EXALTED (An Exalted Novel) (25 page)

My palms start to sweat as I leave the front desk and head, as directed, to the left for Val’s room. After a light knock to warn Val she has a visitor, I grasp the cool handle of her door and give it a turn. I let out a sigh of relief when I see that she is awake. I almost smile at her, but catch myself, partly because of the Republic, but mostly because of the thick bandaging around her head. She also has small scrapes covering her face and neck from when the tree branches broke her fall.

I sit in a metal chair next to her bed and scoot it a little closer so Val won’t have to talk louder than she needs to. “How are you feeling?” I ask.

“I’ve been better, but who cares. Tell me that you killed her. You did, didn’t you? Nobody here will tell me anything.” This is so typical of Val. She wants to know how the Trial finished over telling me if she’s going to be okay.

I drop my head like I had a terrible loss. “Well . . . ”

“Mena?”

“Yes, I did. It was a very close fight.” I consciously try to choose the right words so Val doesn’t think something is wrong with me. I can’t tell her how amazing it feels. I can’t tell her how happy I was. So, I tell her, “It was a huge honor for me and my parents.”

“Well done,” Val says. “I’ve wanted to know the outcome, but you know the citizens; they don’t get involved in any of the Exalted’s affairs. What about the male trainees, how did it end? Az, right?” Val messes w
ith the gauze above her eye. As she speaks, the rise and fall of her eyebrow rubs across the bottom edge of the head bandage. She tries to tuck it up higher, but can’t manage.

“Let me.” I lean over the bed and gently fold the loose piece up under the tighter part. Then, I reluctantly answer her question about the male trainees. “Yes. Az beat Ethan in the final match. He decapitated Ethan.”

I change the subject because it’s too horrible to remember the look on Ethan’s face. “So what do they say about your head?” I ask while looking over my friend’s wounds. “Will you be able to compete in the Third Trial next week?”

“They gave me a few stitches on my head. The skin is so thin up there that it just split apart when Kinah hit me. They said it looks worse than it is. They gave me some kind of healing accelerator. I have a mild concussion, which is why I’m still here, but I should be out tomorrow. And yes, I will be able to compete in the Third Trial.”  Val seems resigned to being in the infirmary room. She looks me over, examining my swollen nose and new bruising. “Did Kinah do that to your face?”

“Yes, but I got her back with that left hook you told her I had so much trouble with. Thanks for that.” I want so badly to be open with Val, thank her properly and comfort her for losing the Trial. I want to give her a hug, but she doesn’t need it. The Pump has eliminated the need for any comforting. It would only be for my benefit. Ethan and I need to tell her. It’s not fair to withhold something so big from her.

Ethan. Where is he?
I ask Val about him. “Has Ethan been here to see you?”

“No, why? Was he supposed to come by?” Val doesn’t suspect anything out of the ordinary from her fellow trainee.

“Oh, he mentioned stopping by at some point. He just didn’t say when.” I gaze out of the window, wanting to escape the antiseptic smell of the infirmary. It’s suddenly becoming overwhelming.

As I stand to leave, Val pushes herself out of the slouched position she’s been sinking further into since I arrived. She says, “I’ll see you back in the dorm tom
orrow. Thank you for coming by—and for beating Kinah.”

“No problem.” I tell her.

* * *

Where could Ethan be?
I’m not scheduled for duty today, so I have nowhere to be except the scheduled meals. I aimlessly walk around the inside of the walled-in Republic, passing citizens who make room for me when I get too close. Exalted nod at me when they see me. They are acknowledging the Second Trial female victor.

It doesn’t matter where I go, there’s no Ethan. I walk straight through the center of the Ambassadors’ courtyard. No one is outside to stop me or stare curiously at the lost Exalted trainee.

With nowhere left to go before lunch, I make my way over to my old friend the magnolia tree. I climb her familiar branches and perch high up in her leafy embrace. People pass all around without noticing me as I notice them. Still, no Ethan.

I gaze out over the East Wall, hoping to get a glimpse of the beyond, but all is quiet as usual. This week is going to take forever to pass
, like waiting on rain to fall in the middle of a drought. One week until I get to see Ryker again. One week until the Third Trial. One week until I have to make the biggest decision of my life.

Ethan is already sitting in the cafeteria, eating his lunch, when I enter the room.
What is going on with him?
He looks perfectly normal as he eats his perfectly prepared meal for his perfect physique. He avoids my curious stare, as I walk by him with my tray of food. Unfortunately, I can’t sit at his table, because it’s not allowed until dinnertime. My eyes remain with him the entire time we eat. Still, he doesn’t return my gaze. He eats with his head down, talking to no one.

When Ethan stands to leave, I stand as well. I follow him out of the building and into the manicured pathways. I open my mouth to call his name, but he cuts me off. “What do you want, Mena?” He stops dead in his tracks, but he doesn’t turn to look at me. He stays facing forward like he can’t bear for me to see him weak or defeated. Or maybe it’s something else entirely.

I grab his hand and drag him behind the concrete building of the training facility. I grab his chin and make him face me. Then I kiss him. It’s a soft kiss—just a peck.

This
kiss catches Ethan’s attention, and he finally looks at me. He leans in close to me, softly brushing his lips to mine. They linger there as if waiting for something. Then he moves his mouth a little deeper against mine. It’s a nice kiss that sends warmth through my body, down to my toes. I like Ethan. He’s my rock.

I pull away and ask him, “Where were you this morning? Why weren’t you at breakfast?”

