Out of the Mountain (9 page)

“Finley. Hawk Shuni.” He was short and stout, with dark hair and eyes.

“Jonah. Conduit.” His hair was perfectly combed, not one out of place even though we had all just been swimming. He was perfectly tidy from head to toe. Soft brown hair and brown eyes and a kind smile on his thin lips.

“Griffin. Panther Shuni.” He looked as sleek as a panther in his leather. Dark hair combed away from his face and bright eyes shone above a thin body of wiry muscle. He was definitely easy to look at. I realized that was everyone in the group and cleared my throat.

“Nice to meet you all.”

“There are a few others who will be in our group for training, but they aren’t any fun,” Peyton said, glancing at Genevieve, who confirmed her statement with a nod of her head.

“Yeah, Joel, Cassia, and Oliviana. Total drags,” Jonah agreed.

“Let’s let Vivi form her own opinions,” Luca said with a wry grin.

“You’ll meet them tomorrow. We were told this evening that you’ll be joining our group for training.” Briony yipped excitedly.

“What kind of training?” I implored, this was the first I had heard of it.

“The novice guard training. We are all in the same group. I don’t think the Six thought it was necessary, but Rowan insisted you should come. He’s pushy,” Briony said, and I laughed. That he was.

“What do the guards learn?” I asked, intrigued.

“Defensive magic, physical training, survival skills, team building.” Finley counted them off on his fingers as if it was a list he was used to hearing.

“Awesome,” I replied truthfully. I was more than ready to continue asking questions, but that was the moment Silas appeared in the clearing.

“Lights out was an hour ago,” he barked, and everyone jumped to their feet. I followed suit.

“Sorry, sir. We thought that, because it was a celebration for Vivi, we would have extended curfew,” Briony said, and he laughed loud and sharp, ending it abruptly and making the others flinch.

“Get your butts to bed. Everyone will be expected up an hour earlier to run laps in the training yard. Is that clear?” he asked, looking at everyone but me.

“Yes, sir,” they said loudly in unison.

“Now go.” They all turned and jogged off. Briony apologized with her eyes as she left me with Silas in the clearing.

“Come, child, I’ll return you to the gates.” He smiled kindly, and I relaxed, following him back to the road. He wasn’t in charge of me yet, but would his kindness toward me change come tomorrow? I wasn’t sure I wanted that to happen.

“I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t know there was a curfew,” I said honestly, and he chuckled, looking more closely at me for the first time.

“Of course you didn’t, but they did. Thought they could pull something over on me, but it never works.” He shook his head with humor in his eyes as he conjured a large jacket into his hands and covered my shoulders with it. I smiled when I noted that it hung past my knees. It was a warm night, but Briony hadn’t conjured my clothes back for me before she had left, and I appreciated the gesture. We walked in a companionable silence for most of the trip, I felt bad that the others had gotten into trouble, but I was glad that we had gotten to have a little bit of fun. My first party was a success.

Silas began pointing out constellations in the sky, and as a fellow stargazer I pointed out as many as I could find too. The trip through the streets of Alaris to the palace was quick after that. We were laughing when we reached the gates, but I stopped abruptly when I noticed Rowan was standing with his arms crossed like he had been there for a while. His honey-colored gaze narrowed and Silas patted me on the shoulder.

“I will take her from here,” he rumbled, and Silas nodded before pointing out one last constellation, bringing his total up higher than mine, and I realized we had been having a competition. I handed his jacket back and laughed as I walked past Rowan, ignoring the look he was giving me and refusing to give him an explanation. He was entirely too bossy, and I wasn’t in the mood for it.

“What on earth are you wearing?” He groused from behind me, and I blushed.

“We went swimming . . .” I began as a fluffy robe appeared around my body. I tied it around the waist.

“Yes, well, you should present yourself more properly, and that certainly was not appropriate swimwear.”

“I didn’t have anything else and seeing as I can’t conjure my own clothing yet, I took what I got.”

