Page 26 of Interion

The fights continued, and now it was time for the last pair. Hiro Zois, who had level 400 impenetrable skin, and Aish Zuri, the newcomer we’d discovered had the gift of speed. The scene was ridiculous: Hiro was enormous, a Drutes descendant, though his blond hair and pointed ears softened his appearance somewhat—not that it made his intimidating size any less daunting. And Aish… Well, Aish looked like a child next to Hiro. Her skin was black as a starless night, her hair woven into dozens of small braids gathered in a high bun, and her body, though small, was well-defined. It was like watching a train about to collide with a motorcycle.

“Begin,” Zion ordered.

Hiro didn’t move from his spot, and the girl must have been too scared to budge. Every student was watching the newcomer who’d been thrown to the class lion.

“I said begin,” Zion repeated.

Hiro raised his hands in surrender.

“I can’t, trainer. I don’t even know how I’m going to knock out a girl this size without hurting her.” The giant gestured toward the newcomer, his thick eyebrows knitted together in concern.

“Hiro, I told you to begin,” the general hissed.

From where I sat, I could feel the power his voice carried.

“I can’t, trainer. I’ve never fought a woman.”

“And that’s why I put you with her.”

When Hiro didn’t move, Zion took a deep breath and stepped toward the ring. As soon as he raised his hands, shadows began to gather around him. However, before he could do anything, Aish flew at the giant.

She literally launched a flying kick at him, slamming into his chest. Hiro staggered and quickly steadied himself, but the girl was already on him again. She used his knee as a springboard and launched herself at his neck, wrapping her legs around it. In seconds, she trapped the giant’s head between her thighs and threw herself backward. They crashed onto the ring with a thunderous thud, the girl’s legs locked around Hiro’s neck, cutting off his air. If she wanted, she could break his neck with ease.

When his body went limp, Aish released him and stood up, dusting off her clothes.

“Excellent,” Zion praised. “By far the best fight I’ve seen today.”

Aish nodded proudly and climbed down from the ring. She went to sit on the bench of glory. The class was slack-jawed. We’d only seen that move in advanced fighting manuals, and she’d pulled it off with such grace it looked more like dancing. It was understandable why they’d transferred her to the final year.

Adele set about healing Hiro, and when the boy woke up, he could barely contain his fury over the humiliation as he walked toward the losers’ bench. I made room for him to sit, but no one dared welcome him: with the mood he was in, he’d probably punch someone. He settled in, scowling, and stared at Aish across the ring. His eyes gleamed, and a smile that could only mean trouble appeared on his lips. Zion climbed into the ring and called for our attention.

“You were excellent today, despite looking like children playing at fighting. Except Aish, obviously—she’s the only one who comes close to the ideal of a soldier,” the trainer said, pointing to the newcomer, who held his gaze. “Hiro taught us a great lesson today: never underestimate your opponent based on their size, especially if she’s an Amperian. They’re more agile, and agility is as important as strength in a fight.”

Hiro sank into the bench, arms crossed over his chest. He looked like a sulking child.

“Also don’t forget about beauty. It’s as dangerous as a blade,” the boy muttered as he stared at Aish, who shot him a satisfied look.

“Well observed, Hiro,” Zion said, his lips curling into a half-smile. “The idea of this training is to make you lose your fear of fighting for real. If you don’t get knocked out here, you’ll keep cowering and wondering what it feels like until it finally happens. Unmastered fear is synonymous with defeat, and I want you to learn to deal with it.”

Even without meaning to, I found myself puffing out my chest in an attempt to appear braver. The fact that I'd done it involuntarily—as if I needed Zion's approval—prodded at a small wound inside me that, instead of hurting, made anger bubble up. When the general's eyes landed on me, he seemed to notice that feeling, his gaze lingering a bit longer.

“Now, half of you know what it's like to go down, and the other half will find out soon enough.” He looked at the winners and continued: “Part of being a good fighter is being able to take as many hits as possible, and I'm sure that lesson wasn't taught to you, since some of you didn't even last two minutes. Starting tomorrow, I'm changing the warm-up. I noticed your form is terrible, so we'll drill strikes for an hour. After that, you'll fight just like we did today, and at the end of class, we'll practice with weapons.”

I nodded.

“For today, training is over. Dismissed.”

The place became a cacophony of voices. Everyone was eager to talk about the day and grab the best spots in the shower. Students showered at the gymnasium after training since most lived in the academy dormitories and had to share a bathroom with four people. Since I didn't have that problem, I avoided the locker room—especially when it meant being around ten girls who shot me looks of contempt.

While retrieving my bag from the locker, I noticed Aish watching me from the other side of the locker room. When she caught my gaze, she looked like she was about to say something. Fearing what would come out of her mouth, I grabbed my bag and bolted down the hallway. The only things I ever heard around here were words of hatred, so I didn't want to listen to whatever provocation she'd crafted for me. After all, I didn't need another person reminding me that I wasn't worthy of being here.

I already knew that.

Δ

When I walked through the front door, it was already night. Kiara was lying next to her food bowl and, when she saw me, lifted her head and looked at me as if wondering what the hell had happened to my face.

“It's a black eye, Kiara.” I pointed to the bruise, which had already gone from purple to greenish and looked awful. “Guess who's responsible for this?”