Bastial Explosion (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 3) (17 page)

“Yes. I’m hungry. Will they still feed me?”

“Of course. Come, I’ll take you there.”

“I know how to get there.” Zoke walked around Effie, keeping a brisk pace that made it clear he was avoiding her.

What’s wrong with him?
Effie chased after Zoke. “I was going to the dining hall as well,” she informed him. “Let’s go together.”
So I can make sure you behave.

Zoke stopped, then took in a slow breath. He seemed to turn his body away from Effie when she reached his side. It made her even more curious, her eyes examining his naked chest for clues.

She was surprised she hadn’t noticed it earlier, but the Krepp was covered in cuts and bruises.

“What happened?” Effie pointed without thinking.

“Nothing.” Zoke sped up to keep in front of her.

He’s embarrassed,
she realized. “Did that happen to you on Warrior’s Field?”

“I can beat any Human here!” Zoke spun to face her, sticking out his chest.

Effie tried to hold in a giggle, but she couldn’t. “It doesn’t seem that way.”

“I lost many times during team combat,” he muttered. “But I won’t today. I’m prepared for sneaky bastard Humans.”

An image came to mind of Zoke thrashing about with his wooden sword to keep multiple warriors at bay. He was shouting in frustration as they poked and prodded him with their weapons, retreating too fast for him to retaliate.
“Stop being cowards and face me, you sneaky bastards!”

Effie knew she shouldn’t be laughing, but that image only made her laugh harder.

“It’s not funny,” Zoke said.

“I wish I had time to watch,” she admitted.

The sun was up by the time they reached the dining hall. It was peeking over the Academy’s walls, touching Effie’s skin with indulging warmth. She wondered if Zoke would comment about the bruises on her neck. But then she realized he probably wouldn’t even notice them.

Zoke’s yellow eyes hardly ever seemed curious, usually settling in one spot as he talked. When they’d first met, he’d studied each of them so closely it was as if he was assessing a threat. But ever since leaving the Slugari colony, he seemed to care so little that Effie wondered if he’d even notice if one of them was naked.

It was still too early for most students, but those who were in the dining hall stared at Zoke nonetheless. Effie wanted to blame them, but she knew she would be staring too, if she didn’t know Zoke. He was too different from anything they’d ever seen. How could they not look, especially after his incident at Redfield?

His introduction hardly could’ve gone worse. It made Effie remember something that she needed to ask him.

“Yesterday after breakfast,” she said, “you left with Marie Fyremore. What happened?”

There were plenty of empty tables, so they sat at one in the corner after they got their food. Effie decided not to mention silverware this time, letting Zoke eat with his hands, scooping up the hot eggs and bread and shoveling both into his enormous mouth.

“We talked. She made me tell her all about my past and how I ended up here. She’s forcing me to meet with her again this evening for more talk.”

There was something off about Zoke in that moment, and Effie soon figured out what it was. The Krepp’s voice held disdain by the time he’d finished his last sentence, and every time he used to speak like that he always spat—or at least looked like he was about to spit and then swallowed instead. But he made no motion to release his saliva this time.

Is he just pretending to be upset about talking with Marie? Perhaps he actually likes it?
Effie decided not to pry.

“She’s cooking for me as well,” Zoke nearly whispered. “What does this mean?”

“Well, I don’t think it means anything in this case.”

“But what can it mean in other cases?”

Effie shrugged and answered without thinking. “Usually one person offering to cook for someone else means they like them.”

“Like them?”

“You know…romantically.”

Before Effie realized what she’d said and could correct herself, Zoke started coughing wildly. He stood and thumped his chest, now gasping instead of coughing.

Effie jumped over and began slapping his back, unsure if it would even help a Krepp.

Soon Zoke’s coughing returned and Effie could hear he was breathing again.

After they were both reseated, Effie said, “I don’t mean that Marie Fyremore is interested in you romantically.”

“Are you sure she isn’t?”

Effie had never seen Zoke so worried before. His long eyes were so wide they’d become circular.

Something told her this would be the perfect opportunity for a joke. Effie considered pretending Marie was interested in him that way, but she started laughing before she could compose herself.

“What do you know, Human?” Zoke stood and asked in a panic. “What’s so funny about this?”

As her giggling died down, Effie let out a sigh and covered her face in a poor attempt to hide her wide smile from Zoke.

“There’s absolutely no chance that Marie, let alone any Human, will have
those
kinds of feelings for you.” She gestured for him to sit. “Relax, Zoke.”

“I’ve come to understand that you joke a lot,” Zoke said, sitting back down.

“Me specifically or all Humans?”

“You!” Zoke pointed a claw at her, his voice surprisingly loud.

Effie leaned back. “I do, I suppose.”

“But are you joking now?”

“No, Zoke. There’s nothing about a Krepp that a Human would find attractive. Plus, you stink.”

Zoke grumbled. “I bet if I could smell, I would think you Humans stink as well.”

“I guess we’ll never know.”

On her way to battle training, Effie planned to ask what Marie was doing spending so much time talking with Zoke, but Effie forgot all about it the moment she stepped onto the sandy training grounds behind the Group One classroom and her instructor started talking at her.

“Tenred will have many mages in addition to their archers,” Marie said. “Once you get a good grasp on manipulating SE, you can make a wall strong enough to block arrows.” The old woman sucked in a quick breath and then snapped her wand to demonstrate.

Effie recognized the emerald green color of Sartious Energy right away. Marie had made a floating square of it.