I hurried up the steps and into the palace, trying my best to ignore his snark and losing myself in thoughts of what tomorrow might bring. I had plenty of training. That was certain. My whole life had been spent training thus far. I had thought the monks paranoid, and look where I was now. Wait . . . where exactly was I now? I looked around trying to identify something familiar because I hadn’t been paying attention to my surroundings as I walked through the palace while I was lost in thought.

I wandered for a while and quickly realized that I had gotten myself thoroughly lost inside the palace walls. The halls looked the same, and the décor blurred together. I stopped, sighing in defeat. I was going to have to ask for help. I turned to see the smug look on Rowan’s face and decided I would rather wander around until I found someone else to ask.

“You are not even on the correct side of the palace.” He goaded me, humor in his eyes. I bristled.

“Are you going to lead the way or not?” I said, and he nodded, turning on his heel, expecting me to follow. Of course I did.

“You must learn to observe your surroundings instead of walking around oblivious to the world around you,” he spoke, back still to me. I didn’t even try to respond to that, because I knew he was right. I had done the same thing countless times before back home, but I knew the mountain like the back of my hand, so finding my way was never a problem. This palace was still too new to me for that. When we finally made it to my hall, he stopped and turned to me.

“Do not leave your room until morning.”

“Excuse me?” I growled, not liking his tone.

“You are safest there. Farran made sure of it,” he replied simply, and bowed his head to me before he walked away. He could have led with the safety fact and made it easier. I entered my room and stood alone with my back pressed to the door. It was so different to return here, sequestered in my own corner away from everyone else. I perused the dressing room and found a comfy pair of pajamas before I flopped onto the bed, exhausted. I was asleep in seconds.

I woke the next morning to pounding on my door. I fought to pry my eyes open and noted that it was still dark outside. I groaned, taking my time to answer, and yelped when I saw a perfectly pristine Rowan. I slammed the door in his face in a panic and instantly regretted it. I certainly couldn’t open it again now. It was done. I ran into my bathroom and washed my face and brushed my teeth, trying to tame the mass of hair into a braid. I did it as quickly as possible and ran back to the door and opened it to see him still standing there, hands on hips and frown in place.

“You’re late,” he barked, waving his hand and changing my clothes easily into a skintight gray bodysuit that hugged me from neck to ankle. The material was thin but sturdy, allowing me to see every curve of my body just under the surface. I blushed, but when I met his eyes they were still trained on my face.

“For training,” he said to clarify that he hadn’t just wanted to dress me this way. I saw that he was wearing something similar in black, and I had to pry my eyes away from his body as my own temperature started to heat. He physically stiffened before grumbling and turning down the stairs.

“How was I supposed to know when to go?” I muttered at his back, trying, and failing, to keep from gawking at how great his backside looked in those tight clothes.

“The issue will be resolved.”

“How? I expect the others all sleep in the barracks . . . will I be joining them?” I asked with excitement. He looked at me as if I was insane.

“No. Someone will wake you next time,” he replied as he took a hair tie from his wrist and piled his tawny hair into it at the back of his head. A piece fell forward, and I itched to tuck it back into place. I shook myself, returning to the topic at hand.

“Why can’t I stay with the others? I like them,” I complained.

“You will not be staying with them.”

“Tomorrow’s my birthday.”

“I know,” he replied, and I couldn’t help but feel satisfied at that.

“Well, I’ll be twenty. So I can make my own decisions, right?” I said, and he shot me a glare.

“You are a princess and will sleep separately,” he grumbled, dismissing it.

“Why should anyone care who I sleep with?” I hissed. His eyes widened, and I blushed.

“That’s not what I meant . . . but wait—yes, it is what I mean!” I straightened my back, prepared for an argument. His eyes narrowed and flashed yellow.

“You are to be protected and kept separate when you are vulnerable. You cannot control your magic and the Shuni side of you is now unbound. The instincts of your predator are slowly awakening in you. You have not been properly socialized and will not understand cues and advances made toward you. Shuni are a very . . . forward group. You are an innocent,” he said simply. My hackles rose.

“I am not a child,” I growled, seething, barely repressing the instinct to stomp my foot.

“You are contradicting yourself at this very moment.” He exhaled, pointing at me. I was going to kick him in the face.

