Page 167 of Interion

After a quick, silent dinner, Zion and I crossed into Dornéu. The sky was starry as usual, and the full moon illuminated Kiara’s silhouette soaring overhead. Beneath the silvery glow of the alchemical globes, we exchanged silent glances. There were questions in his eyes, but I could see he was giving me space.

“I couldn’t talk to her,” I finally admitted.

After class, I’d searched for Adele everywhere in the academy, but she was nowhere to be found. It was like the girl had vanished into thin air.

“I know. The shadows showed me she ran out—there was a car waiting at the entrance.”

My eyebrows drew together in concern.

“Do you know who it was?”

“Ivanov picks her up every afternoon after training. He always waits outside.”

“Adele doesn’t stay in the student dorms?”

“No, Ivanov is a citizen of Interion, and their mother gave him custody of Adele and her younger sister for as long as they’re here.”

Adele was well cared for and protected by her uncle—those cuts and bites made no sense at all. I still didn’t know what to say about the situation. Zion seemed to be bracing himself to say something, and from his expression, I wasn’t going to like it.

“Kyller, I can’t let this go on. We may not know what’s happening, but something is definitely very wrong. Adele is my student too, so I need to intervene.”

“Give me just one more chance to talk to her. Let me at least try to understand or help her somehow. Just so she knows she can count on someone, that she won’t be exposed, and that she’s not alone. Maybe Adele doesn’t want people to know because she’s ashamed or afraid of being exposed.”

Zion looked at me with a tenderness that was hard to hide.

“Adele has never hidden the fact that she hates you, Kay. How can you be so kind to her?”

I smiled ruefully, heading to my position in the arena.

“Because people weren’t kind to me either.”

I heard Zion swallow hard from where he stood, and he kept looking at me for another moment. Sometimes he had that look, as if seeing me for the first time, as if piecing together a complicated puzzle in his mind. Finally, he moved to his training position.

“You have until tomorrow to talk to her. Let her know that one way or another, she’s going to get help.”

“Deal.”

I understood his side too. Any honorable faeric would think that way, especially Zion, who was her trainer.

“Today we’re going to start attack training to subdue an enemy, so we’ll reverse our roles,” he said, pulling my restless thoughts back to the present.

“Should I attack the way you did? The same movements as before?”

Defending myself was easier. I didn’t like attacking—my strikes were always a bit clumsy.

“Yes. These ten movements—five attack and five defense—are the foundation of all the others. They were designed to strike the five vital points and defend them. I could win any fight using only these ten movements.”

“Of course you could,” I said, rolling my eyes at him. “You’ve been doing this your whole life, Zion. I don’t see how I could win a fight with just ten strikes. Besides, it doesn’t make sense—what was the point of all those years of classes with new movements if we could win with just ten?”

“Because Interion has its own fighting style, just as Ampér has Tama-ki. What I’m teaching you comes from somewhere else.”

There was only one other place we knew well.

“Is it Drutes’ fighting style?” I asked, frowning.

“It’s your mother’s fighting style, passed from her to Serguei, and from Serguei to me.”

“My mother’s? You mean, Drutes’ greatest warrior?” I asked, astonished. “She only fought with five movements?”