike deftly and stepped away.

'Don't run away, Cyan,' he instructed. 'Offense is always better than defense,' he quoted one of his favorite training mantras.

'Yeah, yeah,' she mumbled.