“Touch it, and hurry. Even I can’t hold it for long.”

Effie tapped it with her knuckles. “It feels like wood.”

“Steel is more like it.” Marie let down her wand and the wall shattered into dust, quickly thinning out into the air. “But I have to see some thick Sartious shells from you before we start your training with
walls
made of SE.”

Then Effie noticed Marie’s eyes wandering down to her neck. The old woman had a teasing grin. “Did you injure yourself during
training
last night, Effie Elegin?”

Effie hunched her shoulders and turned away. “Don’t worry, it won’t happen again. I’m going to make sure of that.”

Marie laughed. It was a skeptical cackle that made it clear the old woman didn’t believe her.

When it was time for lunch, Effie was exhausted.
I may not have the stamina to confront Brady by the end of the day.

But fortunately, he found her shortly after she arrived at the dining hall.

She was just getting in line for food when he came up from behind. “Effie, I need to talk to you.” Luckily, his voice was low enough not to startle her.

“I need to talk to you as well.”

“I have food at my house.” He seemed to be in such a rush he didn’t even hear her. “Can you come?”

Is this just a trick to get me into his bedroom?
“I have to get back to battle training after lunch.”

“I’ll be done telling you what I need to by the time you finish eating.”

Still, she was hesitant. Effie had never seen this side of Brady—completely serious…maybe even worried about something.

“Please,” he urged.

She realized something then. “Were you waiting for me in here?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out.

That worried Effie even more. “What’s this about?”

“I’ll tell you soon.” He checked over his shoulder as if expecting someone to be listening. “Will you come?”

“Fine, but this better not be some sort of trick. Look what you did to my neck already.”

Brady waved his hand dismissively and started walking. “Sorry about that.”

“You don’t sound sorry.” She stopped.

“Effie, I’m serious. It’s really important. Let’s go.”

She sighed and followed, sure then that she wanted this to be the last she saw of Brady.

Being nearly a foot shorter, Effie practically had to jog to keep up with his pace. “You have to give me some sort of hint as to what’s so important,” she said.

“I can tell you’re upset with me, but there’s something more important going on than our relationship—or lack thereof.”

“So this isn’t about us?”

“No.”

Brady said no more until they were enclosed within the walls of his two-bedroom student house. She knew he didn’t live with his girlfriend anymore, but she wasn’t sure who his new roommate was, nor did she care because this would be the last time she set foot in his house. Curiosity was the only thing keeping her there now.

As Brady prepared a plate of bread, fruit, and cheese, he asked over his shoulder, “Are you able to make fire without your wand?”

“Not safely. Why?” Effie felt the sudden need to make sure her wand was on her belt.

Brady pointed to the iron pot in his fireplace. “We’re going to need some boiling water.” He glanced over to see she now had her wand in hand. “Oh, you brought your weapon in here.” Brady seemed strangely disappointed. “Well, can you use it to light the fireplace?”

Effie stood and placed her wand in a crevice between pieces of wood. She pushed Bastial Energy through it so that it mixed with the Sartious Energy already in her wand, making fire. Brady came over and adjusted the iron pot, pouring in a thin stream of water from a pitcher when he was done.

Brady then opened a cupboard and took out a glass jar containing green lamwin leaves. Effie knew they were used for making tea, as her mother had favored lamwin tea over the years. It was known to help ease the nerves. But Effie wasn’t sure she wanted that in this moment.

She didn’t voice her objection until she noticed Brady wasn’t crushing the leaves but melting them with Bastial Energy.

“What are you doing?” Effie asked. “Won’t that ruin the taste?”

“You’ve never had lamwin tea made with BE before?”

“No.”

“Try it.”

“Fine.” Effie watched closely to make sure there was nothing else he was mixing into it.

He laughed when he noticed. “Don’t trust me?”

“I do,” Effie lied.

“Good, because I’m going to tell you a few things that’ll be hard to believe.” He turned to show her a serious stare, pausing for a moment to hold a finger out at her. “But all of them are true.”

All Effie could wonder was whether this was some sort of ruse to get her clothes off.

Soon each was seated with a plate of food and a cup of tea. Effie had a small sip. She wouldn’t have known Brady had melted the lamwin leaves with Bastial Energy, for the tea tasted the same to her as when her mother made it.

Brady seemed fixated on Effie, watching and waiting for something.

“What?” Effie grunted.

“Why aren’t you drinking more of the tea?”

Could it be Brady was one of those people who was insulted when guests didn’t devour what was offered to them? He didn’t seem the type, but then again, she barely knew him.

It was easier to drink the tea than argue, so Effie took a big gulp. Brady’s next breath seemed to fill him with relief.

“Did you tell anyone about drinking the blinker potion I brought over last night?” he asked, more interested in Effie’s answer than his food.

“No. Should I have?” Effie still couldn’t get used to this side of Brady.
If he doesn’t tell me the real reason I’m here soon, I’m going to force it out of him.

Brady shook his head. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

“When are you going to tell me why you brought me here?”

Brady’s faint smile became flat, and his head sank over his food. “Kyrro is going to lose this war.”

It took until Effie had swallowed all the food in her mouth before she really heard him. “What?” she blurted.

But as Brady opened his mouth to say more, a knock at the door stopped him. Brady must’ve expected it, for he jumped up, opened the door, and stepped outside, closing it after him. Effie got a glimpse of the man who’d come to see Brady. He had blond hair, and something about him looked familiar. From his thick arms, he seemed to be a warrior.