“You should calm yourself. I can see the anger in your eyes,” he said, turning to walk again and dropping the subject. I thought about what he said and had to agree that I could feel something awakening in me. My emotions were becoming more volatile; everything was becoming jumbled. I decided to drop it for now and focused on calming my breathing and not thinking of the possibility of landing a kick to his face.

Rowan led me down a path to what he informed me were the training grounds. The sun was coming out, and the morning air was crisp and fresh. I could see my group running laps in the distance, all dressed in the same tight gray workout gear that I was in. I looked at Rowan, and he nodded for me to head on. I jogged to the group and fell in line beside Briony. She smiled widely. They were all drenched in sweat. I could tell they had been at it awhile. Guilt seized me. I saw Silas on our second trip around the field, and he whistled to call everyone in. I was just starting to get warmed up, but everyone else was gasping for air.

“I expect you to think twice before breaking the rules again,” Silas said, and I noticed the three of the group I had yet to meet glaring our way, sweating and panting to catch their breath. They had been punished as well.

“Vivienne, this is Joel, Cassia, and Oliviana. They are Conduits. You didn’t meet them at your little after-hours’ party, but punishments come in group form around here. It’s best to keep that in mind,” Silas said, looking at the group in turn to punctuate his point. Joel had mousy brown hair and eyes. Cassia’s was a vibrant red, and she had a smattering of freckles that framed her bright-blue eyes. Her body was soft in all the right places. Oliviana was blonde and small, barely five foot. I waved and they nodded my way unhappily. Oops.

“All right, Vivienne, this group is only a week into their physical training. You should be able to jump in with no problems. We do the trainings in cycles. Physical, magical, team building, and then survival. At the end of each round of training we have a little friendly competition to liven things up and keep it interesting. So work hard if you don’t want to make a fool of yourself in front of everyone. This isn’t fun and games; this is serious training that can save your life in the event of an attack,” he said forcefully.

“This week marks the start of your hand-to-hand combat training,” Silas said, waving his hand above his head. We all turned to see Rowan and a woman walking toward us, talking in hushed tones. She was almost as tall as Rowan, with a long, lean body. Her skin was tan and her jawline was sharp. Her features were perfectly placed on her face. Big brown eyes, a tiny nose, and big rosy lips. She was wearing the same black suit as Rowan, and it left nothing to the imagination. Her dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and when she smiled at me I wanted to rip it off her head. She flinched, and Rowan frowned at me. I heard a low whistle from Griffin, and the other boys nodded appreciatively. Girls were whispering excitedly.

“Please tell me we get to wrestle around with her,” Griffin said boldly, and she smiled.

“In your dreams,” she replied in a voice as smooth as honey.

“Every single night,” Luca countered, bumping Griffin’s arm. I tried to repress a blush.

“Vivienne, this is Adelaide. She’s a Conduit. You already know Rowan,” Silas said, gesturing at the two guards. I forced a smile and a hello to Adelaide.

“Nice to meet you.” She smiled. Her teeth were perfectly straight and pearly white. Sigh.

“As you all know, magic is not without its limits. With only so much available to you at once, it is best to use it sparingly. You must learn to protect yourself without the use of your magical abilities. The strength and insight gained will improve your stamina and ability to recover from your magic use later on,” he said as he paced in front of the group. This was new knowledge to me; I hadn’t realized there were restraints on magic, but in retrospect it made sense. There had to be checks and balances.

“OK, time to pair you up to spar,” Adelaide said, taking charge when Silas gave her the go ahead.

“Briony with Griffin, Peyton with Finley, Genevieve with Cassia, Jonah with Oliviana, Joel with Luca.” I frowned. I hadn’t realized that the group was an even number. I was the extra.

“What about me?” I asked, looking at Silas. He shrugged, unsure.

“You will observe for now,” Rowan said, and I turned on him.

“What’s the point of me standing here while they get to have all the fun?” I complained.

“The novices have already been trained in the basics and are advancing their techniques. You have not had the training necessary to participate,” he said as if it was simple fact. He had no idea. Hadn’t Briony said this was Rowan’s idea in the first place? Why make me sit out?