Ethan puts his hand on my shoulder and looks down at me. “I was on patrol. I volunteered to take one of the injured trainee’s time slots. Ever since Az got me with his ax, I feel like if I stop moving, I’ll never be able to start again. Like if I sit down for too long, I won’t be able to stand back up. I can’t explain to you how it feels. It’s just awful.” He shakes his head and drops his arm from my shoulder. “And I just have too much on my mind. My parents aren’t very accepting of my poor performance and neither am I, to be honest. I can’t believe Az beat me. I have to finish first in the Third Trial. If I fail, I won’t be able to live with myself. And neither will my parents, for that matter.” He’s never told me this much about his family before. It’s not something Exalted really talk to each other about, unless someone does something of recognition.

I am so grateful my parents never put that kind of pressure on me. They never pushed their second place status on me, but maybe first place Uniteds are different. Maybe parents that are on the Pump are different.

“Ethan, you
will
place first in the Third Trial. Don’t worry so much about it. You know that you’re so much smarter than Az. He’ll be lucky to come in fourth.” I exaggerate a little to make him feel better. It doesn’t work.

“Come on, Mena. We both know it’s either him or me.”

I try to joke with him. “Well you better win, because I am not being United with Az.” I give a little chuckle, but he doesn’t return the sentiment. I lower my voice even more when I say, “Look, I wanted to tell you that if you decide to leave the Republic, Ryker told me their village is called Toledo Lake. He said it’s a five days walk northeast of here. They’ll accept you there.”

“I already told you I’m not leaving. I’m not running away from this,” he says firmly. “I want to be here Mena. The Republic is my life.”

He’s clearly not happy that I offered him an “out”, so I change the subject. “What are you doing the rest of the day? You should stop by the infirmary and see Val. I told her you would.”

“Maybe. I’m going try to go get some sleep first. I’ve been patrolling since midnight. I’m trying to run myself down, so my body will have no choice but to sleep. Hopefully, my legs will work when I wake up and my head will still be attached to my body.” Ethan gives a sarcastic smirk and leaves me standing there alone.

We never addressed the kiss. It’s like it never happened.

* * *

After taking a nap of my own, I head back downstairs to visit Val again. I stop off at the front desk to ask if they have any strategy games. The medical citizen on duty opens the door to a tall cabinet. It’s stacked with duplicates of the same three games. They are all in black boxes with white lettering. She waits for me to tell her which one I want.

“Battlefield, please,” I request.

The silent woman hands me one of the boxes and sits back in her seat, all without looking directly at me. I can hear some of the pieces sliding around inside as I walk down the hallway. Val is not alone when I enter her room this time. Her mother sits in the chair beside her bed with a severe look on her beautiful face. She has no sympathy for her daughter’s pain. They both look at me when I enter. It makes me feel like I should apologize for stopping by.

“Mena,” Val’s mother sourly greets me.

“Hello. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” I do apologize.

Val’s mother stands and smooth
s out her black pants by brushing her hands down the front of them. She straightens her almost black hair and very curtly says, “No. You didn’t interrupt. I was just leaving. Goodbye, Valesca. I will see you at the Third Trial banquet.” She departs, leaving a trail of ice in her wake.

I sit in the unoccupied chair and place the strategy game in my lap. Val’s face
is expressionless, which is hugely frustrating for me. “What did your mother have to say?” I inquire.

“Just that she expects more of me. She said that at the rate I’m going now, it looks like I’ll finish third of fourth. That would be completely unacceptable to my parents. It would be unacceptable to me,” Val admits
this with no emotions behind her words.

This conversation sounds too much like the one I just had with Ethan. It makes me sad for her—sad for Ethan. I try to give the friend before me some positive words. “It’s not over yet, Val. Everything could change after the Third Trial. Who knows, Kinah could come in dead last on that one.”

“That’s what I told her,” Val agrees. I notice her coloring looks better. She has a fresh head bandage and she seems a little more alert this afternoon. She’s sitting up straight in the bed so she can see out of the window. The curtains are open, letting the sun filter in. Rays of sunshine dance across Val face, as the trees sway and flick the light around. I want to smile.

“I brought a strategy game. I thought you might want to practice in some way, since you’re stuck here. I’m still feeling too banged up myself for anything physical today. What do you say?” I slide the game across the small table that swivels over her lap.

Val looks at it, and then back at me. I suspect she would be happy right now if it weren’t for the Pump. It’s a good thing she was still on the drug when they brought her to the infirmary. With all the testing they most likely had to do on her, they surely would’ve seen the deception in her blood work.

“You’re right;
I do need to do something.”

I take the game out and arrange all the pieces. I swivel the table up closer to her so she doesn’t have to reach far. We play until about 30 minutes before the evening mealtime. I let her win. How very un-Exalted of me.

* * *

Ethan is sitting on the boy’s side of the cafeteria when I arrive. His blonde hair is disheveled, and he hangs his head over his tray. He’s oblivious of the world around him.

I sit next to him and whisper, “Did you get some rest?”

“I tried. I kept having nightmares. It was a good thing my roommate wasn’t in there with me. I’m not going to be able to sleep with him around. He’ll know something’s wrong,” he whispers. Then he lets out a sad sigh.

I notice he’s that still sweating and his eyes are bloodshot. My heart is breaking for him. I want to help him, but I don’t know how. “What can I do to help?” I ask with sincerity.

“Unless you have something to knock me out, nothing.”

I grab Ethan’s hand under the cover of the table and entwine my fingers with his. His hand is warm and strong, but sweaty like his forehead. I give it a squeeze, ignoring the dampness. “It’ll get better, Ethan. It just happened. I’m sure you won’t feel like this forever.”

“Well, at least it’ll help me out in the Third Trial. I won’t be able to sleep, so I won’t need to stop as often.” I should be happy that he’s seeing something positive in this dismal situation, but I’m not happy at all.

The week
passed at an excruciatingly slow pace. Even though I’ve enjoyed the company of the beautiful horses while on patrol, and having Val back, the week’s end seems to be teasing me.