Page 61 of Remnants
Chapter seventeen
Raegan
ThemandatoryGuildtrainingbegins in the fitness center on the first floor of the Tower. There’s a full-sized gymnasium with a temporary wall splitting a third of it, followed by showers and locker rooms on one side and a fully-equipped weight room on the other. And a snack and shake bar. Can’t forget that.
Jackson’s sitting on the edge of the desk Aiden had brought in, one leg folded up on his knee and leaning into his fist as Aiden talks to him. Behind the desk are rolling corkboards with schedules and lists pinned to them.
Since we arrived early, I’m first in line to start scanning the lists to find my name and scheduled time in each session. There’s offensive gift training, defensive gift training, weight training, self-defense training, and physical combat training. Each person is signed up for three sessions based on their skills or desire to be an active fighter or a background supporter.
But this initial gift training is apparently for everyone.
My finger stops on Kell’s name. I glance over my shoulder at him. “I thought you were a trainer.”
He scratches his beard and shrugs. “I still need to work on my gift. I’m just the combat and self-defense trainer. Jack’s the offensive gift trainer. Dane and Aiden are splitting the weight training. Cibrina is leading the defensive gift session.”
Dane scowls at the list. “What the fuck? Why am I in the defensive gift group?”
Kellan cackles and leans forward to look at the list for the first time as Dane storms over to the desk, yanking out drawers and grabbing something before coming back. “He’s not wrong. Your gift isn’t really an offensive—”
“—it is when I shoot them after muting their gift,” Dane snaps, scribbling his name off the defensive list. He adds his name to the offensive group and Kellan snickers behind him.
“What are you doing?”
Dane jumps at Aiden’s voice, who had followed him after he’d stolen the pen. He turns around, crossing his arms and widening his stance, his lips turned down in annoyance. “I’m putting my name where it belongs.”
“Are you saying you disagree with where Cibrina and I put you?”
“I’m saying I’m not staying behind while you guys go and fight GE, so why the fuck wouldn’t I learn everything I can to be useful in the field?”
Aiden frowns. “Learning to use your gift defensively isn’t useless…”
I tune out when I catch Jackson beckoning me to him with two curved fingers, slipping around the others to get to him. He dropshis leg and tugs me between his thighs.
Sliding my hands up his collarbone to his neck, I smile at him. “Are you nervous?”
He tilts his head, a smirk curling his lips. “Nervous?”
I hum softly. “To talk to so many people.” All the Guild members chose to stay and fight. None of them ran away to hide like they could have. And then there’s the Pits fighters who are joining in as well.
Jackson’s smirk intensifies. “No.”
Well. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen Jack nervous before. I trail my hands up to his hood. “You should take this down, you know. So they can see you.”
He takes my hands and holds them between us. “They just need to hear me.” He presses his lips to my hands, his deep blue eyes catching mine under dark lashes and spiking my heart rate.
I nod slowly, at a loss for anything else to say when he’s looking at me like this.
An arm falls over my shoulders and pops the bubble I’d been in with Jack, the background noise of so many people chatting in the gym now a dull and constant echo. “Flirting with the teacher to get better marks, beautiful?” Kellan’s wild grin claims half his face as he leans in between us. “Don’t leave me hanging this time, yeah? Just tell me where we’re sneaking off to. The locker room? The showers? I can’t fit under the desk, but maybe if we got a table and tablecloth—”
I smack his chest just as Aiden walks over.
“Problem?” he asks, his gaze flicking between the three of us.
I do my best to smile sweetly at him. “No.” Either I fail, or maybe my smiling like that to him is a red flag on its own because his eyes narrow. “We’re just excited for the lesson. Come on, Kell. Let’s grab Dane and make sure we find a good spot.” Grabbing his hand, I drag him away to seek out Dane, then plant us front and center so we don’t miss a thing. If it were anyone else teaching something, I’d be content somewhere off to the side. But if Jackson is teaching a lesson, you can be damn sure he’ll have my full attention.
It's only another few minutes before the doors close to the gym, signaling that everyone is here. Aiden raises his hands to gather the crowd’s attention, and within seconds, it’s quiet. “Thank you everyone for being here. I know these sessions seem like a lot, but I promise they’ll only take up the first few hours of your day, starting at six in the morning. You’ll still be able to work and continue as you were after that. Today, Jackson is going to give a brief lecture on gifts before we break into different groups. Please give him your undivided attention.”
He steps back and to the side, giving the proverbial floor to Jack.
